What is Rooibos?

Rooibos (pronounced Royboss) is a distinctive red plant from South Africa. It is part of the legume family of plants originating from the Cedarburg region near Cape Town.

Rooibos Health Benefits

Rooibos is mainly used as a herbal tea. The red needles that make up Rooibos tea are jam packed full of ingredients such as iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, sodium, manganese, fluoride and antioxidants - a great boost for your immune system.

Rooibos contains no caffeine so is suitable for children and pregnant women. Rooibos has anti-spasmodic properties thus relieving stomach cramps, constipation and colic in infants.

Furthermore, as well as being used as a pick-me-up in the morning, Rooibos tea is also good for hypertension to help you relax and sleep well at night due to the soothing effect on the central nervous system. People who suffer from mild depression have also shown to benefit from it. The first cup of Rooibos tea I had left me feeling relaxed and calm, there was no going back after that! So now when ever I feel slightly stressed or have a headache, I sit back and enjoy a nice cuppa.

Studies have also shown that Rooibos has soothing effect on the skin, relieving certain skin irritations like eczema and nappy rash when applied directly to the affected area. As an eczema sufferer, I usually put Rooisbos tea bags in fridge overnight and then apply to the affected area. It is also of benefit to the management of allergies like hay fever and asthma.

Rooibos is also safe to drink for people suffering from kidney stones as it contains no oxalic acid.

There are many benefits to rooibos tea but if this is not enough to tempt you then maybe it's sweet, nutty flavour will please.

Other Rooibos Facts:

First discovered several centuries ago, Rooibos is now popular all over the world, it can sometimes be found under different names such as Redbush Tea in the UK and Red South African in the US.

Rooibos is refreshing, never bitter and can be served hot or cold. You can also add lemon, sugar or honey. It is also be a great addition to recipes; it can be used as meat tenderizer or as a base for meat and chicken marinades.

It can be kept in a thermos flask for hours without loss of flavour.

Dark hair can be rinsed with rooibos tea to leave a nice shine.

Rooibos is every economical and leaves can be used more than once.

After centuries of use, no negative effects have ever been recorded.