Raspberry LeavesCut & Sifted 1 lb.

The Remarkable Raspberry
A good source of Ellagic Acid

Although many people display allergic symptoms to strawberries, few cannot indulge in the winey fruit that ripens in the hottest part of summer, the raspberry. The fruit is lovely, but the healthful properties in the leaves, root and bark are so valuable, raspberry is known as the "Woman's Herb". Species Rubus idaeus, family Rosacaea, raspberry is a relative of the rose, famous for vitamin C in the rose hip. Raspberry leaves (and fruit) are rich in citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, citrate, malate and tartarate of iron, potassium and calcium, calcium and potassium chloride, sulphate and phosphate, pectin, fragrine (an alkaloid that tones the tissues), a volatile oil, vitamins A, B, C, E, and fructose. The action is astringent, tonic, refrigerant, parturient, hemostatic, anti-septic, anti-abortient, anti-gonorrheal, anti-leucorrheal and anti-malarial.

Alma Hutchens (Indian Herbology) says raspberry leaf tea "can be taken freely before, during and after confinement, rendering parturition less laborious." Regular drinking throughout pregnancy strengthens and tones tissues, helping contractions and checks hemorrhage during labour. A perfectly safe drink (unlike black tea or coffee which contain caffeine) raspberry tea also enriches milk and helps prevent miscarriage.In case of leucorrhea (mucous discharge from genitals), raspberry leaf douche is made by simmering 1 tablespoon of leaves in one pint of water for 10 minutes, covered, cooled, strained and used at room temperature.

Raspberry tea has helped with painful menstruation and flow, and lessens an over-abundant period. At menopause the adrenals are geared to take over as the ovaries gradually cease functioning; many menopausal symptoms are caused by exhausted adrenals. The herb best suited to help is raspberry leaf. Men in mid-life crisis with exhausted adrenals are well-advised to drink the tea also.

Red raspberry tea with red clover (one or more cups daily for several months) promotes fertility in men and women, prevents post-partum depression and hypertension, and with blessed thistle, increases breast- milk production.

Diarrhea, thrush, sore throat, canker sores, dysentery, urinary complaint, cold and fever sufferers find red raspberry tea is a reliable remedy.

Pour one cup boiling water over a teaspoon of dried leaves and let it steep at least 15 minutes. Drink and heal.

Harvest wild or tame raspberry leaves in spring or mid-summer for maximum potency. Use them freshly picked, but dry them for storage away from the light. They dry nicely spread thinly on a cotton sheet hung hammock fashion from the ceiling.

Raspberry leaf tea is an ideal beverage for reproductive women, the elderly, anyone in recovery, teenagers and children.

Abundant in potassium (441 ppm), calcium (121 ppm) and magnesium (93 ppm), it is also rich in all important trace minerals such as manganese (.52 ppm), zinc (.35 ppm), iron (.04 ppm) and chromium (.02 ppm). Raspberry leaf tea is a gentle, soothing, nourishing drink - morning, noon and night.

Rinse your teapot with hot water, add a handful of raspberry leaves, cover with boiling water and let steep ten minutes. Raspberry leaf tea is precious hot or cold; if you intend to keep it overnight it is best stored in the fridge. Raspberry leaf tea popsicles are a delight not to be missed in this lifetime. Simply pour cooled tea into an ice-cube tray and remove when frozen. Please let us know your experiences with raspberry leaf tea.

Ellagic acid is a naturally-occurring phytochemical pesticide found in a variety plant species. This biochemical serves a number of possible functions in these
plants, regulating plant growth and seed germination, and protecting them from microbial infections. Ellagic acid may also protect plants from
cancer-inducing chemicals, heavy metal poisoning, and predation by insects and insect larvae. Since the early 1990s, researchers have been discovering
that ellagic acid offers health benefits to humans as well.

Early evidence shows that ellagic acid acts as a scavenger to "bind" or chemically engage cancer-causing chemicals, making them inactive. In addition, this
fused bi-nuclear coumarin derivative prevents the binding of carcinogens to DNA and reduces the incidence of cancer in cultured human cells exposed to
carcinogens.

Ellagic acid is widely found in plants such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, walnuts, and pecans, but the greatest amounts have been
observed in raspberries. While the leaves of these plants contain the highest concentrations of ellagic acid, the compound is also found in their fruits and
nuts.

Although ellagic acid is the bioactive agent that offers protection, the phytochemical is generally ingested in the form of another biochemical called
ellagitannin. Plants produce ellagic acid and glucose that combine to form ellagitannins, which are water-soluble compounds that are easier for animals to
absorb in their diets. Consequently, small amounts of ellagitannins derived from natural sources may be more effective in the human diet than large doses of
purified ellagic acid.