Jamaican Bissy Tea Benefits: Does it clean your system?

What Is Bissy Tea?

Bissy Tea is a supplement commonly used to detoxify and cleanse your system. It is known also by the name of “Kola tea”—named after the kola nut found on the kola tree of Africa. If this name sounds familiar to you there is a good reason for it. The kola nut is the same caffeinated ingredient that led to the advent of the beloved, relaxing beverage Coca Cola. While this nut’s presence in Cola beverages has diminished over the years, it is still present, and it also accounts for a flavoring component of many foods and beverages still prominent today.

Preparing Bissy Tea from scratch involves the breaking down and boiling of the nut until it is drinkable in tea form. However, Bissy Tea can also be purchased in ready made packets that can be brewed conveniently and quickly within minutes. Despite the fact that this nut is a common component of sweet and sugary beverages it is actually known by most consumers to have a fairly bitter taste that is accented ever so slightly by a sweet after taste. Given its association with Cola, it should also be no surprise that it is a known stimulant. But while the kola nut itself has a firm association with the commercial world, for many it remains a home remedy staple that is used for a myriad of purposes that we will explore in subsequent paragraphs.

Bissy Tea Benefits

As is true with most herbal and home remedies the benefits of Bissy Tea, or more specifically, the Kola nut, are controversial. While there is not a lot of data concerning the effectiveness of this beverage, there are many benefits associated with its use that, while widely debated, have nevertheless secured this material a very firm spot in many home remedy pantries. All this said the principle benefit of Bissy Tea relates to detoxing. How this manifests itself in terms of actually remedying ailments can vary pretty widely.

Detox

People have used Bissy Tea for a variety of detox related purposes including the treatment of poison, narcotics in the system, and even a prominent Jamaican ailment known as Chikungunya. Bissy Tea is notably efficient at mitigating the effects of dangerous toxins for the fact that it contains high levels of tannic acid—a component of the drink  that will naturally keep your system clean and healthy.

Other types of detox? Look into the Duck flower Detox or the Cerasee Plant!

Food Poisoning

Bissy Tea has been used by our elders for food poisoning and there are many that swear by it. There really is no evidence or scientific testing but if you’re going to try bissy tea as a remedy for food poisoning make sure you’re well hydrated.

Allergies

Bissy Tea may has been used as a traditional home remedy for hives and it may help. However; I’d caution against it. Allergies are very serious and can cause anaphylaxis which is a serious and life threatening condition. If you experience any throat or tongue swelling, or shortness of breath skip the Bissy Tea head to the ER. It’s also important to note that some people are actually allergic to Bissy Tea because it is made out of nuts.

Cancer

People are even beginning to use this tea as a way of reducing the risk of cancer, though this particular use is very unresearched and presently unsubstantiated by significant data and study.

Drug Tests

For some, the quintessential function of any detox product is to pass a drug test within a short time frame. The bottom line is that there is no surefire way to know for sure whether or not any given product is suitable for this task. There are, however, some cleansing substances that are better at this task than others. Keep in mind that the evidence to support this notion is mostly testimonial. However; there actually is a fairly strong general consensus that it can help a little bit when it comes to passing a test for THC.

Keep in mind that there are endless variables to be considered here. How much THC have you ingested? When did you ingest it? While flushing out your system can in some ways prove beneficial to passing a THC test, the benefits are really a more individualized matter. In other words, what works for one person might not work for another. THC is drawn to the fat in your body, so even your size can make a difference in how a cleanse might help you pass a test. Even the best cleansing products are not going to be able to completely overcome biology.

In general, residual evidence of THC consumption stays in the body (via skin, hair, fat, etc) for around a month. The longer it has been since you last ingested THC, the better chance you have of the cleanse doing what you want it to. However, unless it has been that full month (or in some cases even longer than that) there simply aren’t any guarantees. The short of it? If you are in a bind this might be something to try.

Bissy Tea Dosage

When introducing any new substance into your system the issue of dosage is always going to be a prevalent consideration. The good news is that when it comes to Bissy Tea there is not any real physical risk to taking too much. Of course, there is the matter of caffeine to consider: if you drink too much Bissy Tea you may very well  find it difficult to go to sleep at night. There is also the matter of economics. Depending on where you get it this supplement can trend on the pricier side, so you don’t want to be downing more of it than is recommended throughout the day. Conventional wisdom indicates that one table spoon of Bissy Tea powder (which equates to about five kola nuts) should be enough to make two cups—which account for an appropriate dosage for daily consumption. Of course, do understand that this dosage is not a medical recommendation but instead refers only to how the tea has traditionally been consumed. Because of the caffeine content in the beverage, some users will find that it is preferable to consume it on a full stomach. However, this is not a mandatory recommendation.

Looking for other Jamaican medicinal plants? You can also check out Cocolmeca or the Cerasee!

Bissy Tea Side Effects, Dosages, and Warnings

There is very little to speak of in terms of Bissy Tea’s side effects or warnings. The beverage is generally considered safe for most groups of people, with the only serious risk associated with the beverage stemming from the relatively high caffeine content. Compounded with other forms of a caffeine habit, drinking Bissy Tea can prove a little bit overwhelming to your system. For that reason, some users may find it beneficial to view Bissy Tea as a substitution for coffee or other caffeinated beverages.

Because the beverage is the product of a tree nut, there is also the matter of allergies to consider. If you have a known tree nut allergy this beverage will not be suitable for your consumption. Conversely, if you do not have a known tree nut allergy but still find yourself feeling sick after consuming Bissy Tea, you will want to contact a doctor immediately, as there is a rare but very serious potential for an allergic reaction. These things said, there are no known reports of toxicity associated with this beverage, nor are there any potential harmful drug interactions to be concerned for. Safety recommendations are however a little bit different for pregnant women. In general, doctors actually do not recommend that pregnant women consume tea of any kind, unless they have been directly instructed to do so by their physician. While there is not enough data to fully understand this phenomenon, there is the general sense that many teas contain properties that can be harmful to a pregnancy. This is particularly true in the case of the caffeinated tea. While there is conflicting data pertaining to the potential harmfulness of caffeine during pregnancy there is enough evidence that it can be dangerous to the fetus to lead doctors to recommend that pregnant women severely limit their caffeine intake. These things being the case, it is recommended that pregnant women avoid consuming Bissy Tea.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How Much Caffeine is In Bissy Tea?

The caffeine content of Bissy Tea is a significant concern for many potential users. Given its association with Cola, and other caffeinated beverages, it should be no surprise that the caffeine content is around 2.5%. To put that in context that is roughly the same caffeine content as an average cup of coffee. While a dose of caffeine is going to hit different people’s systems in different ways, the bottom line is that with those levels of caffeine you probably are not going to want to drink this immediately before bed. This level of caffeine is also the reason many pregnant women may take pause before consuming Bissy Tea.

Can it be Used For Detox?

The most common question about Bissy Tea is whether or not it can effectively be used for detox. As we have mentioned throughout the article, different people are going to see different results with this and similar products. That said, one of the chief purposes of Bissy Tea is to clean out your system, and it has received that reputation for a reason. Many people have effectively used this product to effectively detoxify their body.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3842857/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19826468
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811344/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2130624
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253356/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19394393
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29223552