How this started
HelperTea began as a spreadsheet. One person, a lot of loose-leaf tea, and a growing irritation at how hard it was to find out whether any of it actually did anything.
Search for "peppermint tea for bloating" and you get a thousand pages saying the same confident thing, none of which tell you where the claim came from. Behind the fog there is usually a real study. Sometimes it is a good one. Often it is tiny. Occasionally there is nothing at all. This site is that spreadsheet, tidied up.
What the site is
Thirty pages on individual teas and herbs, and fifteen guides organized around ordinary complaints like trouble sleeping, indigestion, or a sore throat.
Every health claim here is either linked to a specific paper indexed in PubMed, or clearly labeled as traditional use with no strong clinical evidence behind it. Each claim carries an evidence rating — strong, moderate, limited, or traditional — and the language is tuned to match. Every page carries a safety section and a last-updated date. Our editorial policy explains how all of that works.
Who writes it
One person. An enthusiast, not a clinician.
Nothing on this site is written or reviewed by a doctor, pharmacist, herbalist, dietitian, or any other credentialed professional. We have no medical reviewer. We will not pretend otherwise, because a previous version of this site made exactly that claim and it was false.
What we do have is a rule: when we cannot find real evidence, we say so. Most of the time, the honest answer about an herb is that people have used it for centuries and nobody has properly tested it. That answer appears here a lot. We would rather bore you than mislead you.
Who this site is for
The curious person standing in a tea aisle, wondering whether chamomile is anything more than a nice habit before bed. People who want to know what the research says, and just as importantly, where it stops and the folklore begins.
Who this site is not for
It is not for anyone trying to treat a medical condition, and it is no substitute for a clinician who knows your history, your medications, and your test results.
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, giving herbs to a child, taking prescription medication, or managing a diagnosed condition, talk to a pharmacist or doctor first. Several plants described here interact with common drugs, and a few carry real risk. Please read our medical disclaimer.
It is also not for anyone looking for a cure. We do not have one, and we are not selling one.
How it pays for itself
It does not. No advertisements, no affiliate links, no sponsored placements, nothing for sale. No company has paid us to say anything about any plant, and none has been given the chance.
Tell us when we are wrong
We will get things wrong. When you find something — a misread study, a missing warning, an evidence rating that flatters the data — write to hello@helpertea.com. Safety corrections go to the front of the queue.
Last reviewed and updated . HelperTea is written by an enthusiast, not a clinician, and is not medically reviewed. How we research and rate evidence. Found an error? Tell us — safety corrections get priority.