Know the Dandelion Tea Benefits, How to Make, and Side Effects

Nov 20, 2023 By Madison Evans

Dandelion is often treated as unnecessary when grown in your backyard or lawn. Since ancient times, it has had incredible nutrients and elements used to cure or get multiple health benefits. Most people need to learn about its incredible advantages for the human body.

Dandelion has small yellow flowers extensively used to treat many ailments, including muscle aches and stomach-related issues like gas and upset stomach. Similarly, its root shares the same beneficial results and increases urine production and bowel movements.

Apart from its other uses, dandelion roots stems, and flowers are best utilized in preparation for ultimate healthy dandelion tea, rated as one of the top healthy drinks.

Dandelion Tea Benefits

A wide range of health benefits makes dandelion tea a specialty; no other tea offers as many nutrients and positively impacts the body. Drinking it regularly significantly improves your day-to-day activity and helps maintain the equilibrium and functionality of different organs.

Bone Health

Calcium is the main element of your bones and teeth. Your bone and teeth structure depends heavily on calcium. Surprisingly, dandelions have 10 percent of calcium daily recommended value for nerve transmission, muscle contraction, and secreting different hormones.

You can address calcium deficiency by drinking dandelion tea or taking it in green and avoiding problems like tooth decay, high blood pressure, and muscle tension, all caused by insufficient calcium.

Rich In Vitamin K

Vitamin K is regarded as the most important when we shortlist the essential vitamins that play a major role in Fat solubility. It is an essential vitamin for your bone and heart health; the dandelion is rich in vitamin K, so it contains over 500% of your value, which makes it crucial if you have vitamin K deficiency.

Women are more prone to bone deterioration and other bone-related issues; taking Dandelion tea helps in fighting the risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis, especially in postmenopausal women. Similarly, women have issues with their menstrual cycles or excessive bleeding, with its blood clotting properties; dandelion tea is the perfect remedy for it, too.

Vitamin K is also proven as a cancer-fighting agent; it produces resistance against stomach, nasal, prostrate, and other oral cancers. Different studies name dandelion tea as reducing mortality by shielding against cancers and improving cardiovascular health.

Liver Cleansing

The liver is one of the vital organs in your body that performs multiple functions, from breaking fats into fatty acids to filtering blood and detoxifying your body; other than that, it also breaks down amino acids, regulates internal body functions, synthesizes and metabolizes fats, and cholesterol and store glucose.

The liver's primary function is to release bile, which is the key factor in performing all the abovementioned tasks. Dandelion tea, with its incredible nutrients and vitamins, keeps the liver functioning properly by actively cleansing it by maintaining the release of bile, which helps absorb essential minerals from food. With its inflammatory properties, it prevents the development of other diseases as well.

Diabetes Fighting Agent

Another amazing benefit of Dandelion tea is its ability to stimulate insulin production, maintaining low blood sugar levels. Suppose our pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin. In that case, the cells cannot process it, hence inducing diabetes, and the glucose in the blood is not properly utilized, leaving excessive blood glucose that increases blood sugar levels.

Due to its diuretic nature, dandelion tea helps your body remove excessive sugar; research has shown that it contains biochemical components, including sesquiterpene, lactones, and chicoric acid, constituting anti-diabetic properties.

Skin Health

The dandelion stem, when broken, produces a white substance that is good for your skin due to this substance being alkaline in nature, germicidal and fungicidal properties. It treats itching or irritation caused by eczema, psoriasis, ringworms, and other skin infections. Similarly, dandelion leaves and flower extract are beneficial and protect your skin from UVB damage.

How to Make Dandelion Tea?

Dandelion tea is relatively easy to make; it involves simple steps; you can make it a daily part of your routine and meals; making home-grown or homemade dandelion tea is preferable. You only need to have dandelion in your backyard and follow these steps to make a cup of tea full of health benefits.

  • Take one tablespoon of a mixture of dandelion stem and flowers and stir them in five ounces of boiling water for at least 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, strain the flower and stem or keep them in your tea as you like and drink the healthy tea.
  • You can increase the ingredients and their quantity if you make them for many people or want to store them for a few days.

If you like to have it roasted, roast the stem and flowers, crush them, make it powder, add hot water, stir it, and drink. For making a coffee-like drink, try roasting the root:

  • Clean the root, crush it in the food processor
  • Now roast it in an oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for almost two hours
  • Stir it into boiling water for almost 10 minutes and enjoy your healthy dandelion tea.

Side Effects of Dandelion Tea

Generally, drinking dandelion tea is super beneficial for your health and body if it offers a variety of nutrients and vitamins that are vital in maintaining the functionality and health of different organs. A few side effects and risks are also associated with it:

  • If you are already taking some meds, especially antibiotics, it's better to consult your doctor first if dandelion has an allergic reaction to antibiotics.
  • If you have allergic reactions to ragweed or same family plants like daisies, marigolds, etc., taking dandelion without consulting your physician is not good.
  • For people more prone to allergies, taking dandelion by mouth or applying it on the skin is not recommended.
  • Dandelion acts against antibiotics; it affects the absorption of antibiotics in your body, so if you take them, it's not beneficial to drink dandelion with antibiotics.
  • Most antibiotics like ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin, enoxacin, grepafloxacin, and trovafloxacin might react with dandelion.
  • Dandelion can decrease the pace at which your body gets rid of lithium; taking it might raise your lithium level.
  • Similarly, it can affect how quickly your liver breaks down some medications like haloperidol, propranolol, verapamil, ondansetron, and amitriptyline.

Conclusion

Dandelion is an extraordinary plant with many health benefits, mostly consumed by making tea from its stem or flowers. Its benefits include bone protection, a source of Vitamin K and A, antioxidants, good skin health, fiber-rich, and prevent infections. But if you are on medication, it is better to consult a doctor before taking dandelion due to its interaction with meds, especially antibiotics.

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