Rooibos cuppa keeps you healthy
2010-07-27 08:18
Cape Town - Scientific proof has finally been found that demonstrates rooibos tea increases antioxidants in human blood.
If you drink enough of this tea, it increases your natural defence mechanisms, according to a study by four international research institutions.
Many people who promote so-called natural products claim such efficacy, but this study, published in the journal Food Chemistry, provides clinical proof of such claims.
It also shows that traditional rooibos tea (fermented) as well as green rooibos tea (unfermented) increase the amount of antioxidants in the blood.
Professor Mauro Serafini, research leader at the antioxidant research laboratory in Rome, Italy, said in a statement that it's possible that the unique ingredients of rooibos tea, once absorbed into the bloodstream, could also have other biological effects in the human body.
For this reason research about the effects of rooibos continues.
Professor Jeanine Marnewich of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology said: "After an hour the antioxidant plasma levels start to drop, so we're suggesting people drink six cups per day to improve their health."
She recently led a study which found that six cups of rooibos tea per day is beneficial for the heart.
Several studies done over the past few decades have found that the active ingredients in rooibos are bio-available and are metabolised by the body.
The most effective antioxidant in rooibos - aspalatin - is unique to the species, Aspalathus linearis. This fynbos plant is especially common in the Cederberg area in the Western Cape.
The South African Rooibos Tea Council invests about R1m in research annually to investigate the plant's health benefits.
Among other things, they are looking at how rooibos can help with cancer and stress, as well as the link between rooibos and exercise.
A research project regarding rooibos and obesity has been approved for 2011.
Visit the South African Rooibos Tea Council for more information.