Rooibos Facts
Rooibos Plants
Rooibos, Bushmans Tea, Red Bush Tea
Aspalathus lineari
Introduction
Rooibos is a nitrogen-fixing shrub indigenous to South Africa. Its leaves are fermented and sun dried to be used as a tea. Rooibos is an Afrikaans word for red bush, and is pronounced ‘roy-boss’.
Rooibos grows on the slopes of the Cedarberg mountain range in South Africa and is discovered nowhere else on earth.
Manufactured from the red bush trees of the Cedarberg, the medicinal benefit of Rooibos tea is seemingly endless. The most prominent reason for its blossoming popularity is that Rooibos boasts a big antioxidant punch.
Rooibos is a pleasant-tasting beverage that has been employed traditionally to sooth digestion and reduce stomach cramps, colic, and diarrhea. Rooibos tea has also been used to relieve allergies and eczema, and to slow aging.
Usage
To savor the full splendor of African Rooibos, a tea can be made by steeping 1 to 4 teaspoons (5 to 20 grams) of rooibos in 1 cup (240 ml) of water for up to ten minutes – it is delicious, and caffeine free. Include your favorite sweetener and milk or milk substitute. Three cups of this tea per day can be drunk, with or without food.
The Way It Works
Researchers have recently discovered the first clinical proof that drinking rooibos tea significantly raises the antioxidant capacity in blood, improving the body’s natural defences.
Rooibos tea is high in an array of different antioxidants that could decelerate aging and help prevent disease. It also contains nine important minerals, which can help optimize body function during detoxification.
Preliminary research has shown that rooibos possesses antimutagenic and antioxidant properties. It has also demonstrated some potential to prevent radiation harm in animals. This research somewhat supports rooibos’s typical use to slow the ravages of time, and its contemporary use as a cancer preventative. Laboratory and animal studies reveal that it influences antibody production and has anti-HIV activity. These studies raise the possibility that the herb could be valuable in assisting deficient immune responses in allergies, AIDS, and infections. No medical studies have yet been released on this herb, however, so its efficacy remains unidentified.
Dynamic Elements
Rooibos is completely caffeine free and, in contrast to black tea (Camellia sinensis), does not contain tannins that may hinder iron absorption. Rooibos is rich in flavonoids, polyphenols, and phenolic acids (including aspalathin, (+)-catechin, isoquercitrin, luteolin, quercetin, rutin, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and vanillic acid). The polyphenol aspalathin is unique to rooibos. The plant also contains oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and a variety of minerals, though at quantities which are of questionable clinical importance.
Key health benefits
Rooibos tea is an excellent source of antioxidants. Research reveals that the tea may possibly slow the ageing process, protect against cancer and reduce the danger of heart problems.
Warnings
Researchers know about no side effects related to the usage of rooibos tea, it is usually regarded an exceedingly safe herb and there are no recognized side effects, so it can be consumed freely and is safe for both pregnant and breastfeeding women and small children.
