Did you know that besides taking medication, drinking anti-inflammatory teas can alleviate inflammation caused by Sjogren's disease? Allied Market Research reports that teas like ginger, turmeric, chamomile, and green tea have natural compounds that prevent the production of pro-inflammation enzymes and cytokines. Turmeric tea, for example, contains curcumin, which is capable of improving arthritic pain by 50%. Before rushing to brew some of the top delicious anti-inflammatory teas, however, it’s important to have a routine for brewing, storing, and taking your tea to prevent contamination risks. Remember, having a dry mouth increases oral sensitivity and susceptibility to throat, mouth, and stomach irritation or infections if your tea isn’t safely prepared or stored. This guide teaches you how to create safe anti-inflammatory tea routines to stay hydrated, soothe joint pain and swollen salivary glands, and reduce fatigue.
Start with the Right Herbs
Do you have the ingredients to make herbal teas that combat inflammation and dryness? Your list should contain ginger, green tea, chamomile tea, rosehip tea, fennel, and turmeric. Cinnamon and peppermint fight inflammation, and you may be tempted to choose them. But they can irritate a dry mouth, causing a burning sensation or discomfort. It’s best if you avoid them. Also, when selecting herbs to make soothing teas, go for natural, fresh herbs, or dried loose-leaves stored in airtight and opaque containers. Avoid herbs with artificial flavorings, stored in freezers, or with musty smells and mold. Note: taking teas contaminated with mold or fungi overwhelms the immune system, worsening pain, immune dysfunction, and dryness.
Create a Daily Tea Schedule
Should you drink your anti-inflammatory tea randomly throughout the day or have a schedule? Stick to a daily regimen for consistent and natural support for immune health, mental relaxation, hydration, digestion, and weight management. Dedicate time for specific teas based on their properties and your health needs. After waking up, for instance, you need gentle stimulation without joint pain. And by taking ginger tea, turmeric tea, or green tea, you get anti-inflammatory and antioxidants to start the day. Warning: drink these teas after breakfast to prevent stomach irritation.
Fennel, turmeric, ginger, and chamomile aid in digestion, preventing gastrointestinal issues like bloating, heartburn, and irritable bowel symptoms. So, drink these digestive-friendly teas after meals, especially lunch and dinner. In the evening, you want to relax without worrying about inflammation. Consume a cup of either chamomile, rosehip, turmeric, or fennel an hour before going to bed.
Build a Tea Routine around Your Anti-inflammatory Lifestyle
For your tea regimen to be effective, it must blend perfectly with your anti-inflammatory lifestyle. This includes having a nutrition plan that minimizes Sjögren’s symptoms and combining it with herbal teas. The right drinks will not only lower pain but also cravings for carbonated or sweetened beverages whenever you want to relieve the discomfort of dry mouth. Since body weight, especially abdominal fat, can trigger inflammation, it’s important to exercise regularly and manage stress. When you embrace herbal drinks, your metabolism can improve to support fat loss.
To ensure you select the right herbs for weight management, take time to understand how fat loss and weight loss differ. Then you can establish realistic goals. Anyone living with Sjogren’s wouldn’t want to lose weight as it involves shedding muscle, water, and fat. And this disrupts metabolism, lowers muscle function, raises the risk of injury, and increases fatigue. Fat loss is about losing body fat only and reduces the risk of heart disease without disrupting muscle function. The best caffeine-free teas you should incorporate into your lifestyle for fat loss and stress management are green tea, turmeric, fennel, ginger, and chamomile.
Have a Preparation Regimen
Every time you’re brewing tea or tisane for yourself or a loved one, do it when it’s time to consume it. Short-term storage, like for a few hours, however, is acceptable when done right. The reason for preparing fresh tea is to prevent bacterial growth that thrives in warm tea left under room temperature. The last thing you want is to consume a herbal drink with microbes that will trigger symptoms tied to Sjögren’s instead of reducing them. Plus, freshly brewed anti-inflammatory tisane contains all the beneficial components: polyphenols, essential oils, and antioxidants. They have a better taste and aroma as well. If you must store your brewed tea, cool it fast and store for two hours maximum under room temperature and not more than 48 hours in a refrigerator.
Next, how do you brew teas for reducing pain? Boil fresh water. Water should be boiled to kill microbes that may be present on infusers or teapots, and herbs. It also ensures you extract most of the antioxidants from your natural ingredients, especially when you steep the tea. However, your water shouldn’t be boiling when adding your herbs, as it may make the tea, whether green, chamomile, ginger, or rosehip, taste bitter and lose their antioxidant compounds. The temperature for green tea should be 70-80 degrees Celsius, slightly higher for herbal teas. Steeping time for green teas should be 1-3 minutes only as too many tannins are released if the steeping goes on for too long, making the tea bitter. The good news is that the green tea leaves can be reused 3-4 times. Take your tea when warm or cold.
Drinking herbal teas made using chamomile, turmeric, ginger, green tea leaves, fennel, and rosehip can decrease discomfort and pain caused by Sjogren's disease. However, there's a catch if you want to get the most benefits from these teas. Brew them correctly and have a daily schedule for consumption. Also, integrate them into your holistic approach for managing this autoimmune disorder.
Article courtesy of Jennifer Clark
