Rosemary has been used in traditional herbs and Ayurvedic medicine for a long time, as well as in cooking and as an aromatic plant.
Rosemary bush, or Rosmarinus officinalis, comes from South America and the Mediterranean. It comes from the same plant family as basil, mint, oregano, and lemon balm.
A lot of people like rosemary tea because it tastes good, smells good, and is good for them.
For rosemary tea, there may be six health benefits and uses. There is also a recipe for making it and a list of drugs that might mix with it.
Benefits of Rosemary Tea
1. Control blood sugar
High blood sugar can hurt your eyes, heart, kidneys, and nervous system if you don’t treat it. So, it’s very important for people with diabetes to keep their blood sugar levels under control.
Studies have shown that chemicals in rosemary tea may lower blood sugar. This means that rosemary may be useful for helping people with diabetes deal with high blood sugar.
There aren’t many studies on rosemary tea, but research on rosemary itself, in test tubes, and on animals shows that carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid affect blood sugar in a way that is similar to insulin.
A few studies have shown that these chemicals can help muscle cells absorb glucose better, which lowers blood sugar.
2. High in antioxidant
Inflammation and oxidative harm can make you sick, like cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Antioxidants help keep your body safe from these problems.
You can find them in many plant-based foods, like herbs, veggies, fruits, and rosemary. Additionally, rosemary tea contains chemicals that may help reduce inflammation and kill germs.
Polyphenolic substances like rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid are a big reason why rosemary is good for you and helps fight inflammation.
Because it is an antioxidant, rosmarinic acid is often used as a natural preservative to make things last longer after they have been opened.
Some of the chemicals in rosemary tea may also have the ability to kill microbes, which could help fight illnesses. Traditional medicine uses rosemary leaves because they kill germs and aid in wound healing.
Researchers have also looked into how rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid affect cancer. They think that the two acids may be able to fight tumors and even slow the growth of cancer cells in the breast, prostate, and leukemia.
3. Improve your mood and memory
It’s normal to feel stressed and anxious sometimes.
There haven’t been many studies on rosemary tea specifically, but there is proof that compounds in rosemary tea may help improve your mood and memory when you drink or smoke it.
One study found that college students who took 500 mg of rosemary by mouth twice a day for one month had significantly less worry and better memory and sleep quality than those who took a placebo.
A second study that looked at 66 industrial workers for two months found that those who drank 2 teaspoons (4 grams) of rosemary mixed with 2/3 cup (150 ml) of water every day felt much less burned out at work than those who didn’t drink anything.
It seems that even just smelling rosemary is good for you. In one study of 20 healthy young adults, breathing in the smell of rosemary for 4–10 minutes before a mental test made them more focused, better at the test, and happier.
In addition, a study of 20 healthy people found that breathing in rosemary oil made their brains work faster and their mood better. When the participants inhaled the oil, their blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate all increased.
Taking rosemary extract may help your mood by keeping the bacteria in your gut in balance and lowering inflammation in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of your brain that handles feelings, learning, and memories.
4. Support brain health
Animal and test-tube studies have shown that the chemicals in rosemary tea may help keep your brain healthy by stopping brain cells from dying.
Animal studies show that rosemary may even help people heal from conditions like strokes that can damage the brain.
Other research suggests that rosemary may slow down the bad effects of brain aging and may even help protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
5. Protect vision and eye health
Although research on the effects of rosemary tea on eye health is limited, indications imply that specific compounds present in the tea may have positive effects on the eyes.
The addition of rosemary extract to other oral treatments has been shown in animal studies to delay the progression of age-related eye diseases (AREDs).
A study looked at how well rosemary extract, zinc oxide, and other antioxidant combinations work together to treat age-related macular degeneration (AREDs), which is a common eye disease. The findings indicated that rosemary extract slowed AMD progression.
More research with animals and experiments shows that the rosmarinic acid in rosemary lessens the severity of cataracts and delays their onset. Cataracts are a gradual clouding of the lens that leads to blindness.
Consider that the majority of research on the health benefits of rosemary for the eyes has used concentrated extracts, which complicates determining the potential effects of rosemary tea and the appropriate dosage to achieve these advantages.
Other potential benefits and uses
Researchers have looked into a wide range of additional uses for rosemary.
The compounds found in rosemary tea may also offer additional benefits.
- There may be a benefit to cardiac health. Following a myocardial infarction, rosemary extract decreased the likelihood of heart failure in one animal study.
- Potentially aid digestion. Research on the use of rosemary extract to treat dyspepsia is limited. However, it is believed that rosemary aids digestion by promoting a healthy balance of gut flora and inflammation reduction.
- A potential weight management aid. Even in rodents fed a high-fat diet, rosemary prevented weight gain, according to one animal study.
- Potentially stimulating hair growth. There is insufficient scientific evidence to support the claim that using homemade rosemary tea in a hair cleanse stimulates hair growth. A few studies indicate that applying rosemary oil or extract to the scalp may prevent hair loss.
Although these benefits appear optimistic, additional research is required, specifically to ascertain the potential advantages of consuming rosemary tea.
Potential drug interactions
As with numerous other botanicals, individuals may wish to exercise prudence when ingesting rosemary tea owing to the possibility of drug interactions.
The following medications pose the greatest potential for adverse interactions with rosemary tea:
- We use anticoagulants, which dilute the blood, to prevent blood clots.
- Physicians prescribe ACE inhibitors to manage hypertension.
- Lithium, an inhibitory medication for manic depression and additional mental health conditions
- While diuretics increase fluid loss through increased urination.
Rosemary may have similar effects to these medications, such as increased urination, impaired blood coagulation, and decreased blood pressure. Because of rosemary’s diuretic properties, lithium users may accumulate toxic levels of the element in their bodies.
If you are currently taking any of the aforementioned medications or any others that serve a similar purpose, consult with your healthcare provider before incorporating rosemary tea into your regimen.
How to make rosemary tea
Making rosemary tea at home is a simple task, requiring only two components: water and rosemary.
To brew tea with rosemary:
- Bring 10 ml (295 oz) of water to a simmer.
- To the heated water, add 1 teaspoon of loose rosemary leaves.
- Alternatively, percolate the leaves in a tea infuser for five to ten minutes, contingent upon the desired level of flavor in the beverage.
- Using a mesh strainer with tiny apertures, remove the rosemary leaves from the heated water; alternatively, remove them from the tea infuser. Discard the used rosemary leaves.
- In a teacup, pour your rosemary tea and savor. You can add a sweetener like honey, sugar, or agave nectar if you wish.
The bottom line
Rosemary tea has the potential to provide numerous health benefits. Simply imbibing the tea’s aroma, as opposed to consuming it, may have positive effects on your mood, brain, and eyes. Additionally, it potentially mitigates oxidative harm, a precursor to a multitude of chronic ailments.
Nevertheless, cognizance of its potential drug interactions with specific medications is crucial.
Rosemary tea is a simple, two-ingredient preparation that complements a balanced and health-conscious diet.
Many of the aforementioned studies used rosemary extract and essential oils, making it difficult to predict whether rosemary tea will offer the same health benefits.
