A little while ago, I posted an article called “Drink this to Calm Your Crazy Hormones.” In it I discussed Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, an Organic herbal drink that I was led to believe helped those with every kind of hormone imbalance. Partly by a doctor I am no longer seeing and also by the advertisement on the product box from the Traditional Medicinals brand, which claims to “support the female system.”
If you have an Estrogen deficiency, then, Yes, this product will help your female system. But, if you’re like me and you have a progesterone deficiency then Red Raspberry Leaf is literally not your cup of tea.
Don’t get me wrong, the quality of this product is superb and the flavor is fantastic. If you happen to be looking for an herbal tea with a taste similar to Black Tea, look no further you’ve found it with Red Raspberry Leaf! But those of you with a hormone imbalance, in general, need to be very careful when consuming this product due to its effect on the Estrogen hormone. By increasing only one hormone, rather than regulating the entire “female system,” it has the potential to throw everything out of balance. Which is no bueno!
When it comes to the original article I posted, my quarrel happens to be with my own misconception (and if I’m being totally honest, Nature a bit, as well), which is why my intention in this article is not to criticize any company selling this flavor of tea. I am simply trying to inform my readers of the effects this herb can have on the human body, most especially the female system.
Did you know that certain herbs and spices have extra capabilities beyond their flavor??? For example, mint leaves freshen your breath, ginger is an anti-inflammatory root (therefore excellent to eat or drink during cold & flu season), Turmeric is very effective in healing sensitivity or inflammation in the teeth and gums, so on and so forth. Check out my article: “6 Common Seizure Triggers That May Be Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets” to learn more about household ingredients with special capabilities.
Like these seasonings, the red raspberry leaves and seeds can influence hormone levels by increasing your body’s production of Estrogen when consumed.
***Quick insight: Estrogen is your body’s excitatory hormone, Progesterone is the calming hormone.
When I first posted my original article on the subject of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, I was under the impression that the herb itself helped to regulate your hormones naturally, getting them to a healthy level….each and every one of them.
I could not have been more wrong! Since I am currently battling Catamenial Epilepsy (originally caused by a progesterone deficiency/an overabundance of Estrogen), this little gem of a fact (heavy on the sarcasm // insert eye-roll) made me want to scream. Let’s just say that the doctor who originally recommended it to me (for my progesterone deficiency no less!), will get a well-deserved earful if she ever sees me again! Thanks to her, I religiously drank this tea on a daily basis for the past three years. I don’t see how it couldn’t have had some kind of effect on my hormones and, consequentially, my seizure frequency. No wonder why it’s been so difficult for me to balance to my hormone levels!
I would like to sincerely apologize to each and every one of my readers for misinforming them as to which hormone this tea affects. I understand the huge impact something like this can have on people’s health, so I am truly sorry if my recommendation for this tea has negatively impacted any of my readers.
Please consider this article a retraction for “Drink this to Calm Your Crazy Hormones.” Red Raspberry Leaf Tea will NOT calm or regulate all of your hormones; it will only increase your body’s natural production of the Estrogen hormone.
Like I’ve said in past articles, my knowledge is based on experience through a process of trial and error. So far, everything else that I’ve posted has proven to be correct. However, if anything does turn out to be incorrect (like the Red Raspberry Leaf Tea) in even the slightest way, know that I will inform you immediately! My goal with Seize the Day Blog has always been to help my readers (and hopefully save them from making the same mistakes I’ve made) by sharing everything I have learned while on my own personal journey with Catamenial Epilepsy.
So, although I will no longer be using this tea as a Holistic solution for my hormone regulation that doesn’t mean it won’t work for other people. Truth be told, my sister has actually found this tea incredibly beneficial to her menstrual cycle despite the natural affect it has on Estrogen levels. This is probably due to the fact that we do not share the same hormone imbalance.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past eight years, it’s that hormones are tricky no matter how you handle them. Therefore, as I conclude this post let me leave you with one last tip: drink Red Raspberry Leaf Tea with caution whether you have a hormone imbalance or not. Herbs and spices can affect the body (whether negatively or positively depends on each person), especially if you consume too much of one specific item.
To learn more about hormones, hormone imbalances, and what I’ve done to help manage my own hormone imbalance check out these articles:
- Myomin: Control Your Hormone Imbalances, Manage Your Catamenial Epilepsy
- Calendars & Journals: The Key to Managing Your Catamenial Epilepsy
- Quality of Foods: The Key to Healthy Living Begins With Your Diet
- Catamenial Epilepsy
- Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): The Ingredient That Should Come with a Warning Label
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