Food

8 Winter Herbal Teas To Help Stay Warm, Healthy, and Happy Till Spring

Drink these winter herbal teas to stay warm and boost your immunity, overall health, and mood until spring.

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Photo: Stocksy/Olga Moreira
Published Jan 28, 2024

Written by 

Erin Davis

We know we have to eat a variety of plants for adequate vitamin and mineral intake, and winter herbal teas help check the boxes during the cold season. There are so many amazing blends that provide numerous health benefits.

Experts in This Article

Erin Stokes

naturopathic doctor and the medical director of MegaFood, based out of Colorado

Laura Rubin

Clinical herbalist and holistic gut health coach

Herbal teas are made with the dried leaves, seeds, flowers, and roots of plants. Their components are biologically active—meaning they provide powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Used by traditional medicine practitioners globally, herbal teas are growing in popularity. The herbal tea market size is supposed to grow by over six percent between 2021 and 2026. Some factors that may be contributing to the increased interest in herbal teas include their ability to benefit female health, reduce heart disease and cancer risk, among other pros. Or it may be the simplicity of natural medicine in a cup.

Regardless, adding tea to your routine is a wonderful way to enhance your day. I teamed up with a couple of herbal medicine specialists to make a list of herbal teas for winter.

St. John’s Wort

Because of its potent active compound, hypericin, St. John’s Wort has been used for years to ward off depression. It’s has been found to have comparable results21 to antidepressants (SSRIs) when treating mild-to-moderate depression, with notably fewer side effects.

St. John’s Wort has a slightly bitter taste that you may grow to love. Personally, adding a bit of honey to sweeten my cup does the trick.

Rosemary

Clinical herbalist and holistic gut health coach Laura Rubin says one of her favorite teas for winter is rosemary.“It’s an amazing anti-inflammatory and anti-viral herb that’s soothing and warming,” she shares. “It’s also great for memory4 and cognition3 and helps our bodies’ immunity5.”

One small study6 found that those who consumed rosemary tea for only 10 days had improved levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein involved in nerve cell growth and survival (read: greater memory and learning capacity).

A quick squeeze of lemon can help enhance the flavor of rosemary tea, which has a distinct woodsy taste.

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Ginger

This herb is naturally warming and soothing, according to naturopathic doctor Erin Stokes, medical director of MegaFood. This is why it’s one of her favorite winter herbal teas.

What’s more, ginger tea is effectively used as a natural remedy for nausea7. “It can also help to settle an upset stomach,” Stokes says. Plus, ginger has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, heart protective, and nerve protective activities. It’s also been found to have cancer-fighting properties and improve insulin sensitivity8.

Stokes suggests either using an organic ginger tea bag or to grate fresh ginger in a cup of hot water. “I like to add lemon and a touch of honey,” she says.

Nettle leaf

Rubin recommends this highly-nutritive herb because it is rich in vitamins and minerals—“even more so than kale,” she says. Stinging nettle contains a phytochemical called phylloxanthobilin that has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Meanwhile, other plant compounds, like carotenoids and flavonoids, make nettle a valuable herbal medicine to promote immunity and disease protection.

Nettle leaves are great to add to tea or in a soup broth, according to Rubin. You can add mint or citrus to improve its grassy flavor.

Matcha

Another herbal tea on Stokes’ “must-have” winter drinks list is matcha, a high-quality Japanese green tea that is ground into a powdered form. “I love the calm, yet focused, effect of drinking a matcha latte, which is very different from consuming a cup of coffee,” she says. “In addition to having less caffeine than coffee, matcha contains the amino acid L-Theanine, which has been shown in studies to promote a healthy stress response and improve focus,” she says.

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Matcha is also loaded with catechins, plant compounds that neutralize free radical damage (which is connected to disease and aging). Our immune systems are constantly working to fight infection and our bodies have subsequent free radical damage. Matcha to the rescue.

Chamomile

Chamomile is an ancient herb that has been well studied and appreciated. New to tea-drinking? It’s mild flavor makes it a nice starter tea. “This soothing digestive aid is calming to our nervous system and helps bring about a more cheerful state,” Rubin says. “It helps promote calm and ease and is even pet-friendly.”

It’s not just a mood-booster, though. Chamomile contains a compound called α-Bisabolol that’s responsible for its major health-promoting benefits, including protection agains cancer, heart disease, microbes, and more.

