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For women regular consumption of chamomile tea could reduce the risk of premature death by almost a third

Chamomile tea ensures longer life for women

Natural Health News — Here’s a health benefit most of us didn’t expect from drinking daily chamomile tea – longer life.

Chamomile is a commonly used herb among older adults of Mexican origin. In an effort to understand its potential benefits, researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston analysed data from over 1,600 women and men from over a seven-year period, during which the researchers compared consumption of chamomile and the cause of death.

Before beginning the study the team established that 14% of the participants regularly drank chamomile tea.

Benefits for women – but not men

The findings, published in the journal Gerontology, revealed consuming chamomile lowered the risk of premature death from all causes among women by 29%. This difference was still found even after taking into account various risk factors including socioeconomic status, existing health conditions and health behaviours. The same protective effect was not found in men.

“The reason for a difference in our reported findings between Hispanic women and men is not clear, although women were shown to be more frequent users of chamomile than men,” said Bret Howrey, study author and assistant professor in the the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, department of family medicine.

“This difference may be due to traditional gender roles whereby women manage the day-to-day activities of the household, including family health, and may also reflect greater reliance on folk remedies such as herbs.”

The researchers also speculate that higher rates of both smoking and alcohol consumption among men may have been influential.