Chai tea

[Wendymay]

Hi has anyone tried chai tea and have they had any benefits from it? X

 

[mango]

Hi has anyone tried chai tea and have they had any benefits from it? X

'Chai' means tea Do you mean Indian style masala chai, spiced tea, usually served with milk (and loads of sugar)?

Are you asking if people have had any benefits from adding for example cinnamon or cardamom or ginger to their tea?

I drink masala chai every day, have been doing it for many many years Actually, I have a massive mug of it in my hand right now I absolutely love it, and it makes me very happy But no, I don't notice any benefits in regards to ME.

I also drink different kinds of ayurvedic teas and spice/herb blends regularly. They are great for symptom relief, but of course you could add those kind of spices and herbs to regular tea/chai as well, if you want

 

[JaimeS]

spicy stuff does tend to increase circulation by definition. I haven't seen any studies done specifically on Indian spiced tea and ME/CFS however.

 

[JaimeS]

On a hunch, I searched chai and "chronic fatigue" and I found this:

J Tradit Chin Med. 2009 Mar;29(1):24-8.
Effects of the intelligent-turtle massage on the physical symptoms and immune functions in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Wang JH1, Chai TQ, Lin GH, Luo L.
Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effects of the intelligent-turtle massage on the physical symptoms and immune functions in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

METHODS:
182 cases of CFS were randomly divided into an experimental group of 91 cases treated by the intelligent-turtle massage, and a control group of 91 cases treated with the conventional massage method. After 2 courses of treatment, the therapeutic effects were statistically analyzed with the accumulated score for the improved clinical symptoms; and the changes of IgA, IgM and IgG were compared in 96 cases.

RESULTS:
There was a significant difference between the two groups in the accumulated scores for improvement of the symptoms (P<0.05). A remarkable difference was found in the therapeutic effect. And there was a significant difference in the IgA, IgM and IgG levels between the two groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION:
The intelligent-turtle massage is an effective therapy for relieving the physical symptoms of CFS, and it may show certain effects on the immune functions.

...I thought:

1. I am not sure what this has to do with chai, but intelligent-turtle is an awesome name for a massage technique.
2. ....they measured IgA, IgG, and IgM. This is already more objective than any research in the BPS school.
3. ....oh, Chai is one of the researchers' names.

...off to read this.

 

[JaimeS]

1) Selecting the opening point as the main one for
stimulation according to the intelligent-turtle eight
methods (灵龟八法): The numerals of the Heavenly
Stems and Earthly Branches of the date and time
when patients paid their visit were calculated. The
sum of the 4 numerals may divided by 9 on yang date
and by 6 on yin date to calculate the remainder, which
is the code for the point to be selected. According to
“Song of Eight Methods”( 八法歌), the remainders
represent respectively the following points: 1 for
Shenmai (BL 62), 2 and 5 for Zhaohai (KI 6), 3 for
Waiguan (TE 5), 4 for Linqi (临泣), 6 for Gongsun
(SP 4), 7 for Houxi (SI 3), 8 for Neiguan (PC 6) and
9 for Lieque (LU 7).

Still a marvel of logic in comparison. I stand by this.

 

[TigerLilea]

Hi has anyone tried chai tea and have they had any benefits from it? X

It's tea! I'm not sure what benefits you would expect to get from drinking it?

 

[JaimeS]

It's tea! I'm not sure what benefits you would expect to get from drinking it?

Tea contains chemicals that might have effects on the human body.

 

[Wendymay]

Sorry only meant the spices having a positive impact on health. Yes it is just tea but from what I've read on chai tea it goes over and above being just a drink.

 

[valentinelynx]

I am addicted to masala chai! Certain I was an Indian man in past life - spent my days lying about drinking chai...

 

[Cheesus]

I am not sure what this has to do with chai, but intelligent-turtle is an awesome name for a massage technique.

This is a very well known technique; I am surprised you haven't heard of it. It involves s a turtle wearing thick-rimmed spectacles walking up and down on a person's back as it recites the periodic table.

 

[Jenny TipsforME]

I've never thought to look it up but you'd in theory get the benefits of all those spices eg cinnamon can help level out blood sugar which can be an issue for us. The main issue is probably that the amount of each spice is small - would there be enough to make any difference?

Chai tea tastes great. If you like it too, the pleasure of drinking it is probably worth it alone.

Something similar I like is hot cocoa with curcumin/turmeric and approx 1 tsp honey. Cocoa is meant to improve blood flow to the brain in CFS and there are lots of reported benefits of curcumin.

Chocolate chai is also a drink that makes me

 

[Valentijn]

I'm glad this thread was started, because I'd never tried masala chai (tea), but loved the smell of it. I've also been going through a phase of cooking Indian meals, since they work so well in a slow-cooker. Anyhow, Indian cuisine is quite awesome when it comes to spices and balances of flavor.

So when the fiance went to refill our primo coffee stash today, I asked him to look for masala chai, and they actually make their own blend on-site So far, we both love it, though I want to try a couple different blends from the grocery store. At least one comes with black tea leaves as well, which should be interesting. And every blend will have a different balance of the spices, and sometimes different spices as well. I'm very much looking forward to experimenting!

But based on eating the same spices 3-4 times per week, I haven't noticed any health benefits. They just taste awesome.