Goldenrod

Goldenrod (Solidago) is prized for its anti-inflammatory effects, and it is also astringent and a good carminative (it helps break down gas), according to Rubin. “This means it can help support healthy digestive flow,” she says. “It’s also anticattarhal, so it can support the body to break up mucus and can offer relief for respiratory conditions, which may be experienced during cold and flu season.”

Keep in mind: “Goldenrod is in the Asteraceae family, and people with sunflower allergies/sensitivities should avoid or use caution,” Rubin says. “It can also have strong diuretic effects so folks with impaired kidneys or liver function ion should particularly consult with their doctor or a trained medical expert first before taking.”

Echinacea

My kids know that if they complain of a sore throat or cold symptoms, they’re getting a cup of echinacea tea. That’s because echinacea is one herb (among several) found to improve immune response. It may also reduce the severity and duration of other respiratory infections.

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That said, Rubin warns, “Echinacea is an herb that is recommended to be taken for a short period of time, typically no more than eight weeks. This is because it has such strong immune-modulating effects that it could hyper-stimulate people’s immune systems, such as those with auto-immune conditions, or impact people with liver issues.”

As with all herbs, Rubin says it’s important to consult a doctor or trained medical expert when considering if it’s right for you.

  1. Cui, Yong-Hua, and Yi Zheng. “A meta-analysis on the efficacy and safety of St John’s wort extract in depression therapy in comparison with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in adults.” Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment vol. 12 1715-23. 11 Jul. 2016, doi:10.2147/NDT.S106752

    ↩︎

  2. Zhao, Xin et al. “The efficacy and safety of St. John’s wort extract in depression therapy compared to SSRIs in adults: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.” Advances in clinical and experimental medicine : official organ Wroclaw Medical Universityvol. 32,2 (2023): 151-161. doi:10.17219/acem/152942

    ↩︎

  3. Moss, Mark et al. “Acute ingestion of rosemary water: Evidence of cognitive and cerebrovascular effects in healthy adults.” Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) vol. 32,12 (2018): 1319-1329. doi:10.1177/0269881118798339

    ↩︎

  4. Nematolahi, Pouya et al. “Effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L. on memory performance, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in university students: A randomized clinical trial.” Complementary therapies in clinical practice vol. 30 (2018): 24-28. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.11.004

    ↩︎

  5. Ahmed, Hiwa M, and Muhammed Babakir-Mina. “Investigation of rosemary herbal extracts (Rosmarinus officinalis) and their potential effects on immunity.” Phytotherapy research : PTR vol. 34,8 (2020): 1829-1837. doi:10.1002/ptr.6648

    ↩︎

  6. Achour, Mariem et al. “Rosemary Tea Consumption Alters Peripheral Anxiety and Depression Biomarkers: A Pilot Study in Limited Healthy Volunteers.” Journal of the American Nutrition Association vol. 41,3 (2022): 240-249. doi:10.1080/07315724.2021.1873871

    ↩︎

  7. Gala, Devanshi et al. “Dietary strategies for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: A systematic review.” Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) vol. 41,10 (2022): 2147-2155. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2022.08.003

    ↩︎

  8. Mao, Qian-Qian et al. “Bioactive Compounds and Bioactivities of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe).” Foods (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 8,6 185. 30 May. 2019, doi:10.3390/foods8060185

    ↩︎

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FoodCooking

11 Ingredients to Try If You’re Out of Eggs

Those little protein powerhouses don’t come cheap these days.

Eggs cracked and spilled on a counter
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Published Feb 10, 2025

Written by 

Korin Miller

Most people have a love-hate relationship with eggs right now. The breakfast staple is hard to find at many stores but, even when you manage to track a carton down, the sky-high prices are enough to make even the most devoted egg fan rethink their choices. 

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Data from the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows a clear uptick in prices over time, with wholesale prices (what the store pays egg suppliers) in New York jumping 52 cents to $7.24 per dozen in December alone. In California, a dozen eggs will now set you back almost $9. Exact prices vary by location, but a USDA report from this week shows that egg prices are continuing to rise. With bird flu continuing to swirl in flocks, you can expect those prices to stay up for a while. 

If you like to have your eggs scrambled, boiled, or fried, you may decide to buck up and pay more for a dozen while being mindful of how often you eat them. But if you tend to use eggs in baking, it can be helpful to know there are other options that give you the same taste and texture you’re after without blowing a ton of money. With that in mind, I tapped three dietitians for their advice on the best egg substitutes, plus how to use them so you don’t end up feeling deprived. 

