Raspberry leaf tea health booster

By Sari Huhtala

The next time you’re out hiking, reach for red raspberry leaves and fix yourself a health-boosting tea for free. If you have wild raspberry bushes close by or a raspberry bush growing in your backyard you have medicine at your fingertips.

Red raspberry leaves are chock full of goodness, and while you can slip into your health food store and stock up on dried leaves, it’s much more economical to just dry and store the leaves yourself, and takes very little effort. Raspberry, strawberry and blackberry leaves often have more antioxidant capacity than oregano, sweet balm, thyme, nettle and mint, which are known as rich sources of antioxidants, according to a 2011 study – Antioxidant Capacity and Antioxidants of Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Leaves – which appeared in a 2011 issue of the Czech Journal of Food Sciences.

Need to boost your vitamin C intake? Fresh red raspberry leaf tea will do just that, researchers say. The leaves have “considerable” amounts of polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins, including quercetin – that fabulous plant flavonoid that is available in a supplement form at your health food store. In fact, 100 grams of dried raspberry leaves contains 15.63 mg of quercitrin, while an apple has about 4.4 mg of quercetin. This translates into about 1.6 grams of quercitrin in one cup of raspberry leaf tea.

Quercitrin is a molecule formed from quercetin. Both quercitrin and quercetin inhibit oxidative stress and inflammation.

Studies show the leaves of all three berries – strawberries, raspberries and blackberries – have more antioxidant capacity (ORAC) and more phenolic substances than the berries. Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) was developed by the National Institute of Health to measure the antioxidant capacity of various foods. The USDA recommends 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units daily to reduce free radical damage. This translates to about 5 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables, depending on the ORAC value. To put it into perspective, 100 grams of raw raspberries has an ORAC value of 4,882.

To make raspberry leaf tea, steep a handful of fresh leaves, or 1 tbsp of dried leaves in boiled water for about 10 minutes.

Dry raspberry leaves for winter time tea. Simply snip branches of leaves, wrap twigs with twine and hang to dry in a cool, dry space until all the moisture is out of the leaves. Crumble leaves into jar and seal with a lid.

(This information is not intended to replace medical advice and treatment from a health care practitioner).

Sari Huhtala is the creator, publisher and editor of Alive and Fit Magazine, which was created in 2007.  She has over 25 years of experience in journalism and over 15 years of experience as a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, and is a holistic chef, offering holistic cooking and edible wilds workshops. She is an organic farmer, wild-crafter and grandmother, who has spent over 20 years navigating a holistic, healthy path for her family. Reach her at friends@thelaughingforest.ca