Unlock Amazing Health Benefits of Thyme in Your Cooking Today!

Thyme, a robust and aromatic herb with roots in the mint family, has been used for centuries not only to flavor food but also for its medicinal properties and as a preservative. Native to the Mediterranean region, thyme is a perennial wild shrub from the Lamiaceae family considered an important wild edible plant studied for centuries for its unique importance in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industry. You can find it today in various products, including mouthwashes, teas, nasal sprays, and culinary dishes. With tiny, sage-green leaves and thin stalks, thyme is available fresh, dried, or as an essential oil. While over 400 subspecies exist, Thymus vulgaris, or garden thyme, is the most common culinary species. Thyme is a popular herb that grows well in various climates. It is native to the Mediterranean and part of the popular Mediterranean diet, which is widely considered to be very beneficial to health.

Thyme Varieties and Their Culinary Uses

Thyme has a strong, earthy flavor that is peppery, sweet, and slightly minty. The distinct aromas and flavors of different thyme varieties can significantly impact how they are used in cooking. Knowing the different flavors helps you pick the right type for your recipes, as each type pairs well with specific foods.

French thyme has a strong taste and pairs well with meats and sauces.
Lemon thyme has a lemony flavor and tastes great with chicken and pork.
Caraway thyme tastes like caraway seeds, and many use it for baking and pickling.

Thyme is a go-to herb for flavoring meats, seafood, stews, and soups. Thyme has an earthy flavor with sweet floral tones and pairs well with savory dishes, especially poultry, white fish, and root vegetables. Here are some specific ways to incorporate thyme into your recipes:

Add fresh or dried thyme to vegetable, beef, or chicken stock.
Use it in stews or soups for added flavor.
Replace or cut back on salt in recipes by adding thyme.
Infuse your favorite tea with thyme.
Add thyme to your favorite chicken or pork recipes.
Sprinkle fresh thyme as a topping on baked potatoes.

Nutritional Profile of Thyme

Thyme is loaded with phytonutrients, minerals, and vitamins. It is pungent in taste, yet rich in moisture, proteins, crude fiber, minerals and vitamins. The chemical composition may vary with geographical location but is mainly composed of flavonoids and antioxidants. Thyme contains thymol and small amounts of other nutrients such as potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and magnesium. Fresh thyme has one of the highest antioxidant levels, being rich in minerals and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. Potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and selenium are concentrated in the leaves, and the main constituent of the oil extracted is thymol.

A one-teaspoon serving of fresh thyme contains:

Calories: 0.8
Fat: 0 grams
Carbohydrates: 0.2 grams
Fiber: 0.1 grams
Protein: 0.044 grams
Calcium: 3.24 milligrams
Iron: 0.139 milligrams
Magnesium: 1.28 milligrams
Phosphorus: 0.848 milligrams
Potassium: 4.87 milligrams
Sodium: 0.072 milligrams
Vitamin C: 1.28 milligrams
Vitamin A: 1.9 micrograms/38 IU
Beta-carotene: 22.8 micrograms
Thiamin: 0 milligram
Vitamin B6: 0.003 milligrams

Thyme is particularly rich in vitamin A and vitamin C. Vitamin A is an antioxidant known for being vital in maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin as well as good vision. Vitamin C is essential to resist infectious diseases and protects against harmful pro-inflammatory free radicals. Thyme also contains B-complex vitamins, mainly vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), that assists in maintaining the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the brain and acts as a stress reliever. Vitamin K, vitamin E, and folic acid are also present in thyme. It is packed with vitamins and other nutrients, including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, iron, calcium, magnesium, and manganese. These all help to boost the immune system and prevent colds, flus, and other illnesses and increasing your thyme intake can improve the function of your immune system.

Potential Health Benefits of Thyme

Thyme has been used as a medicinal plant for hundreds of years and has a number of beneficial healing properties. While various claims exist regarding the health benefits of thyme, many require further scientific research. That said, thyme contains the compound thymol, which can help control or neutralize some bacterial, parasitic, fungal, or viral infections and has anti-inflammatory properties. Previous studies have illustrated the therapeutic effects of thyme and its essential oils, especially thymol and carvacrol, against various diseases. This is attributed to its multi-pharmacological properties that include, but are not limited to, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antineoplastic actions. Moreover, thyme has long been known for its antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic activities, in addition to remarkable disruption of microbial biofilms.

