Herbal Teas for Better Gut Health

I help a lot of people with gut issues that include people having trouble with constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, IBS, malabsorption and bloating.  It seems that no matter what the gut issue is if I help that patient reduce inflammation that is irritating the gut the body tends to heal itself given the right nutrition.  One of the things I use in order to reduce inflammation and heal the gut is to suggest to my patients to drink teas.  The top 4 teas that help my patients reduce inflammation while healing the gut are fennel, ginger, marshmallow root and peppermint.  

Fennel tea is great to help the body digest.  It tastes a little like licorice.  It can relieve constipation and is known to prevent stomach ulcers.  It also has anti-inflammatory properties due to its high level of antioxidants which the body needs to fight harmful things you ingest like bacteria, plastics that leach from food containers, or aluminum that food absorbed from foil.  

Ginger is a great tea to drink if you have an upset stomach for any reason.  Ginger tea is also good for preventing or stopping nausea. Drinking ginger tea is useful in improving digestion and increasing absorption of food.  Drink ginger tea when feeling bloated after eating too much.  It has such strong anti-inflammatory properties that drinking tea can also help reduce inflammation in other parts of the body including joints, head and uterus so it’s good for arthritis, headaches and menstrual cramps.  

Marshmallow root tea is very soothing for the gut.   It reduces inflammation of the stomach lining and even heals stomach ulcers. It creates a protective lining in the digestive tract, thereby treating leaky gut syndrome and soothing acid reflux. Marshmallow root also helps individuals suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Drinking peppermint tea is a good way to balance pH levels and promote a healthy blood flow throughout the body.  In this way peppermint tea reduces inflammation not only in the gut but also your joints.  Peppermint tea is also good for nausea.

It is best to drink the loose leaf, organic version of any of these teas at any time of day.  Steep one teaspoon of tea in 6 ounces of hot water for at least 3 minutes.