Herbal Tea Recipe for IBS (2024)

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I have a massive sweet tooth, something I know I share with many others. This year my New Years resolution is to cut down on my sugar intake… easier said than done. Sugar wrecks havoc with my IBS, and the older I get, the more weight I seem to put on and the harder it is to lose it. I wanted to share with you some of the strategies I’ve been using. I recently wrote the post 10 Ways to Control Intense Food Cravings and Hunger Pangs. As an extension to this, I wanted to share a recipe for a herbal tea that has been eliminating my sugar cravings and aiding with my IBS. You can read more about how I manage my IBS here.

I discovered this tea when I started going to a new hairdresser that worked in a salon using Aveda products. For anyone that hasn’t heard of this brand, basically its an expensive beauty brand owned by Estee Lauder that market their products as being naturally derived. I don’t typically drink tea, but my hairdresser had brought me an Aveda tea, and as I was quite thirsty, I drank some of it. I was really surprised how sweet it tasted. I have tried a variety of fruit teas and herbal teas in the past, but have never tasted one so sweet. I assumed that it must have added sugar like a Moroccan mint tea (I fell in love with Moroccan mint tea during my travels in Morocco, but its heart stopping when you see how much sugar goes into it).

Afterwards I asked the hairdresser about the tea, who enthusiastically showed me the Aveda Comforting tea which you can purchase as tea bags or as loose leaf tea from their product line. I was surprised to see the ingredients listing. Not only was it sugar and caffeine free, but it contained herbs I didn’t even like the taste of. However, I was even more surprised to see the rather steep price, so I politely declined to purchase any. I later went online to get a better look at the ingredients so I could try and make my own for much cheaper. You may not know this, but ingredients have to be listed in order of quantity, i.e. the ingredients with the highest quantities are listed first, and the least is last. This is how the ingredients were listed:

Ingredients*: Liquorice Root, Peppermint Leaf, Sweet Fennel, Basil

I use basil and fennel when I’m cooking, but would never have thought they would taste good in tea. And as for the liquorice and peppermint, I don’t even like liquorice or liquorice flavours. The same with peppermint – it always just tastes like toothpaste to me. However, the blend of these ingredients make a lovely sweet, sugar and caffeine free herbal tea.

When I drank this tea following dinner, I noticed that I didn’t have my usual sweet dessert cravings. So I began drinking the tea when I have my strongest sugar cravings. For me this is usually after lunch and after dinner. Before I drink the tea, I’m usually thinking about how I would love a big piece of cake or some chocolate, however after drinking it, these cravings completely disappear. Now, whenever I’m tempted, I make myself a cup of this tea. The funny thing is, I often convince myself that my craving is sooo strong that there is no way this tea is going to help, but it always does! I also think the fact that I’ve just drank a large mug of tea, helps to make me feel full and contributes to the satiation.

In addition to helping with my sugar cravings, I also noticed that it helped my stomach feel more settled after eating. After a bit of research, I discovered that the ingredients of this tea is beneficial for people like myself with stomach problems and IBS.

To make the tea, I recommend a reusable stainless steel tea infuser. Once steeped, you can flip the lid upside down and sit the infuser onto it to so no mess. It’s also dishwasher safe. If you prefer a tea pot then go for this gorgeous ceramic teapot with a stainless steel lid and infuser. They come in a variety of colours.

Key Ingredients

Liquorice Root

Liquorice root is naturally sweet and is sometimes used as a sweetener in sweets and beverages. Liquorice root is used to soothe gastrointestinal problems because it contains glycyrrhizic acid, which has anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties. One study¹ found that glycyrrhizic acid can suppress the toxic bacteria H. pylori, and can prevent it from growing in the gut.

For this tea recipe, you need to use chopped liquorice like this one, which is specially created for use in teas.

Peppermint

Peppermint has a variety of health benefits.

• It relieves headaches by opening up constricted blood vessels
• Fights sinus problems by calming inflamed mucous membranes in the sinuses and throat, and acting as a decongestant.
• Soothes upset stomachs including stomach aches and pains (including menstrual), stomach cramps, heartburn, gas, indigestion and diarrhoea.
• Reduces stress and ease anxiety

For this recipe, I use peppermint leaves that have been cut and crushed for use in tea.

Fennel

Fennel has a variety of health benefits, including helping to;

• Regulate blood pressure,
• Reduce water retention, bloating and indigestion as it contains estragole, fenchone and anethole, which contributes to it’s antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Promote the production of gastric enzymes which can support IBS

For this recipe, I used fennel seeds.

Basil

Similar to the other ingredients in this tea recipe, basil aides with digestion and is anti-inflammatory. The eugenol present in the leaves provides anti-inflammatory support for the digestive tract. As well as the eugenol, it also contains citronellol and linalool which can help lower inflammation through their enzyme inhibiting properties.

For this recipe, I used dried basil leavesthat have been crushed, making it perfect for use in tea.

Storage

I’m trying to cut down on my use of plastics at the moment, so I like to store mine in a large old pickle glass jar (see my post on Easy Eco-Friendly Swaps Around the Home). Some of the finer ingredients settle to the bottom of the jar, so try to use one that is larger than needed like this one so there is still a gap at the top which enables you to shake it around to redistribute it more evenly.

*Warning

• Pregnant women should not consume this tea.
• It is not recommended that people ingest more than 226 grams (8 ounces) of liquorice tea per day.

References

¹ Pharmacological Effects of Glycyrrhiza spp. and Its Bioactive Constituents: Update and Review – Hosseinzadeh – 2015 – Phytotherapy Research – Wiley Online Library