Top 10 Benefits of Hibiscus Tea for Health and Beauty

Have you ever had a cup of tea that comes with a purple tint? Well, the very first interesting fact about a cup of hibiscus tea is how it looks. The tea is native to Africa and grown in several tropical and subtropical regions. It tastes sour, which is why it is also called Sorrell tea. As a tea lover, if you want to splurge and buy a pack of this exotic tea, you might as well just love to stick to it as a regular beverage. This is because there are innumerable benefits of hibiscus tea, and it can be consumed both hot and cold. Let’s find out why this can be your potential daily dose of beverage!

How to make hibiscus tea?

Before moving onto the benefits of hibiscus tea, let us check out how to make a cup of this pretty drink. This recipe takes you through the traditional way of making an authentic drink from original flowers. You can always choose the alternative option of buying the tea leaves and brewing it like regular tea.

Ingredients you need

• You can either use 2 cups of fresh hibiscus flowers or use ½ a cup of dried ones
• Keep 8 cups of water handy
• You will also need 3 tablespoons of lemon extract

Hibiscus tea is a form of sour tea. But to make it sweet, you can mix honey to it. Note, we do not add sugar to this tea because it simply loses the essence and diminishes the health benefits of hibiscus tea.

Directions

• The most important step while making hibiscus tea is to remove the calyx. It is the part present at the base of a fresh flower. It supports the petals and is attached with the steam.
• Next, take out the pistil that looks like a thin tube and locates in the middle of a flower. These include pollens and might have side effects if not removed.
• Now take a teapot to boil water. Add the fresh flowers to the pot, and as soon as the water starts boiling, switch off the flame.
• To make the tea taste better and add a little more goodness to the overall benefits, you can add lemongrass and basil to it.
• Let the tea steep for around 15 minutes, after which you add the lemon extract to it.
• You can then add honey to make it sweet and/or strain the tea to your teacup.

If the tea has become cold by now, you can heat the tea (strained) and consume it right away. You can also refrigerate the tea and have it cold sometime later. Just keep it inside the fridge for two hours, and you will find the perfect refreshing drink for a hot summer day!

How does it work?

When you consume hibiscus tea, they fruit acids work like a laxative. Researchers who have studies on the effects of hibiscus extracts conclude that there are chemicals in the flower that can reduce blood pressure. The tea type can also reduce sugar content, fat, aid stomach spams, reduce swelling, and much more.

Hibiscus tea nutrition facts

Calories 89 kcal

Protein 1 g

Carbohydrate 22 g

Fat 1 g

Sodium 23 mg

Saturated fat 1 g

Potassium 28 mg

Sugar 20 g

Fiber 1 g

Vitamin C 20 mg

Vitamin A 280 IU

Calcium 11 mg

Iron 8 mg

Best time to drink hibiscus tea

It is best to stick to a specific time to drink your beverage to extract the maximum utility possible. To make sure you get every ounce of benefits from hibiscus tea, you need to know the right time to consume it.

To determine the perfect time, we need to consider the benefits and the possible side effects. Hibiscus tea is associated with issues like hallucinations and dizziness. Thus, one must not use heavy machinery after drinking this tea; they might be prone to accidents.

Alternatively, this means that one should not consider this a regular caffeine-infused drink like coffee, which gives us instant energy. Hibiscus tea needs to be treated like a relaxing drink that lets you unwind. Moreover, hibiscus tea is known to give you a sense of calmness to your body. It destresses your mind and is perfect for drinking before you take a nap.

You can also have a cup after you are done with work, and you are spending time with yourself by reading a book or watching a movie. This makes you feel relaxed and rejuvenates you from within.

Benefits of hibiscus tea

Here are the top benefits of hibiscus tea that give you reasons to add it to your diet or replace your regular beverage:

1.  Hibiscus tea and menstruation

The hibiscus flower is loaded with medicinal properties that aid a female reproductive system. One way to extract its benefits is by consuming it in the form of tea. Hibiscus tea is a relaxing herbal potion that has been mentioned in Ayurveda. It heals problems like irregular periods and reduces cramps.

If you want to use this flower in another way, you can fry two fresh ones in ghee and add them to warm milk. This remedy will also ease period pain and improve your menstrual cycle.

2. Hibiscus tea before bed induces sleep

Drinking hibiscus tea before bed would be ideal. Right before you go to sleep at night, drink this beverage and improve sleep quality. Since this tea type relaxes your senses and calms your mind, it can be the perfect drink to soothe you. Try this out instead of taking medicines if you have sleep disorders and see if it helps you rest your anxieties.

