What Is the Origin of Sassafras Tea?
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is a deciduous ornamental tree native to the Missouri region of the United States. But grown in several belts across the eastern parts of the United States. This small tree has very distinctive greenish-yellow blossoms that appear around the summer months. The roots and the root bark or the peeled root of the sassafras tree are believed to have some medicinal benefits. Sassafras was originally used in the flavoring of root beer or commercial soda, which is also available in the form of tea and is considered an "herbal miracle" that has a lot of purported health benefits. Though it would be interesting to know that most of the benefits of sassafras are widely popularized by some alternative medicine practitioners and some health reporters over the internet, it is unfortunately and completely not backed by some scientific evidence given according to current medical and nutrition research. Even for individuals who are consuming homemade natural sassafras tea, it would be wiser to note that the long-term concerns for using this herb are high. For root beer drinkers, as mentioned earlier, the taste of sassafras may be quite familiar as the sassafras roots that are dried and used for tea can also be used by some manufacturers of root beer as a flavoring agent. Sassafras teas are prepared easily in many homes in the United States by either using the leaves or the plant roots and are considered as a traditional herbal brew.
What Are the Risks Associated With Sassafras Tea?
Long-term safety issues currently exist for sassafras tea because of the safrole compound present in the sassafras roots. Concerns about safrole further increased in the early 1960s and 1970s because safrole was directly linked to cancer development and progression. Even from the 1960's, sassafras have been commercially used as a flavoring agent for manufacturing root beer. Hence, many commercial brands of root beer removed safrole and used processed sassafras in flavoring the root beer. Though sassafras may be consumed safely in moderate amounts even as a natural herbal tea according to some health experts and alternative medicine practitioners, some medical research also exists that shows clinical symptoms of hot flashes or sweating occurring upon regular consumption of sassafras tea. Safrole is the component that is found in certain parts of the sassafras tree which is linked to long-term significant health concerns as per current medical research. This is because, in animal studies, safrole is a known agent for causing liver cancer and is classified as a carcinogen or cancer-causing substance. The risk may also increase with the time of exposure and the quantity or amount of safrole compound consumed. This can be found as a volatile oil or a rapidly evaporating essential oil that is yielded by the roots of the sassafras tree. Hence, safrole is considered as a substance that is generally prohibited from direct consumption or addition or use as human food by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
What Are the Uses of Sassafras Tea?
Native Americans in fact used to believe sassafras as a " miracle cure " in the treatment of many systemic conditions. They regularly tried it in the healing and management of various conditions of the body that are listed below. Hence sassafras came to be known as a part and parcel of local and traditional medicine in the United States. When this was promoted as a health tonic to the European explorers, however, according to legend, they seemed much less impressed with the use of sassafras for medicinal purposes. The purported benefits of sassafras that gave it popularity were believed to be an integral existence in traditional and local medicine (as per native Americans). The health benefits are listed below as follows:
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Improves health of the urinary tract with regularized consumption of sassafras.
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Reduces clinical pain and symptoms in arthritis patients.
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Clear skin and reduces wrinkles on regular consumption of sassafras.
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Prevents eye strain and sustains macular health upon regular intake of sassafras.
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Helps in the treatment of joint sprains.
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Reduces itching or swelling caused by bug bites or bee stings.
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Boosts immunity.
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Improves cardiovascular health and blood circulation in general.
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Reduces the clinical symptoms of gout.
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Aids in Improved digestion.
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Reduces pyrexia or fever.
These multiple benefits listed for sassafras are given by some medical professionals from alternative medicine. However, nutrition experts do not recommend the consumption of sassafras for improving systemic health because the current scientific evidence regarding its usage is very low and the long-term safety concerns have not been evaluated as per medical research.
How Is Sassafras Tea Typically Prepared?
Just like the preparation of traditional herbal teas, pour hot water over the sassafras leaves and allow them to steep for a whole. Commercially-prepared sassafras tea bags are available both in the normal and concentrated forms usually as tea bags in many parts of the world. One would have come across or observed many teas that are labeled commercially as sassafras tea containing the tag of being "safrole-free”.
What Is the Controversy Surrounding Sassafras?
Sassafras tea is recommended as a part of the herbal diet or ayurvedic medicine by some medical practitioners who trust it to be safe when consumed by individuals in moderation. Currently, the effectiveness of sassafras as a beneficial ingredient is not confirmed because of the major drawback of long-term health concerns in human beings. It is important to understand that any product, plant, or herb containing a cancer-causing ingredient, does not mean that they can be capable of triggering cancers in human beings. For example, many of the cancer-causing compounds seen in plants and animal models such as rodents like mice or dog models have been known to be safe when used in moderate doses in human models.
Conclusion:
In the case of sassafras tea, because of the lack of human research available, it is considered from a traditional medicine perspective to be safely consumed in moderate amounts. However, there are a lot of nutrient-rich and immune-boosting alternatives to sassafras tea with long-term consumption safety. For instance, enjoy taking herbal teas that are rejuvenating like hibiscus tea, chamomile tea, chrysanthemum tea, or jasmine tea. A cup of mint tea or catechin-containing matcha tea is one of the best alternatives to start the day on an immune-boosting note. These alternative herbal or conventional rejuvenating teas mentioned have been documented by researchers for their promising potential to boost immunity as per scientific studies. So, prefer them over the sassafras tea any day when there is a need to rejuvenate.
