By Lauren Petersen
Cape Town — A groundbreaking study led by Professor Elmarie Terblanche from Stellenbosch University is investigating the effects of Rooibos tea on women’s health.
This research is the first to assess Rooibos tea’s impact on obesity and related conditions in human subjects in practical settings.
Professor Terblanche’s interest in Rooibos tea is deeply personal. Having found relief from asthma and allergies as a child through the tea, she was motivated to explore its potential health benefits further.
“I like Rooibos tea. As a child, I was a severe asthmatic, lots of allergies and so forth. And so I couldn’t really drink milk. I had to stay away from dairy products. My mother, I don’t know where she got the idea from, but we started drinking Rooibos. And I responded well to that. So, I am used to Rooibos and it’s still my first preferred beverage,” she said during an interview with African Insider.
The study is organised into four distinct groups: one group will consume only Rooibos tea, another will engage in high-intensity interval training without Rooibos, a third group will combine both Rooibos tea and exercise, and the fourth group will act as a control with no intervention.
Participants in the Rooibos groups will drink six cups of tea daily for eight weeks, while the exercise group will undergo 20-minute sessions three times a week.
The research is divided into phases, with a focus on women. The initial phase targets women aged 18-40, a period when significant changes in body composition can occur. The second phase, scheduled for mid-2025, will focus on women over 40 who are pre-diabetic or diabetic.
Professor Terblanche explained her choice of the 18-40 age group for the initial phase: “Well, I think that it’s the age group where body compositions start to change. You know, specifically if you look at young people coming out of school, they go to university or college or they start working, then the habits change.
“Specifically in women, we know that it is the period when you start to pick up weight if you’re not careful. So that is one of the reasons — we wanted to work with individuals who already have a weight problem in that age group but who would likely be otherwise healthy.”
Her choice to use everyday Rooibos tea instead of concentrated extracts highlights her dedication to practical, real-world applications.
“The big challenge is to see if when people drink Rooibos tea every day, whether we’re going to see the same effects. And of course, we might find no effects of Rooibos. It doesn’t mean that the other researchers were wrong. It just means that in the form that we consume Rooibos, perhaps we don’t get enough of the active ingredients into our system. Or perhaps we have to drink Rooibos for many months before we see the effects.
“That’s why we call it a real world study. We use real Rooibos tea and our participants can eat what they want. We don’t control the diet. We don’t control any of the daily lives. So, yeah, that’s the question — if anyone on the street drinks Rooibos, are they going to get the health effects?,” the professor said.
She said her favourite part of the research has been enrolling and engaging with participants, though keeping them motivated has been both rewarding and challenging.
“It is satisfying and exciting to enrol participants in the study and meet all the people who are very looking forward to also see the results of the Rooibos, but it is also challenging because it is quite a long intervention and there are lots of testing that we have to do.
“We constantly have to motivate people to stay in the study and do the things that we want them to do, but because I am curious by nature, I can’t wait to see the results,” she said.
In line with Women’s Month, Professor Terblanche highlighted both the progress women have made and the ongoing challenges they face in academia and research. She reflected on the difficulties women encounter in establishing themselves in a traditionally male-dominated field.
“There are some barriers. We’re in 2024, but it is still a little bit harder for women to make your mark in this environment. On the other hand, I know that there are a lot of women at Stellenbosch and also other universities that are excellent researchers. And so it tells me that, if you want to be in a position you want to go into, you must just be resilient, wait and try your best until you in that position — because there’s no reason why women cannot excel.”
She continued: “By nature, women are hard workers. We can do many things at the same time. It doesn’t say that it’s not difficult at times, but women are critical thinkers. I think that there’s a place for us women in this environment, and we can make a huge contribution, with the work that we can do.”
As August progresses, this research not only highlights advancements in women’s health but also showcases the crucial role of women in science.
With growing anticipation, the study holds promise for Rooibos tea potentially providing new solutions to health challenges faced by women globally.
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