3. Hibiscus tea benefits skin

Beauty experts consider hibiscus as a miracle flower as they can help you fight aging signs. Many women believe using face masks infused with hibiscus extracts improves skin elasticity and fights fine lines, wrinkles, and spots.

You can improve the healing process of a wound on your skin by consuming hibiscus tea. According to a study done on rats, the hibiscus flower showed potential benefits of aiding wounded skin. A topic ointment infused with hibiscus extracts improve their condition. It has also been proven that this flower infused in skin products can treat herpes zoster, a type of skin rash.

4. Hibiscus for hair growth

Plenty of South Asian households use raw hibiscus flowers as one of the magical ingredients that they add to their hair loss oil. It is backed with the goodness of coconut oil.

All you need to do is heat pure coconut oil and add fresh red hibiscus flowers to it. Let the flowers fry till they turn maroon, after which you remove the flowers and add the hot oil to a glass jar. Replace this oil with your regular oil, and you will soon find your tresses improve in strength and length.

When you add this routine with regular consumption of hibiscus tea, you multiply the benefits it has to offer. Thus, this flower will improve your hair from within and also through external application.

5. Prevents liver damage

Hibiscus tea gives you the goodness of antioxidants that helps us fight the free radicals in our body. The antioxidant activity influences our liver enzymes and makes our hepatic tissues function better.

If you are looking for liver detox, you can totally depend on this health drink. It will stimulate the hepatic cells and cleanse your blood from toxins. It also improves the metabolism that prevents liver disorders as well.

6. Weight loss

When talking about metabolism, we cannot miss out on weight loss. While there are plenty of people who depend on green tea for weight loss benefits, they miss out on the health benefits of hibiscus tea.

Studies have been conducted to demonstrate the goodness of hibiscus tea for weight loss and weight management. The tea can potentially lower BMI (body mass index) and fat content. The extract of the hibiscus flower reduces the level of cholesterol and triglycerides. The impact of this results in reduced chances of obesity and works as a weight loss aid.

7. Keeps your immune health up

People are looking for multiple ways to improve their immunity due to the coronavirus pandemic. What if we told you that the health benefits of hibiscus tea include this as well?

Hibiscus tea has lots of vitamin C in it, which can keep our immune systems healthy. It also includes iron that balances the number of red blood cells in our body. Since vitamin C improves the absorption level of iron, the rewards are boundless!

8. Reduces inflammation

Hibiscus tea can replace one portion of your daily fruit or vegetable consumption due to its antioxidant levels. Since it includes phytochemicals like anthocyanin and polyphenols, it lowers the level of inflammation in our body. Thus, the tea can prevent conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and arthritis.

9. Cancer

Cancer is one of the biggest health crises people can go through, especially if not detected early. Millions of people try to find ways to prevent this deadly disease from attacking their bodies.

Hibiscus has polyphenols, which prevent cancers. Many people consume hibiscus flowers as an edible ingredient to prevent this disease and absorb the health benefits offered through the nutrients.

10. Hibiscus tea is an anti-depressant

The world is inevitably going through trying times. Many people get comfort from food to soothe their mental state and fight depression.

Instead of consuming unhealthy junk food that will negatively impact you after crossing your tastebuds, you can always look for healthier options.

Since hibiscus tea is a potential drink to relax your mind, you can consume it when you feel stressed out. It will work as an anti-depressant and make you positively look at things.

Side effects of hibiscus tea

By now, you know all the significant benefits of hibiscus tea, but it is essential to understand that they might have side effects too. We should not overconsume any form of beverage because it does come with harmful impacts, irrespective of how minor they are.

In the case of consuming hibiscus tea, people suffering from low blood pressure or hypotension can face negative impacts if they consume this. If you suffer from this condition, you might have dizziness that leads to fainting. Some people might also damage their hearts.

It is also essential to note that hibiscus tea impacts our estrogen levels. Thus, a woman going through birth control treatments, hormone replacement must avoid this beverage strictly.

It is advisable for pregnant women also not to consume this as it leaves them with emmenagogue effects. The condition can trigger a menstrual flow in the uterus and lead to complications for the expecting mother.

Hibiscus tea might also leave people hallucinated. Thus, it is best to analyze how the drink reacts to your body and decide how much you can consume.

Final thoughts

There are pros and cons to everything we consume, irrespective of the potential health benefit we expect from each ingredient. Thus, it is best to have everything in moderation, even when it comes to a harmless cup of hibiscus tea.

We recommend our readers consult with their GP if they have a precondition like blood pressure or gynecology-related issues. It is also best to consume hibiscus tea when you wish to relax and not when you’re looking for high energy.

The goodness of hibiscus tea is potentially rendered when consumed late at night or before bed. But you can also consider it as a refreshment when taking a break from work!