20 Health Benefits Of Thyme

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Thyme is an aromatic herb that belongs to the mint family. It is known for its multiple culinary uses. Apart from being a kitchen staple, thymes are used for medicinal purposes. Different parts of thyme as flowers and leaves serve various purposes. We can also find thyme or its extracts as ingredients in various skincare products.

Packed with helpful nutrients, thyme has various health benefits to offer. From treating acne to respiratory diseases, boosting immunity to mood, and many more, let's dig down into the health benefits of thyme.


1. Treats Respiratory Issues

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Thyme has an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Along with that, it functions as an expectorant. With these properties, it can be used in the treatment of respiratory issues such as bronchitis, asthma, congestion, sore throat, cold, flu, seasonal allergies, and many more.

Thyme may be used as a supplement to medication to treat respiratory diseases as mentioned. It also helps reduce inflammation by removing phlegm and mucus from the respiratory tract. Reduced inflammation makes breathing easier and prevents bacterial growth that may lead to sickness. Strong thyme tea helps relieve respiratory issues.

2. Aids In Weight Loss

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Thyme tea is also known as weight-loss tea. The chemical, thymol, is present in thyme tea. It helps in improving metabolism. Thus, aiding in burning fat and ultimately leading to weight loss. On top of that, thyme being a herb, serves a medicinal purpose.

Consumption of tea made from thyme suppresses the appetite. This leads to fewer sugar spikes and decreased overeating. Decreased appetite at last leads to weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight. As one of the foods for weight loss, it is imperative that you add it to your diet.

3. Eases Menstrual Cramps

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Good news to women! Every woman goes through four days of harsh times every month. When the menstrual calendar kicks off, mood swings and menstrual cramps are common. Improve your mood and ease the menstrual pain with thyme tea.

Hot beverages or hot water bags help ease the menstrual pain. The antispasmodic actions of specific active components in thyme tea help reduce menstrual cramps. The discomfort and pain of menstruation can be alleviated with the consumption of thyme tea.

4. Boosts Immune System

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Thyme is a herb rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential to the body to boost the immune system and fight infections. The abundance of vitamin C content in thyme makes it a natural immune booster.

Vitamin C is essential as it promotes the development of white blood cells (WBC) required to recover from wounds and fight infections. WBC acts as a first line of defense in the immune system. It aids in the development of collagen. Collagen is essential for the formation and repair of tissues, muscles, blood vessels, and cells.

5. Prevents Food Poisoning

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Thyme has multiple uses. One of them is disinfecting the food and preventing food contamination. A few drops of oil in water help prevent food poisoning.

According to research, thyme's essential oil is magical. Its essential oil acts as a natural preservative and helps improve the shelf life of foods such as meat and baked goods.

6. Helps Reduce Stress

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Nutrient-packed thyme herbs can do wonders. From treating respiratory issues to boosting the immune system, it helps reduce stress too. Out of various nutrients, one of the vitamins in thyme, vitamin B6 strongly influences the neurotransmitters linked to stress hormones in the brain.

As discussed previously, the consumption of thyme herbs helps boost the mood. Thus, when thyme is added to a regular diet, it aids in the relaxation of the mind. When anxious thoughts hit, thyme comes to the rescue to relax your mind.

7. Enhances Vision Health

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If you don't want to put on power-filled eyeglasses or want to get rid of them, add thyme to your diet. Rich in vitamin A, thyme helps improve the vision.

Along with vitamin A, thyme is a source of various antioxidants. These antioxidants help prevent various eye diseases such as cataracts. It delays macular degeneration by neutralizing free radicals in the eyes. The vitamins and antioxidants help improve the health of ocular tissues too.

8. Protects Oral Health

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Who wants bad breath and weak teeth? Nobody. So, protect your oral health by adding thyme to your daily routine.

Dental goods such as toothpaste and mouthwash are believed to have thyme extracts. Various compounds in thyme herbs help in keeping teeth strong, preventing them from various infections. The compounds also keep teeth healthy by reducing plaque and decay. Furthermore, if you have a bad breath, adding a few drops of thyme oil in water can be beneficial.

9. Fights Acne

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Acne is a common skin problem every human being has. The problem is mostly prevalent in teenagers. If over-the-counter medication is not doing any good to you, get your hands on thyme extracts.

Thyme is one of the foods for healthy skin. Because of this, its extracts have been used in various skincare products too. Studies have found that the herb has thymol that has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects. These are excellent properties that can be used to fight against acne-causing bacteria.

10. Treats Anemia

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If your body faces iron deficiency, you become prone to anemia. Less iron content means less red blood cells. Eventually, less oxygen content in the blood.

