The Health Benefits of Rooibos...

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The Health Benefits of Rooibos...

With its many positive attributes, Rooibos tea is a great choice of drink

for health conscious people.

 

Rooibos tea contains no colors, additives or preservatives, making it a

natural beverage. It contains no caffeine. According to studies conducted in

South Africa and Japan Rooibos has been shown to aid in health problems such as

insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension.

 

Studies also show that this tea relieves anti- spasmodic agents, which can

relieve stomach cramping and colic in infants.

 

In South Africa Rooibos has been used to treat allergies such as hay fever,

asthma and eczema very effectively .

 

It is also used to treat irritated skin. Rooibos is brewed and placed

directly on infected areas. Rooibos contains anti - oxidants which can help slow

the aging process and boost the immune system.

 

Rooibos is a great thirst quencher and is an excellent beverage for active

people, including children.

 

This tea contains no oxalic acid, making it a good beverage for people prone

to kidney stones. Rooibos contains the minerals, copper, iron and potassium,

calcium, fluoride, zinc, manganese, alpha- hydroxy ( for healthy skin ) and

magnesium ( for the nervous system ) are also components of this tea. In

South Africa pregnant women and nursing mothers drink Rooibos because it

contains

no caffeine.

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Rooibos tea is brewed from the leaf of the plant Aspalathus linearis which

grows on the slopes of the Cedarberg mountain range around Clanwillium, South

Africa.

 

Known in South Africa as " Red Bush " because of the color of its leaves, and

believed by indigenous peoples to have great healing powers, it began to be

cultivated in 1930.

 

Today it is a popular and highly regarded drink throughout South Africa,

many calling it the " miracle tea. "

 

Aichi Medical University, Japan and University of the Orange Free State,

Dept. of Chemistry, South Africa show Rooibos to be rich in minerals, high in

Vitamin C, and contain large amounts of antioxidants.

 

Rooibos has no caffeine, no oxalic acid, very low tannin content, and

abundant amounts of alphahydroxyacid. Significant Minerals: Potassium, Copper,

Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Manganese, and fluoride.

 

Antioxidants

Antioxidants boost the immune system, eliminate " free radicals " , and show

promise in the reducion of heart disease. Japanese research shows very high

antioxidant activity, probably from flavonoid compounds and Vitamin C.

 

Rooibos is made like ordinary tea. Use one teaspoon of dried leaves per 6

oz. cup. Pour boiling water over the leaves and steep 6-8 minutes. liquid.

Because there is a very low tannin content, Rooibos can steep almost

indefinitely

without getting bitter. It is routinely steeped 20 minutes or more, and

drunk hot or cold or iced with citrus garnish. In South Africa it is commonly

served hot with milk. It can be reheated with no loss of flavor.

 

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Sceletium tortuosum/rooibos

 

Sceletium tortuosum was used by South African pastoralists and hunter-

gatherers as a mood-altering substance from prehistoric times. The

earliest written records of the use of the plant date back to 1662

and the plant was first illustrated in 1685. Sceletium was an item of

barter in the time of Jan van Riebeeck, and there is documentation of

trade from the Castle in Cape Town, South Africa. The traditionally

prepared dried sceletium was often chewed as a quid, and the saliva

swallowed, but it has also been made into teas and tinctures. Less

commonly, it has been reported that Sceletium used to be inhaled as a

snuff, or smoked, usually with the addition of other herbs.

 

Sceletium elevates mood and decreases anxiety, stress and tension,

and it has also been used as an appetite suppressant by shepherds

walking long distances in arid areas. In intoxicating doses it can

cause euphoria, initially with stimulation and later with sedation.

Long-term use in the local context followed by abstinence has not

been reported to result in a withdrawal state. The plant is not

hallucinogenic, and no severe adverse effects have been documented.

 

Sceletium tortuosum was used in rural areas in very small doses as a

treatment for colic in infants, added to a teaspoon of breast milk,

and this use still survives in some local communities.

 

The active constituents of Sceletium tortuosum are alkaloids,

including mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol and tortuosamine.

Mesembrine is a major alkaloid present in Sceletium tortuosum, and

has been demonstrated in unpublished laboratory studies to be a very

potent serotonin-uptake inhibitor.

 

This receptor-specific activity, and receptor activities also found

on nicotinic, dopamine and nor-adrenaline sites certainly validate

the traditional mood-elevating uses, and suggest additional

therapeutic and wellness potential.

 

Tablets and capsules of Sceletium are being used successfully by a

number of psychiatrists, psychologists and doctors with excellent

results for anxiety states and mild to moderate depression; and they

can also be used by the lay public as supplements to elevate mood and

for stress and tension. In addition to Sceletium's common use for the

stress and mental fatigue of modern industrial living, Sceletium has

been used as a natural supplement in: Low mood, including grey

weather syndrome Anxiety states, including social phobia Irritability

in menopause Improvement in libido, when lack of libido is from

anxiety or low mood Post-traumatic stress disorder, as part of a

support program In addition to these better-known clinical uses,

there is some preliminary evidence that Sceletium may be of value as

a supplement in drug addiction rehabilitation and alcohol

rehabilitation support, as part of a formal program. Research

directions for the future include evaluation of potential in

cognitive enhancement, and the management of Parkinson's disease and

Alzheimer's disease.

 

Very few people experience side effects, which include occasional

episodes of: Mild headache, slight nausea - no vomiting, soft stool

or loose stool with no cramping, transient increase in anxiety or

irritability an hour after initiating treatment, which resolves after

an hour or so, insomnia: corrected by lowering the dose or taking the

product not later than midday, a feeling of sedation: corrected by

taking the product as a single 50mg dose at night

 

Although there have been no confirmed reports of drug interactions,

because of the neuro-receptor activities of Sceletium there are

theoretical interactions with other psychiatric medications and

cardiac drugs. People taking any psychiatric drug (including all anti-

anxiety drugs, sedatives, hypnotics, anti-depressants and anti-

psychotics and so-called designer or recreational drugs) or any

cardiac medications, are advised not to take Sceletium-containing

products. As with most supplements and modern drugs, safety in

pregnancy has not been established.

 

Source - http://www.africanredtea.com/health-sceletium.html