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What Are the Health Benefits of Mugwort Tea?

By O. Parker
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 21,613
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Mugwort tea is used to treat stomach ailments such as indigestion, constipation, and bloating. It has long been used as a remedy to treat worms and intestinal parasites in people and animals as well. Herbalists and alternative healers also recommend using the tea to bring on a late or absent menstrual cycle. North American Native herbal traditions used mugwort tea to stimulate dream intensity as well. Other uses include treating gout, nervousness, colds, asthma, depression, and insomnia.

Compounds in mugwort leaves help relieve constipation, diarrhea, bloating, indigestion, and other ailments associated with the digestive tract. Mugwort tea is used to help improve digestion and the production of digestive juices that help return the digestive system to a normal balance. The anti-fungal and anti-bacterial elements of the tea help treat stomach problems brought on by harmful bacteria, a plight often suffered by travelers.

This type of tea also is a vermifuge and often considered a standard herbal treatment for intestinal worms. Intestinal worms can weaken the body by taking important nutrients from the system. In extreme cases, worms can cause severe illness and even death in people and animals. A strong tea made from the leaves and flowers of the mugwort can help slow and prevent infestations of intestinal worms.

Delayed menstruation or the absence of a menstrual cycle also is commonly treated with mugwort tea. Compounds in the tea help to balance hormonal levels and regulate an irregular menstrual cycle. Pregnant women should avoid mugwort tea, as the same compounds that stimulate a late period can also bring on a miscarriage. Chances of a miscarriage are highest if the tea is consumed in the first three months of pregnancy. During childbirth, however, mugwort tea can be beneficial by helping to stimulate contractions.

Mugwort is the common name for the plant species Artemisia vulgaris, which are perennial herbs or weeds that grow in temperate areas of the Northern hemisphere. The plants grow 5 feet (about 1.5 m) tall and flower in mid to late summer. Tea is made from the leaves, either fresh or dried, or from the flowers. Mugwort can be harvested at any time during spring and summer when the plant is actively growing. The leaves also can be harvested before the first frost and dried for use through the winter months.

Herbs, including mugwort, are not always safe just because they are natural. In large doses, the chemical compounds in mugwort can be toxic. Anyone seeking to use mugwort to treat a medical condition should consult a trained herbalist or a health care professional.

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Discussion Comments
By anon357775 — On Dec 06, 2013

Awesome stuff, one of the best teas I have ever had.

By anon330306 — On Apr 15, 2013

My acupuncturist, who is also trained in Chinese medicine, has been treating me for several different ailments including poor circulation (especially in the legs, which I think is common among women).

After pointing out some of the reddish (and some bluish) stringy, dilated capillaries on my ankles, she suggested heat therapy. What she did was take a long, cigar-shaped pack of dried mugwort leaves which are packed in paper the same manner in which cigars can be found, and lit the end to burn (yup, the same way in which a cigar should burn). She spent about five minutes on each area, holding the tip just centimeters from the skin and then rubbing the heated area to circulate the area. The doctor explained that mugwort has properties that improve circulation which helps in addition to the heat. She even gave me a stick free of charge to take home and do myself. The spider veins have quickly lightened in pigment, perhaps due to a reduction of inflammation.

By turquoise — On Jan 04, 2013

I've heard from a friend that mugwort organic tea can help with asthma. Has anyone tried it for asthma?

By bear78 — On Jan 04, 2013

@ankara-- Mugwort tea is good for sleep, and also for dreaming, but don't overdo it. It's true that many cultures have used this for lucid dreams and for dream remembrance, but they didn't use it daily. It's meant to be used rarely because it is toxic when used in large amounts and/or regularly.

You can, alternatively, make a dream pillow with it. Just put mugwort tea (dry mugwort leaves) and also other dry herbs like lavender if you want into a pillow case and sleep on it. The scent of the mugwort and lavender will relax you, help you fall asleep and you will remember you dreams.

I personally think that that mugwort tea should be used only on occasion, maybe once a month at most. And if someone is taking medications or other herbs, mugwort tea shouldn't be used without the approval of a doctor.

By bluedolphin — On Jan 04, 2013

Mugwort is most beneficial for stomach and digestive problems when eaten fresh, in the form of salad or otherwise. I've tried this and it helped with my indigestion. It does taste a bit bitter, but I didn't notice it much when mixed with other greens and with lemon juice dressing.

I have also had mugwort herbal tea and I noticed that it helps me sleep better and earlier when I have it in the evening.

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