Upset stomachs, tummy troubles, and diarrhea or constipation happen to the best of us. And just like chicken soup is the #1 remedy for someone coming down with a cold or flu, a cup of soothing tea can help. It will impart its warmth to your stomach and make it feel better in just minutes. 

It’s not only the warmth that will be responsible for the healing though. Every herb you use for these purposes will be imparting their medicinal properties into the water and starting the healing process. The tea will release the health benefits. Whether it’s calming your tummy down or relieving constipation, your GI system can become quite happy, usually within minutes. 

The Top 6 Herbs for Upset Stomach 

Here are the top six herbs that you can make herb teas from for upset stomachs and tummy troubles, and the reasons why they deserve these top positions:

1.     Ginger Tea – Our #1 best tea for upset stomach and diarrhea 

Known for its great effects at eliminating nausea, ginger tea has helped millions of moms during their morning sickness, and millions more women for stomach upsets over the course of a lifetime. Its effects are not particular for only women though; men and children as well as the elderly can benefit.

Ginger has been used as a home remedy for many stomach ailments including belching, bloating, inflamed stomach, stomach ulcerations, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, motion sickness, and more. Doctors in India at the Father Muller Medical College reported on the positive effects of ginger in 2013, and there are hundreds more doctors and researchers who have done the same thing. Ginger also has the ability to decrease free radicals, which helps in anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory actions as well.

To make a cup of ginger tea, dice fresh ginger into very small pieces. Add one tablespoon to a cup of boiling hot water, let steep, add a squeeze from a lemon, and sip.

2.     Chamomile Tea – Our #2 best tea for upset stomach and diarrhea

Chamomile is known for its ability to decrease stress, and stress can definitely cause butterflies in the stomach, upset stomach, and even a little diarrhea. It improves antioxidant status, which can be helpful in those who are experiencing an upset stomach from flu. Researchers in France and in Tunisia have found that chamomile also has antidiarrheal medicinal components. Diarrhea also tended to raise free radicals in their study, but chamomile’s antioxidant properties took care of that, too.

Chamomile tea is widely available at grocery stores in boxes of tea bags. Add one to your cup of boiling hot water. If you happen to have the dried herb in bulk, add one teaspoon herb to one cup boiling hot water for tea.

3.     Peppermint Tea 

A tea can also be made with a few drops of peppermint oil instead of a peppermint tea bag. In one Texas study, 30 children aged 7 to 12 years old with abdominal pain took peppermint oil capsules one to three times daily for one week. The peppermint oil stimulated the stomach muscles, small bowel, and whole gut, helping to move contents out of the GI tract. Peppermint is good for cases where constipation is causing stomach and abdominal pain.

In another study, Japanese researchers reported that peppermint oil relaxed the small intestine, reducing spasms. And other studies show relief for those who have irritable bowel syndrome, due to peppermint’s anti-spasmodic properties.

4.     Green Tea

Besides green tea preventing stomach cancer, this herbal tea is also great for decreasing inflammation of the stomach, according to UCLA School of Public Health researchers in the International Journal of Cancer in 2003. It contains anti-inflammatory agents that work quite well. The effects of green tea have been well studied over the last few decades; nothing but good reports have come from researchers. They have found that green tea offers us many substances that are helpful for a lot of things besides stomach cramps, a way to settle an upset stomach, bloat, and abdominal pain.

And by the way, tea is made from the tea leaves of the Camelia sinensis plant. Black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and pu-err tea are all from the same tea plant. Medicinal herbs are technically called herb teas and green tea or black tea is the definition of a cup of tea.

Like black tea, green tea bags with tea leaves packed in a box are widely available at just about every grocery store. To make your cup of tea, simply add a tea bag to a cup of boiling hot water, steep, and drink when it has cooled a little. You can always make up several cups of green tea all at one time and then help yourself to its benefits during the day. However, it’s best to stop drinking green tea after 5 pm due to the caffeine content. 

5.     Slippery Elm – Our #3 best tea for upset stomach and diarrhea relief 

Slippery elm is often a favorite herb of herbalists. It feeds the mucosal membranes of the GI tract all the nutrients needed to heal. In one study in Korea, researchers tested the effects of slippery elm in animals with alcohol damage that caused stomach inflammation and ulcers induced by the drug indomethacin.

