How to Make Soursop Leaf Tea From Soursop Leaves
To make Soursop leaf tea from leave, you need five or six leaves to make Soursop tea. You can pick fresh leaves from your own Soursop tree if you have one.
Otherwise, you may be able to buy dried Soursop leaves from your local stores or online. Once you have the leaves, Rinse them using tap water and place them in a saucepan.
Now add two cups of water, cover and let boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the tea from the flames and set it aside to let the tea cool. Strain into a cup, add your favorite sweetener and enjoy you home made Soursop leaves tea.
Before you start drinking soursop leaf tea, there are a few things you may want to know. What is Soursop leaf tea good for? And where you can buy dried soursop leaves?
This post will give you the answers to these questions and more.
Soursop Leaf Tea Benefits
Soursop leaf tea benefits are tied to the nutrients that are found in Sorusop leaves. Here are some benefits you may get from drinking soursop leaf tea:
Improve Sleep Quality
Serotonin is a hormone that calms and relaxes the body. Therefore, Soursop tea may be good for relieving stress, and anxiety and improving sleep quality.
Drinking a cup of Jamaican Soursop tea before bed to help you sleep is a common practice on the island.
Interestingly early natives of South America reportedly sprinkled crushed soursop leaves around their sleeping areas. They did this to sleep more soundly.
Lower Blood Sugar
One of the traditional uses of soursop tea used in many places, including Jamaica, is to reduce blood sugar levels.
A number of recent test-tube and animal studies show potential benefits of soursop leaf tea for helping to treat diabetes.
One study reports that when soursop leaf extracts were used to treat diabetic rats for 2 weeks, their blood sugar levels fell by 75 percent. More human studies are needed to validate soursop leaf tea benefits for diabetes.
Regulate Blood Pressure
Another common reason for drinking soursop tea is the belief that it can help high blood pressure.
Compounds found in soursop leaves are found in a number of other foods. Many of these are proven to be helpful in regulating blood pressure.
Rurin is the most plentiful flavonoid isolated from soursop leaves. Rutin is believed to aid blood flow by making blood vessels more flexible.
It is common knowledge that blood vessels flexibility contributes to lower blood pressure.
Help Digestion
Drinking Soursop tea is also used to relieve gastritis and poor digestion. And some studies confirm these benefits of soursop leaf tea.
Several animal studies found that the tea can protect the animal’s stomach walls against gastric injury which can cause ulcers.
Another digestive issue soursop tea helps with diarrhea.
Diarrhea is a common painful gastrointestinal disorder caused by bacteria. Soursop leaf tea is a traditional home remedy for treating diarrhea.
Researchers found that antibacterial compounds in Soursop leave makes it effective for reliving diarrhea.
Reduce Anxiety
Reticuline is one of the chemical compounds found in Soursop leaves. This chemical is a Central nervous System (CNS) depressant.
Central Nervous Depressants are drugs that are used to treat anxiety, stress, and panic attacks.
This means Soursop leaf tea may be useful for calming the nerves. However there is very little human data to support this.
Jamaican Soursop Tea
The most common reason for drinking soursop tea in Jamaica is for sleep. Natives believe a hot cup of soursop tea can help them fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer.
Jamaican soursop tea is used to help lower blood pressure, calm the nerves, manage diabetes and relieve nerve pain.
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Soursop Plant
Soursop is the English common name of the Annona muricata plant that grows in tropical areas. Soursop trees can reach 40 feet tall.
Based on your location, you may know Soursop as Guanabana, Gaviola or Paw paw.
The trees have lush green leaves that last year long and they produce large prickly, green fruits that can weigh up to 10 pounds.
The inside of the soursop fruit (pulp) makes a creamy delicious drink. Soursop leaves make a slightly tart exotic caffeine free tea.
Soursop Leaves Health Benefits
Soursop leaf tea is filled with nutrients. Here are some of the nutrients you get when you drink a cup of Soursop leaf tea. And notice why your body needs them:
- Vitamin C- Enhances the body’s immune system
- Vitamins B1 -Thiamine)- Lowers blood pressure
- Vitamin B2 – (Riboflavin) – Converts food into energy
- Vitamin B3 – (Niacin)- Reduces the rusk of hardening of the arteries
- Calcium – Builds strong teeth and bones
- Iron- Transports oxygen around the body
- Magnesium – Fights depression
- Potassium – Flushes excess sodium from the boy
- Phosphorus – Regulates nerves function
Side Effects of Soursop Leaf Tea
Excessive drinking may be toxic. In one animal study researchers identified two potentially toxic compounds in both Soursop fruit and leaves. Those toxic compounds are annonacin and acetogenin.
So, consuming excessive amounts of tea made from Soursop leaves can have serious side effects.
Therefore, individuals who take medication to control diabetes and blood pressure should also limit the amount of Soursop leaves tea they drink. That is because the tea could interact with their medication.
The tea can also lower blood sugar to abnormal levels (hypoglycemia). In addition, continued use of soursop may cause liver damage.
More importantly the most active compound isolated from soursop is acetogenins. And while they show promise as cancer treatment, very little scientific data is available about their safety.
Therefore they are not advocated to be used in treating human diseases.
Buy Soursop Tea Leaves
Dried soursop leaves are available in many local health food stores. They are available online as well.
Soursop powder can also be bought in store or online. However keep in mind that different sections of the plant have different benefits.
So be sure to confirm that you are buying “pure soursop leaf”powder.
Visit this site to purchase Soursop Leaves
Conclusion
So what is soursop tea? It is tea made from dried or fresh leaves of the Soursop tree.
Is soursop leaf tea good for you? Yes, soursop leaf tea offers a number of benefits. I can help you relax, and get a good night’s sleep.
One well known benefits of Soursop leaves tea its ability to lower your blood pressure. Soursop tea is able to ccontol blood sugar levels too. The tea can also help relieve some digestive problems.
You need to be cautious if you take medication to control blood pressure or diabetes and the tea can interact with those medications.
Although many benefits of soursop leaves tea are proven, there are still a lot of unknowns. Therefore, you should always exercise caution like you would with any other herbal product.
Disclaimer: This website is for informational purposes only. Nothing stated on the site should be viewed as medical advice. Please talk to a qualified Healthcare Professional about matters relating to your medical care.