Thyme is an excellent source of iron. Iron is essential for the growth and development of red blood cells. Having thyme extracts as a tea, or essential oil will provide your body with its iron content. These herbal extracts can treat or prevent anemia. However, if you are under medication, it is advised to consult a physician before including thyme in your diet.

11. Protects Heart Health

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A rich blend of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins in thyme protects heart health. The presence of potassium and manganese in particular helps prevent various heart-related diseases.

Potassium relaxes the blood vessels and helps lower the blood pressure. It helps prevent thickening or hardening of arteries. With this, it can aid in the prevention of various heart diseases such as strokes, heart attacks, etc. So, if you want to keep your heart healthy and prevent heart-related diseases start adding thyme to your diet.

12. Strengthens Bones

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Along with the benefits mentioned above, thyme has an added benefit i.e. strengthening bones. A powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, calcium, iron, and antioxidants, thyme promotes your bone health.

Thyme has some important nutrients such as vitamin K, calcium, manganese, etc. These nutrients promote bone formation. They also aid in lowering the risk of bone disorders. Adding thyme to your diet is having an herbal treatment to strengthen the bone.

13. Helps Fight Cancer

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Not just adding taste to your savory dishes, having thyme helps in fighting cancer too. Active ingredients in thyme prevent the growth of tumors. The carvacrol component found in essential oil has been studied to have anti-cancer properties.

According to the studies, the presence of carvacrol decreases the growth and migration of colon cancer cells. This makes thyme a cancer-fighting diet. Moreover, the presence of the component has been studied to have therapeutic properties, preventing colon cancer as well as aiding in its treatment.

14. Improves Brain Health

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Keeping brain health intact is essential for the proper functioning of the whole body. We can do so with the diet that we follow. With every changing day, contamination in foods and improper diets are causing various health issues. In this scenario, adding thyme to your diet will save you from various unwanted consequences.

As per research, thyme increases the hormone levels, delaying neurodegenerative illness. Thyme can help improve cognition by saving us from various diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, depression, etc.

15. For Healthy Hair

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If you are facing issues of excessive hair loss leading to a peeking scalp and irritated with stubborn dandruff, adding thyme to your diet will be miraculous. Dandruff is sometimes caused by bacteria and thyme has anti-bacterial properties that can help you get rid of it.

Not only with eradicating dandruff, you will get added benefits by using thyme. You will get a healthier scalp resulting in healthy hair. Not limited to that, the use of thyme will boost the hair volume, and make it stronger and shinier. So, add thyme to your diet as a food for hair health.

16. Prevents Yeast Infections

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Not limited to anti-bacterial properties, thyme has been proven to have fungicidal properties against yeast infections too.

A low dose of thyme oil is effective against a fungus known as Candida albicans. This particular fungus is known to cause yeast infections. Thyme has been proven to have worked effectively against the fungus even when the prescribed medications fail to act against it.

17. Anti-Inflammatory

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Thyme is a high holder of vitamin C content. With this vitamin, it is anti-inflammatory in nature. Traditionally, thyme has been used to cure anti-inflammatory diseases too.

If you are suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases, it is beneficial to add thyme to your diet. Be it in cooking, as a tea, or an essential oil, have thyme and enjoy the health benefits. The vitamin C content helps fight infections as it develops the white blood cells in the body. So, if you are a sufferer of prolonged inflammation, have thyme.

18. Improves Digestive Health

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When you have a healthy digestive system, your body can function properly. Thyme helps improve your digestive health by reducing the production of excess gas and flatulence.

The volatile oils in thyme have carminative qualities that aid digestive health. Consumption of thyme also helps ease intestinal pain. If you are suffering from indigestion or bloating, having thyme tea helps ease them. Moreover, the intestinal cramps can also be relieved by the consumption of thyme. Thyme and its extracts help keep digestive health intact leading to a healthy life.

19. Calms Nervous System

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Thyme can be consumed by sprinkling it to the food, as a tea. The essential oil of thyme serves multiple benefits. The health benefits that thyme offers have been discussed above. In addition to them, thyme helps calm the nervous system too.

The presence of a component known as carvacrol has favorable effects on the neurological system. Thyme has a relaxing and supporting effect on the nervous system naturally. This particular benefit helps ease the functioning of the whole body. So, it might be worthwhile keeping thyme and its extracts at hand.

20. Lowers Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels

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The therapeutical herb serves to lower the blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The antihypertensive effects of the herbs make it an excellent choice to treat high blood pressure symptoms.

As per the studies, thyme extracts lower the low-density cholesterol and triglyceride levels all while boosting high-density cholesterol levels. It has also been known to lower the heart rate of those who have hypertension. Thyme is an excellent choice to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

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