Slippery elm showed a strong anti-inflammatory effect (84%) against stomach inflammation, protecting the delicate stomach tissues from being damaged, when it was combined with black raspberry and Gardenia jasminoides. The results were just as good as a commonly used medication called cimetidine. This tells us that slippery elm is good enough to use as a natural remedy to treat stomach ulcers. 

But by itself, slippery elm is known for its healing effects on the throat as in slippery elm lozenges, and when hydrated with water in the form of slippery elm tea =, it provides the healing agents directly to the intestinal cells along the entire route from mouth to anus. It’s especially helpful for constipation and diarrhea. Both these will often cause symptoms of stomach pain, sometimes nausea, and even a cramp. In constipation, this herb helps provide more bulk to the fecal matter so it can move through the GI tract. In diarrhea, it acts somewhat as a tannin, absorbing water. the herb contains mucilaginous substances that are excellent for stomach problems and even stomach ache. 

Moms who are herbalists will often use slippery elm tea for an upset stomach and it can be taken on an empty stomach as well. 

Veterinarians in Canada use slippery elm to treat parasites in pigs and pets to help treat stomach woes, according to scientists at the University of Victoria. However, to date, they haven’t tried feeding slippery elm tea to the animals – or at least it’s not reported in the literature to date. 

6.     Fennel tea

Effects of fennel herb on cells in the laboratory of those who had the infection. The scientists found that fennel was anti-inflammatory and counteracted or prevented the inflammation associated with the ulcer. They reported that fennel could prevent inflammatory disorders from occurring from the infection. 

To make a cup of tea, simply dice up the fennel bulb that you have in your refrigerator.

Add about a tablespoon to a cup of boiling water, steep, and then drink after it cools a little.

Other herbs that may assist you when you are looking for great tea that may settle your stomach include tulsi tea ( holy basil tea ) or even a black tea tablet. Spearmint tea may help reduce tummy upsets. So be sure to add these to your list of the best natural remedies for stomach woes. 

Herbs for Diarrhea Relief

 When it comes to treating diarrhea, there are natural remedies you can use instead of depending on pharmaceutical preparations.

1.     Turmeric

Turmeric is widely used in Southern Asia and India for diarrhea. Its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects commonly are preferred for those with digestive complaints. Although turmeric tea can help reduce stomach pain caused by diarrhea, it’s easier to address the stomach pain in children with a tastier tea such as ginger. 

2.     Ginger, Scutellaria, and Ginseng

For chemotherapy-induced diarrhea, herbs that are usually used are ginger, scutellaria, and ginseng. They work because the inhibit the death of the epithelial cells in the GI tract, are anti-inflammatory, and also decrease the effects of the chemotherapy on the cells of the GI tract. They also promote the stem cell regeneration of these cells, helping rebuilt the GI tract after the damage has been done from the medical treatments.

So consider ginger, ginseng, or scutellaria some of the best teas to settle diarrhea. 

3.     Goldenseal Herb 

Goldenseal herb, Hydrastis canadensis, contains a medicinal ingredients called berberine. The herb has long been used in the treatment of dysentery and infectious diarrhea. It’s a bitter tea, but often herbalists have found that it may help reduce stomach pain. This could be because bitter herbs are also known to help the liver, and it’s the liver that is strongly connected to the digestive tract. Make the liver work better and then the stomach will feel better. So, do remember that herbalists will often relieve an upset stomach with bitters.

These herbs do not have to be taken in tea form to help speed up recovery from diarrhea. You can take capsules of these herbs as a natural remedy for diarrhea. Always read the herb bottle label for the proper dosage or contact your favorite herbalist or alternative health practitioner who is knowledgeable on the herbs.

For the best tea for upset stomach and diarrhea, it’s best to have a collection of the best teas on the list above. Green tea can help. Black tea can help. Many moms have found that chamomile tea will help soothe stomach discomfort of even their little ones. Peppermint tea may help. Fennel, ginger, slippery elm, and even spice tea may also work well for you the next time you are battling with nausea and stomach upsets.