Red tea, also called rooibos tea or red-bush tea, is an herbal tea native to South Africa. Red tea is known for its mild, pleasant taste and for its antioxidant properties and potential health benefits. Purported medicinal uses of red tea range from insomnia and digestive problems to cancer and high blood pressure. Further scientific research is required to validate its effectiveness for these purposes, however. Red tea is also a caffeine-free alternative to black or green teas.
History
Red tea is made from the dried leaves of the Aspalathus linearis, or rooibos, plant, native to South Africa. Traditional medicinal uses of rooibos tea in South Africa include its use as a relaxant and as a treatment for allergies, asthma, skin problems and infantile colic. Rooibos was first popularized outside of South Africa during World War II, when obtaining tea supplies from Asian countries became difficult for Allied countries. Since the late 20th century, medical research pointing to numerous potential health benefits of drinking red tea has further increased its popularity in Western countries and worldwide.
Nutrients
Red tea contains many bioactive plant compounds called phenols that may benefit health. Rooibos is particularly rich in a class of phenolic compounds called flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Red tea doesn't contain catechins, the major flavonoids present in black and green teas, although it is high in the flavonoids aspalthin and nothofagin, and it also contains the flavonoids rutin, quercetin, luteolin, orientin and chrysoeriol. Additionally, red tea has a high vitamin C content, and it provides small amounts of amino acids and essential minerals such as iron, sodium, chloride, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
Potential Health Benefits
According to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, animal and in vitro studies indicate rooibos benefits the immune system, produces anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects, protects cells from radiation damage and may prevent oxidative damage linked to certain chronic diseases. According to research published in "Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry" in April 2011, in vitro studies also show red tea benefits the lipid profile by lowering serum triglycerides and cholesterol. Despite the promising results from animal and in vitro studies, however, these same results have not been confirmed in humans, and further research is thus required to determine whether red tea offers specific health benefits for humans, notes Sloan-Kettering.
Precautions
According to Sloan-Kettering, as compounds in rooibos tea leaves have demonstrated estrogenic activity -- which means they produce estrogen-like effects in the body -- people with estrogen-dependant cancers should use caution before taking rooibos. You should also talk to your doctor before using rooibos tea if you are undergoing chemotherapy, as, according to Sloan-Kettering, the antioxidant effects of red tea may interfere with the action of some chemotherapeutic agents. Information regarding the safety of taking red tea while pregnant or breastfeeding is lacking, according to Drugs.com, so it is best to consult with your physician before drinking red tea while pregnant or lactating.
References
- RooibosTea.com: History of Rooibos Tea
- "Journal of Ethnopharmacology"; South African Herbal Teas: Aspalathus linearis, Cyclopia spp. and Athrixia phylicoides -- A Review; E. Joubert, et al.; October 2008
- "South African Medical Journal"; The Effect of Rooibos Tea on Iron Absorption; P.B. Hesseling; April 1979
- "Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry"; Identification of Phenolic Compounds in Aqueous and Ethanolic Rooibos Extracts (Aspalathus linearis) by HPLC-ESI-MS (TOF/IT); I. Iswaldi, et al.; April 2011
- Drugs.com: Red Bush Tea
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