Rooibos gained literary renown in Alexander McCall Smith's 1999 novel "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency." But this tea--pronounced royboss--has long been a favorite in southern Africa, and it's now popular in many other parts of the world as well. The leaves and twigs of this legume are picked and chopped for use in cooking, as a social beverage and as a treatment for medical conditions. Rooibos is known as red tea, because the leaves are often fermented, or oxidized, and they turn that color. But green rooibos is available, too. The leaves just haven't undergone the fermentation process.
Social Beverage
Rooibos can be enjoyed as an iced tea or a hot beverage. It doesn't contain caffeine, so it's consumed for its calming rather than activating effect. It's also low in tannins compared to many green and black teas. This makes it easy to digest for tea drinkers who have stomach problems, according to Winston Craig, professor of nutrition at Michigan's Andrews University. In cooking, Craig says rooibos often is used in soups and sauces and as the basis for refreshing fruit drinks.
Allergies and Skin Conditions
Traditionally, rooibos has been used to alleviate skin ailments and allergies--it's taken orally for conditions such as asthma and hay fever and applied topically to treat eczema and psoriasis. Craig, writing for the website Vegetarianism & Vegetarian Nutrition, says research shows rooibos relieves itchy skin conditions, but several related health claims are still anecdotal and are undergoing study.
Antioxidant Protection
Tea drinkers in many countries imbibe rooibos for its wealth of antioxidants, which protect against serious conditions such as cancer and heart disease. Studies conducted on animals have been promising. For instance, the National Institutes of Health reports rooibos is effective in preventing DNA damage and inflammation in rats. Scientists are optimistic about antioxidant benefits for humans and are conducting further research.
Stomach Ailments
The antioxidants in rooibos also help it serve as an anti-spasmodic agent. South Africans have long used the plant to relieve colic and stomach cramps in babies and digestive upset in general. The National Institutes of Health backs up this practice, offering scientific evidence that rooibos effectively controls conditions such as abdominal spasms and diarrhea.
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