Aspalathus Linearis is a hygienic herbal beverage commonly known as Rooibos Tea.
From the linearis plant’s linear growing structure and needle-like leaves are used to make rooibos tea or red bush tea.
It originated in Cederberg of Western Cape Province of South Africa. (1)
Although it could not be as popular as Green Tea, it is becoming more known by the day.
Rooibos tea contains many powerful antioxidants such as Aspalathin, Nothofagin, and quercetin.
What You Need to Know about Rooibos Tea
- It is a Herbal Tea
- It is natural and caffeine free
- It tastes sweet and delicious
- You can drink it hot or cold, with or without milk
- It is rich in vitamin C and low in Tannins
- It is healthy and nutritious
There are many health benefits of Rooibos tea. This article will help you explore these benefits so you can put them to use today!
READ MORE: 26 Surprising Health Benefits of Black Tea
1. Weight Loss
Rooibos tea contains no fat or carbohydrates. Research has shown it has weight loss benefits.
A study shows that it contains polyphenol acids which helps to reduce fat cells. (2,) In this case it works as an antioxidant.
It has its own special features which help to lose weight. It will increase your hunger hormones and burn down the calories that are stored in your fat cells. (3,)
Summary: It is naturally sweet which means you don’t need to add sugar or milk when you drink this beverage. It properly decreases your overall fat content, helping you to slim down.
READ MORE: Drinking Oolong Tea for Weight Loss: Good or Bad?
2. Helps to Prevent Cancer
Rooibos tea has great powerful antioxidants that can fight free radicals which contribute to cancerous cells.
These antioxidants protect your body by fighting free radicals of cancer. Free radicals are unbalanced cells which attack the healthy cells in order to stabilize themselves. (4, 5 )
The polyphenols or phelonic acid has anti-inflammatory properties which can save you from different kinds of heart diseases. (6)
Rooibos tea is rich in enzymes and various compounds such as flavanols and flavones which help to fight against cancer.
It also stimulates detoxification, helping slow the mutation of DNA. (7,)
The beneficial of natural herbal tea has scientifically proven to prevent the formation of some cancerous cells.
As we discussed, it has various dominant antioxidant compounds. These dominant antioxidant compounds strictly work to protect DNA and cancerous cells against the form of damage while inhibiting them from becoming cancerous.
Rooibos tea can also boost your immune system, further helping to prevent the formation of cancerous cells. (8,)
3. Reduces Brain Stress and Headache
Psychological stress could increase possibilities of free radicals, which leads to oxidative damage and many neuro-degenerative diseases. (9)
A study has proven that Rooibos tea contains high amounts of antioxidants. It has the capacity to repeal many of the physical, mental, emotional and negative effects of stress on the body and brain.
Summary: Rooibos tea works to relieve brain stress, nervousness, tension and hypertensive conditions.
READ MORE: 12 Proven Ways to Get Rid of a Headache (with Step By Step)
4. Keeps Blood Circulation Lower
Hypertension is most commonly known as high blood pressure which is a curse to health. In this case, Rooibos tea acts as a broncho-dilator, which not only relieves respiratory conditions but also reduces blood pressure.
It can cause dangerous cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and atherosclerosis. (10)
This herbal tea can also be used to prevent and alleviate hypertension (high blood pressure). High blood pressure (HBP) is usually known to dangerous cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis and heart attack.
The powerful anti-inflammatory compounds distract free radicals from reducing blood pressure.
It also promotes the increase in good cholesterol (HDL) while preventing bad cholesterol (LDL) from binding to the arterial and blood vessel walls.
5. Caffeine-Free Tea
You may be glad to know that Rooibos tea is fully caffeine-free. For this reason it is recommended by doctors for patients who are suffering from insomnia.
Before going to bed you can consider a cup of Rooibos tea. It helps you sleep better and replaces caffeine in your diet.
It can also improve your stress levels, mood, mental and heart health. (11
Being dependent on caffeine is the most common addiction throughout the world, but people don’t realize the dangers associated with it.
Rooibos tea gives you the energy and health benefits you seek, without the dangerously addictive substance.
Summary: Drinking Rooibos tea reverses the sharp effects of too much caffeine and relaxes your tired nerves, keeping you calms and relaxed.
6. Improves Hair Health
Drinking Rooibos tea is beneficial for skin and hair thanks to the the alpha hydroxyl acid found in rooibos tea.
Because of alpha hydroxy acid, Rooibos tea has a significant effect on wrinkle reduction. In addition, its antioxidant properties protect hair follicles from damage.
Rooibos tea aids hair growth and it is packed with essential minerals like zinc, copper, calcium, and potassium.
The active ingredients present in Rooibos tea prevent dead skin cells from clogging up the hair follicles, thereby enhancing hair growth. (12)
Summary: Rooibos tea can also be consumed to prevent hair loss. Polyphenols have also been proven to promote the growth of soft, shiny hair.
7. Helps Treat Allergies
Rooibos tea is an effective remedy to treat allergies and allergy related diseases such as hay fever, eczema and allergy-related bronchitis.
It has anti-inflammatory qualities, owing to its “quercetin” compound, and that’s why it is also approved for asthma and topical allergic reactions of various types throughout the body. (13)
“Quercetin” compound has the ability to block mast cells. It has been scientifically proven to alleviate various types of allergies even better than most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical products.
