All The Health Benefits Linked To A Cup Of Rooibos Tea

Mint tea may have benefits for our digestive system, while passionflower tea can help us sleep.

And there’s some evidence to suggest that rooibos tea, a South African variety made from the fermented leaves of the Aspalathus linearis shrub, can help with everything from reducing inflammation to controlling blood sugar and boosting our gut health.

Green rooibos is made from the same leaves, but they’re unfermented.

Here are some of the potential health benefits of the caffeine-free tea:

Green rooibos tea is the only source of aspalathin (which helps to maintain cell health), and it’s high in other antioxidants, like quercetin (potentially anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, and immune-boosting), too.

Antioxidants help to protect our DNA from harmful free radicals. They may also assist in protecting against chronic illness, heart disease, and cancer.

A 2023 review found that drinking rooibos tea seemed to be linked to higher antioxidant levels in our bodies.

According to a 2024 paper, green rooibos tea appears to help to keep our guts moving.

It could also help the integrity of a single-cell gut layer, which helps us to absorb nutrients and keeps toxins and disease out.

Inflammation isn’t always a bad thing. We need it to build muscle and recover from some illnesses.

But when inflammation becomes chronic and happens when the body doesn’t need it, it can lead to “inflammaging”. That can “contribute to conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and frailty,” GP Dr Suzanne Wylie previously told HuffPost UK.

A 2021 paper said that rooibos tea might help to limit the growth of angiotensin converting enzymes (ACEs), linked to inflammation and high blood pressure.

Remember the rooibos tea-specific aspalathin we mentioned earlier? A 2023 paper suggested that it could help to explain why rooibos tea seemed to help control blood sugar levels in both healthy and at-risk individuals.

Still, more research is needed to work out how, why, and to what extent that’s true.