What is the best way to use egg substitutes?

Many substitutes aren’t designed to replace eggs that you’d eat as a main attraction on your plate. Instead, they’re best used in a baking recipe, although each has its own niche. “Eggs in recipes not only add protein and nutrients, but moisture and also act as a binder to hold other ingredients together as they cook or bake,” says Nancy Oliveira, RD, manager of nutrition and wellness services at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “They also help to trap air which causes baked goods to rise and become fluffy.” In order to work, substitutions need to have similar properties, Oliveira says. 

“Before you replace eggs in a recipe, you need to know what they were there for,” Christy Brissette, RD, dietitian and owner of 80 Twenty Nutrition. “Was it to help it rise when baking, to bind it together, or was it adding moisture?” 

If you’re baking something that needs to rise, Brissette suggests adding ½ tsp of baking powder along with your egg-replacing ingredient, if it isn’t already in the recipe. “For baking, mashed banana, applesauce, mashed avocado, puréed pumpkin, pureed sweet potato or silken tofu help bind the ingredients together and add moisture,” she says. Just add ¼ cup to replace one large egg in a recipe. Brissette warns that some of these ingredients can alter the flavor of the final product, so choose your substitutions carefully. 

If you need something to bind your ingredients together, Brissette suggests using ground flax seeds or whole chia seeds. Mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds or chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit for five minutes. “This will form a gel that you can then add to your wet ingredients,” Brissette says, noting that this hack also adds more fiber to your dish. “These options work well in recipes for quickbreads such as pancakes, muffins, and zucchini bread,” she says. The flavor of this combination is neutral, Oliveira says, and “you get a boost of omega-3 fatty acids, too.”

In recipes like burgers or meatballs, the egg acts to bind the ingredients together so they don't fall apart, Brissette says. “If I don't have eggs on hand, I'll use oats, cooked rice, or breadcrumbs with a bit of water,” she says. “You can also sub in mashed sweet potato or mashed potato or squash to help it bind and add some moisture.” 

Aquafaba—or the liquid that’s left over in a can of chickpeas—is a great option as a binder in baked goods or vegan mayonnaise, per Brissette. “You can even use it to replace egg whites in recipes like meringue and macaroons,” she says. “Just whip it up in a mixer with some cream of tartar for three to five minutes to form stiff peaks.” Aquafaba doesn’t contain a lot of nutrients but it’s easy and many people already have cans sitting around. “It’s great to repurpose the liquid that we would normally toss out,” she adds. 

Overall, using egg swaps in your recipes may take a little trial and error. But, once you find one that works for you, it could end up saving money in the long run—and adding in extra nutrition in the process.

What are the best egg substitutes?

There are a lot of creative hacks for swapping out eggs in a recipe and each has its own special use in cooking. “The best substitute depends on the specific dish being prepared,” says Stephani Johnson, DCN, RDN, professor in the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences at Rutgers University. 

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These are some of the biggies to keep in mind—and in your home:

  • Mashed soft fruit, like banana, pumpkin purée, avocado, applesauce, or yogurt
  • Soft tofu
  • Ground flaxseeds or chia seeds mixed with water
  • Vinegar and baking soda
  • Aquafaba, or chickpea liquid
  • Oats and water
  • Cooked rice 
  • Bread crumbs and water
  • Mashed potato or mashed sweet potato
  • Commercial egg replacers (these are usually made from potato and tapioca starch with added leavening agents like baking soda, Johnson says)
  • Mayonnaise (it contains egg, plus provides great moisture for baked goods)

How to get 12+ grams of protein elsewhere

Two eggs deliver about 12 grams of protein. And, if you’re limiting your egg use or skipping it entirely, it’s fair to wonder how else to get in that much protein. “There are many other ways to obtain 12 grams of protein beyond eating two eggs, including plant-based and alternative protein sources,” Johnson says.

Those include:

  • 2 ounces of animal meat, ~14 grams of protein
  • ⅔ cup Greek yogurt, 12 grams of protein
  • 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 12 grams of protein
  • ½ cup cottage cheese, 13 grams of protein
  • 1 ½ cups of milk, 12 grams of protein

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Health

Looking for Brain and Cardio Support? This Surprising Nutrient in Cocoa Can Help, According to an RD

An RD dishes on the benefits of cocoa flavanols for your heart and brain—and shares one simple way to incorporate them into your routine.

