This just in! Drinking chamomile tea helps to protect against thyroid cancer. Although most often enjoyed for its delicate floral flavour and sedative effect, researchers have now found that chamomile tea has anti-cancer actions.

Recently, researchers tested chamomile tea against various laboratory cell lines and found it selectively killed thyroid cancer cells, but did not harm healthy blood cells. There was also a clear dose-response effect, with increasing doses having more powerful anticancer results.

The active chemicals were identified as types of polyphenol known as flavonoid glycosides and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, and the researchers suggested that research was needed in real people, rather than their cells, to assess the full benefits.Later, new study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, has now shown that drinking chamomile tea offers significant protection against both thyroid cancer and benign thyroid conditions such as nodules and autoimmune inflammation like that which occurs in Hashimoto Thyroiditis.

Chamomile tea protect against thyroid disease

In the latest study, Greek researchers compared the chamomile tea intakes of 113 people with thyroid cancer, 286 with benign thyroid diseases and 138 healthy controls with no thyroid problems. The results showed that people who drank chamomile tea two to six times a week, on average, were 70% less likely to develop thyroid cancer and 74% less likely to develop benign thyroid disease than those who drank no chamomile tea at all.

These astonishing results remained even after other potential confounding factors such as age, gender, BMI, smoking, alcohol and coffee intakes were accounted for.

The duration of consumption was also inversely associated with thyroid disease, so that people who'd enjoyed chamomile tisanes for 30 years were almost 80% less likely to develop thyroid problems than those not drinking camomile tea.

Chamomile is an ancient medicine!

I find it fascinating that herbal teas have such a long history of medicinal use in Europe and other countries where this research-Greece was carried out. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, selected chamomile tea to treat fevers and, although we call it German chamomile, its common name comes from the Greek: chamos means ‘ground' and melos means ‘apple' – a name it earned due to its low-growing habit and apple scent.

If chamomile tea is so popular in Greece, could that mean that thyroid disease is less common in that part of the Mediterranean than in other countries where chamomile tea is less traditional and enjoyed less frequently?

Guess what – the Greek incidence of thyroid cancer is right at the bottom of the W.H.O. International league table!

Although the United States doesn't feature on this list, the annual incidence of thyroid cancer among US men and women is 13.5 per 100,000, placing it around the same level as Italy – right at the top.

Many other factors are involved such as following a Mediterranean-style diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, veg, oily fish, olive oil and garlic, as well as sunlight to synthesise vitamin D. But then again, Italy is also a Mediterranean country and features all these healthy foods in their national diet, yet are right at the top of the global list for thyroid cancer incidence. Perhaps chamomile is the missing factor that protects the Greeks from thyroid cancer and other thyroid diseases.  Chamomile has many studied and folk health benefits so I do not see any harm in trying it.  It also works wonders for stress and anxiety.  Since in these studies, benefits are dosage dependent my product below is a very strong version. It is an alcohol tincture and can be used as a tea by steeping for 30 seconds in hot water the alcohol is eliminated.  I do use and prescribe this herb frequently and think great things of it.  REMEMBER we are authorized distributors of all the products we sell and guarantee them to be fresh from the manufacturer and never warehoused.  FREE shipping on all orders!  Next week join me for a discussion about vitamin deficiencies and their links to anxiety and panic disorders!  Sign UP so you don't miss this!  Anxiety is the disease of our time.  Thank you for your business and best of health!