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Benefits of Lemongrass Tea

Benefits of Lemongrass Tea

What are the benefits of lemongrass tea? Lemongrass tea is generally a safe and healthy herbal drink. It’s easy to grow or find at most natural food stores. Lemongrass has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. It may also help protect your stomach lining and improve your lipid profile. Many lemongrass studies were done using lemongrass essential oil, not lemongrass tea. More human studies are needed using lemongrass tea to confirm the health benefits of lemongrass.

You shouldn’t self-treat any condition with lemongrass tea or use it in place of your prescribed medications without your doctor’s approval.

Benefits of lemongrass tea

Lemongrass, commonly known as citronella, is a tall, stalked plant that is used as a mosquito repellent and in Thai cookery.

One of the most popular ways to consume lemongrass is in tea. Alternate treatment for upset stomach, stomach cramps, and other digestive issues is a cup of lemongrass tea. The National Institutes of Health published a rodent study in 2012 that suggested lemongrass may be useful in treating stomach ulcers.

Lemongrass is also used as a folk treatment to induce sleep, reduce pain, and boost immunity. 

1. Anti-inflammatory qualities

Lemongrass contains several antioxidants, which can help get rid of free radicals in your body that may cause disease. Antioxidants of note are chloroge and limonene. Lemongrass also contains a number of minerals, including calcium (3 mg), potassium (34 mg), manganese (0,2 mg), magnesium (2,9 mg), and iron (0,4 mg).

2. Antibacterial qualities

What are the benefits of lemongrass tea? Lemongrass tea may help treat oral infections and cavities because of its antimicrobial properties. Its essential oil and its bioactive component citral have previously been shown to possess strong antimicrobial efficacy against pathogenic bacteria and fungi.  Lemongrass essential oil has shown antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans bacterium, the bacteria mainly responsible for tooth decay.

3. Anti-inflammatory qualities

Inflammation is thought to play a role in many conditions, including heart disease and stroke, according to the memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Lemongrass contains quercetin, a flavonoid with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Quercetin reduces inflammation, which inhibits cancer cell growth and prevents heart disease. 

4. May lower cancer risk

What are the benefits of lemongrass tea? Several components of lemongrass help fight cancer, either by directly causing cell death or by boosting your immune system so that your body is healthier. When combined with chemotherapy and radiation, lemongrass tea can be used as adjuvant therapy, but only with an oncologist’s approval.

5. Supports healthy digestion

A cup of lemongrass tea is a go-to alternative remedy for upset stomach, stomach cramping, and other digestive problems. Since lemongrass acts as a natural diuretic, it can help to ease nausea, constipation, bloating, and soothe your stomach to keep the digestive system on track.

6. Diuretic properties

Lemongrass tea is a natural diuretic that can reduce water retention and boost urinary tract health by removing toxins. If you have edema, liver failure, or heart failure, your doctor may prescribe a diuretic to help you eliminate extra fluid and sodium from your body.

7. Aid in weight loss

 Lemongrass tea is used as a detox tea to jump-start your metabolism and help you lose weight. Although the majority of the study on lemongrass and weight loss is anecdotal and not scientific, since lemongrass is a natural diuretic, it may help you lose water weight. 

What are the benefits of lemongrass tea? In general, switching to herbal teas like lemongrass from soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages in your diet may help you lose weight. However, you shouldn’t drink lemongrass tea exclusively as doing so can increase your risk of side effects. 

Conclusion

What are the benefits of lemongrass tea? Lemongrass has been found in animal and laboratory studies to have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer activities. It may also help protect your stomach lining and enhance your lipid profile. Lemongrass tea is generally a safe and healthful herbal beverage.

More studies on humans using lemongrass tea are required to confirm the health benefits of lemongrass because most studies on the herb used lemongrass essential oil rather than lemongrass tea.

Without your doctor’s approval, you shouldn’t self-treat any disease with lemongrass tea or substitute it for any recommended medications.

Learn other Nutrition Facts here

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Disclaimer

Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

1) The medicinal plants of Myanmar, https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=24380, Accessed September 14, 2021

2) Free Radical Scavengers and Antioxidants from Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf.), https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0479766, Accessed September 14, 2021

3) Lemongrass, https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/lemongrass, Accessed September 14, 2021

4) Antimicrobial activity of commercially available essential oils against Streptococcus mutans, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22430697/, Accessed September 14, 2021

5) Investigation of the Mechanisms Underlying the Gastroprotective Effect of Cymbopogon Citratus Essential Oil, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3326778/, Accessed September 14, 2021

6) Scientific basis for the therapeutic use of Cymbopogon citratus, stapf (Lemon grass), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3217679/#ref61, Accessed September 14, 2021

7) Effect of Lemongrass and Green tea on blood pressure and heart rate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260230919_Effect_of_Lemongrass_and_Green_tea_on_blood_pressure_and_heart_rate, Accessed September 14, 2021

Current Version

10/05/2022

Written by Hello Doctor Medical Panel

Expertly reviewed by Chris Icamen

Updated by: Kristel Lagorza


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Written by Hello Doctor Medical Panel · Updated Oct 05, 2022

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