Licorice Root For Stress And Digestion

Stressed at work? Feeling like your digestion and gut health is also not what it used to be? The best way to melt away your stress and improve your digestion is with a nice hot therapeutic cup licorice root tea. It is part of my must have self-care rituals during the day.

Let me paint a picture of my love of tea. Anyone who knows me from my corporate job will vouch that I always nurse a cup of hot tea. Sometimes for the warmth (those air-conditioned office spaces), sometimes for caffeine and almost always for mental comfort. Tea has always provided me with permission to take a moment and zone out, much more than coffee. I love drinking teas that smell of roses, have that anise-y note, or earthy-like matcha. There’s definitely an aroma therapy element to a good cup of herbal tea. My tea drawer at home and at work includes a variety of teas including mint, green tea with rose, nettle, greens, oolongs, and licorice root tea.

Brief History Of Licorice

Licorice root has been used for thousands of years in many cultures, particularly Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine, for its medicinal purposes. In fact, ancient clay tablets discovered by archaeologists near Baghdad describe how licorice root was used to treat royalty seven centuries BCE. This herb was also found in the recently opened tomb of King Tut!

Endless Benefits Of Licorice Tea

So many of us learn to live with poor digestion or rely on medicine to help us. Taking a moment out during your day, and sipping on licorice root tea might just be the healthy ritual you need. It also helps with stress due as it acts as an adaptogen and can stimulate the adrenal gland, which promotes a healthy level of cortisol in the body. Make sure to drink it regularly to see its gut improving and anti-stress benefits building over time.

Note: Remember, that most herbs are not as potent as medicine, and therefore their effects take some time to build before you can see the benefits.

Some potential benefits:

- Improves digestion. 

- Repairs gut lining (leaky gut)

- Helps with heart burn

- Is an anti-stress herb known to increase energy, endurance and vitality, and act as a mild tonic. 

- Anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial

- May help with skin conditions such as eczema

- Relieves sore throat.

Where To Buy?

You can buy fresh licorice roots at specialty farm stores or dried as tea in most grocery stores including Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Just steep dried licorice root or tea bag in hot water, and drink away your stress and digestion discomforts.