Lapacho tea: Inca tea really is that healing

Lapacho tea is made from the bark of the tropical tree of the same name and is said to have various medicinal effects. You can find out how healing it really is here.

Lapacho tea, also known as Pau D’Arco tea, is a medicinal tea that comes from Central and South America. It is said to have all sorts of positive effects on health.

In this article you will find out which illnesses and complaints lapacho tea is used for. We also give you information about its ecological sustainability.

Lapacho tea: origin and taste

Lapacho, also Ipê or Toheeba, is the generic term for several tree species native to Central America and northern South America. The tree with the magnificent yellow, white or pink flowers grows in tropical rainforests, and more rarely in dry bush areas. The Inca and later other indigenous groups in South America valued the lapacho tree for its healing effects and therefore called it the tree of life.

Lapacho tea is made from the finely grated inner bark of the lapacho tree. Its taste is similar to rooibos tea because of its vanilla note and it has an earthy, reddish color.

This is how lapacho tea works

Indigenous people in South America use lapacho tea as an anti-inflammatory remedy for fever, but they also use it to treat gastrointestinal complaints and fungal infections.

When the lapacho tree was rediscovered as a medicinal plant in the twentieth century, the focus was primarily on the lapachol contained in the plant and its medicinal effects:

• The wood of the lapacho tree contains 3.7 percent lapachol in crystalline form. About 0.2 percent of the chemical compound is still found in the bark.
• Scientific studies have found that lapachol can prevent the growth of cancer cells in cell cultures and in the human body and can also destroy existing cancer cells.
• The lapachol contained in lapacho bark has also been proven to help with osteoarthritis.
• There are now also initial studies on its effectiveness against fungal infections.

Lapacho tea: dosage

Important: Caution is advised when dosing lapacho extracts – it should only be done in consultation with a medical professional. On the one hand, the ingredients can inhibit blood clotting, and on the other hand, excessive doses have been found to damage DNA and the liver. For this reason, pregnant and breastfeeding people as well as children should avoid taking Lapacho products.

However, you can enjoy lapacho tea without any concerns regarding your health. As with most medicinal teas, you should not drink more than three cups of lapacho tea a day and a course of treatment should not last longer than six weeks.

You can easily prepare the tea by adding a tablespoon of lapacho tea to a pot with around 300 milliliters of water for one cup. After the mixture comes to the boil, let it simmer at medium temperature for at least ten minutes.

Lapacho tea: Healthy but not sustainable

When lapacho tea is harvested, bark is removed from the lapacho tree. As long as there is not too much bark, there will be no permanent damage to the plant, as the bark can regenerate quite quickly. If you buy lapacho tea from organic farming, for example in a health food store or pharmacy, you can be sure that the bark has been carefully harvested. You can get the tea online, for example from Bioaufvorrat.

Lapacho trees grow predominantly in the rainforests of South America – so the tea that you can buy from us has a long transport route with high levels of CO2₂-emissions behind. That’s why you should only consume it in moderation if possible.

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Edited by Paula Boslau

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