Here are some potential health benefits of thyme:

May help reduce salt intake: You can use fresh or dried thyme as a substitute for salt when cooking. This can help you cut down on how much salt you use, which is important if you’re trying to bring down high blood pressure.
Treats cough: Thyme has been a home remedy for coughs, respiratory conditions, and bronchitis for years. Complementary and alternative medicine has been using it as a tea and in aromatherapy. The essential oils in thyme can help to alleviate coughs and sore throats caused by bronchitis, cold, and flu. The best way to use thyme as a cough and sore throat remedy is to brew it into a tea.
Has antimicrobial properties: One study shows that thyme essential oil and pure thymol (extracted from thyme) may help disinfect mold. Thymol is an active ingredient in some pesticides. Thyme’s antimicrobial properties have shown promise for the development of extracts to help with food safety.
May treat acne: Thyme’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties may also help with skin conditions. It may help get rid of bacterial infections while also helping reduce inflammation. As a result, it can help with the irritation and inflammation in conditions such as eczema and acne. Thyme and thyme oil are popular in skin care due to their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Its antifungal properties may protect against fungal skin diseases and inflammation, such as acne vulgaris.
Acts as an insect repellent: Thyme oil may help repel insects like mosquitoes. The oil in thyme, thymol, is often used as an active ingredient in bug repellents.
May improve gut health: In experimental studies in rats, compounds extracted from thyme oil helped protect the stomach’s lining from ulcers and increase the protective gastric mucus layers in the stomach, which helps protect the stomach lining from acid.
May improve mood: Thyme essential oil is often used in therapy since it contains carvacrol, which can boost dopamine and serotonin - hormones that improve mood.
Antimicrobial Effects: When used alongside other biocides, such as carvacrol, thyme has strong antimicrobial properties, inhibiting the growth of microorganisms that can cause diseases, such as bacteria.
High Blood Pressure: A 2023 study of people with high blood pressure found that thyme herbs can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure and keep it in a standard range.
Foodborne Bacterial Infections: The microbial effects of thyme oil can prevent foodborne bacterial and fungi infections from forming in foods. It may help protect foods from bacteria such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus bovis, E. coli, Klebsiella, and Bacillus cereus.
Colon and Breast Cancer: Some studies suggest that thyme may have antitumor properties, meaning that thyme extract on tumors can significantly decrease their volume. A 2023 study found that concentrations of thyme oil decrease the viability of breast cancer cells by 50%. Another 2023 study found that thyme oil is rich in components such as thymol and p-cymene, which have detrimental effects on certain cancer cell lines, stopping cancer cells from migrating to other parts of the body and growing.
Yeast Infection: A 2019 study found that thyme oil could reduce candida biofilm, effectively reducing the infection.

Thyme Tea Recipe

Thyme tea is easy to brew. You can make your tea using fresh leaves or ground thyme powder. You can also use dried thyme, but remember to strain the leaves from your drink to avoid unpleasant textures.

If you’re using fresh leaves, add several sprigs of thyme to a cup of boiling water and let it steep for five to eight minutes. If any leaves fall off the sprigs and into your water, you can strain them before drinking.

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Using dried, powdered thyme instead? Add about one teaspoon of the powder to a cup of boiling water, and stir to combine. Ground thyme is similar in texture to matcha green tea powder, and you may need to stir it several times to mix it thoroughly.

Potential Risks and Interactions

While fresh and dried thyme is generally safe to eat or drink as a refreshing tea, there are some precautions to consider:

Allergic reactions: People who are allergic to thyme or similar plants such as basil, oregano, sage, and lavender may experience negative symptoms. These can include skin sensitivity upon touching thyme leaves, as well as nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, and vomiting if you eat it or drink thyme tea. If you're allergic to thyme or similar plants, you could have a skin reaction, nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Caution on essential oils: Essential oils are highly concentrated and can be toxic in their undiluted form. Ingesting too much thyme in essential oil could cause a risky drop in your blood pressure. Unlike fresh leaves, a person cannot consume essential oils by mouth or apply it directly to the skin. It is important to dilute thyme oil in a carrier oil, such as olive oil.
Thyme interactions: If you take high blood pressure medication, anti-clotting drugs (anticoagulants), or are pregnant, talk with your doctor before using thyme essential oil or supplements.

Storage Tips

You can grow thyme or buy it fresh or dried from most grocery stores. You can store dried thyme at room temperature. Refrigerate or freeze fresh thyme. If you purchase thyme as an essential oil, you can store it in the refrigerator or keep it in a dry, cool space away from direct sunlight.

Thyme in Wild Edible Plants

Wild edible plants (WEPs) are plants that grow spontaneously in self-maintaining populations in natural or semi-natural ecosystems and can exist independently of direct human actions. WEPs are characterized by being locally available and known traditionally through generations, less expensive, having high advantages for poor populations, available during stressful conditions such as drought or famine periods and finally, being able to resist climate change. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is one of the most popular WEPs native to the Mediterranean region, including Lebanon. It is one of the most important edible plants, having many benefits. In Lebanon, T. vulgaris is the native species known.

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