Period cramps have a special talent for turning an otherwise perfectly normal day into a hot-water-bottle-under-the-duvet kind of situation. And when your uterus is throwing its monthly tantrum, the internet has plenty of suggestions about what you should be drinking.
Chamomile tea. Ginger tea. Fennel tea. Peppermint tea. Raspberry leaf tea. Possibly something involving twelve herbs, a moon phase and a mug that says Don’t talk to me.
But what tea is actually good for period cramps?
The answer is slightly less exciting than social media might have you believe: there is no single herbal tea that has been proven to be the “best tea for period cramps”. Some plants have been studied in relation to menstrual discomfort, but the quality and quantity of evidence varies considerably. Crucially, research on a plant extract, capsule or other preparation does not automatically tell us what a cup of herbal tea will do.
So, kettle on. Let’s look at the evidence behind some of the most talked-about herbal teas for period pain, plus a few of the herbs traditionally associated with menstruation.
First things first: why do period cramps happen?
Period pain, medically known as dysmenorrhoea, is extremely common. Primary dysmenorrhoea refers to menstrual pain that occurs without another underlying pelvic condition.
During menstruation, substances called prostaglandins are involved in contractions of the uterus. Higher prostaglandin activity is associated with stronger contractions and pain, which helps explain why the first day or two of a period can feel particularly unpleasant.
This is also why researchers have been interested in plants containing compounds that may interact with inflammatory, muscular or pain-related pathways.
Interested, however, does not mean proven.
Chamomile tea for period cramps
Chamomile has serious cosy-tea credentials. It is probably better known as the tea your nan recommends when you cannot sleep, but researchers have also investigated chamomile in relation to primary dysmenorrhoea.
A systematic review of clinical trials has reported encouraging findings regarding chamomile preparations and menstrual pain. However, the studies varied in their design and in how chamomile was prepared and consumed.
And that distinction matters.
A study investigating a particular dose or preparation does not automatically demonstrate that a normal mug of chamomile tea relieves period cramps. The strength of an infusion, amount consumed and concentration of relevant plant compounds can all differ.
The verdict: Chamomile has been investigated for primary dysmenorrhoea and there are some encouraging findings. That is not the same as proving that ordinary chamomile tea treats period pain.
Still, if chamomile is already your idea of a hug in a mug, we’re not here to argue.
Ginger tea for period cramps
Of the herbs on this list, ginger has attracted a particularly interesting body of research.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of ginger preparations for primary dysmenorrhoea have reported reductions in pain compared with placebo in some studies. Researchers have also highlighted important limitations, including variation between studies, differences in preparations and doses, risk of bias and limited safety data.
Before we collectively buy several kilos of ginger, there is another catch.
Research into oral ginger preparations is not necessarily research into ginger tea. A study using a measured quantity of ginger powder or a capsule cannot tell us that steeping a few slices of fresh ginger in hot water will produce the same result.
The verdict: Ginger is one of the better-studied herbs in relation to primary dysmenorrhoea, but evidence concerning specific oral ginger preparations should not be treated as proof that ginger tea itself relieves period cramps.
Deliciously spicy? Yes. Clinically proven period-pain tea? That’s a much bigger claim.
Fennel tea for period cramps
Fennel deserves a place in this conversation because it has also been studied in relation to primary dysmenorrhoea.
Research has investigated fennel preparations for menstrual pain, and systematic reviews have suggested potentially positive effects. However, the available studies have limitations, and preparations used in research can differ substantially from the fennel tea sitting in your kitchen cupboard.
Once again, “fennel has been studied” and “fennel tea is a proven treatment for period cramps” are two very different statements.
The first is fair. The second goes beyond the evidence.
The verdict: Fennel is an interesting area of research in relation to primary dysmenorrhoea, but more robust evidence is needed, particularly before making conclusions about everyday fennel infusions.
Peppermint tea for period cramps
Peppermint frequently appears on lists of the “best teas for period cramps”, but this is another area where the format of the research matters.
Some research has investigated peppermint preparations, including extracts, in relation to dysmenorrhoea. But concentrated extracts can contain very different amounts of plant constituents from a normal herbal infusion.
That means evidence relating to a peppermint extract should not simply be transferred to peppermint tea.
