What is Rooibos Tea?

healthy appetite

By Natural Health+

Rooibos (pronounced “roy-bos”) tea is a beverage made from the leaves and twigs of a shrub in South Africa. This tea is quickly gaining followers for a variety of health benefits without the common side effects.

Here are some of the health benefits of Rooibos tea:

• High antioxidant content. Antioxidants bind free radicals in the body that would otherwise affect DNA material, making us susceptible to cancer and stroke. While green and black tea may have higher antioxidant content as compared to Rooibos, the latter possesses other properties that make up for it.

• Polyphenolic content. The presence of multiple phenolic compounds makes this tea possess antispasmodic properties. One such group of polyphenols present in Rooibos are flavonoids, which are used to reduce capillary disorders. Aspalathin is a type of flavonoid found mainly in Rooibos tea that has shown to have antimutagenic qualities.

• Absence of caffeine. Unlike coffee and regular tea, Rooibos tea has no caffeine, making it an excellent hot beverage substitute. Caffeine may be the active stimulant found in coffee, but its side effects of erratic heartbeats and high blood pressure make it a substance to avoid among many people.

• Low tannin content. For drinkers with a negative reaction to tannin, the low tannin content in Rooibos allows them to enjoy this beverage. This quality also allows the leaves to be steeped for a longer period as compared to regular tea leaves and can be used a second time, thus extracting more of its healthy substances. Tannin is also the cause of the bitter taste in many tea drinks; thus, the natural sweetness of Rooibos tea will make sugar less of a necessity.

• Other benefits. Rooibos can also soothe upset stomachs and other digestive problems such as constipation and vomiting. It can also reduce irritability, insomnia and tension, and improve the immune system.

Take your time to brew Rooibos tea so that the bulk of its ingredients can be drawn out. While this tea may have a lot of health benefits, it does not have Vitamin C. You will need to take supplements with citrus fruits and other Vitamin C sources.