When You Drink Hibiscus Tea Every Day, This Is What Happens To Your Body
Hibiscus tea is a tasty beverage that might turn even the biggest coffee lover into a total tea person.
Just like coffee, there are countless types of tea out there. However, unlike coffee, the untold truth of tea is that many types have stimulants that aren't caffeine. Whether you like it hot or cold, sweetened or unsweetened, there's probably a tea out there just for you. And with its light, refreshing taste, hibiscus tea is a tasty, caffeine-free beverage you should totally try. Plus, it comes with an interesting background. As the Republic of Tea noted, hibiscus tea was actually cultivated from the Nigerian hibiscus flower, and was "reputed in ancient societies" for a variety of reasons.
You can purchase hibiscus tea pretty much everywhere (including online), which makes it as convenient as a cup of coffee or glass of soda. Additionally, hibiscus tea has a lot of possible health benefits — so, if you drink it every day, your body could experience a lot of positive changes. Here's what happens to your body when you drink hibiscus tea every day.
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could lower your blood pressure
One of hibiscus tea's most widely-known healing powers is its ability to lower blood pressure when consumed on a daily basis.
A 2010 study from The Journal of Nutrition found that when adults drank three servings of hibiscus tea every day, the tea lowered the blood pressure in many participants. According to the study, "...daily consumption of hibiscus tea, in an amount readily incorporated into the diet, lowers BP in pre- and mildly hypertensive adults and may prove an effective component of the dietary changes recommended for people with these conditions." However, registered dietician Maggie Michalczyk told O, The Oprah Magazine that even though hibiscus tea may help lower blood pressure — which is one of the proven ways to make your heart healthier — it's not safe for everyone.
"One point to note is that while hibiscus tea may be a safe and natural way to help lower blood pressure, it's not recommended for people taking hydrochlorothiazide, a type of diuretic used to treat high blood pressure, which may interact with the drug," Michalczyk revealed.
Drinking hibiscus tea every day promotes good cholesterol
Hibiscus tea could be helpful to people looking to increase their good cholesterol levels.
Yes, there is such a thing as good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Your body needs good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, because – as noted by Mayo Clinic — "it helps remove other forms of cholesterol from your bloodstream." Additionally, according to Mayo Clinic, the more good cholesterol you have, the lower your risk of heart disease. And as it turns out, drinking hibiscus tea every day just might promote overall heart health. A 2013 study from the University of Arizona found that "daily consumption of HS tea or extracts had a favorable influence on lipid profiles" and "increased HDL-C." In other words, researchers found that regularly drinking hibiscus tea raised participants' levels of good cholesterol.
If promoting good cholesterol and decreasing your risk of having a heart attack or stroke sounds appealing to you, treat yourself to a mug or two of hibiscus tea. Your heart will thank you!
The antioxidants in hibiscus tea fight free radicals in your body when you drink it every day
Hibiscus tea has a lot going for it. For example, on top of tasting great, the tea is also high in antioxidants, which work to keep your body as healthy as possible. According to Verywell Fit, antioxidants basically protect your body from damage done by chemicals from pollution, smoking, and radiation. In other words, hibiscus tea might act like an invisible shield for your body.
A 2011 study published in the Drug and Chemical Toxicology journal concluded that hibiscus tea produces more antioxidants in the body, which then bring down the negative side effects of free radicals in the body. This is good news, as free radical damage can take a serious toll. According to Healthline, free radicals are "compounds that can cause harm if their levels become too high in your body," and have been linked to diseases like "diabetes, heart disease, and cancer."
Drinking hibiscus tea might just be the tastiest way to bring down the levels of free radicals in your body, so go ahead and pour yourself a cup.
You might lose weight if you drink hibiscus tea every day
Drinking hibiscus tea instead of continuing to drink coffee every day will likely cause you to see some serious changes in your body. For example, you'll be consuming far less sugar by drinking hibiscus tea than coffee loaded cream and sugar, which could very well lead to weight loss.
A 2014 study from the Institute of Medicine at Chung-Shan Medical University, concluded that the consumption of HSE — or, Hibiscus sabdariffa extracts — "reduced obesity, abdominal fat, serum FFA and improved liver steatosis." Additionally, the study found that HSE, the extracts found in hibiscus tea, "could act as an adjuvant for preventing obesity." However, it's important to take that information with a grain of salt. "The key word here is that it could help with weight loss. More research is definitely needed to make this connection," registered dietician Maggie Michalczyk told O, The Oprah Magazine.
