Honeybush tea is a caffeine-free tea made from the leaves and stems of the Cyclopia plant. Cyclopia is native to the South Africa where honeybush tea has been cherished for generations. African women in particluar, consume honeybush tea to relieve hot flashes and night sweat.
Traditional Uses
What Is Honeybush Tea Used For? Traditionally, honeybush tea is used to help with respiratory issues such as mucus buildup, pulmonary tuberculosis, and asthma. But its most widely used by African women to relief symptoms related to menopause.
How Honeybush Tea Benefits Women
How does honeybush tea benefit women? According to several studies, the Cyclopia plants have several phenolic compounds that can benefit womens.
Science-backed Benefits: Three of these compounds are phytoestrogens, mangiferin and hesperidin. They are known to affect hormone balance, skin and digestive health. So let’s look at how Researcers say they support womens’ health.
1. Hormonal Balance
Honeybush tea contains phytoestrogens1, plant compounds that behave like estrogen. These phytoestrogens can support hormonal balance, helping to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.
2. Bone Health Benefits
The tea is rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium which are essential for maintaining strong, healthy bones. This makes addting honeybush tea to your diet and good option for reducing the risk of osteoporosis, particularly in postmenopausal women.
3. Immune Support
Honeybush contains trace amounts of zinc and iron. These minerals provide support for womens immune function, by boosting the immune system and reducing their susceptibility to common illnesses.
4. Skin Rejuvination
Honeybush for skin: In a study to detemine honeybush tea anti-aging benefits2,120 Korean participants who had crow’s feet participated in the study. The results states that fermented Cyclopia intermedia, (the plant used to make tea), exhibited significant skin benefits such as anti-wrinkle effects over 12 weeks.
5. Digestive Health
Digestives disorders3 such as IBS and constipation, are common among women. Honeybush tea may help soothe the digestive tract providng relief from discomfort caused by these digestive issues.
Although several studies identifiy a number of honeybush tea benefits for women, the findings are based on limited data. Therefore, more intensive research is needed to fully understand what honeybush does for the body.
More Health Benefits
There are other potential health benefits of associated with drinking popular South African honeybush tea: Let’s look at some honey bush properties
- Antioxidant Properties: Packed with antioxidants, particularly polyphenols, honeybush tea helps protect the body from oxidative stress and lowers the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
- Anti-inflammatory Effects: The powerful anti-inflammatory properties of honeybush can help alleviate symptoms of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis.
- Hydration and Detoxification: Because it is a caffeine-free herbal tea, honeybush helps keep the body hydrated and flushes out toxins contributing to overall good health.
- Antidiabetic Effects: Honeybush contains hesperidin, a flavonoid that has shown potential antidiabetic4 effects.
Although the benefits of honeybush tea look promising, keep in mind that there is very little clinical data to explain the full benefits of honeybush. More comprehensive testing including clinical trials are needed.
How to Make Honeybush Tea
To make honeybush tea simply pour 1 or 2 teaspoons of dried honeybush into a cup of boiling water. Cover and steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain and enjoy. You may not need a sweetner as honeybush is naturally sweet.
Note that if the tea is allowed to steep for over 10 minute, the antioxidant properties become more potent. However because it is low in tannins, the tea won’t taste bitter like over-steeped green tea does.
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Is Honeybush the Same As Rooibos?
No. Honeybush tea is made from different species of the Cyclopia plant. However, Cyclopia is closely related Rooibos. However, honeybush tea is decribed as a milder sweeter version of rooibos tea.
Types of Honeybush Plants
According to one source there are there are 4 or 5 species of cyclopia that can be used to make honeybush tea. The species are either cultivated or wildcrafted.
Cyclopia intermedia, known as ‘bergtee’ (mountain tea), found between Port Elizabeth and the edge of the Langkloof.
Cyclopia genistoides, known as ‘kustee’ (coastal tea), found mostly in the Western Cape near Yzerfontein and Darling and also thriving in the South Cape if cultivated.
Cyclopia maculata, grown in the Outeniqua area near George.
Cyclopia sessiliflora, known as ‘Heidelberg-tee’, named after the town Heidelberg in South Africa, where it grows in the local mountain range.
Cyclopia Subternata, known as ‘vleitee’ (marshland tea) or ‘valleitee’ (valley tea).
Source: Fact Sheet on Honeybush Tea
Honeybush Tea For Sale
Although you may not find it in your local grocery store, onganic honeybush for making tea is available for purchase online. Etsy and Amazon are reputable places to find high quality honeybush.
Conclusion
Honeybush tea is a versatile, healthy beverage, with a delightful taste and many potential health benefits. Portnetial benefits of honeyush tea for women come from the plants powerful antioxidants and anti-iinflammatory rich contituents.
According to various sources Honeybush properties all combine to contribute to the teas ability to help menopause symptoms, enhance skin health, support the immune system, and lower the risk of serious diseases.
The teas natural sweetness makes it a delightful alternative to sugary drinks, which may aid weight loss and improve overall wellnes. So enjoy this delightful herbal tea hot or iced.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963458/ ↩︎
- Mukherjee, Pulok K et al. “Bioactive compounds from natural resources against skin aging.” Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology vol. 19,1 (2011): 64-73. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2011.10.003 ↩︎
- https://dighealth.org/posts/6-common-gi-problems-in-women/ ↩︎
- Miwa, Yoshikatsu et al. “Glucosyl hesperidin lowers serum triglyceride level in hypertriglyceridemic subjects through the improvement of very low-density lipoprotein metabolic abnormality.” Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology vol. 51,6 (2005): 460-70. doi:10.3177/jnsv.51.460 ↩︎
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