Wellness Tea / Medicinal Tea

↑About Wellness Tea / Medicinal Tea

Wellness tea, also called medicinal tea, is tea that is prepared primarily for health purposes. A defining aspect of wellness tea is that the flavor and aroma of the tea, while important, is a secondary characteristic. Wellness teas are central to herbalism, although there are also other ways of administering herbs.

While most people associate herbal teas with medicinal teas, some medicinal teas contain the tea plant Camellia Sinensis and are thus not strictly herbal teas. Interestingly, the use of the tea plant originated in ancient China as medicine. Also, many herbal teas are blended primarily for taste rather than health or medicinal properties.

The boundary between wellness teas and other teas is blurry, as many teas are produced, marketed, and consumed both for their taste as well as health benefits. To avoid subjective judgments, RateTea lists as "wellness teas" those that are identified or marketed as such. The exception to this rule is that we classify some types of tea (such as green tea, chamomile tea, hibiscus tea, etc.) that are widely consumed as beverages under these categories rather than as a wellness tea. We also do our best to classify teas as wellness teas when they contain ingredients not generally recognized as safe for beverage consumption, or herbs with strong medicinal effects, such as licorice or valerian.

Scams and false health claims:

Tea and herbal teas that are marketed as beverages are not as strictly regulated by the FDA as some drugs are. Furthermore, teas that are marketed as nutritional supplements can also have lax regulation. Many companies marketing wellness teas make claims about the health benefits or medicinal properties of their teas that are not backed by solid science. In some cases, no scientific work is cited, whereas in other cases, studies are selected that support a particular perspective, without attempting to assess the validity of the studies or place them in a broader context that looks at the total of all scientific study of a particular herb or treatment. It is best to not believe anything that comes from a company promoting an herb, and instead to seek independent sources of information that use comprehensive scientific reviews to cite their facts.

Particular caution should be used when buying weight loss teas, as weight loss is one area where companies frequently make unfounded claims and sell inferior products at inflated prices. Some "wellness teas" marketed for weight loss purposes can even be dangerous.

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