The best benefits of pine needle tea may involve enhancing the immune system, enhancing vision, preventing respiratory infections, stimulating circulation, preventing chronic disease, enhancing cognitive function, bolstering heart health, and accelerating recovery.
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What is Pine Needle Tea?
We brew pine needles to make a tasty hot drink known as pine needle tea. Various flavors, including piney, resinous, astringent, lemony, and minty undertones, are employed to characterize its flavor.
Older pine needles typically have a more tannic and bitter flavor than younger ones. We can use honey or sugar to sweeten the tea. It has a translucent appearance or it may have a faint green tinge.
How to Choose Pine Needles For Tea?
Generally, we use fresh pine tree leaves to make it. For a rapid brew, you may also use pre-packaged pine needles. The tea has a flavor that is nice and zesty with a woodsy aroma. The only ingredients you need to make pine needle tea are hot water and fresh, young pine needles.
However, it is highly important to choose the proper pine needles. There are over 20 hazardous types of pine trees, so do extensive study or get pine needles from a certified herbalist or natural medicine practitioner.
Eastern white pine and noble fir are safe to drink, according to experts.
Nutrition Facts of Pine Needle Tea
Let’s now examine the health advantages of pine needle tea, starting with its abundance of vitamins, minerals, and other antioxidants. Alpha-Pinene, Beta-Pinene, Beta-Phellandrene, D-Limonene, Germacrene D, 3-Carene, Caryophyllene, and Vitamin A are some of these components.
However, the vitamin C content of pine needle tea, which is the main factor behind its rise to fame, maybe the most significant.
There aren’t many long-term or clinical studies on the advantages of pine needle tea for health. However, it has a lengthy history of use in Asian and Native American cultures. It is mentioned in autobiographies, dictionaries, and folklore.
How to Make Pine Needle Tea?
Ingredients
- Fresh pine needles, 2 tablespoons
- 1 cup of hot, boiling water
- Honey for taste
Instructions
- Remove the fresh, unbroken pine needles from the pine branches.
- Rinse the needles in cold water.
- Cut the pine needles into tiny pieces with a pair of herb scissors or a good knife. The brown scale connecting the needles to the brand should be thrown away.
- Put the pine needles in a tea strainer.
- Place the tea strainer in a mug. Over the pine needles in the mug, pour the boiling water.
- Cover the steaming pot to stop the volatile oil from escaping. brew for five minutes.
- From the mug, take out the strainer. To make the pine needle tea sweeter, add honey.
- Drink while it is warm.
Benefits of Pine Needle Tea
Below is a list of its major health advantages:
Rich in Vitamin C
Pine needle tea is thought to contain 4-5 times more vitamin C than orange juice, despite the lack of data to back this up.
. It was the traditional treatment for scurvy, which is induced by vitamin C deficiency. The Native Americans utilized pine needle tea to treat scurvy among the colonists, according to the Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine. According to a Korean study, vitamin C and pine needle tea may have similar antioxidant properties.
Improve Vision Health
Pine needle tea also contains vitamin A, which can improve vision health. It might aid in enhancing our vision when combined with vitamin C. Vitamin C is good for aging eyes, giving it antioxidant protection against normal pollutants. Vitamin A improves both our cornea and vision.
Improve Respiratory Conditions
Native civilizations frequently employed pine needle tea to treat conditions of the respiratory system. According to the Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World, Native Americans used white pine because of its expectorant and decongestant properties.
Helps in Weight loss
Pine needle tea may have some of the same weight-loss benefits as green and black tea. According to research, it might aid with weight loss.
Pine needle extract, coupled with green and black tea, inhibits weight growth and decreases visceral fat mass, according to a Korean study on overweight rats and people. Various other teas are also used for this purpose lie Apple cinnamon tea
Antioxidants
Pine needle tea may be a particularly good source of antioxidants, which may be necessary for preventing disease, battling free radicals, and treating chronic disorders.
A water extract from pine needles had a significant level of antioxidants and DNA-protective effects, according to a study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Enhance Heart Health
Pine needle tea might be beneficial for your heart. It may shield you from LDL oxidation, a disease that might endanger your cardiovascular health, according to research.
It may also possess potent anti-inflammatory effects, which will aid to lessen any harm your heart may sustain from toxins or other circumstances.
Enhance Cognitive Function
Early research on this strong tea’s impact on neurodegenerative illnesses has produced encouraging results. It can be particularly helpful against amnesia or memory loss, according to an animal study. The antioxidants in this tea may aid with memory enhancement and brain link restoration.
Pine Needle Tea and Testosterone Levels
We will now discuss the primary information related to its impact on testosterone.
This hormone, which affects sex drive in both humans and animals, is present in both species. It is essential for the creation of red blood cells, bone and muscle mass, sperm, and fat storage.
Low testosterone levels, however, can cause tiredness, hair loss, lower libido, and problems with erections. The benefits of White Pine Needle Tea might hold the key. Not really, though it might at least offer assistance.
This is due to the theory put forth by certain experts that it balances hormones. The claim is supported, at least in part, by research from the University of Athens.
Side Effects of Pine Needle Tea
Pine trees come in a wide range of varieties. Some of these could be hazardous or toxic when used in food. It is best to search for pine needles alongside an expert if you can. When grazed by cattle, the needles of ponderosa pine may result in abortion, according to the USDA Agricultural Research Service
The majority of pine-needle tea’s adverse effects are not reliable because there is so little research on them.
Some of prominent effects include:
- Irritation in the throat and mouth
- Inflamed patches on the skin
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Diarrhea
For Pregnant Women
USDA advised avoiding consuming ponderosa pine needles when pregnant. It is advisable to stay away from drinking this tea if you are pregnant due to the toxicity of some pine species.
Allergy
The possibility of allergies to pine trees should also be considered. Some persons may have stomach trouble due to the inflammatory effects of the pine oil that is generated during tea brewing on the skin and stomach. It is advised that you start with only around half a cup due to these potential negative effects.