Green Tea With Ginseng: Double the Health Benefits?

These days, tea is flavored with pretty much anything, but I recently came across a blend I had not previously heard of—surprisingly so, since the pairing actually makes a lot of sense: green tea with ginseng. Both tea and ginseng have similar purported health benefits and no serious side effects, so pairing the two seems like a great idea. If you don’t like green tea, Art of Tea has an oolong tea with ginseng, which they call Kings Tea.
Very few are still unaware that green tea is healthy and the same can probably be said for ginseng. Most people even know several of the purported health benefits of drinking tea and they might be familiar with some of ginseng’s benefits as well. Nevertheless, let’s look at the most important benefits a ginseng tea might offer. As always, research into the benefits of both tea and ginseng are inconclusive and much further study is needed.
One of ginseng’s uses in alternative medicine is as a booster for our immune systems. Similarly, green tea is said to aid in preventing cold and flu symptoms, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) state that tea can help improve the body’s response to antibiotics and certain vaccines.
It is not known for certain whether a combination of tea and ginseng can stimulate the immune system and help in preventing or treating a variety of viral and bacterial infections, but preliminary evidence suggests that ginseng teas do offer some level of effective immune support.
Ginseng and green tea are both generally tied to an improvement in cardiovascular function. Ginseng has received a “B” rating from the National Institutes of Health. This signifies that good scientific evidence exists for its use in treating certain forms of heart disease, in conjunction with more standard medications.
As for green tea, the University of Maryland Medical Center has determined the plant to be effective in preventing a hardening of the arteries. Additionally, they claim that drinking green tea can reduce both total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol while also increasing levels of HDL cholesterol (LDL is also known as “bad” cholesterol, while HDL is known as “good”).
The combination of green tea and ginseng could aid people suffering from reactive hypoglycemia and diabetes by helping to control fluctuations in blood glucose levels. The National Institutes of Health has found “promising” results when giving ginseng supplements to people with hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes—the supplements effectively lowered blood sugar levels before and after meals, but did not lower them to dangerous levels.
The UMMC claims that green tea could help in delaying the onset of type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, it can help regulate glucose levels in the bloodstream.
There is a possibility that tea with ginseng could help reduce the risk of several common—and deadly—forms of cancer. Promising, but unfortunately still inconclusive, research from the UMMC suggests that ginseng possesses potent anticancer properties that help reduce the risk of cancers affecting the stomach, lungs, ovaries, liver and pancreas. It also found that polyphenols in green tea may help prevent the formation of cancers that affect the bladder, ovaries, breast, lungs, esophagus, prostate, colon, rectum, stomach and skin.
As mentioned, these findings are thus far inconclusive and, in fact, the NIH considers them “controversial” and points out that much further study is necessary to prove the anticancer properties associated with either tea or ginseng.
Pretty much all of the potential health benefits of both tea and ginseng require further study, but since the side effects of tea are virtually nonexistent and those of ginseng are generally mild, trying tea with ginseng should be fine for most people.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that Ginseng could cause nervousness and insomnia, while long-term high doses can result in dizziness, headaches, an upset stomach and other symptoms. More importantly, ginseng could potentially interact negatively with certain drugs, so if you are on any medications, you should consult your doctor before trying any ginseng teas. That said, the amount of ginseng contained in them is quite low and unlikely to cause any problems.
If you’d like to give ginseng tea a try, you can find a green tea with ginseng here and an oolong tea here.
More general info on green tea and oolong tea can be found on the following pages:

http://www.letsdrinktea.com/types-of-tea/green-tea/
http://www.letsdrinktea.com/types-of-tea/oolong-tea/
Photo by Nate Gray.

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Health Benefits of Some Common Herbal Teas

People think of different things when they hear the word tea: some picture a sweet, milky cup of black tea, others a sweet, minty cup, others a pure green tea and others still an herbal mixture. In reality, only drinks made from the Camellia sinensis
plant are considered tea. This includes the first three in the list above, i.e. black tea and green tea, as well as white tea, oolong tea, post-fermented tea (like pu’er) and yellow tea. It does not include teas made from any other plants.
These herbal ‘teas’ are actually called tisanes and you might have noticed their absence on this site. Since they are not really teas, I have chosen to leave them out. I do occasionally get some questions about the possible benefits of various tisanes, so I have decided to address some of the more common herbal drinks and their supposed benefits:
Chamomile Tea is used to soothe an upset stomach and help relieve gas, bloating and other gastrointestinal issues. It also helps with anxiety and insomnia. Further, drinking chamomile tea when you have a cold may help relieve some of the symptoms and speed up the healing process.
Ginger Tea is used to cure or relieve just about any ailment you can think of: nausea, gastrointestinal problems, menstrual cramps, inflammation, and respiratory illnesses. It also improves blood circulation.
Hibiscus Tea cures high blood pressure. Since it is widely available and very inexpensive, it might be worth trying out to see if it really does help. If so, you could save a lot on blood pressure medication. If you live in the correct climate, you might even be able to grow your own.
St. John’s Wort Tea is an old remedy for depression and can help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). People who suffer from serious cases of depression should seek additional help.
Women have been drinking Raspberry Leaf Tea for centuries to help with pregnancy and fertility problems. The tea can both increase fertility and ease morning sickness and apparently even reduce the pain associated with labor.
Nettle Leaf Tea helps to relieve or prevent high blood pressure, arthritis, rheumatism, inflammation, and a cough or the common cold.
Peppermint Tea helps with an upset stomach and any other gastrointestinal problems, as well as nausea. People who get heartburn or indigestion should avoid drinking peppermint tea, though.
Milk Thistle Tea is especially useful for people who put undue pressure on their liver, i.e. alcoholics, drug addicts or anyone on painkillers. It functions as a liver cleanser helping to regenerate the liver, which allows it to work at an increased capacity.
As is always the case with herbal remedies, more research is needed, but all of the claims listed above do have studies to support them. Luckily, none of these teas are overly expensive and they don’t cause any harm, so there’s really nothing to stop you from giving them a try and seeing how you feel.

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