6 Health Benefits of Oregano Tea + Oregano Tea Recipe with Fresh Oregano Leaves

Health Benefits of Oregano Tea

Benefits of Oregano Tea: Oregano is a herb that often finds its way into our kitchens as a flavorful addition to various dishes, particularly in Mediterranean cuisine. However, its benefits extend far beyond enhancing the taste of our meals. Among the many forms in which oregano can be enjoyed, oregano tea stands out as a particularly beneficial preparation, offering a wealth of health advantages.

This simple yet potent brew is more than just a comforting beverage; it is a natural remedy with a rich history of use in traditional medicine.Originating from the Mediterranean region, oregano has long been celebrated for its medicinal properties. The plant, scientifically known as Origanum vulgare, is renowned for its high concentration of essential oils, including carvacrol and thymol, which contribute to its therapeutic effects.

When brewed into a tea, oregano's active compounds are released into the water, providing a soothing and health-promoting infusion.

Oregano tea is particularly valued for its antimicrobial properties. Studies have shown that oregano can help combat various bacterial and fungal infections, making it a useful remedy for colds, sore throats, and digestive issues. Its ability to support the immune system, ease respiratory congestion, and promote digestive health makes it a versatile herbal ally. Additionally, the tea's warming and soothing qualities can be beneficial for those dealing with symptoms of a cold or flu.

Incorporating oregano tea into your routine can offer a natural and effective way to support your overall well-being. Whether you're seeking relief from specific ailments or simply looking to enjoy a flavorful and healthful beverage, oregano tea presents an accessible and beneficial option. Join us as we explore the many ways in which this humble herb can enhance your health and wellness.

The health benefits of oregano go beyond a simple culinary spice for your spaghetti. I'm gonna share with you the best ways to make an oregano tea recipe with fresh oregano leaves and with dried oregano leaves, and I'm gonna tell you why you'd choose one over the other. I’m also going to show you the many reasons you’ll want to pull oregano out of your spice cabinet more frequently.

INTRODUCTION TO Benefits of Oregano Tea

Benefits of Oregano Tea: Oregano is commonly found in many spice cabinets and it's most often thought of as a simple culinary herb. However, there are so many benefits of oregano. I especially think that oregano tea is underrated. In fact, oregano itself rarely gets the attention it deserves. In researching this episode, I looked through dozens of herbal books, and it was rare to find oregano listed.

It’s really surprising that this potent and effective plant is so often overlooked. Oregano is originally from the Mediterranean and it loves to grow in hot conditions with well-drained soil. Oregano is an important culinary and medicinal herb all around the Mediterranean, including in North Africa, Italy, and the Middle East. It’s widely reported that oregano didn’t actually become popular here in the U.S.

until after World War II, when soldiers brought it back from southern Italy. While you’re watching, let me know in the comments below about your experiences with oregano leaves. It’s always interesting and insightful to hear the experiences of plant lovers out there. Also, your suggestion may help others.

HERBAL ENERGETICS AND OREGANO’S PROPERTIES

Benefits of Oregano Tea: Oregano is a hot herb. If you’re wondering what I mean by that, simply nibble on a fresh leaf. If you’ve got good-quality oregano, then you’ll most likely find that it’s spicy hot in a similar way to, say, garlic or cayenne. Knowing whether a plant is hot or cool, or damp or dry, is a foundational herbal skill referred to as herbal energetics.

Knowing a medicinal herb’s energetic profile is just as important, or perhaps even more important than memorizing its herbal actions and uses. Even more importantly, when you know herbal energetics, you’ll be much more successful at figuring out the best herbs for you as an individual. That means that you can work with herbs both more safely and effectively.

My first book, Alchemy of Herbs, shows you exactly how to choose herbs that are best for you based on herbal energetics. So if these concepts are new to you, check out that book to get a foundational understanding.Okay, back to the health benefits of oregano. This plant is so hot that nibbling on a potent fresh leaf can actually leave your tongue feeling a bit numb.

The heat from oregano is diffusive in nature and it’s used to break up stagnation in the respiratory tract, digestive tract, and female reproductive system. That sounds fancy, but it’s actually something you can easily feel for yourself. I’m going to show you how to make oregano tea recipes in just a bit to show you exactly what I mean.

 OREGANO FOR DIGESTION AND IMMUNE SUPPORT-Benefits of Oregano Tea:

Benefits of Oregano Tea: Oregano leaves are wonderful for people who have a tendency to feel cold and damp. They are also great for the short term for anyone who has acute symptoms of cold and damp. So let’s look at this more deeply for specific situations.

As a culinary herb, oregano excels as an herb for digestion, both because it’s effective and because it tastes so good. Who doesn’t want their medicine to taste good? It’s, of course, a signature flavor in famous tomato-based dishes such as pizza sauce, marinara sauce for pasta, and it’s commonly used in spice blends like za’atar, herbes de Provence, and adobo seasoning.

Oregano’s hot and dispersive nature make it ideally suited when someone has symptoms of cold, damp, and stagnant digestion. So what does that mean? Well, symptoms include a slow stomach emptying, a heavy feeling in the gut long after eating, flatulence, belching, a thick white coat on the tongue, feeling frequently bloated, and slow transit time in the bowels.

