Rooibos tea, considered a health drink, originates from southern Africa. However, it is now available in many countries. Rooibos tea, with its unique flavor, is caffeine-free. Therefore, it won’t affect sleep, making it a perfect alternative to caffeinated beverages like coffee. Even better, rooibos tea contains a variety of nutrients.

What is rooibos tea?

It helps with antioxidants and prevents chronic inflammatory diseases.

Rooibos tea is rich in antioxidants. For example, quercetin and luteolin, two flavonoids, are powerful antioxidants that help the body eliminate free radicals.

This prevents cell damage and helps fight inflammation, helping to prevent chronic inflammatory diseases like heart disease and cancer.

It helps maintain heart health.

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties mentioned above, such as quercetin and luteolin, can help prevent heart disease.

Furthermore, drinking rooibos tea can help inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), an enzyme that causes blood vessels to constrict and raise blood pressure. Inhibiting this enzyme can prevent this severe constriction, thereby lowering blood pressure.

Rooibos tea can also help reduce bad cholesterol. In one related study, physicians evaluated and selected men at high risk for future heart disease.

Then, after six weeks of drinking six cups of rooibos tea daily, most participants experienced a significant decrease in bad cholesterol (LDL) and an increase in good cholesterol (HDL).

Scientists therefore believe that rooibos tea may help prevent heart-related diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke.

Potential for Cancer Prevention

Some scientists believe that the antioxidant compounds quercetin and luteolin in rooibos tea have potential to help fight cancer.

In vitro studies have shown that these compounds can help kill cancer cells and prevent tumor growth. However, drinking just one cup of rooibos tea a day is unlikely to be enough to achieve the same effects in humans.

Because the amount of quercetin and luteolin in a cup of rooibos tea is very small, scientists are still studying how much quercetin and luteolin are sufficient for the human body, as well as the body’s absorption rate of these two antioxidants.

Potential to Help Improve Type 2 Diabetes

Among all antioxidants, one is currently found only in rooibos tea: this particularly powerful antioxidant, called aspalathin.

Animal studies have shown that it can help improve type 2 diabetes. It is also believed to help stabilize blood sugar, improve insulin resistance, and help prevent vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis in diabetics, while also protecting the heart.

The American Heart Association states that people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease than the general population.