Feeling stiff and achy? Whether you’re battling sore muscles after a workout or struggling with joint pain, these 8 herbal teas help to relieve aches and ease inflammation.
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All of us experience muscle aches and joint pain from time to time. Our increasingly digital lives mean we often spend long hours in front of screens, which can leave us with tight necks and back pain.
Sore, stiff muscles can also be the result of pushing hard in your latest workout, especially if you’re trying something new. And, of course, joint aches and pains often become increasingly frequent as we get older and our cartilage begins to wear down.
Whatever the cause of your aches and pains, a delicious cup of herbal tea might be just the support you need to reduce your symptoms and recover faster. Many herbs act as anti-inflammatories, soothing muscle and joint soreness. And several of these are also natural painkillers.
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but we’ve compiled 8 of the best herbal teas to tackle inflammation, relieve joint pain, and soothe aching muscles.
Herbal Teas to Relieve Aches
1. Turmeric
Turmeric is famous for its anti-inflammatory properties, and rightly so. This brightly coloured spice contains high levels of curcumin, a powerful antioxidant that helps to combat inflammation and relieve joint pain.
Although it is often used to flavour curries, turmeric can also be used in herbal teas. With a subtle, earthy flavour, it is delicious combined with other herbs. We use it in several of our blends, including NutraJoint, where it is paired with piperine – the active ingredient in black pepper.
Studies show that combining curcumin and piperine helps the body to absorb the curcumin more easily. If you’re struggling with joint or muscle pain, a herbal tea that contains both ingredients might help.
2. Ginger
Warming and gently spicy, ginger is one of the most popular herbs in Ayurveda, the holistic healing system that originated in India. It has many traditional uses, including reducing inflammation and relieving joint and muscle pain.
Ginger is also known for its analgesic properties – in other words, it is a natural painkiller. We use it in our NutraBone tea to support joint and bone health. It’s also a delicious herb that gives our tea a comforting heat on the tongue.
3. Cinnamon
Although it is more often known as a cooking ingredient, cinnamon has been used medicinally for thousands of years. A potent anti-inflammatory, it has shown potential for treating pain and the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
One of cinnamon’s benefits is that it can increase blood circulation, which helps to relieve aching joints and sore muscles. A warming spice, it lends itself well to comforting herbal tea blends. We like to combine it with liquorice to make our naturally sweet and soothing flagship tea.
4. Lemongrass
Aromatic lemongrass has a delicious mild citrus taste and adds a touch of the exotic to your cup of herbal tea. However, it isn’t just the flavour that makes lemongrass worth drinking. It can also help to relieve aches and pains.
Lemongrass contains citral, which is a natural painkiller. It helps to ease the joint pain associated with arthritis. Lemongrass also has anti-inflammatory properties.
We like to pair lemongrass and ginger to make a tea that invokes the aromas of Southeast Asia. These two herbs also complement each other well as anti-inflammatories and pain relievers.
5. Green Tea
Green tea has numerous health benefits, including fighting inflammation and helping to keep our joints healthy. It protects our cartilage and encourages muscle repair too, making it a great herbal tea to choose if you want to keep aches and pains at bay.
For the athletes among us, green tea is often used in sports supplements because of its role in reducing inflammation and muscle soreness. So, if you’re feeling stiff and achy because you’ve been pushing your muscles to the max, drinking green tea might help you recover faster.
Green tea is one of the main ingredients in both our NutraJoint and NutraBone blends because of its anti-inflammatory and joint-protecting properties.
6. Devil’s Claw
Originating in southern Africa, devil’s claw is one of the best-known herbs for treating back pain and arthritis. Its main active ingredient is harpagoside, which helps to reduce swelling and inflammation.
Devil’s claw is traditionally used to relieve the pain associated with arthritis or a bad back. It can be taken in pill form or as a tea. Because it has a slightly bitter flavour, we prefer to combine devil’s claw with other herbs. It is one of the ingredients in our NutraBone tea.
7. Nettle
Nettle gets a bad rap – presumably because most of us have memories of being stung by these plants as children. However, nettles are packed with vitamins and minerals. They offer several health benefits, including treating joint pain and stiffness.
One traditional treatment for arthritis involves rubbing nettles on the affected joints. While we don’t recommend this approach (it’ll sting!), nettle leaves can also be used to make a tea to treat gout and arthritis.
You’ll find nettle in our NutraBone tea. It is also one of the main ingredients in NutraUric, which is designed to relieve swelling and joint pain.
8. Willow Bark
Willow Bark is probably best known for containing salicin. This compound is what gives us salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin. As a result, willow bark is often nicknamed ‘nature’s aspirin’.
A natural painkiller, willow bark tea has been used as a herbal remedy for centuries. It is still a favourite of herbalists today, who use it to relieve muscle pain and inflammation, as well as other pains like headaches and backaches.
As well as salicin, willow bark contains a combination of flavonoids that are thought to contribute to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. We use it in NutraBone because of its ability to ease joint pain and discomfort.