Drinking pomegranate tea may help you in improving your heart health and preventing certain cancers, among many other impressive benefits.
What is Pomegranate Tea?
Pomegranate tea is a specialty tea that is brewed either with crushed pomegranate seeds, dried pomegranate flowers, or simply by adding some concentrated pomegranate juice to a regular cup of tea. This tea has been prepared in some form for thousands of years since these fruits are storehouses of nutrients and antioxidants. They also can add a sweet bite to many different dishes and at-home remedies. While pomegranate tea isn’t the most common tea to find on the shelf, it is something that can be prepared quite easily at home and has a long list of health benefits associated with it. [1]
Pomegranate Tea Benefits
The most impressive pomegranate tea benefits include its ability to prevent chronic diseases, boost heart health, aid in weight loss efforts, and reduce inflammation, among others.
Pomegranate tea has a nice, fruity flavor. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Protects Heart Health
Extensive research has shown that the active ingredients in pomegranates are able to reduce blood pressure and lower overall cholesterol levels. This is helpful for reducing atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, and coronary heart diseases. [2]
Skin Care
The antioxidants found in pomegranate seeds are an impressive collection of free-radical-fighting compounds. This can help improve the appearance of your skin, as well as lower the effects of oxidative stress, which can eliminate wrinkles, age spots, blemishes, and scars on the skin, while also improving elasticity to keep you looking younger. [3]
Anticancer Potential
According to research published in 2006, there are powerful flavonoids and antioxidants in green tea combined with pomegranate that is known to neutralize prostate cancer cells before they can spread. [4]
A study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has also shown that pomegranate extracts show anti-proliferative and anti-tumorigenic properties, which helps understand that pomegranate tea can be used as a promising chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic agent for skin, lung, breast, colon, and prostate cancers. [5]
A 2018 research paper in the journal Oncology Reviews also suggests that along with the above-mentioned cancers, pomegranate and its tea can also help in lowering your risk of liver cancer. [6]
Reduces Inflammation
Regularly consuming this tea has been linked to a reduction in the immune response, which can cut down on unnecessary inflammation in the body. This can also help alleviate symptoms of common conditions like arthritis, gout, and chronic headaches. [7]
Weight Loss
Combining your pomegranate mixture with regular tea can give your metabolism a major boost, which can help to improve your passive fat-burning potential. This means more calories being burnt every day, and more obvious results in your weekly weigh-ins, if you’re trying to shed those extra pounds. [8]
How to Make Pomegranate Tea?
While pomegranate teabags are easily available online, you can make this fruit-based tea at home too. Let us look at the different ways you can make pomegranate tea.
Pomegranate Tea Recipe: 3 Simple Ways
Ingredients
Pomegranate Tea From Pomegranate Juice
- 1 cup water filtered
- 1 Oolong or white tea bag
- 1 tsp pomegranate juice concentrate or
- 3 tbsp fresh pomegranate juice
- honey optional
Pomegranate Tea from Pomegranate Seeds
- 3 cups pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water filtered
Pomegranate Tea From Pomegranate Flowers
- 1 cup water filtered
- 1/4 cup dried pomegranate flowers
Instructions
Pomegranate Tea From Pomegranate Juice
- Boil water in a kettle or saucepan.
- Pour into a teacup and steep the preferred tea bag as per package instruction.
- Add pomegranate juice concentrate or fresh juice. Add honey and garnish with mint leaves, if desired. You can serve this tea iced or warm.
Pomegranate Tea from Pomegranate Seeds
- Add 3 cups of pomegranate seeds to a blender.
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the blender and blend well.
- Strain the sweetened juice into a glass bottle for storage purposes.
- To make the pomegranate tea, you can mix 1/4 cup of sweetened pomegranate juice with 3/4 cup of boiling water. Add honey if needed.
Pomegranate Tea From Pomegranate Flowers
- Boil water in a kettle or a saucepan.
- Steep 1/4 cup of dried pomegranate flowers in 1 cup of boiling water for 3-4 minutes
- Strain and serve hot.
Pomegranate Tea Side Effects
Using this tea can be hugely beneficial, but it could be dangerous if drunk in excess. For example, consuming too much of this tea can cause complications in pregnancy, as well as nausea, dizziness, headaches, and vomiting. While the latter symptoms can be avoided by drinking this tea in moderation, pregnant women and breastfeeding women should avoid the tea altogether, as there has been a dearth of research on its effects.
