I am looking for some uses for raspberry leaves. I know that they can be used to make teas, but exactly what their use is for is a bit obscure. Does anyone have any information to share on this? Any tea recipes using raspberry leaves? Many thanks!!
Use for Raspberry Leaves
Fox, raspberry leaf is high in tannins. As such, it is very good for controlling diarrhea and bleeding. (for the bleeding, think a mouth ulcer, bleeding gums, or even a very inflamed sore throat). It has been used for ages as a uterine tonic (strengthening and toning the uterus and helping to prevent hemorrhage) during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy as well. (Always check with your health care practitioner before taking any herb while pregnant.)
I find the taste of raspberry leaf rather bland. So, it can be combined with other herbs without overly affecting the taste.
Here is an interesting read from the Mothering forum on raspberry leaf tea.
herbalbetty, what is your take on this raspberry lead tea account?
Quoting:
Okay, I'm going to give it a try--several of us are trying a RRL tea regimen during our pregnancies to see if it makes a difference in labor & birth. I thought it might be nice to have a tribal area where we can post about the specifics of the program: checking in to make sure we are drinking our daily "dose", where to find good supplies of the tea, ways to make the tea more palatable (although I have no problems with the taste, I know that not EVERYONE loves it!), etc.
For anyone who hasn't seen the original "Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Story" thread, here it is (taken from Rodale's Encyclopedia):
The Raspberry Leaf Tea Story
Tea made from raspberry leaves is the best-known herbal aid in pregnancy. Rather than go into all the traditional lore about this herb, we present the following lengthy account, because it is both contemporaneous and highly specific.
"My mother was born and raised in Scotland, coming to america at the age of 26. Whenever a member of her family became ill or had a health problem, her mother had consulted an herbalist or herb doctor. As a result of this, I was treated with herbs as a child.
"Mother had always told me that red raspberry leaf tea would prevent miscarriage and was excellent for pregnany and chilbirth. When I became pregnant, I immediately sent for some raspberry leaf tea and began taking one cup of it each day, made from one teaspoon of dried leaves added to one cup of boiling water and steeped for 15 minutes. I had a very normal pregnancy. Then I went into labor, I truly expected to have an easy labor and delivery because I had faithfully taken the tea. While it is true that I did not have a complicated or extremely difficult time, it was not by any means easy. The tea had not lived up to my expectations.
"It was not until sometimes after the birth of my daughter that I read a book my mother had brought with her from Scotland entitled Dragged to Light by W.H. Box of Plymouth, England. In it I found the secret of just how to take the tea so it would truly work wonders during labor and delivery. Box said, 'On one ounce of raspberry leaves pour one pint of boiling water, cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain, and when the time for delivery is approaching drink the whole as hot as possible.'
"There were a number of testimonials in the book written by women who had used this herb. Several took the strong solution over a period of time before going into labor. They were instructed in that case to take a wineglassful three times a day. They had 'only two stiff pains and it was all over' or 'no after pains and very slight before.' They never made it out of the house. Box's instructions were, 'But those who take the tea considerably before the time should not leave the house when the time is approaching as many mothers are delivered almost suddenly when at their work, to the great veaxtion of doctors and nurses.'
"When I became pregnant again I was determined to try it that way. I still took a cup a day as I had before. but this time when I went into labor I made a strong solution of it as I had read in the book. I put it in a container and took it to the hospital with me. I wasn't sure how quickly it would work and I didn't want to have the baby in the car. I didn't think they'd allow me to drink it in the hospital so I drank half of it in the parking lot. I was afraid to drink all of it as it was so strong and I didn't personally know anyone who had taken it this strong before. I had been having strong contractions but by the time I registered and was taken up to the labor room the contractions were so mild I hardly felt them. Upon examination they said I was ready to deliver and would not even give me an enema. In the delivery room I was quite comfortable and hardly felt anything. One hour after entering the hospital my son was born.
"In the recovery room there were several other young women who had just given birth also. They were moaning abd groaning. I couldn't imagine what they were making a fuss about as I felt like I could have gotten up and gone home. I had always read and heard about women getting after-pains with a second child. I never had even one. This was also the testimony of a number of women who were treated with the tea by Box.
"Later I thought I would have had an easy time anyway since it was my second child. I was anxious for someon else to try it. A friend of mine was expection a baby in a few weeks and she had been taking a cup of the tea daily and was also goig to take the strong solution when she went into labor. She had had two previous pregnancies and both times nearly miscarried and had to take drugs and be in bed a good deal of the time. Both deliveries were extremely difficult. When she became pregnant this time she began spotting and it looked like she would have to go through the same kind of trouble she had before. Having used an herb I had given her for another problem, with success, she asked if there was an herb for this problem and I recommended raspberry leaf tea.
