I bet you have seen those yellow weeds that make an appearance every spring. You wouldn’t have thought that it contained quite a number of benefits to your health and body if it weren’t for this article! Dandelion makes a perfect brew of tea that you wouldn’t want to miss out on. The dandelion tea has quite a long history of people consuming it for a number of reasons. You’ve come to the right place — a one-stop for all you need to know about the wonderful dandelion tea!
Table of Contents
What is Dandelion Tea?
Dandelion tea is made from dandelion flowers that are often seen blooming in spring. Quite a number of people don’t know that dandelions can be made into tea and hold quite a large number of benefits.
All parts of the dandelion can be used to make dandelion tea — everything from stems to flowers. From a yellow weed in the gardens that has to be kept at bay to now a significant addition to the tea family, how did we survive without the dandelion tea before it existed?
The dandelion root is being used as more than just a tea. For years and years now, it’s been used as garnish for food or even treatment for infections and muscle aches.
Benefits of Dandelion Tea
If you’re wondering what’s so great about dandelion tea, well, we wouldn’t know where to begin! There are so many benefits of dandelion tea that we could go on and on and on and not end. The components found in dandelion tea tackles different parts of our bodies. Let’s take a look at a few from the long list of benefits of this wondrous tea!
1. High in Vitamin K
You wouldn’t believe when we tell you this — dandelions contain over 500% of our daily consumption needs of Vitamin K! Those with Vitamin K deficiency will definitely benefit from the dandelion tea! This vitamin is essential in boosting the bone and heart health because of its essential fat-soluble factor.
Vitamin K helps to boost and build the bone mineralisation — it’s even better than calcium! There have been quite a few studies and evidence that proves the effectiveness of Vitamin K for bone health, resulting in the reduction of risk of bone fractures and similar situations. By drinking dandelion tea, you’ll benefit the abundance of Vitamin K content!
Not only that, the Vitamin K in dandelion tea also improves brain function as well as maintaining a healthy metabolism for the consumer. There are tons of benefits from just Vitamin K alone and dandelion tea has tons of it — isn’t that beneficial enough?
2. Helps fight diabetes
Another amazing thing about the dandelion tea is its ability to help fight diabetes. This tea regulates the production of insulin and regulates the blood sugar levels, making sure they’re all in the appropriate levels.
Dandelion tea removes excess sugar that the body stored because of its diuretic properties. This is a natural way of fighting diabetes. The other properties like anti inflammatory, antioxidative and anti hyperglycemic are also effective when it comes to combating diabetes.
Dandelion tea regulates the amount of insulin the pancreas produces. If our body doesn’t process the insulin properly or if we don’t have enough of it, this can result in diabetes. Glucose isn’t properly utilised in our body which results in accumulation of them in the bloodstream, and leading to high levels of sugar and blood glucose.
3. High in antioxidants
Who doesn’t like a good tea with high levels of antioxidants? Our body loves antioxidants, and dandelion tea is full of antioxidants! This component is great at preventing various things including cell damage, more so for the ones caused by oxidation.
Because antioxidants are helpful in getting rid of radical damage that links to cancer and premature aging, drinking dandelion tea will get you these benefits too. There have been studies to prove this, and it’s a fact that dandelion tea is effective in combating cancer due to its antioxidant properties.
4. Cleanses liver
Dandelion tea is especially known for its cleansing properties of our livers. Our livers are extremely important to our bodies. It produces bile which helps to break down fats into fatty acids. The fatty acids then filthy and detoxify our bodies. The liver is also known to regular the other components and function of our body, so it’s no doubt we would need it to keep our body healthy.
The dandelion tea has vitamins and other components that cleanses the liver naturally, aiding our digestive system so that we have a regular and healthy flow of bile.
5. Vitamin A source
The dandelion tea is abundant in the Vitamin A. This specific vitamin is extremely useful to our body. Its role is a critical one — Vitamin A helps our body to maintain a healthy vision as well as skin, and also boosts neurological function.
