Rosehip tea is one of the most well known herbal teas women search for during pregnancy. Let’s look at rosehip tea and its benefits and how safe it is during pregnancy and labor.
Rosehip tea
The rosehip is also called the rose haw. The rose haw is actually the fruit of the rose.
Research on wild rosehips has proved it has many health benefits. For nutritional purposes, rosehips are used to make jams, jellies, teas and even alcoholic beverages. In traditional medicine, wild roses have been used to treat eczema, colds, coughs and kidney and heart disease. Rosehip tea regulates sugar levels and, pharmacologically, it has many properties: it is anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer and antioxidant.
Let’s look at how we can benefit from the healing properties of these full-of-goodness wild rosehip tea bags.
Organic rosehip tea and pregnancy
When it comes to herbal tea or herbal remedies we must act with caution during pregnancy, as research on herbal products during pregnancy is very limited.
For many decades, research on the effects on pregnant women of rosehip tea and other herbal remedies has been very scarce.
Research was always more difficult because pregnant women were considered by science to be a huge ‘no-go’ for almost anything intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent during pregnancy. The problem with not researching the possible benefits or side effects of different products during pregnancy is twofold.
First, pregnant women are often left to their own devices when they suffer an ailment during pregnancy. Second, there are many products with health benefits for pregnant women and babies that we simply don’t know about because they were never tested.
Rosehip tea has many health benefits. Let’s look at them and find out how rosehip tea can benefit you during pregnancy.
The benefit of rosehip
Research into the properties of rosehip tea highlights several benefits of rosehip. Here are the 3 main ones.
#1. Anti-inflammatory properties
The delicate petals of rose flowers have been used for many centuries in balms and perfumes. It might not be quite so well known that rose petals have many other healing properties. Research has shown the extended use of the anti-inflammatory properties of rose hips.
Organic rosehip lotions are widely used in dermatitis, psoriasis, and other chronic skin conditions. Rosehip balms are used in wound care. Rosehip balm is well recommended to help heal c-section wounds or even episiotomy or vaginal tears. Ask a qualified healthcare practitioner about the use of rose hips for their healing effects.
#2. Antioxidant properties
Antioxidants are key to preventing cell degeneration. Cells age in the presence of oxygen in the same way a wet nail rusts. Antioxidants protect healthy tissue from the decaying effects of oxygen. Rose hips are very good at stopping oxygen’s effects on our bodies, whether it is when we drink organic rose hip tea or directly apply rosa canina to the skin. Research on the antioxidant properties of rose hips is being carried out as the amount of antioxidant found in rosa canina oil is much higher than in any other plants (such as organic hibiscus or citrus fruits). There’s hope that the antioxidant properties of rose hips can treat, cure, or prevent any skin disease or health condition that benefits from the powerful effect of antioxidant agents.
#3. Anti-ageing properties
Because they are full of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents, rose hips are well known for their anti-ageing properties, with regard to skin. Certified organic rose hips hydrate, moisturize and regenerate all skin types. Applied to the skin, rosehip lotions act to regenerate, even out and brighten the skin. The effects of organic rose hips on the skin will also help with elasticity and collagen production.
Rosa canina (one of the most common types of rose hips used for their skin improving properties) is commonly used in stretch mark creams as a 5-star ingredient for skin elasticity.
Read more in BellyBelly’s article Pregnancy Stretch Marks | 7 Facts.
What are the side effects of rose hips?
Research is quite ambiguous when it comes to rose hips’ side effects. Gastrointestinal discomfort, loose stools and flatulence are the most common side effects of ingesting too many rosehips. These side effects have been found in studies where the number of rose hips was quite considerable compared with the placebo group.
When it comes to drinking rosehip tea during pregnancy, make sure the tea bags come from an organic source and your rosehips are top quality. Start small, with just a cup of rosehip tea and take it from there.
Do you experience any changes? Are these good? Your body is the greatest indicator of what you should and shouldn’t take during pregnancy. That’s what pregnancy aversions and cravings are for. The reason you feel disgusted by coffee or beer during the first few weeks and not throughout the whole pregnancy it’s because that’s the time when ingesting those things can pose a danger.
Common sense and intuition will help you a lot when it comes to making decisions about what you drink or take during pregnancy.
If you’re feeling worse or worried since you started taking rosehip tea then stop. Drinking the tea is only a good idea if it makes you feel good.
If you’re not a fan of the taste and flavor of the tea, you can try any other herbal teas, such as chamomile, turmeric or hibiscus tea. Or you can completely pass on herbal teas if they are not for you. You don’t need to discover or try new things during pregnancy. Just enjoy food and drink as much as you can and follow your intuition.
Read more about herbal teas in these BellyBelly articles:
Chamomile Tea | 6 Benefits For Pregnancy And Labor
Turmeric Tea | Is It Safe While Pregnant?
Hibiscus Tea | 5 Benefits For Pregnancy And Labor.
Is vitamin C with rosehip safe during pregnancy?
High doses of vitamin C can be very beneficial when it comes to fighting seasonal flu and colds, especially during times when you are looking for natural health remedies. The rosehip fruit is a natural source with a high vitamin C content, so bear that in mind before you add any more vitamin C to it.
Although research on vitamin C intake during pregnancy is very promising, make sure you always read the label on the herbs and products you purchase. Talk to your healthcare provider about the correct treatment for your individual case.
How to make rosehip tea
One of the things that most rosehip tea consumers agree on is the great taste of this caffeine-free herbal tea.
Making the perfect cup of herbal tea might be a bit more complicated than simply boiling water and pouring it onto a teabag in a cup.
Brewing a 5-star cup of tea, where all the properties are extracted from the brewed product, is easier than you think, though. The secret of a perfect cup of tea lies in a good organic product and the temperature of the water. When water boils it’s already losing a lot of its benefits. Pouring water that is at 70-80ºC on your herbal tea is the best way to get all the health benefits of the product you’re brewing.
Don’t worry; you don’t need to buy a kitchen thermometer or an expensive boiler that gives you different temperature options. Just put the water into a pan and heat it. As the temperature of the water rises, you’ll see small air bubbles start to build up on the walls of the pan. When the walls are full of tiny little bubbles, and before the water starts to boil, is the right time to remove the water from the heat and pour it into your cup. Cover the cup with a plate and let it sit for 10 minutes. You can now add sugar or honey to taste; leave the tea bag in or take it out. If you take it out, make sure you don’t squeeze the tea bag. Just lift it up out of the cup and dispose of it. That way your tea has all the health benefits, and you minimize the number of nasties (if any) that you consume.
