The Mighty Benefits Of Butterfly Pea Tea

The Benefits Of Drinking Butterfly Pea Tea

BUTTERFLY PEA.

Aka Asian Pigeon Wings.

You should know first- this is never medical or professional advice. No official claims made here. <3 Do your research!

What is Butterfly Pea Tea?

This drink has been brewed for centuries in Southeast Asia.

This tea comes to us in as a flower tea or in POWDER FORM- ground up Butterfly Pea flower. It is a BLUE COLOR (fun!), is naturally caffeine free and is considered an herbal tea.

My goal is to drink some kind of tea every single day. I love when this is in my rotation. I love the taste and I love that I can drink it day or night as it’s not stimulating.

Scientific Studies on Butterfly Pea Tea

There is an extensive analysis done on BPT that I thought was cool. And I’ll share more studies done on butterfly pea tea here.

To be VERY CLEAR: There is a need for more studies done on this plant. Almost all studies have been animal studies or in vitro (in a test tube) and although they are promising– this isn’t enough to be conclusive science. We cannot deny many of the nutritional properties though, and I do believe it merits more studies in the future. Here is one of the most recent studies done.

OKAY. SO.

The scientific name of butterfly pea tea is Clitoria Ternatea. Yes- that’s the real name.

My favorite all-encompassing quote about butterfly pea from an analysis was this: “Numerous animal studies have reported that the extracts [of butterfly pea] exhibit diuretic, nootropic, antiasthmatic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antidiabetic, antilipidemic, anti-arthritic, antioxidant, and wound healing properties.”

AKA: Butterfly pea may help with detox through peeing, enhancing cognitive function, asthma, help with inflammation and pain, help with reducing fevers, help with diabetes and cholesterol levels, help with arthritis, getting in more antioxidants, and yes- wound healing.

LET’S EXPLORE MORE.

The antioxidant compounds of this blue tea are what really intrigues me. Antioxidants are important because they help strengthen the immune system and fight off free radicals. Aka they are PRO DNA— as I like to say!

Butterfly Pea Tea Can Help The Eyes

The reason this tea can support the eyes is that it contains specific flavonoids (a type of antioxidant) called proanthocyins and anthocyins.

These have been shown to be really great for eye health .<— this study is cool! Personally, once I started needing glasses I have paid more attention to eye health more than ever. So I focus on foods I can eat to support my eyes. I also wear sunglasses all the time.

Studies are positive for anthocyanins and it’s relation to eye health however something to consider is the bioavailability can be tough at times given the product- and this is hard to track. Is this true for the anthocyanins in BPT? Tough to say.

Butterfly Pea Tea Can Help With Cognitive Function

I think one of the coolest parts of drinking butterfly pea tea is that it can help with many things involved with the brain. Most of the compelling studies are done on animals- but I think it is still worth a look at.

Studies have shown that this tea can support with depression, our ability to learn, and our memory. What’s really cool is that there was also an uptick in glutathione levels (liver health!!) in these animals. And we know that almost any antioxidant that has to do with the liver… has to do with the brain. So this makes sense! Now the question is– how much do we have to drink?

Also see this study on preserving the brain of rats with the administering of butterfly pea.  (I hate animal studies because I love animals but I will read the literature if it is there. Just being clear.)

Butterfly Pea Tea Can Help With Inflammation

We are constantly battling inflammation. Chronic inflammation = aging, so this is something to always keep in mind. Food is medicine! I won’t get into the details of every study– but they are for sure promising.

This one in particular looked at how BPT can help reduce a fever.

Butterfly Pea Tea Helps Fight Off Free Radicals And Promote Longevity

Due to its high amount of antioxidants— I love to sip on this tea and just picture it obliterating all these free radicals inside my body. 😛 That is one of the main points of antioxidants- to go after the baddies in our bodies!

I appreciate that Butterfly pea is rich in flavonoids- this can help stimulate collagen. AND I AM ALWAYS TRYING TO STIMULATE MORE COLLAGEN.

Butterfly Pea Tea Can Help With Allergies and Asthma

I didn’t study up too much on this… self-serving I will admit because I don’t deal with this myself. However, Dan deals with asthma so I am always on the lookout for natural support for him. I found this study interesting- it had to do with asthma and coughing and the positive effect BPT had on this. It concluded that they believe it could help.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? I mainly drink it to feed my skin and help with cognitive support. Eye health as well but it bums me out that it’s tough to determine how bioavailable anthocyanins are.

BTW these photos were taken by Jon of Eat My Media— he is so talented I can’t even put it into words. I am so lucky to create content with him for VF from time to time!