Rooibos tea can be used to easily treat asthma, food allergies, seasonal allergy symptoms and different multiple skin reactions. (14, 15)
READ MORE: 12 Remedies to Get Rid of Allergies That Actually Work
8. Skincare
Zinc and alpha-hydroxy acid are the two main nutrients responsible for the amazing benefits of Rooibos tea for the skin. (16) These nutrients can be easily used to alleviate multiple skin disorders.
These nutrients can revive dead skin and give it a natural glow. The tea can also help to protect against the harmful UV rays of the sun.
Additionally, Rooibos tea has surprising capacity to reduce and treat acne. It is an effective remedy for this common skin condition.
The tea’s high antioxidant content increases blood flow to the skin, thereby speeding the healing process. It has anti-inflammatory properties that can helps to save UV rays. Even so it can prevent from sunburn, acne or eczema etc. (17)
Summary: The alpha-hydroxy acid helps to revive dead skin like wrinkles. In these cases you should consider Rooibos Tea.
READ MORE: 6 Essential Oils for Sun Damaged Skin
9. Helps to Treat Diabetes
Rooibos tea contains aspathalin which is a powerful antioxidant that is well-known to have the potential recommended to defend your body against diabetes.
Aspalathin is one of the rare antioxidants that are found in Rooibos tea, and it has a number of unique qualities.
It can keep balance of blood sugar and protect people who already have diabetes by preventing the spikes and drops of blood sugar that are harmful to your health. (18, 19)
It is very crucial for diabetics to maintain the balance of blood glucose levels.
For this, you can safely depend on this super beverage! It can help to balance blood sugar which is a key aspect of proper diabetes management.
It also enhances insulin resistance, improves glucose absorption by muscles, and boosts insulin secretion from the pancreas. (20, 21)
Aspalathin also promotes easier glucose absorption. (22)
Summary: All these beneficial effects makes the herbal remedy perfect for preventing type II diabetes, which is caused by an abnormal increase in blood sugar levels.
10. Prevents Liver Diseases
Rooibos tea can protect your liver from the various damages it can undergo. When devoted throughout the preliminary stages of liver diseases, it can even invalidate the damage.
A physiological research on rats found that Rooibos acts as a hepatoprotective agent (an agent that prevents liver damage) when included in the diets of patients suffering from liver diseases. Rooibos tea contains antioxidants that can protect your liver from damage. (23)
11. Helps to Prevent Kidney Stones
People with kidney stone problems can drink red rooibos tea. It has no oxalic acid in this beverage.
Oxalic acid is a crystal-forming substance, so it can make the presence of calcium stones or other painful growths in the kidney even worse by making them larger. (24) That won’t be a problem with Rooibos tea around!
Many times, people with kidney stones are discouraged from drinking too much tea of other varieties because of that exacerbating ingredient.
In this case you can consider Rooibos tea without any hesitation.
READ MORE: 11 Proven Methods to Get Rid of Kidney Stones (No. 5 is the simplest!)
12. Improves Bone Health
Rooibos tea has many minerals that support the growth of healthy bones such as calcium, manganese and fluoride. Reasearcher say that all types of tea increase bone strength because tea increases “osteoblasts”. (25)
Osteoblasts are the cells which can create bone mass. Increasing activity in these cells means that bones are denser, stronger and healthier.
Rooibos tea contains two specific flavonoids, orientin and luteolin that increase mineral content in bones. It helps to enhance bone mineral content. (26)
Rooibos tea contains no caffeine, meaning that it can potentially be given to patients unable to consume other traditional teas. (27)
Summary: Caffeine is one of the major reasons for the deterioration of bone health. As we discussed, rooibos tea does not contain caffeine.
13. Prevents Heart Disease
Rooibos is great for your heart, undoubtedly. Rooibos tea contains chrysoeriol and flavonoid that decreases blood pressure and improves blood circulation. It also reduces the bad cholesterol levels.
Heart health is especially important in patients with diabetes. One common complication of diabetes is atherosclerosis, a form of arteriosclerosis that causes hardening and inflammation of the arteries caused by high glucose levels. (29, 30)
Aspalathin and nothofagin compounds have significant effects on inflammation of the entire vascular system and are thought to be key in treating possible complications from diabetes relating to the heart. (28)
Aspalathin is a tremendously great antioxidant that is found only in rooibos tea and no other food or beverage. It not only helps protect against vascular inflammation, but protects the heart against oxidation and ischemia (a lack of blood supply to the heart).
As established earlier, rooibos tea provides protection against oxidative damage, and thus prevents the oxidation of essential cellular components as fats. This also reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
A study published in a Journal of Ethnopharmacology stated that Rooibos tea helps lower the levels of LDL, removes bad cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart diseases.
Summary: It increases the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) that helps carry fat deposits out of the arteries to the liver. It is especially a great beverage for those with a history of heart diseases in the family.
4. Helps to Fight HIV
HIV is one of the deadliest viral diseases yet. In one research it was found that the active substances contained in Rooibos tea can suppress the HIV streak.
Rooibos tea can help fight off HIV, as reported by a study published in the US National Library of Medicine. (31)
Bottom Line
As we have discussed, Rooibos Tea has many health benefits that have been proven by researchers all around the world. Doctors from various realms also suggest Rooibos tea for a healthier and longer life.
If you want to tap into these health benefits of rooibos tea, start by replacing your daily tea or coffee with this amazing drink and you won’t have any regrets!
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