Be careful: Drinking too much hibiscus tea every day could damage your liver
Though hibiscus tea may seem innocent — with zero calories or caffeine, and so many purported health benefits — it is possible to consume too much of the herbal beverage. The compounds in hibiscus tea could actually lead to liver damage if you drink too much of it — which is also a possibility for people who drink detox tea every day.
Having one or two glasses of hibiscus tea each day likely won't hurt your liver. However, you definitely shouldn't down a gallon of hibiscus tea. A 2013 study from the University of Arizona found that hibiscus "may be hepatotoxic at extremely high doses."
What does hepatotoxic mean? Well, in short, hepatotoxic is toxic liver disease. And, according to WebMD, it can be extremely dangerous. "If it goes on for a while, it could cause permanent liver scarring or cirrhosis," the website noted, explaining that this could possibly lead "to liver failure or even death." So, even though hibiscus tea might taste great and have some health benefits, you should be careful not to over-indulge.
Drinking hibiscus tea every day might lower blood sugar... which could be dangerous for some people
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could mean trouble for people battling dangerously low blood sugar.
While some people are lucky enough to have normal blood sugar levels, many others struggle with either high blood sugar or low blood sugar — both of which produce negative side effects and need to be managed with medication. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is especially tricky for hibiscus tea lovers, as the delicious beverage might lower blood sugar too much. Obviously, that can be dangerous for people with blood sugar problems. According to Medical News Today, it's important for people with diabetes or low blood sugar to "monitor their blood sugar" when they drink hibiscus tea. "This is because it may decrease blood sugar or blood pressure levels," the website reported.
Of course, having your blood sugar drop too low can be seriously dangerous. Side effects of low blood sugar include rapid heartbeat, hunger, headache, sweating, and dizziness, among other things, and can even lead to a seizure or coma, according to Healthline. So, whether or not you already have hypoglycemia, make sure you take note of any low blood sugar symptoms you experience if drinking hibiscus tea.
Your digestive system will thank you for drinking hibiscus tea every day
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could help solve some of your tummy troubles by promoting digestive health.
Your digestive system might not be the most glamorous part of your body, but it's definitely important to take steps to maintain a regular digestive system. And while being regular might sound boring in other aspects of life, anyone who's ever struggled with an irregular digestive system knows that "boring" is exactly what you want. Registered dietician Natalie Rizzo told O, The Oprah Magazine that hibiscus tea is basically flavored water, which means that it carries some of the same benefits as drinking water every day. "Drinking ample amounts of water helps you stay regular, prevents constipation, and aids in digestion," Rizzo explained.
Registered dietician Maggie Michalczyk echoed Rizzo's sentiments, explaining to O, The Oprah Magazine how drinking hibiscus tea could improve your digestive system. "Diuretics increase the amount of water and salt expelled from the body as urine," Michalczyk explained. She continued, saying, "Hibiscus tea has been shown to work as a natural diuretic, pulling salt out of the body which is a mechanism by which blood pressure is reduced."
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could lower your blood fat levels
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could level your body out in more ways than one.
In addition to raising good cholesterol in your body, drinking hibiscus tea every day could also help lower bad cholesterol by lowering the levels of blood fat (also known as lipids) in your body. Specifically, according to Healthline, "Hibiscus tea may help lower blood fat levels, which are another risk factor for heart disease," as a 2009 study from the Department of Nutrition at the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences found. An excess amount of lipids "can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke," according to American Family Physician.
While it may be encouraging to hear that drinking hibiscus tea every day can lower the amount of bad cholesterol in your body, Healthline notes that most studies linking hibiscus tea to decreased blood fat levels "have been limited to patients with specific conditions like metabolic syndrome and diabetes." So, if you don't have those conditions, it might not work the same for you.
Your immune system could see a boost if you drink hibiscus tea every day
Hibiscus tea could give your immune system a much-needed boost, which will almost certainly come in handy during cold and flu season.
Your immune system works hard to protect your body from sickness and disease — so, naturally, many people find themselves searching for supplements that could possibly give their immune systems a boost and help protect them against whatever bug is being passed around the workplace. Fortunately for hibiscus tea lovers, drinking the tea every day could help your immune system stay healthy and able to fight infections. As registered dietician Maggie Michalczyk told O, The Oprah Magazine, "This is because hibiscus tea contains vitamin C, a strong antioxidant that we know is responsible for keeping our immune systems healthy." Added Michalcyzk, "Hibiscus tea is also high in iron, a mineral that keeps the immune system balanced and helps the body to maintain red blood cells."
Having a stronger immune system is a great way to stay healthy. However, if you're sick of taking a ton of vitamins and supplements, drinking hibiscus tea every day could be a great addition to your wellness routine.
