The soothing properties of chamomile tea.

Or not, as it turns out. When you actually look at the evidence, it seems chamomile tea has no relaxing properties at all (although surprisingly it does have anti-inflammatory properties, who’d have thought?). I looked up the evidence after a health visitor suggested I drink chamomile tea as a way to calm my baby – via my breast milk! I assumed, what with her being a medical professional and all, that there must at least be evidence for it having a calming effect on me, even if it seemed like a bit of a long shot that it could find its way into my milk in therapeutic quantities. But no, not calming for anyone, apparently. I know there’s an argument that healthcare professionals should be able to use their judgement and recommend things that might be useful, even if the evidence base isn’t there (yet). But I think if they’re going to do that then they need to make it clear that there’s no evidence to support their position, otherwise the trust is gone. Oh, and I was willing to give it a try on the off chance – you shouldn’t underestimate the power of the placebo – but it smelled so bad that I decided I’d rather have the sleepless nights.