"She started taking it and the spotting stopped immediately and she had a normal pregnancy, much to the amazement of her family who remembered her difficulties in the past. When she went into labor she took the tea as I had and told me she had only 25 minutes of hard labor before her baby was born.
"I have told a number of women about this amazing herb through the years, but no one else seemed interested enough to try it. However, 1978 my daughter became pregnant and she was very much interested in having an easy delivery. She took the tea each day and had a normal pregnancy. She, too, took the strong solution of the tea with her to the hospital and also being a little wary drank only half of it. When the doctor examined her, it was late in the evening. He said the baby wouldn't be born until six o'clock in the the morning so he went hime. She was having hard contractions at this time and I was very disappointed and felt the tea hadn't worked. An hour and a half later we recieved a call from our son-in-law saying we had a little grandson. The tea started working and the doctor had no sooner reached his home when he had to turn around and come right back to the hospital. My daughter said the next time she is going to drink all of the tea." -- I.A., Utah
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=347728
Garden-Mermaid, I looked all through Rodales Encyclopedia of Herbs and nowhere could I find the passage quoted above.
It is illegal to run any sort of clinical trial (prescription or herbal) on pregnant women. Therefore, it is difficult to assess efficacy of certain treatment except for empirical information.
I would REALLY recommend going to a licensed midwife who has been trained in herbs for the best advice. But, here is a passage from Amanda McQuade Crawford's book, "Herbal Remedies for Women" (Amanda is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists - a British designation for herbalists who can practice in the U.K.):
"During Early Labor: Have raspberry leaf tea already made into ice, broken up into chips to suck on when your mouth feels dry, instead of drinking lots of liquid. Try doing nothing; less is more; a basically healthy woman does not need much herbal help with labor. If a very preganant woman wants to drink herbal tea to make life more pleasant at this stage, the following may be taking liberally over one to two days."
She then gives a recipe with one part of that being raspberry leaf. A pregnant woman really should work with a qualified person, there are so many factors to consider.
I'm not saying the antedote you shared from the forum isn't real, but I would caution that it doesn't seem to come from the source quoted (unless I missed something and if they would like to give the page number, that would be great).
You might check out this thread http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/876172/
Is'nt blackberry leaves and rasberry leaves almost identicle in usage? Or am i wrong?
Vickie
I'm not sure, if you don't get an answer here post a thread titled MED: Raspberry and Blackberry leaves the same? in herbs and I bet you'll get an answer.
herbalbetty, thank you for checking out the reference. I have many herbals, but not the one from Rodale. That same story appears on many mothering and pregnancy websites/forums. I'm surprised Rodale press has not posted a statement on those forums.
Herbalbetty--thanks for the raspberry leaf uses. I know there was something medicinal but what exactly, I wasn't sure. I see that they aren't tasty as a tea by themselves, but it's okay to mix them with other herbs like lemon balm or rosemary? Rosemary tea is a pick-me-up tea for me.
As with raspberry leaves, I haven't seen anything regarding use of blackberry leaves, but I would think that they had something to offer in the way of a health benefit. However, the thornless variety of blackberry that I have is very different in quality from raspberry leaves. Their vines are also smoother and more solid and supple. The thornless blackberry has fuzzy leaves. They require about the same type of soil and moisture and sun, though. This is a question to ask an experit!!
I used Raspberry leaves as a tea in my last trimester with both my pregnancies, and in both cases I was in labor for less than an hour. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones... :-)
Blackberry and rasppberry are both good mixed with green vegetables,such as kale and turnip greens, spinach etc. Give a little different taste to them.
Thanks flowerfantasy, Just to double check-this is for cooking?
I do love my greens raw or cooked.
Oh yea my Grandmother and Mother both use to go out and pick wild greens and both always picked the young tender shoots of leaves from blackberry and raspberry and just throw them in with what ever else they had gathered. You can also use violet leaves, lambs quarter, dandelions narrow dock, very young wild lettuce, very young poke leaves. If you get the wild lettuce after it gets big it has a bitter taste, won't hurt you but just doesn't taste good. Plantian leaves young are good too. All of it taste better when it is young. That was some of our regular diet when I was young at home. Loved them too. Of course Mama isn't here to do it any longer and I really miss her wild greens.
My daughter drank raspberry tea after her delivery of her second child and it did wonders for her post partum blues.
I am now curious about the blackberry leaves, since I have masses of bramble here! Do they have any known medicinal value? Will have to try them with wild greens, along with young cattail shoots.
I would say that the blackberry would be as good for much of the samethings as raspberry.