The Health Benefits of Rooibos Tea

Although Rooibos is native to Africa, it has increased its popularity around the world.  It is also commonly called “red tea” because this particular tea produces a brew that is reddish-brown in color, therefore, accounting for its name.

          This tea almost faded away into oblivion due to Africa’s harsh environment and landscape and the eventual disappearance of the Khoisan tribes.  Khoisans are South African Bushmen who first collected the rooibos bush.  They were the first ones to use this plant for treating various ailments.  It was a botanist, Carl Thunberg who later on rediscovered rooibos.  It was brought into Europe by a Russian cape Settler named Benjamin Ginsberg.  This tea has a very colorful history.  Considered an underdog until World War II broke out.  A war-ridden Asia made it almost impossible to import and export tea and this gave rooibos the chance to be seen as a fitting alternative for the “real” tea coming from China.  This is when the rooibos revolution began.

          Rooibos tea has been worldly acclaimed especially after the publication of Annique Therons book “Allergies:  An Amazing Discovery” where she documented the health-promoting properties of rooibos.  From then on, it has become noted for its high concentration of antioxidants, its lack of caffeine and low levels of tannin.  Tannins play a role in the decrease absorption of nutrients like iron and protein during metabolism.  Rooibos being naturally caffeine-free unlike other kind of tea, not only brings delectable taste but also that soothing effect without the insomniatic caffeine upshot  This is very much good news to tea fanatic expectant mothers, caffeine-sensitive drinkers and children.

          It is also been found to be effective in soothing the body’s response to allergies and rashes.  Rooibos also has anti-sposmadic agents which is why it is used to treat colic in infants and is effective for stomach pains.  It has also been proven to effectively cure skin diseases like acne and eczema.  All it takes for an irritated skin is brewed rooibos put directly on the affected spot. Believed to have anti-aging properties because of the high level of antioxidants found in it, rooibos can also help decelerate the aging process.  Your natural fountain of youth!

          More so, this tea has almost no oxalic acid making it a healthy drink for people predisposed to having kidney stones.  Rooibos is also an excellent thirst quencher requiring no added sugar or sweeteners because of its naturally sweet taste.  Important nutrients like iron, magnesium, calcium, fluoride, zinc, and copper are also found in rooibos.  These are just some of the healthy reasons why you should rooibos that body!

Rooibos Teas