Functional teas are designed with particular health benefits in mind. They combine a variety of herbs to support a specific aspect of your health and wellness.
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The more our understanding of the importance of nutrition grows, the more we learn about the myriad benefits available from eating and drinking certain herbs, fruits, and vegetables. And the value of some of these foods and drinks goes beyond just their nutritional content too.
You’ve likely seen the terms “functional foods” or “functional teas” floating around the internet in recent years. They’ve become something of a buzzword in health and wellness spaces, but don’t let the popularity of these terms fool you into thinking this is just another passing fad.
In fact, it is more of a rediscovery of ancient knowledge. Well before the advent of modern medicine, our ancestors relied on the world around them for solutions to common illnesses and health issues.
As a result, the benefits of certain herbs and other plants have been well-documented for many years – in some cases for thousands of years.
The difference now is that we can combine this traditional knowledge with modern scientific methods to explore the mechanisms through which herbs benefit our health in more detail.
This increased understanding of the impact that herbs and other plants can have on our physical and mental health has led to a resurgence in interest in nutrition and herbalism. More and more of us use herbs in our daily lives to address particular health concerns or protect our wellness.
And that’s where functional teas come in. The phrase is typically used to indicate a tea blend that has been developed with a specific health benefit in mind.
Functional Teas Vs Herbal Teas
Functional teas are typically made from a blend of different herbs, so you’d be forgiven for wondering if this is just a rebranding of herbal tea. However, the two terms are not entirely equivalent to one another.
Functional teas are indeed herbal teas, but not all herbal teas are considered functional teas.
This is because not all herbal teas are designed with health benefits in mind. Many of the herbal teas you find on the supermarket shelves are just created for flavour, scent, and colour. They may well be delicious, but they aren’t considered functional teas.
To be described as a functional tea, a herbal tea blend needs to contain ingredients that work together to address a particular health concern.
Take our NutraVision tea, for example. The herbs in this blend include eyebright and bilberry, both of which are traditionally used to protect your eye health. In contrast, our NutraBone tea is aimed at joint and bone health. As a result, this blend contains herbs that are known to reduce joint inflammation and encourage bone growth.
While we very much hope that you’ll enjoy the taste of both teas (and the other blends in our range), the focus of these functional herbal teas goes well beyond flavour alone.
We carefully select the herbs in our teas to create blends that are tailored to specific health concerns. This is what makes them functional teas instead of just herbal teas.
If it helps, you could simply think of functional teas as a subset of herbal teas.
Getting Started With Functional Teas
Now that you know what functional teas are and how they differ from the broader category of herbal teas, you hopefully understand what all the hype is about.
There’s a whole wide world of functional herbal teas out there for you to discover. If you already have a particular health issue in mind, the easiest way to get started is to go to our shop and filter by function to find a blend that is suitable for you.
But if you want a more general introduction to functional teas, we recommend starting with our Healthy Wellbeing Gift Box.
This beautifully packaged collection contains three blends from our premium range that are ideal for the everyday health concerns that we all face.
It includes:
- NutraRelax – with calming herbs to promote rest and relaxation.
- NutraDefence – with herbs that support your immune system and help you recover from coughs and colds.
- NutraLiver – with herbs that support your liver health and keep your body’s natural detoxification system functioning properly.
