Hibiscus Tea Benefits – 11 Reasons to Give It a Go

The hibiscus can be turned into a natural herbal infusion that is more famous among the healthy lifestyle followers as the hibiscus tea.

This beverage however is also famous in the USA under the Latin American name Agua de Jamaica is getting more and more popular with the consumers due to the affordability, popularity, ease of use, variety of recipes and numerous health benefits.

Of course drinking the infusion alone will not save you from the caner, hypertension or the diabetes but if you use it as a part of the healthy diet you will remain young and active for the years to come.

Drinking herbal teas is a very healthy habit especially if you can have them without adding any sweeteners.

So how should you decide how you are going to make your own hibiscus tea?

There is another great thing about hibiscus. You can have it cold or hot, add various ingredients and it will be equally as healthy.

Some people like to have it the Jamaican way with ginger and cinnamon. Or maybe you would prefer it the Chinese way adding 1/5 of green tea to it. Add lemon or clove to it like Italians do.

Boil the calyces in the water or soak them for a few days it will still be equally as healthy and beneficial for your immune system.

Drink it hot or cold all year round. It has a cooling effect when served chilled in summer and an antibacterial effect when serving hot in winter.

It is good for everyone, but especially important it is for people with high blood sugar levels, hypertension or fever.

Drink it all year round as a preventive measure and a healthy habit.

If you have weight issues and would like to lose a few pounds add hibiscus beverages to your diet and the effect of the healthy food will be so much better.

Even though hibiscus beverage does not contain caffeine it can really well substitute coffee through the work day.

And if you think that cooking hibiscus is hard we have a few recipes on how to make the hibiscus tea. The easiest one is simply boil the flowers and drink it warm, you can add sugar but then it will not be as healthy.

The benefits of the hibiscus tea are numerous we have created a separate list for you. But remember if you try it once you will be hooked for life as more and more people are not willing to ever come back to drinking their ordinary tea or coffee.

We love the fresh zesty fruity taste and the refreshing qualities if this natural remedy and a natural herbal quencher.

Agua De Jamaica Health Benefits

We will go over all the known health benefits of the hibiscus tea and in case you are still dubious whether you need to try it or not the list will definitely change your mind for good.

Benefit 1. It is beneficial for the weight loss and so hibiscus is used as a component of the weight control diet and medication. Sugar and starch in your food are responsible for the weight gain and so if you consume the hibiscus infusion it contains acid that prevents carbohydrates from the absorption.

By limiting the sugar and starch absorption it helps prevent your body from growing new fat cells. So it is a great delicious quencher for when you want to shake off a few pounds. Drink it hot or chilled with no sugar, further on we have plenty of recipes for you to try and pick the one that is the best for you. But remember not to rely on hibiscus alone.

Benefit 2. Hibiscus calyces can be turned into a great sports thirst quencher. The beverage is served cold with no sugar, it has an amazing ability to quench thirst and lower your body temperature. Since it is also a great diuretic it flushes out the extra fluids from your body and helps you perform at your best.

Benefit 3. The research shows that the tea also benefits the digestion system. It stimulates bowel movements as well as urination helping you fight the constipation. By regularly consuming the tea you will be able to prevent such diseases as the colorectal cancer and stimulate your gastrointestinal system.

Benefit 4. Hibiscuses have flavonoids that help balancing the nervous system. Regular tea consumption makes your body and mind more relaxed. So it is way better to drink it instead of your coffee during your working hours as caffeine tends to stimulate the nervous system and make you anxious while hibiscus has an opposite effect.

Benefit 5. It restores hormonal balance during the menstruation. Ague de Jamaica can help you reduce cramps, mood swings and fight overeating during the period.

Benefit 6. Since hibiscus is rich in vitamin C the tea helps strengthen the immune system. It also has disinfecting, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The abovementioned cooling effect fights the body fever really well.

Regular hot tea consumption is great flu prevention during the cold season as it improves the overall immunity. However there is no clinical research to prove the antibacterial effect. The vermifuge effect is also unknown.

Benefit 7. Due to the protocatechuic acid hibiscus has an anti-tumor and antioxidant effect. One of the major benefits of the hibiscus tea is that it triggers the destruction of the cancerous cells by inducing the apoptosis. The research has been carried out by the Taichung Medical and Dental College in Taiwan. However there is no recommended dosage for using hibiscus as a chemo-preventive agent.

Benefit 8. Antioxidants block the free radicals in the body tissue this way hibiscus beverages help rejuvenate all the organs as well as clean the liver from the toxins. Use it as a routine part of your diet for the better effect.

Benefit 9. One of the major hibiscus tea health benefits is that it helps lower the cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipo-cholesterol levels for the type 2 diabetes patients. Hibiscus has hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic qualities for the patients with high blood sugar level helping tackle such an unpredictable disease like diabetes.

Benefit 10. The AHA (American Health Association) has published a report (study was funded by the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA) saying that regular hibiscus quencher consumption can lower the blood pressure by up to 10 points. Drink 3 cups per day during 4 weeks to feel the result.

