Horehound Tea

Are you wondering what is horehound tea? Well, it's a herbal tea made from the dried leaves of the herb named horehound. The botanical name of the horehound herb is, Marrubium vulgare and it belongs to the mint family. The horehound plant is a perennial flowering plant, native to Europe and has been naturalized in United States. Since centuries, this herb has been used as home remedy for minor ailments like cold and cough. The benefits of horehound can be enjoyed by using the horehound extract to prepare candies, cough syrups and tea. The horehound candies are popular old-fashioned candies used for soothing itchy throat due to cold and cough. Even the tea provides similar benefits and given below is a brief information on its benefits.

Horehound Tea Benefits

The horehound herb is blessed with number of useful medicinal properties, that include, antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, expectorant, diaphoretic and diuretic. Thus, drinking horehound tea can help to fight a myriad of health problems. It is considered as a very effective home remedy for treating respiratory problems. So, if you have caught cold, drinking one cup of warm tea can help in relieving the discomfort caused due to the cough stuck in your throat and respiratory passage. It is also beneficial in alleviating the symptoms of lung disorders like asthma, wheezing, chronic bronchitis, etc.

It is also used as a herbal tonic which stimulates the appetite and improves the functioning of the digestive system. It can also alleviate the cramps experienced during menstrual cycles. Its antiseptic properties help in treating headaches caused due to sinus infections. It also acts as a mild laxative and helps to cure digestive problems. Drinking it also helps in achieving normal contraction of heart muscles. Though there are no scientific evidences, but use of horehound is believed to reduce the increased blood sugar level in diabetic patients. Early studies also state that horehound is beneficial in lowering high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Now, let us take a look at a simple method of preparing horehound tea.

Horehound Tea Recipe

Ingredients

• Horehound leaves (dried) - 1 teaspoon
• Honey
• Water - 1 cup
• Lemon juice

Procedure

To prepare this horehound herbal tea, first pour the water in a pot and bring it to boil. Meanwhile, place the horehound leaves in a heat proof container. Once the water boils, turn off the heat and pour the boiling water over the horehound leaves in the container. Cover the container half the way and let the leaves steep in the hot water. After 10 to 15 minutes, remove the cover on the container and strain the liquid into a cup. Now, simply add honey to it, according to the sweetness required. Further, you can also add lemon juice, if required. Horehound tea is bitter in taste due to the substance marrubiin present in it. So, one can add sweetener to the tea to reduce this bitter taste. You should prefer adding honey instead of sugar to the tea, because use of sugar can cancel its health benefits.

There are certain side effects of horehound tea that should be noted before using this tea. Excessive consumption can lead to irregular heartbeats. So, one should not consume more than one cup a day. People suffering from peptic ulcers should avoid drinking it, since this may give rise to health problems like acidity. Over consumption of the tea can cause health ailments like restlessness, dry mouth, pupil dilation and hallucinations.

Use of horehound tea is safe for small children, but pregnant and lactating ladies should strictly avoid its use. It is recommended that before using it for any of the medicinal purposes, you should consult your physician. I hope this article will prove useful to you.