Know your Rooibos tea

Written by Ansie Earle

Tuesday, 20 February 2007 Tremendous interest and research are being focussed on antioxidants and their role in helping to reverse and prevent free radical damage to your body and to your skin.Enzymes and antioxidants protect your body against the harmful effects of these free radicals.

Worldwide studies have shown that people who take antioxidant supplements live longer and healthier lives. Because of the polluted environment that we live in, it is not always easy to get access to good quality natural antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C Scientists have discovered that the Rooibos plant (Aspalathus linearis) contains a host of beneficial substances. Rooibos tea contains nine different flavonoids. Flavonoids help to neutralise free radicals, and in combination with Rooibos tea’s naturally high vitamin C content, they act as antioxidant compounds.

These antioxidants protect your skin and body against diseases and premature ageing Rooibos also contains the enzyme Superoxide Dis-mutase (SOD) which is one of the most powerful naturally-occurring antioxidants in your body. Unfortunately, the rate at which your body produces its own SOD slows down after the age of 10 and it is therefore crucial to supplement it from other sources.

SOD seeks out free radicals and prevents them from damaging the healthy cells in your body. This slows down the rate of cell destruction, which leads to premature ageing and serious diseases Rooibos tea also has anti-inflammatory and anti- allergic properties that can be very helpful in the treatment of allergies and skin conditions like eczema Furthermore, Rooibos is caffeine free, rich in minerals and low in tannin. Because of the high tannin content in regular black tea, your body’s ability to absorb iron is reduced by about a third, which is bad news for your health.

The low tannin content in Rooibos tea does not interfere with iron or mineral absorption and Rooibos tea actually contains iron and other minerals Thanks to its natural powerful, rejuvenating and antioxidant qualities, Rooibos is excellent for use in skin and healthcare products Japanese scientists have done a lot of research on the anti-ageing properties of Rooibos tea at the Institute for Science of Aging at AICHI Medical University in Japan.

They often call Rooibos tea “long life tea”.