Herbal Teas to Toast International Women’s Day
Are you female and looking forward to celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March 2025?
This year’s theme is Accelerate Action, with a campaign aimed at pushing through change for parity between the sexes quicker than in recent decades. To the extent that IWD organisers say that if change continues to be so slow then real equality won’t be achieved until 2158 – in five generations time. That’s according to the World Economic Forum.
Many women cite pregnancy and menopause as major upheavals in their lives, and times in their lives when economically and physically they often have to step back.
Here at NutraTea we have embraced both conditions by coming up with a herbal tea to help soothe and relieve these trying times.
We have already introduced NutraPreg into our range and are in the process of blending our NutraMeno tea. Watch this space…
Herbs to help with menopause symptoms
Women have been using certain herbs and herbal blends for centuries to help with the ‘more trying’ symptoms that appear both pre-menopause and during menopause. The most popular include:
- Black cohosh root
- Red raspberry leaf
- Ginkgo biloba
- Valerian root
- Red clover
- Ginseng
- Green tea
- Liquorice
- Shatavari root
- Dong Quai
These herbs have different qualities which are aimed at easing the various symptoms of menopause, such as hot flushes, a decreased libido, heavy menstrual flow (in pre-menopause), anxiety, crying fits and insomnia. The extent of these symptoms vary, but most women will experience at least one and often several of them.
Drinking herbal tea is an easy and enjoyable way to help try to lessen symptoms. Some of the following should help:
Raspberry Leaf & Peppermint
Packed with B vitamins, as well as vitamin C and valuable minerals, such as magnesium, zinc, potassium and iron, Raspberry leaf is used to reduce a heavy menstrual flow during the pre-menopause stage. Peppermint can prove a cooling aid for hot flushes.
NutraBone
Containing gingko biloba and green tea, our NutraBone formula is aimed at supporting bone health. This is important for post-menopausal women since the menopause itself results in a loss of oestrogen, which is important for strong bones. Ginkgo biloba contains phytoestrogens and these can raise oestrogen levels.
Green tea too is believed to help strengthen the bones. A 2021 Chinese study showed that drinking green tea during the pre-menopause stage resulted in a higher bone mineral density, especially in those who drank more than four cups of green tea a week.
Chamomile & Valerian
Chamomile & Valerian renowned for its calming and sedative effects, may help ease menopausal symptoms such as sleep disturbances, anxiety, and digestive discomfort by naturally relaxing the nervous system and supporting restful sleep. Chamomile’s ability to relax our muscles and prevent spasms can help to relieve menstrual cramps. It also inhibits the production of prostaglandins. These compounds play a role in inflammation and are thought to be responsible for period pains in cases where there isn’t another underlying cause (such as endometriosis).
Liquorice and Cinammon
Another plant focused on calming hot flushes, especially in the pre-menopause stage, liquorice is a tea which is also believed to make up for a lack of oestrogen. At the same time, cinnamon too can play a part in reducing the symptoms of menopause as the results of a 2024 study of post-menopausal females showed. It concluded that cinnamon was particularly effective for the anxiety and other mental symptoms wrought by menopause.
Ginseng is believed to help with sexual arousal in post-menopausal women. That’s according to a 2010 study of 32 women who rated themselves on a Female Sexual Function Index. Other menopausal symptom areas the plant can help with say nutritionists, is in relieving bone density and hot flushes. Ginger plays its part in the menopause too by containing hormone-balancing phytoestrogen compounds.
