Honeybush is a shrub from the Fabaceae family that is native to the cape region of South Africa. The leaves of the bush are used to make an herbal infusion that has medicinal properties. Honeybush tea is low in tannins, but high in antioxidants, which protect your blood vessels from harmful free-radicals and help to reduce your risk of high blood pressure caused by atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries. Honeybush tea is not a recognized treatment for hypertension, so consult with your doctor if you think your blood pressure is high.
Honeybush Tea
Honeybush is not a species of tea, although hot herbal infusions are commonly called teas. It has a mildly sweet taste and aroma, somewhat like honey, but honey is not commonly added to it. The flowers of the bush also smell of honey. There are about two dozen species of honeybush found in the wild, although only five are commonly used for commercial production. Honeybush tea has become a popular substitute for black tea, or Camellia sinensis, although it contains no caffeine and is low in tannins, according to the "Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine."
Production
The leaves of the honeybush are harvested, cut, crushed and then dried and oxidized, either in the sun or in heated tanks. The leaves are then sifted and separated according to size. The three main grades are super fine, which is used for tea bags, regular fine, used for tea bags and loose tea, and coarse, used only for loose tea. With very low tannin content, honeybush tea is not nearly as astringent as black teas. Further, its lack of caffeine makes it appropriate for nighttime consumption.
Medicinal Properties
The leaves of the honeybush contain many compounds that demonstrate medicinal properties, such as isoflavones, flavones, cinnamic acids, coumestans, polyphenols and xanthones. Most of these compounds are powerful antioxidants able to eliminate free-radicals from your tissues, which protects them from injury and aging. According to Eric Newsholme, author of "Functional Biochemistry in Health and Disease," free-radical damage of your arteries forces your body to patch the fissures with cholesterol and other material, which contributes to the process of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis hardens and clogs your arteries, which is a primary cause of high blood pressure, or hypertension. Further, polyphenols and xanthones lower blood lipids, and coumestans reduce the clotting ability of your blood, which are also helpful in reducing the risks of atherosclerosis and stroke, as cited in the "Natural Standard Herb & Supplement Reference.
Cautions
Honeybush tea also contains pinitol, a compound similar to inositol and commonly found in pine trees. Pinitol is an expectorant and helpful for treating coughs, but it also displays blood-sugar lowering effects. As such, you should be cautious with honeybush tea if you are diabetic and taking insulin, according to Michael Castleman, author of "The New Healing Herbs." Hypertension, usually defined as blood pressures higher than 135 / 85, has many causes other than atherosclerosis. Hypertension often has no overt symptoms and can lead to deadly consequences, so consult with your doctor about its causes and conventional treatments. Honeybush tea may be helpful in a preventative sense, but it is not a recognized treatment for those who already have hypertension.
References
- "Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine"; M. Murray and J. Pizzorno; 2008
- "Functional Biochemistry in Health and Disease"; Eric Newsholme et al; 2010
- "Natural Standard Herb & Supplement Reference: Evidence-based Clinical Reviews"; Catherine E. Ulbricht et al; 2005
- "The New Healing Herbs"; Michael Castleman; 2010
