Chrysanthemums are flowering plants native to East Asia. These edible flowers are often used as a garden decoration and natural pest control, but they also have culinary applications.
Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers can be boiled to make an herbal tea with a range of health benefits. You can make chrysanthemum tea at home, or buy it in supermarkets and health food stores.
Health Benefits
The vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in chrysanthemum tea can provide important health benefits. For example, potassium helps the heart, kidneys, and other organs function properly. Adequate levels of potassium in the body reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, cancer, digestive disorders, and infertility.
Chrysanthemum tea is also rich in iron, which is important for growth and development and helps to carry oxygen through the blood.
In addition, chrysanthemum tea can provide other health benefits like:
Blood Pressure Management
In traditional Chinese medicine, chrysanthemum tea is considered to be an anti-hypertensive food, meaning it can help lower your blood pressure, and modern research has supported these claims. One study found that chrysanthemum, as part of an overall regimen of food therapy, is effective in reducing blood pressure.
Hangover Remedy
Your first impulse when you have a hangover might not be to reach for a cup of chrysanthemum tea, but research suggests it should be. One study showed that drinking chrysanthemum tea helped improve alcohol metabolism, which is the process your body uses to break down alcohol and eliminate it from your system, and chrysanthemum tea can also help protect the liver from damage associated with processing alcohol, too. That’s not to say that chrysanthemum will help you completely undo a night of heavy drinking, but it can help ease some of the negative after-effects.
Treatment for Lice
Chrysanthemum is a natural insecticide and a traditional remedy for lice. If you’re looking for a natural alternative to lice treatment, chrysanthemum tea may be helpful. A review of ancient lice treatments found that although chrysanthemum is not fully effective in removing a lice infestation, research shows it may at least be helpful in combating the parasites.
Antibacterial Effects
The essential oils in chrysanthemum flowers have repeatedly been shown to have antibacterial and antimicrobial effects, which can help prevent the growth and spread of bacteria as well as other microorganisms. Although relatively little of the plant’s essential oils come through in steeping tea, it may still be effective in fighting infections, especially combined with the other minerals it contains.
Nutrition
Chrysanthemum tea is rich in potassium, which helps reduce the risk of serious health conditions like cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
It’s also an excellent source of:
Nutrients per Serving
A 1-cup serving of chrysanthemum leaves contains:
- Calories: 12.2
- Protein: 1.71 grams
- Fat: 0.286 grams
- Carbohydrates: 1.54 grams
- Fiber: 1.53 grams
- Sugar: 0 grams
Portion Sizes
Chrysanthemum tea can offer a range of health benefits, but as with any herbal treatment, you should incorporate it slowly so that you can see how it will affect you individually. Some people with allergies to flowers in the daisy family may have a negative reaction to drinking chrysanthemum tea. Starting with one or two cups per week will help you determine how drinking chrysanthemum tea will affect you.
How to Prepare Chrysanthemum Tea
Chrysanthemum tea is often found in the herbal tea section at many grocery and health food stores. It is sometimes available canned or bottled, which may contain added sugars, so it’s good to check the nutritional information if you’re buying a ready-made product, to be sure you’re not consuming more sugar or calories than you expected and that you’re still reaping the benefits of vitamins and minerals that can be a part of chrysanthemum tea.
You can also make your own chrysanthemum tea at home. To prepare chrysanthemum tea at home, boil 0.2 ounces of dried chrysanthemum flowers in 3 cups of water. Let the tea steep for three to five minutes and enjoy plain or with light sweeteners like a bit of sugar or honey, to taste.