 

[JaimeS]

When doing a turmeric tea with star anise, and clove and such, I noted a definite improvement in my usual low-immunity issues. But I had to pretty much do so constantly for the effects to last. If I didn't drink a cup every four hours, I got the symptoms of my immune system dropping (including that between-rib pain I hate) so I stopped.

....but it was soooo delicious.

 

[JaimeS]

It involves s a turtle wearing thick-rimmed spectacles walking up and down on a person's back as it recites the periodic table.

 

[Snowdrop]

Generally speaking, in my opinion, things like Chai and other healthy foods may benefit those who are basically healthy (assisting in abetting the symptoms of an acute cold etc) For something like ME what I want is a nice IV of antiviral drugs because I can barely function and nothing of the hundreds of things I've tried has stopped the decline.

This is a hardcore long term illness and it needs hardcore solutions. @JaimeS may be right about food chemicals have effects on the body but which chemicals are needed and what do they do and how much is needed and in what combination. Plus, I suspect you'd have to drink rather too much Chai to see an effect (whatever that might be).

I'm not suggesting anyone stop trying things but I am suggesting that we see clearly the reality that this is not the summer flu we're talking about. We want researchers to take this seriously and find a solution/treatment for millions of sufferers some of whom are desperately ill.

And I apologise if this sounds overly harsh--I'm not meaning it that way--it's just that we try so many 'health' foods/supplements/cleanses etc and yet here we all are. Your very best option if you are ill with ME is to pursue medical treatment if you can find it/afford it or to lobby to make it available and for better research. I've been at this a long time and am rather passionate about getting treatment.

I wish you well in finding what works for you.

 

[Snowdrop]

I just wanted to add a little of where I'm coming from. This illness is a learning curve no question. It's not something you expect initially but you wade in and find there's a lot to know. Not unlike many other illnesses when a person gets diagnosed and goes and does research--they know vaguely about it but lack specifics.

Early on I had a habit of conflating symptom with illness. If I could do something to alleviate a symptom I equated that with making progress in fighting back the illness. I now know this is not the case. This may not be everybody's starting POV of course. But we are better off with accurate good info which only science can provide.

 

[Mij]

@Snowdrop yes, I think we would have to drink large amounts to achieve any therapeutic effect, same goes for green tea, I read that drinking 1/3 cup of Macha powder every day is considered therapeutic. That's quite a lot.

I think anything that aids in digestion is a good thing. I just ordered some herbal Chai tea.

 

[Snowdrop]

And I'm not saying that anything that helps a symptom isn't worthy. While waiting for the BIG DAY when I'm shot full of IV drugs I'm all about symptom relief.

And I again apologise to @Wendymay this may not be what you were expecting when you asked an innocent and legitimate question. Don't let my post put you off looking for answers.

 

[JaimeS]

I'm not suggesting anyone stop trying things but I am suggesting that we see clearly the reality that this is not the summer flu we're talking about. We want researchers to take this seriously and find a solution/treatment for millions of sufferers some of whom are desperately ill.

I'm not sure what temporary solutions have to do with how seriously researchers take our illness.

I know that some people have tried a lot of different treatments and have been unable to find anything helpful for them. But, as I pointed out someplace else, it's interesting how we take evidence of each prescription drug on its own merits, but with over-the-counter, herbal, vitamins or what-have-you, it's always, "I tried chamomile tea one time and licorice root a bunch of times. I even tried withania. Nothing works." Each prescription med is treated as its own thing, but alternative medicine is treated as one, big thing: if you try 'it' from a couple of different angles and it doesn't completely cure you, it must not be worthwhile.

What ends up over the counter and what ends up a prescription drug is often totally unrelated to the chemical's strength or efficacy. Then we have the plethora of drugs that are derived from natural sources... and yes, if you take the herb instead of the purified substance, you still get an effect, depending on the herb and the preparation.

I probably will make a blog post at some point in order to discuss some of this... because I often end up saying the same things.

Early on I had a habit of conflating symptom with illness. If I could do something to alleviate a symptom I equated that with making progress in fighting back the illness. I now know this is not the case.

I'm really not sure what to make of this. I'm trying to manage my symptoms, not trying to cure myself of ME/CFS with chai tea... or any other OTC supplement! If something helps me manage my symptoms, I'm happy to use it. I'm happier, even, when it's something I can purchase myself without the go-ahead from a physician to try and see if it's helpful.

Since we don't have a cure, symptom management is the ONLY important thing to me right now. Moreover, even prescription meds may only be able to offer us symptom management help as well.

The idea that nothing that comes from a food or a plant can be helpful is just plain old bias. A chemical is a chemical, and unless you believe in energetic perturbations, a chemical will have the same effect on your body no matter how it is derived / where it is from.

-J

 

[Jenny TipsforME]

Yes I think it comes down to quality of life and timing. I have no expectation that things like this will get to the root cause of ME. However, realistically I'm not going to get serious treatment any time soon. To even be able to campaign for better treatment I need alternative medicine to be able to do it. For example, a couple of years ago I couldn't read. The words moved around and lines of text weren't in lines. Starting taking liquid Valerian (different from dried) I had somewhat deeper sleep and could start my blog and read ideas on here.

It can be subtle improvement. I record symptoms on the ME/CFS assistant app. It reported a positive trend in fatigue (more energy). I looked at my record of supplements and it coincided with starting astragalus. Of course this could be just coincidence, but it fits the expected benefit that the app didn't know to expect.