The verdict: Peppermint preparations have been investigated in relation to dysmenorrhoea, but evidence specifically supporting peppermint tea for period cramps is limited.
Raspberry leaf tea for period cramps
Raspberry leaf has been associated with reproductive health for generations, which means it has accumulated approximately seventeen tonnes of folklore along the way.
There is an interesting European regulatory angle here.
The European Medicines Agency’s Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products has assessed certain raspberry leaf preparations for traditional medicinal use relating to minor spasms associated with menstrual periods. Importantly, this conclusion is based on long-standing traditional use rather than strong clinical evidence.
That distinction matters.
Traditional use is not another way of saying clinically proven.
It is also important not to assume that every raspberry leaf tea or supplement is equivalent to the specific preparations considered in a herbal medicinal assessment.
The verdict: Raspberry leaf has a history of traditional medicinal use relating to menstruation, but clinical evidence remains limited.
What about yarrow, lady’s mantle and lemon balm?
Once you disappear down the herbal-tea rabbit hole, you will encounter plenty more plants associated with periods. Three that regularly appear in traditional herbal preparations are yarrow, lady’s mantle and lemon balm.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) has a long history of traditional herbal use and has also attracted some research interest in relation to primary dysmenorrhoea. However, evidence is limited and findings relating to particular preparations cannot automatically be applied to yarrow tea in general.
Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) is another herb with a long-standing association with women’s health in traditional European herbalism. Despite that history, good-quality clinical evidence specifically demonstrating that lady’s mantle tea reduces period cramps is lacking.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) has likewise been investigated for a variety of uses, and some research has explored its potential in relation to menstrual symptoms. But once again, study preparations, concentrations and research quality matter. It would be a leap from “researchers have studied lemon balm” to “lemon balm tea treats period pain”.
Yes, we realise we are becoming the annoying person at the herbal-tea party repeatedly asking to see the methodology.
We’re comfortable with that.
Five familiar herbs, one rather appropriately named tea
Ginger, yarrow, chamomile, lady’s mantle and lemon balm also happen to be the five herbs we bring together in Beavida’s F the Pain herbal tea.
The name says what many of us are thinking when our period arrives. It is not, however, a promise that a cup of tea can make period pain disappear.
We created F the Pain as a herbal blend for your period-time tea ritual, combining ingredients with long histories of traditional use and, in the case of some of them, an emerging body of scientific research.
That difference is important to us. We can enjoy herbal traditions, investigate what modern research says and formulate a bloody lovely cup of tea without turning preliminary evidence into medical promises.
So if your period ritual involves a hot-water bottle, your softest trousers, cancelling absolutely everything that can reasonably be cancelled and a steaming mug within reach, meet F the Pain.
Your uterus may be in a mood. Your tea doesn’t have to be.
A lack of evidence isn’t evidence of no effect
There’s another bit of context worth adding here. Women’s health has historically been under-researched, from the conditions that disproportionately affect women to differences in symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Menstrual health is no exception. At the same time, many traditional herbal remedies simply haven’t attracted the kind of large, well-funded clinical trials routinely conducted for pharmaceutical medicines.
That creates an important distinction: a lack of good-quality evidence does not automatically mean that something has been proven not to work. Sometimes it means exactly what it says on the tin: we don’t have enough good research to know.
That doesn’t mean every traditional remedy works, either. Centuries of use aren’t a substitute for a well-designed clinical trial, and “natural” certainly doesn’t mean “guaranteed effective” or “risk-free”. But your own experience still matters. If you find that a particular herbal tea feels comforting or becomes a useful part of your period routine, the absence of clinical proof doesn’t invalidate that experience. It simply means science cannot currently tell us with confidence whether the tea itself produces a specific therapeutic effect, how large that effect might be, or whether it would work in the same way for somebody else.
Basically: “not proven” and “proven not to work” are not the same thing. And when it comes to periods and traditional herbal medicine, we could definitely do with a lot more research.
So, what is the best tea for period cramps?
We know. You came here hoping for a winner.
But crowning a best tea for period cramps would go further than the current evidence allows.
Research into medicinal plants for primary dysmenorrhoea exists, including studies involving ginger, chamomile, fennel and other botanicals. But reviews repeatedly highlight limitations such as small studies, differences between preparations and doses, variations in study design and inconsistent overall evidence quality.
