Benefits of Raspberry Leaf Tea
Raspberry leaf, aka Rubus idaeus or Fu Pen Zi in Chinese medicine, happens to be one of the most common herbs I use myself and recommend to my patients. It is a gentle yet powerful uterine tonic, it is safe in pregnancy, and when brewed as tea or an herbal infusion it's a good source of dissolved minerals.
And, you don't have to be pregnant or even a woman to benefit from this amazing herb. It also has benefits for digestion, skin, lungs, and gums. In fact, for many of it's benefits you don't even have to drink it, you can use it as a soak or add it to your bath. I'll explain how.
Supports Menstrual & Uterine Health
Raspberry leaf tea is a classic uterine tonic, used to treat menstrual cramps and irregular cycles. It is a mild but effective remedy and therefore should be used frequently to gain its benefits. While you may only think to drink it during your period, try use it all cycle long and you'll be much more likely to notice a difference.
Improves Symptoms of Pregnancy
Unlike many other herbs, raspberry leaf tea is not just safe for longterm use, it's safe during all phases of pregnancy and it's also beneficial for each phase. Here are just a few things it helps with:
Helps to stabilize pregnancy in the first trimester and prevent bleeding
Reduces nausea and improves digestion
Tones the uterus while it grows
Tones the uterus to prepare it for labor.
Keep in mind, when I say it tones the uterus I mean it improves the muscle tone. A lot of people misunderstand that as a uterine stimulate that may initiate contractions, but this is not the case. It is safe at all phases of pregnancy, but I find it particularly helpful in the first and third trimesters.
Postpartum
The perks of raspberry leaf tea don't end with birth, especially because it's capable of boosting breast milk supply and actually repairing uterine tissue. I always recommend my patients continue to drink the tea for at least a few months postpartum.
This goes for both vaginal and surgical births alike. For surgical births, drinking the tea is generally the best option for helping uterine tissue to heal internally.
For vaginal births, if perineal swelling or tearing is involved, I still recommend drinking it but using the tea topically can also be helpful. This can be done with a sitz bath of raspberry leaf tea, as it also reduces swelling and promotes tissue repair topically. Want to learn more about sitz baths? Read my post: DIY Herbal Sitz Bath
Improves Digestion
Although it's not used primarily as a digestive tonic, raspberry leaf tea does have this added advantage. It helps to stimulate and harmonize digestion, particularly helpful for nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, or constipation. You don't have to be pregnant or trying to regulate your period or even a woman to gain this benefit from raspberry leaf tea. In fact, making an infusion of this herb is a healthy beverage for just about anyone.
Calms Irritated Skin
Just when you thought I was done, I’ve still got to tell you about how raspberry leaf is also helpful for soothing inflamed skin, which could mean dry or flaky skin, sunburn, eczema, itchiness, rashes, or most common types of skin inflammation or irritation.
It can be used as a:
Wash, soak or bath: simply brew the tea or make an infusion (see below) and once the liquid is cool you can wash or soak a smaller area, or add it to a bath to cover a larger area.
Poultice: once the herbs are brewed/infused, you can use the soaked leaves as a poultice, which when you wrap up herbs in a hand towel or cheesecloth and use it as a compress.
How to Brew the Tea & Make an Infusion
Obviously the most common way to use raspberry leaf is to brew it as tea, and you can even find tea bags of the stuff at your local grocery store which makes it really simple and convenient to drink.
I typically recommend an herbal infusion, however, which uses loose leaf tea and a long brew time to get a really well infused tea that is potent and rich in dissolved minerals but tastes a bit stronger. You can use a tea infuser, a tea pot with a strainer, or even just small fine sieve and and a jar works too. I usually brew 1 tablespoon of raspberry leaf per 1-2 cups of steeping water. Let it infuse at least 20 minutes, up to 3 hours. Then enjoy the tea room temp, iced, or you can heat it back up.