The benefits of drinking red raspberry leaf tea
Doctors, midwives, and pregnant women have spoken about red raspberry leaf tea for years.
Red raspberry leaf tea is said to do wonders for all pregnant women.
Are there really so many benefits to drinking this magical tea? What are red raspberry leaf tea benefits that we hear so much about?
Red raspberry leaf tea is not only beneficial for pregnancy but you can also drink it outside of pregnancy and reap its benefits.
Some people will say that drinking this tea in the last few weeks of pregnancy will help you to induce labor naturally.
Others say that drinking red raspberry leaf tea too early on in pregnancy can cause you to miscarry.
Basically, there are a whole lot of stories and rumors flying around about when and if you should be drinking raspberry leaf tea.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of this tea.
What is Red Raspberry Leaf tea?
Red raspberry leaf tea comes from the raspberry plant (Rubus Idaeus). The tea is made from the leaves of this delicious fruit.
The leaves from the red raspberry are very rich in vitamins and minerals.
It contains potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin E as well as some antioxidants.
It’s very important to not confuse raspberry tea with red raspberry leaf tea.
The benefits in drinking each of these teas are very different so its important to get the right one.
Raspberry tea is just a regular tea with raspberry flavoring. Much like strawberry tea or mango flavored tea.
There is not going be very much nutritional benefit in drinking this type of flavored tea.
With red raspberry leaf tea, the tea is actually made from the leaves of the plant and not the fruit itself.
The red raspberry leaves are said to be packed full of nutritional benefits for both pregnant and non-pregnant women.
Don’t be deceived though because red raspberry tea tastes nothing like raspberries.
It tastes more like a black tea.
I’ve drunk red raspberry leaf tea in all my 4 pregnancies but I always added a little sugar or honey to it.
That’s mainly because I have a terrible sweet tooth.
Adding any type of sweetener is completely unnecessary.
Remember this Red raspberry leaf tea post by pinning it to your favorite Pinterest board!
Red raspberry leaf tea benefits and why pregnant women should drink it
It is believed that if you drink red raspberry leaf tea while you are pregnant it will help you immensely
Here are 5 benefits to drinking red raspberry leaf tea:
1. Speeds up labor
Drinking red raspberry leaf tea will help to speed up labor and reduce the risk of any possible complications during the delivery of your baby.
Some women claim that drinking this tea has helped in shortening the amount of time they have been in labor and makes it less painful.
A study was conducted on a group of women who had taken red raspberry leaf tea whilst pregnant and those that did not. The results of the study came back to show that it was, in fact, beneficial to drink the tea to help shorten labor. No negative side effects were discovered. (source)
2. Strengthens your uterus
Drinking the tea later in pregnancy will help to strengthen your uterus in preparation for giving birth.
3. Helps with nausea
Some women have found that when they drink red raspberry leaf tea earlier in the first or second trimester of pregnancy that it helps with nausea.
It is usually recommended that you drink red raspberry leaf tea in the later stages of pregnancy but for some women, they actually find there are some benefits to drinking it much sooner in pregnancy.
As there is some speculation around whether or not you should take red raspberry leaf tea early on in pregnancy I would advise that you speak with your doctor first before attempting this.
Helpful post: How to plan your perfect baby shower
4. Postpartum bleeding
Drinking this tea can help with postpartum bleeding after you have given birth. It is said that red raspberry leaf tea can help to slow down your postpartum bleeding and aid you in a quicker recovery after birth.
5. Increases milk supply
There are so many nutritional benefits in drinking this tea that women have testified that it has helped them with increasing their milk supply.
Other benefits to drinking red raspberry tea outside of pregnancy
-
- It can help to increase fertility in women
-
- It boosts the immune system
-
- Great remedy for cold and flu
-
- Helps to relieve constipation
-
- Reduces high blood pressure
-
- Helps tackle issues of being overweight
-
- Great for skincare
Does red raspberry leaf tea really help to induce labor?
Although people do speculate if drinking red raspberry leaf tea will induce labor or not, it is highly unlikely that drinking the tea will, in fact, bring on labor.
Although red raspberry leaf tea won’t actually cause you to go in to labor what it actually does is to prepare your body for what is to come.
Red raspberry leaf tea will actually help the muscles of your womb to tone up and be fit and ready for birth.
When you are in labor your body will be doing a lot of work once those contractions kick in.
Red raspberry leaf tea will help to make sure that your uterus is ready for your due date.
Is red raspberry leaf tea safe to drink?
Some experts say that you should not drink red raspberry tea until you are at least in your second trimester of pregnancy.
Others disagree and point towards the other benefits that the tea can bring such as easing the sensation of morning sickness.
On the whole yes it is safe to drink as it is a herbal tea with no nasty stuff in sight.
But even though it is a natural tea you still have to drink it with caution as drinking too much of it can cause some nasty side effects that you will probably want to avoid.
Side effects of drinking too much red raspberry leaf tea
It is recommended that you only drink between 2- 3 cups of tea per day.
Drinking too much tea could cause you to experience:
- Diarrhea in pregnancy
- A surge in Braxton hicks contractions
If your pregnancy is considered high risk in any aspect I would personally tread with caution or at least contact my doctor or midwife before taking red raspberry leaf tea.
How to start taking red raspberry leaf tea?
It’s advisable to start drinking the tea with one cup a day until you feel comfortable enough with it.
After that, you can increase your intake to the recommended 2-3 cups a day the closer you get to your due date.
Where can I buy red raspberry leaf tea?
You can pick up some tea from Amazon.
You can buy the loose form of the leaves like this.
If you prefer you can purchase the tea bag form instead. You can get it right here.
Can you only take the raspberry leaf as a tea?
No, it doesn’t only come in the form of tea bags you can actually take it in tablet form too.
If you don’t like the taste of the tea then the tablet form could be an option for you.
You can get the tablet form from here.
Alternatively, you can purchase it as drops just like this.
Just remember that the tablet might take a little longer to get into your system as it has to break down in your gut first.
Apart from that, you are good to go!
Other benefits of red raspberry leaf tea you may not be aware of:
We have already touched on a few of these points already above but I think it’s helpful to expand on this a little more.
Postpartum
Drinking red raspberry leaf tea is great after you have just given birth. It will actually help to speed up your postpartum recovery.
Not only does the tea help with the contracting of your uterus after birth but it also helps to boost your milk supply if you are breastfeeding!
If you purchase the loose leaf tea you can use it as a postpartum sitz bath which works really well if you are suffering from vaginal swelling after childbirth.
Menstrual cycles
Did you know you can also drink this tea when you menstruating too?
It helps with period cramping so it a good idea to drink it well before your period is due to make sure you get the maximum benefits from it.
Final thoughts on red raspberry leaf tea benefits
Red raspberry leaf tea is safe to drink in pregnancy, although if you are a high risk pregnancy you may want to consult your doctor first.
You can also take the tea early on in pregnancy, although if you chose to do this do tread with caution.
If you begin to experience any nasty side effects you must stop drinking it immediately.
If you are unsure about any of this please consult your doctor or midwife first.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.