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Photo: Stocksy/Jovo Jovanovic Belgrade & Well+Good Creative
Published Jan 31, 2025

In Partnership With 

CocoaVia

Written by 

Well+Good Editors

You could call your brain and heart the co-captains, board of directors, command center (you get it) of your body. And yet it’s easy to move through a day, a week, or a year without checking in on either of them.

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But let’s get real—if the command center of your body isn’t functioning optimally, nothing in your body will be functioning optimally, so proactively supporting your brain and heart is seriously important. Luckily, there’s an easy way to support both using an ingredient you’re probably familiar with: cocoa. Specifically, cocoa flavanols, which are polyphenols found in the cacao plant that are known to promote healthy blood flow.

Quick science lesson: Flavanols are a subset of flavonoids, a group of compounds found in plants (including fruits and vegetables) that help increase your body’s nitric oxide production, which in turn allows your blood vessels to widen. Widened, or dilated, blood vessels function more effectively and help your body’s systems—your heart, your brain, and everything in between—function better, too.

That’s why registered dietitian Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, says incorporating cocoa flavanols into your routine is a simple way to boost your body’s overall functioning. But before you take free rein to eat as much chocolate as you want for the sake of your health, know that it would take a lot of brownies to fully reap the brain and cardio benefits of cocoa flavanols—and Shapiro cautions the unhealthy levels of sugars and fats associated with this kind of consumption (and direct heat from baking removes health benefits of flavanols). Instead, “a flavanol supplement would provide a concentrated, sugar-free [serving] of these compounds, making it a more effective way to support brain and heart health,*” she says.

CocoaVia™ capsules and powders are made with Cocoapro™, a cocoa flavanol extract that’s 24 times more concentrated than cocoa powder. These high-quality supplements are formulated specifically to help sustain long-term brain and heart health with virtually no effort, since you can take them in capsule form or stir them into your favorite beverage.†*

Plus, you can get 20 percent off all CocoaVia Cardio and Memory products (excluding the Cardio Stick Packs) with code WG2025. What better way to start giving your co-captains some love?

The brain benefits of cocoa flavanols

Incorporating a cocoa flavanol supplement into your daily lineup can help support your cognitive health by improving blood flow and neuron functioning†, Shapiro says. “Enhanced blood flow to the brain [may] support memory, focus, and overall cognitive function. By [supporting] neurons, flavanols also help preserve and maintain brain health as we age, improving overall quality of life.”

CocoaVia Memory+ is formulated with 750 milligrams of cocoa flavanols—which studies suggest is the clinically proven serving for improving three types of memory (including word recall, spatial memory, and long-term memory) in as few as eight to 12 weeks. CocoaVia Memory & Focus combines the flavanols with lutein, a carotenoid nutrient that Shapiro says is best known for its impact on eye health, but also has major cognitive benefits.†

Bonus: Memory & Focus is formulated with 50 milligrams of naturally occurring caffeine (or about one half the amount in a cup of coffee) to give you a little energy boost alongside all that brain support.

The cardio benefits of cocoa flavanols

As for your heart? “Cocoa flavanols support cardiovascular health by improving blood vessel elasticity…and enhancing blood flow—effects that are crucial for [retaining] healthy blood pressure…and promoting overall circulation, which benefits the entire body,” Shapiro says.

And the science supports her insights. From 2015 to 2020, Brigham and Women’s Hospital conducted The Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study, or COSMOS. More than 20 thousand participants opted into the five-year study, which investigated the long-term impact of flavanols on health—and showed that participants who received 500 milligrams of cocoa flavanols daily, in accordance with the study protocol, had a 39-percent reduction in deaths from cardiovascular disease compared to those in the placebo group.

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CocoaVia’s heart health support comes in the form of capsules and powder, taken daily. If powder’s your preference, stir a scoop (or a stick pack) into hot water or coffee for an easy upgrade to your morning mug, or get fancy with a batch of chocolatey overnight oats for breakfast, protein energy balls for the mid-afternoon slump, or black bean dip for your next taco night.

There’s never a bad time to offer your body’s board of directors a little extra support—so snag these heart and brain supplements* while they’re 20 percent off, and celebrate your new routine with a steamy cup of cocoa.

Shop CocoaVia™ Supplements

*Always talk to your doctor about adding supplements to your routine.

† This statement has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Hey wellness seeker! Friendly reminder that—like all of wellness—the supplements you take are personal. Well+Good always recommends checking in with your health-care provider before adding a new supplement to your routine.

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