Palo Azul Tea
What is palo azul tea?
Palo azul tea is made from the bark of a small tree that grows primarily in Mexico, and in some areas of Texas and Arizona. The tea is made by boiling the bark in water and this yields a uniquely blue and fluorescent tea. This is why it’s called palo azul, which means “blue stick” in Spanish. Palo azul is also known as “kidney wood” because of its popularity for promoting kidney health.
What are palo azul's health benefits?
Palo azul tea has been used for its medicinal properties since the 15th century to treat a variety of conditions related to the kidneys, liver, urinary tract, sciatica, arthritis, gout and diabetes. Recent clinical studies have shown that palo azul’s effectiveness for these treatments is due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, diuretic, and alkalinizing properties and its flavonoid rich content.
Why is palo azul tea blue?
Numerous studies have found that palo azul tea is rich in flavonoids, which are polyphenolic compounds created by all plants in order to defend themselves against oxidative stress. A particular group of these flavonoids evolved the unique ability of fluorescence as a mechanism to defend against high energy UV by absorbing the light and emitting a lower energy blue light.
Studies
Due to the rising popularity of palo azul tea, we decided to compile all the recent studies on its health benefits so that others can learn how palo azul tea may improve their health.
