I Was Always Bloated After Meals Until a Nutritionist Recommended This Anti-Inflammatory Tea

Is the answer to bloating as simple as drinking hibiscus flower tea?

I needed to know. Abdominal bloating is something that many experience after meals, myself included. You yourself may know all too well that feeling of a heavy, swollen belly. It would happen to me even when I didn’t eat in excess—until my trusted nutritionist recommended that I try hibiscus flower. So I followed the advice and drank hibiscus flower tea after meals, and had remarkable results at reducing my abdominal inflammation.

“This red flower with medicinal properties is known as Hibiscus sabdriffa,” says Laura Parada, an expert and the author of What Motivates Us to Eat Like This? “It is native to Africa but is now cultivated in many regions of the world. Hibiscus flower tea is usually drunk both hot or cold and is known by many cultures as a remedy to calm nervous disorders, insomnia, moderate heart problems, reduce inflammation, accelerate metabolism, and reduce blood pressure.”

Why does hibiscus flower tea help with bloating?

“The fruit acids present in this flower can work as a laxative,” the nutritionist says. “In addition to having a digestive effect, it can help fight heartburn, stomach spasms, gastroenteritis, and gas.”

She adds that it’s also sometimes recommended to help lower blood pressure, reduce blood sugar and body fat, and improve kidney function. As for its medicinal properties, Parada says, “It is high in iron and vitamin C, minerals, and antioxidants such as polyphenols.”

That’s what it makes such a good companion with or after meals. “The antioxidant properties of the hibiscus flower protect against the aggression of free radicals [unstable atoms in the body that can damage cells, which can make you sick and cause aging],” Parada says.

When is the best time to drink hibiscus flower tea?

Parada suggests drinking the tea, hot or cold, after meals to take advantage of its help with digestion.

You can buy premade tea bags with dried hibiscus flowers and add boiling water to drink hot. (Serve over ice if you prefer it cold.) And pro tip: If you combine it with ginger and a little lemon, you have the perfect anti-inflammatory cocktail.

Of course, as Parada points out, “It’s not recommended to exceed two cups a day.” Also, though the plant is considered safe as a tea, Parada says it’s not advisable for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or anyone before or after a surgery.

A version of this article was previously published in Vogue Spain.