Your risk for cancer might decrease when you drink hibiscus tea every day
Hibiscus tea is pretty incredible for all of its health benefits, and one such health benefit just might be life-changing.
If you drink hibiscus tea every day, your risk for certain cancers might actually decrease. Of course, that isn't to say that hibiscus tea is a cure for cancer, or a guarantee that you'll never get cancer in your life; however, according to some experts, there is a link between the herbal tea and the ability to possibly work to kill cancer cells.
A 2016 review of studies found that "the vast majority of laboratory studies supported anticancer activities of natural polyphenols," which are micronutrients found in certain plant-based foods that happen to be full of antioxidants (via Healthline). According to Well and Good, hibiscus tea is rich in a polyphenol called "anthocyanins." Additionally, numerous studies have linked hibiscus extract with reduced cancer cells, such as in mouth cancer, as well as prostate cancer and stomach cancer. However, as Healthline notes, these test-tube studies all used extremely high amounts of hibiscus extract, and more research is necessary to fully know the true impact hibiscus has on cancer cells.
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could reduce inflammation in your body
Hibiscus tea could help your body stay healthy, keeping inflammation at bay.
As explained by Medical News Today, inflammation is how your body fends off irritants and helps to heal. However, too much inflammation can lead to chronic illness and disease, which no one wants. Fortunately, here are quite a few natural ways to help with inflammation, and hibiscus tea appears to be one of them.
Hibiscus tea is full of phytochemicals, which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties, as one 2013 study found. As reported by Women's Health, "These compounds can help lower inflammation in the body, which, when out of control, can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arthritis." If you drink hibiscus tea every day, not only are you getting a delicious drink, but you're also helping your body fight chronic inflammation, and therefore fending off even more diseases. When it comes to hibiscus tea, it's kind of a win-win.
Drinking hibiscus tea every day can help your body fight bacteria
Hibiscus tea could possibly be the bacteria blaster of your wellness dreams.
While there's no topping modern medicine, the herbal extracts in hibiscus tea are pretty impressive when it comes to helping you stay healthy. In fact, they've been shown to fight bacteria and act similarly to antibiotics. So, if you drink hibiscus tea every day, there's a good chance your body is already fighting off bacteria as you read this. A 2016 study from the Department of Laboratory Sciences at the College of Sciences and Arts at Al-Rass, Qassim University supported the "folk medicine application of [Hibiscus sabdariffa L] against different microbial ailments" and also suggests the plant as "a promising source for new antibacterial agents."
In short, hibiscus tea might actually be able to fight certain kinds of bacteria. However, as Healthline noted, more research is required to fully understand the role hibiscus tea plays in fighting bacteria. Still, if you drink hibiscus tea every day, you could be taking preventive measures against certain bacterial infections, and that's pretty awesome.
Your body will stay hydrated if you drink hibiscus tea every day
Hibiscus tea is a delicious, fruity tea that could make all the difference in helping your body stay hydrated.
Everyone knows that it's important to stay hydrated; however, not everyone knows exactly why. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, hydration is key in regulating body temperature, making sure your joints are lubricated, preventing infection, and more. Hydration also helps to "keep organs functioning properly." In short, hydration is key to good health, and if you drink hibiscus tea every day, you're probably keeping your body hydrated.
Registered dietitian Amanda A. Kostro Miller told Byrdie that drinking hibiscus tea can help make sure your body gets enough water. "If you like to have some fruity flavors in your beverage, adding hibiscus tea to your fluid regimen may help you drink more fluid," she said. Of course, hibiscus tea isn't the only thing you should be drinking in order to stay hydrated (and to reap all the health and beauty benefits of being hydrated). However, it certainly helps.
Drinking hibiscus tea every day could curb soda cravings
Hibiscus tea just might be the thing that helps you demolish your soda addiction once and for all.
It's not exactly a secret that soda is probably one of the most unhealthy choices you can make when it comes to your diet — even if you're a diet soda drinker. As WebMD reported, sodas are loaded with empty calories and high in sugar. Additionally, there have been numerous studies linking soda with a variety of diseases. However, drinking hibiscus tea instead of soda could help keep those diseases at bay. As registered dietitian Amanda A. Kostro Miller told Byrdie, hibiscus tea is "great for people who are trying to lose weight or maintain their weight and want a little flavor in their fluids," because it can replace soda. Additionally, if you drink unsweetened hibiscus tea, you'll be working to fend off those sugary cravings that lead to soda consumption.
"Sweets feed a sweet tooth, and the more sweets you get, the more you tend to want," Dr. David Katz told WebMD. By replacing soda with hibiscus tea, you just might stop craving the sugary beverage altogether.