Raspberry Tea for You and Me

Raspberry Tea for You and Me.

Tea, for many, is sacred. A ritual. A moment in time to come back to oneself.  Imbued with sociability, it’s often enjoyed with friends. Consumed with cake. Used as a marker of passing time. Linked to feelings of well being. We often stop for a cuppa, a tea break to stretch the legs, take a pause and realign ourselves with our daily tasks. Whatever one’s relationship with tea, for many people, it just seems to make life more bearable.

But the act of drinking tea is also strongly aligned with some impressive health benefits. Some are commonly known, such as peppermint to help with increased energy or digestion. Chamomile to help with relaxation and sleeplessness. Green tea is well known for it’s high level of antioxidants.

And Raspberry tea? Well, it seems that’s good for…. well…..just about everything! It’s a tea that is made from the leaves of raspberries, after they have been dried and crushed. It’s crammed with potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B, and vitamin E.

So, in other words, it’s full of all the good stuff.

Vitamin C helps boost the immune system and stimulates the production of white blood cells which makes it great to drink at the onset of colds and flu. It soothes the mucus lining of bodily tissues making it an effective all round anti- inflammatory. Raspberry tea regulates hormones, prevents nausea and other gastrointestinal issues, aids in fertility issues, psoriasis, eczema, acne, obesity, indigestion, constipation, high blood pressure, aching joints, and general inflammation. The concentration of potassium makes it excellent for reducing blood pressure. According to a study in the journal “Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Medicine” in 2002, people have used raspberry leaf tea for centuries to treat wounds, diarrhea and colic pain.

 

Sounds like a winning choice next time you put the kettle on!

But be warned! As always, the quality of the ingredients you consume is important. Make sure you check exactly what’s in the tea you buy. There is one food additive called Castoreum that is used commonly in place of raspberry flavouring. It is the primary secretion from the castor anal sac in the European beaver. The American FDA has approved use of Castoreum in perfumes, fragrances and as a food additive for vanilla, raspberry and strawberry flavouring. Not exactly what I want in my cuppa on my afternoon break!  Our advice?  Choose organic every time and enjoy the benefits!