Parsley tea vs. coffee, tea, and hot chocolate

Although most people are limited to having to choose between drinking coffee or tea, I made a brave decision, and decided, instead, to give parsley tea a go, as an alternative option to the two most popular hot beverages.

Regardless of the antioxidant properties of both coffee and tea, I was always concerned about their true nutritional value, in terms of vitamins, minerals, etc.

There is probably a common misconception that coffee has many nutrients in high quantities. That is simply not true, and the same applies to traditional tea.

Things are different with hot chocolate, which is an excellent source of many valuable nutrients, for which you have to pay a premium price, of course. It is generally more cost-effective to get the same nutrients as with hot chocolate, from other food sources, such as muesli breakfast cereal.

So, I made the decision to start drinking parsley tea, when I realized that I had become a coffee addict, and this could cause serious problems to my health. I then tried sticking to tea, since it is generally considered as a healthier alternative to coffee.

However, when I searched online about the nutritional value of traditional tea, I have to say the results were disappointing.

What other options were available?

I considered trying hot chocolate, but the taste reminded me of coffee, which I wanted to forget.

Then I had the inspiration of searching online about the nutritional value of other herbal teas, which I had never tested before.

I thought about mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and many more, and finally, I came up with parsley.

Most importantly, parsley itself is a top source of vitamin K, as well as vitamin C. In fact, just a couple of parsley sprigs are more than enough to cover the daily recommended amount of vitamin K for an adult.

This is by far the best source of this vitamin, compared to the other herbal tea options that I searched for.

So, for example, you wouldn’t need to eat any lettuce or cabbage salad to take your daily vitamin K; you could just chew some parsley.

On top of that, parsley is a very cheap herb, and you only need to consume very small amounts of it on a daily basis.

Or, to be more precise, you only have to eat just one ounce or a couple of grams of parsley once every two days, otherwise you could risk taking excessive amounts of vitamin K, and ending up making more harm than good to your health.

Besides, if you combine it with one medium carrot every two days, you can also get your daily recommended intake amount of vitamin A, which is another fat-soluble vitamin (just like vitamin K); both vitamins are stored in the body’s fat tissue, so the body can use them when necessary.

At first, I tried to chew a couple of sprigs every day, which I loved because of their nice and fresh taste (although some people may actually dislike it). This also helped me keep my teeth clean.

Because I ate it raw, I could also reap the benefits of getting vitamin C as well.

However, getting almost 200% of the vitamin K I needed on a daily basis caused some toxicity problems (vitamin K is stored in the body, and not rejected like vitamin C, and even too much of a good thing can finally turn into a bad thing).

The next step was to try and find out how I could make some nice parsley tea, perhaps with half a teaspoon of sugar added. In this way, I could enjoy parsley as a form of herbal tea, which would stop me thinking of coffee, reducing thus any caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

So, I boiled some water, which I poured over some parsley leaves and stems that I had already put inside a cup, also adding half a teaspoon of sugar.

Although online instructions about preparing parsley tea recommended leaving it for about 5-6 minutes to brew, I decided to leave it for about a quarter of an hour, for a fully strong flavor, and in order to get as much vitamin K as possible.

The result was marvelous! This clear green broth had an unbelievable effect on my mood, and, believe it or not, it even made me feel stronger, also giving me incredible energy boost, which was unexpected but welcome!

The taste of this life elixir, i.e. parsley tea, made my drinking habit of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or any other herbal tea, permanently a thing of the past.

And because everything in moderation is a tip of advice to always follow, I chose to drink a cup of parsley tea once every two days.

Finally, another unexpected health benefit of consuming parsley tea is that it seems to have had a really positive effect on new hair growth on my scalp, which can remedy the signs of increased hair loss that I have suffered over the past few years.

So, drinking a cup of parsley tea every couple of days is an extremely healthy habit, for sure.

Further reading:

Parsley

7 surprising benefits of parsley tea (and how to make it)

Parsley tea benefits and side effects

10 Incredible Benefits Of Parsley Tea