There is also one particularly important problem with many online discussions about herbal remedies:
The ingredient gets confused with the product.
Imagine researchers investigate a measured dose of a particular ginger preparation. That does not demonstrate that:
ginger preparation studied in a trial = ginger teabag = homemade ginger infusion = every product containing ginger.
The same applies to extracts, powders, capsules, essential oils and concentrated herbal medicines.
How a plant is processed, how much is used and how it is consumed can substantially change what ends up in the final preparation.
So when you see “Science proves this herb works for cramps!”, it is worth asking one gloriously unsexy but very useful question:
What exactly did the study test?
Herbal tea for period pain: where does that leave your cuppa?
Herbal tea can still have a place in your period routine without requiring us to pretend it is medicine.
You might enjoy chamomile because you like its gentle flavour. Fresh ginger makes a warming, spicy infusion. Fennel has its distinctive sweet, anise-like character. Lemon balm brings a lighter herbal note, while plants such as yarrow, raspberry leaf and lady’s mantle have long histories in traditional herbalism.
And frankly, there is nothing wrong with making yourself a comforting cup of tea when your uterus has chosen violence.
We just prefer to separate comfort, tradition and emerging research from claims that a particular tea treats period pain.
If period pain is severe, suddenly becomes worse, regularly interferes with daily life or is accompanied by other symptoms that concern you, speak to a doctor or another qualified healthcare professional. Conditions including endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids can also be associated with painful periods and deserve proper medical attention.
The bottom line
If you are searching for tea for period cramps, you will encounter chamomile, ginger, fennel, peppermint and raspberry leaf again and again. You may also come across traditional herbs such as yarrow, lady’s mantle and lemon balm.
There is scientific research relating to some of these plants, but the evidence differs considerably between ingredients and preparations. Studying a botanical does not automatically prove that drinking it as a tea will relieve menstrual pain.
So rather than declaring one miraculous best tea for period cramps, we would put it differently:
Choose a herbal tea because you enjoy drinking it. Explore the plants and their traditions. Be curious about the science. And be suspicious of anyone promising that one magical teabag will sort out your uterus.
If you fancy a blend rather than assembling your own miniature herbarium, [F the Pain] combines ginger, yarrow, chamomile, lady’s mantle and lemon balm in one very appropriately named cup.
Period incoming. Kettle on.
References & further reading
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Moshfeghinia R, Salmanpour N, Ghoshouni H, et al. (2024). Ginger for Pain Management in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 30(11), 1016–1030.
DOI: 10.1089/jicm.2023.0799
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Xu Y, Yang Q, Wang X. (2020). Efficacy of herbal medicine (cinnamon/fennel/ginger) for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of International Medical Research, 48(6). https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0300060520936179
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Lee HW, Ang L, Lee MS, Alimoradi Z, Kim E. (2020). Fennel for Reducing Pain in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients, 12(11), 3438.
DOI: 10.3390/nu12113438
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Masoumi SZ, Asl HR, Poorolajal J, Panah MH, Oliaei SR. (2016). Evaluation of mint efficacy regarding dysmenorrhea in comparison with mefenamic acid: A double blinded randomized crossover study. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 21(4), 363–367.
PMID: 27563318
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Pellow J, Nienhuis C. (2018). Medicinal plants for primary dysmenorrhoea: A systematic review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 37, 13–26.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2018.01.001
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Mirabi P, Dolatian M, Mojab F, Majd HA. (2014). Effects of medicinal herbs on primary dysmenorrhoea: a systematic review. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 13(3), 757–767.
PMID: 25276177
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC). Rubi idaei folium: European Union herbal monograph and assessment documents. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/herbal/rubi-idaei-folium
A note on the evidence
Research cited in this article may investigate specific herbal extracts, powders, capsules, doses or other preparations. These are not necessarily equivalent to a commercially available herbal tea or a homemade infusion.
The inclusion of an ingredient in a scientific study also does not mean that every product containing that ingredient has been demonstrated to produce the same effect. For that reason, Beavida does not present F the Pain, or the individual botanicals it contains, as an approved treatment for dysmenorrhoea or period pain.
Research into botanicals including ginger, chamomile, fennel, peppermint, yarrow and lemon balm continues to develop. For some traditionally used herbs, including lady’s mantle, robust clinical evidence specifically relating to period cramps remains limited.