To support healthy digestion on a day-to-day basis, oregano can be used in small amounts as a seasoning in meals.To address the more upsetting symptoms of a cold and stagnant digestion, I recommend using it as a very strong tea. Oregano is a strong antimicrobial herb that has been shown to be effective against a variety of bacteria and fungi in vitro.

One randomized, double-blind study showed that an oregano extract ointment decreased bacterial contamination and infection of post-surgical wounds. For external use, oregano can be brewed as a tea or used diluted as a tincture as a wash to inhibit pathogens on the skin.

It’s often used internally for digestive pathogens. Internally, I recommend using it as a tea or tincture rather than an essential oil. When using the essential oil externally, it needs to be properly diluted, and the dilution amount varies depending on the person’s sensitivity.Oregano leaves tea or diluted oregano tincture can be used as a mouthwash, too. For best results, swish for several minutes, even up to 20 minutes at a time.

OREGANO TEA FOR RESPIRATORY AND IMMUNE SUPPORT-Benefits of Oregano Tea:

Benefits of Oregano Tea: Oregano leaves can be used to disperse cold and stagnant acute conditions associated with the cold or the flu, influenza. Prepared as a tea or an herbal steam, it can break up congestion in the sinuses and the lungs. When feeling chilled due to a fever, oregano tea or a bath made with oregano tea can support the fever process by helping the body to heat up. The infused honey or tea can relieve the pain of a sore throat.

 A 2019 study in Canada looked at 13 different hot herbal infusions and their effectiveness against the bacteria that often causes sore throats, namely strep throat. They found that oregano was one of the best herbs that they’d studied for addressing the bacteria that causes the strep throat. They concluded that oregano tea is a “safe treatment for the management of discomfort conditions associated with strep throat of the streptococcal pharyngitis patients.”

They surmise that the antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties of oregano tea may have various mechanisms of action including “the direct destruction of the cell wall/membrane, inhibition of biosynthesis of cell wall/membranes, and inhibition of protein synthesis involved in growth, adherence, and biofilm formation.” So basically, the health benefits of oregano tea include disrupting biofilms, which is one mechanism that bacteria use which makes them resistant to antibiotics.

So cool. It’s also worth mentioning that this was an in-vitro study. It’ll be interesting to see if human clinical trials come out to further understand the health benefits of oregano tea. I love that this study was specifically looking at oregano tea, a simple preparation that you can easily make at home.

 In just a bit, I’ll show you how you can make your own oregano tea. Also, in the show notes, you can find a link to download an e-book gift, which includes a sore throat tea recipe that uses other herbs that were also found to be effective in this study.

 OREGANO’S USE IN MENSTRUAL HEALTH AND CAUTIONS-Benefits of Oregano Tea:

Benefits of Oregano Tea: Oregano also moves stagnation within the pelvis and has been used for hundreds of years as a way to stimulate delayed menstruation. It’s especially indicated when there are accompanying signs of coldness. Because of this, oregano is contraindicated in large doses that go beyond culinary amounts during pregnancy.

 Oregano is currently very popular as an essential oil. It is often sold as oil of oregano, which is the essential oil that’s diluted in a carrier oil like olive oil. There’s no doubt that the oil of oregano preparation is potent. I think people are often drawn to this powerful remedy because its effects are immediate and forceful. However, there are lots of safety issues associated with this preparation.

For example, exceeding safe dosages is easy. While I was in clinical practice, I worked with several people who were dealing with long-term negative effects of taking oil of oregano internally. Used externally, oregano essential oil can burn your skin. It’s that hot and irritating. I most often reach for whole herb medicines because they’re safer and often even more effective than highly refined essential oils. Please be cautious when choosing to use oil of oregano.

You need to pay attention to how much you take and how often you take it or how long you take it. And if you’re really trying to use a pure oregano essential oil internally, then please work with an experienced practitioner who can show you the appropriate way to dilute the oil so you don’t burn your mucus membranes.

 BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND GROWING OREGANO

Benefits of Oregano Tea: There are over 50 species in the Genus Origanum. For this episode, I’m focusing on oregano: Origanum vulgare. Oregano is also a member of the mint family and contains the common mint family characteristics, including square stems and opposite leaves. Oregano thrives in hot, dry growing conditions and in fast-draining soil. It’s a perennial herb that grows in zones 4 through 10. Oregano is easy to grow in the garden or in a container.

However, if you want to grow really vibrant oregano, here’s a couple of things to look out for. Overwatering it can easily dilute its flavor, so go easy with the watering can. Oregano really does prefer the heat. Oregano that’s grown in cold and damp climates might not be as spicy or potent.

Here’s a look at the botanical characteristics. The leaves are simple and ovate with a pointed tip. The flowers range from white to pink to purple with five petals that fuse into a tube. The flowering stalks can reach two feet high. Bees love these flowers.

When harvesting your own fresh oregano, it’s best to harvest just before the flowers bloom. However, because the bees love this plant so much, I harvest some oregano for me and then leave some oregano to flower for the bees.

If you’re wondering why it’s best to harvest before it flowers, then I suggest nibbling on some oregano leaves through the growing stages. You’ll probably find that the younger oregano is hot but also fragrant and bright tasting. More mature oregano, especially during or after flowering, has a more bitter or turpentine flavor that I personally don’t find pleasant.

But, give it a taste, see what you think. To harvest oregano, cut the tops with sharp scissors, right at the leaf axis. Leave several inches of leaves still on the plant and it will continue to grow.

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