Vitamin A also supports the immune system, preventing one from getting sick too easily. On top of that, the antioxidant properties of Vitamin A benefits our bodies in various other ways — what more can Vitamin A do?
Dandelion tea has over 100% of the daily consumption one needs of Vitamin A. Not only are you consuming a delicious cup of tea but you’re also getting all these wonderful benefits!
6. Prevents UTI
One other great benefit of the dandelion tea is its ability to prevent urinary tract infections (UTI). This is because dandelion tea has diuretic properties that can prevent bladder disorders, growth of unwanted components like cysts in the reproductive organs as well as kidney problems like kidney stones.
Side Effects of Dandelion Tea
Dandelion tea is extremely safe to drink, so be rest assured that your health won’t be affected by it normally. However, there are some exceptions to this depending on the individual, of course. We’re all different and react differently to different things. Here are some things to take note of when drinking the dandelion tea:
- Dandelion tea may interact with some other ingredients in medication. If you’re taking medications like antibiotics, be sure to consult your doctor first before anything.
- Double check what you’re allergic to before drinking dandelion tea. Some people who are allergic to ragweed and similar plants are found to be allergic to dandelion.
- If you’re allergic to dandelion, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t be drinking dandelion tea.
- Dandelion tea has diuretic properties, so it might affect how well the body gets rid of lithium. It could affect the levels of lithium in one’s body.
Make Your Own Dandelion Tea
While there are tea bags out there for dandelion tea, it’ll be nice to make some from the dandelion root itself. Not only is it fresher, the whole process of making the tea is way more fun and more aromatic! Here’s how you can make your own dandelion tea from scratch!
Materials
Dandelion flowers and roots, sweetener (optional), ice (optional)
Tools
Pot, strainer, jar
Steps
- Steep one tablespoon of dandelion (it doesn’t matter if it’s stems or flowers) for about 30 minutes in 150ml of boiling water. You can multiply the amount according to the quantity you want.
- Once it’s time, strain the roots and flowers. This step is optional — you can drink it with them in your tea as well.
- For the iced version, after the brewing process, add some ice cubes in or put it in the fridge overnight.
If you’re not interested in making your own dandelion tea from dandelion flowers, get some loose tea leaves or dandelion tea bags from stores. It’s just as great and you’ll be able to get the same benefits! The process is the same — just substitute out the dandelion flowers and stems for the bag or leaves and steep it accordingly.
How To Pick Dandelion Flowers
Picking dandelion flowers for your dandelion tea is half the fun of making dandelion tea. Before anything else, you ought to know some things to ensure that you have the best bunch of dandelion flowers for your brews of dandelion tea!
- If you’re picking your own dandelion flowers, make sure you don’t pick dandelion flowers from areas where the weed-killer solution may have been sprayed. These chemicals are harmful for the body, so avoid those at all costs.
- Pick your dandelion flowers from an area that’s free from pollution. This affects the flavours of the flowers — it can be sweeter or more bitter depending on the environment it grows in.
- You can get a bunch of dandelion flowers from a flower shop or even a health store — those are probably the safest.
- Wash the dandelions thoroughly so that it’s rid of any unwanted components.
- Dandelion can be stored in the fridge for about a week. Try to keep them in damp paper towel to keep them fresher for longer.
Conclusion
With all the wonderful benefits for not only the overall health but the specific bone, liver and digestion parts, what’s stopping you from making a cup of dandelion tea right now? Rich in Vitamin A and K, abundant in antioxidants and so much more, you’re bound to reap the benefits of this fruitful tea! It’s convenient to make and safe to drink, get a start on adding dandelion tea to your daily consumption diet!
Get ahead of everyone else by brewing your own dandelion tea using actual dandelion flowers and stems — not only is the process extremely fun and exciting, but you’ll get a visually pleasing cup of tea with the flowers still floating in it! What are you waiting for? Start brewing your dandelion tea now!
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