Due to its anti-inflammatory effect such tea helps you fight the hypertension. The above mentioned diuretic qualities also help lower the blood pressure. But remember that the infusion will only work for the people with mild hypertension or pre-hypertension so you cannot substitute your medication with it. Rather use hibiscus as a daily part of your diet to help tackle the blood pressure, the effect can be compared to the drug captopril.

We recommend the following short video. Scientist Dr. Diane McKay talks about her research of hibiscus tea benefits.

Benefit 11. This herbal tea also benefits your skin greatly. Due to the antioxidants that rejuvenate the whole body your skin remains young and firm for much longer. Many fruits such as grapes, oranges, cranberries etc contain similar acids helping you maintain youthful look for much longer.

So we suggest you better start liking the organic fruit and vegetables together with herbal teas in order to forget about the doctors for good.

The Possible Residual Effects

Remember that not everyone benefits from hibiscus. In some cases the hibiscus tea can have bad side effects so you should refrain from drinking it if you fall into one of the following categories:

1. You’re pregnant. Hibiscus infusion is not recommended for the pregnant women due to its emmenagogue properties. So try to avoid drinking it as you might accidentally stimulate a pelvic bleeding. If you are on the birth control you also need to consult your physician and get permission from him.

2. Consult a physician if you are breastfeeding as there is not enough information about the hibiscus infusion effect on the breast milk.
3. Another hibiscus tea side effect is that it lowers blood pressure and although it is great for the people with high blood pressure which accounts for nearly 30% of the adult population according the AHA people with hypotension might feel bad after drinking it. If you have low blood pressure the hibiscus beverages might make you feel week, dizzy or faint. It can even lead to the permanent brain or heart damage.
4. Some consumers have had allergic reactions to the hibiscus such as red swollen eyes, hay fever or sinus. If you have any of these stop drinking the tea immediately.
5. Another side effect that this infusion might have is that some people have hallucinations from it.
6. Consult your doctor if you have a high sugar level. The physician will need to adjust the prescription medication you’re taking to the amount of hibiscus infusion you are drinking every day. Otherwise the tea might interfere with the medication and facilitate the effect too much.
7. Do not drink hibiscus beverages at least two weeks before you have a surgery as otherwise it might be hard for a surgeon to control the blood levels.
8. The hibiscus calyces are considered to be non-toxic although there have been deaths of lab mice 24 hours after having the hibiscus infusion.

We create an infographic which shows you all main benefits and side effects of the hibiscus tea in easy form. Check it out!

Recipes From Around the World

Hibiscus tea has a long history and is very famous all over the globe; it came to Europe from Asia and Africa and to the USA from the Latin America. The hibiscuses are known to be low maintenance shrubs that grow in the tropical areas and are very common.

The flowers are bright red in color and make a tasty drink that is cheap and easy to make, but what really made it so big around the world is the diuretic properties and health benefits of the tea. Let us go over the hibiscus tea recipes from all over the globe.

It is traditionally considered a mild medicine for the high minerals and Vitamin C content.

The drink contains 15-30% organic acids such as malic, tartaric and citric. And the deep red color comes from acidic polysaccharides and flavonoid glycosides cyanidin and delphinidin. These acids are common for many fruits such as grapes etc.

The drink is famous for its zesty taste that reminds of cranberry.

You might have heard about such drinks as karkade, roselle, agua de Jamaica (flor de jamaica), arhul ka phool, gumamela, wonjo, bissap or red sorrel – all those are the various hibiscus beverages names from all over the world.

In Latin America this delicious tea is called agua de Jamaica and is cooked by boiling the calyces with ginger and cinnamon, later the liquid is filtered. The remaining residue is squeezed to get the remaining juices out.

The drink is served with some cinnamon and clove. It is also a very common Christmas beverage and the holiday recipe includes some Jamaican rum.

Hibiscus is very big in Africa where it has originated from. Karkade (its African name) can be served hot or cold on ice. It is cooked by soaking the calyces in cold water for a few days and then straining the residue.

In Cairo many open air cafes and street vendors sell this tea. A traditional wedding celebration always includes a glass of hibiscus infusion. The dried hibiscus flowers can be found on any African market.

In Asia the hibiscus infusion is called roselle and it is sold chilled with lots of sugar. It is somewhat similar to the fruit juices. Plastic bags filled with the liquid are sold outside. They are kept on ice to remain cold.

Asians also drink it as the sugarless tea for the medical purposes. It can also be made into a wine although this form is not as popular. Hibiscus can be mixed with the green tea in a ratio 4:1, meaning Chinese tea makes 1/5 of the beverage.

Hibiscus tea aka carcade is also famous in Italy where it is cooked hot with sugar and lemon infusions. There it was widely used instead of the regular tea when the country was under the trade sanctions for the Abyssinia invasion since 1935. And from there it became more and more popular in Europe.

These days hibiscus is very popular and available in any supermarket, use it for the obvious health benefits or just as a beverage.

You may even grow your own hibiscus rosa-sinensis aka the Chinese hibiscus at home and use it for cooking. There are plenty modern recipes online to cater to any consumer and if you have any interesting ideas of your own be sure to let us know.

We wish you to stay healthy and fit for the years to come and if you have any recipes or advices of your own be sure to let us know as you should always share the good healthy stuff with the others.