Why is rosehip good for you

One of the most impressive benefits of rose hips is their high concentration of vitamin C. Summary Compared with other fruits and vegetables, rose hips offer one of the highest levels of vitamin C. This vitamin, along with other compounds in rosehip tea, helps strengthen and protect your immune system. May protect against heart disease. Studies suggest a relationship between vitamin C intake and heart disease risk.

Summary While rose hips contain antioxidants that have been shown to protect against heart disease, more research is needed on the effectiveness of rosehip tea specifically. May aid weight loss. Summary Some studies in mice and humans indicate an association between rosehip extract and reduced body weight and stomach fat. Still, more research on rosehip tea specifically is needed.

May protect against type 2 diabetes. Summary While rodent studies indicate that rosehip extract has antidiabetic effects, this relationship has not yet been confirmed in humans.

Additionally, more studies are needed using rosehip tea specifically. May reduce inflammation and pain. Summary Rosehip tea is rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, including galactolipids. Research has shown a link between rosehip extract and reduced arthritis pain.

Still, more studies using rosehip tea are needed to confirm these results. May fight skin aging. Summary Rosehip tea is rich in compounds shown to protect your skin against aging, including vitamin C and carotenoids. While rosehip powder was found to reduce wrinkles, more research is needed to confirm if drinking rosehip tea would offer these same benefits. Easy to brew at home. Fresh rose hips can be used for tea by first rinsing them well to remove any dirt and debris.

Rosehip tea tastes delicious both freshly brewed and iced. Summary Rosehip tea can be brewed at home using fresh or dried rose hips. A sweetener like honey is often added to balance out the tartness. Summary While rosehip tea is generally safe for adults, evidence on its safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding is lacking. Additionally, it may increase the risk of kidney stones and lithium toxicity in some individuals. The bottom line. In addition to being easy to make at home, it has many potential benefits.

Read this next. What Are the Benefits of Rosehip Oil? Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. By doing so, it may create a hostile environment for Helicobacter pylori H. More research would be needed to confirm these results. Rose hip is generally considered safe but may cause side effects in some people, including nausea, diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, stomach cramps, fatigue, and headache.

The risk tends to increase with larger doses. Other people have reported insomnia and unrestful sleep. Rose hip is known to cause certain drug interactions. Many of these are related to the high concentration of vitamin C in the plant. As such, you may need to avoid rose hip if you are taking estrogen-based contraceptives or the antipsychotic drug Prolixin fluphenazine , both of which are affected by excessive doses of vitamin C.

Rose hip also has mild diuretic properties and may amplify the effects of pharmaceutical diuretics like Lasix furosemide. This same effect may also reduce the concentration of lithium in the blood, potentially undermining the effectiveness of the mood stabilizer. Rose hip also contains a substance called rugosin E that promotes the formation of clots.

You should avoid rosehip if you've ever had deep vein thrombosis DVT , pulmonary embolism , or other conditions involving blood clots. It is possible that rose hip can also decrease the efficacy of blood thinners like warfarin used to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases.

Due to the lack of safety research, rose hip should not be used in children, pregnant women, or nursing mothers. Rose hip capsules are generally sold in milligram to 1,milligram doses and are considered safe if taken within this range. Doses over 2, milligrams may increase the risk of side effects, particularly if the supplement is co-formulated with vitamin C. Do not confuse rose hip extract with either rose or rose hip essential oil.

Rose hip extracts and tinctures are typically alcohol-based and may be used internally. Essential oils are intended for aromatherapy or external use only. As a general rule of thumb, never exceed the recommended dose on the product label. As a dietary supplement , rose hip does not need to undergo the rigorous testing and research that pharmaceutical drugs do. Because of this, the quality of a supplement can vary.

To ensure quality and safety, choose supplements that have been tested and approved by an independent certifying body like the U. Whole dried rose hips or rose hip powder should ideally be certified organic under the regulations of the U.

Fresh rose hips can be harvested from any type of rose, but the rugosa rose Rosa rugosa is the species that is most commonly used for medicinal purposes. It is also said to have the best flavor, with a tartness reminiscent of a crab apple. Pick the berries as late in the season as possible before they start to shrivel up. Avoid those that have been eaten or are blemished; instead, choose the plumpest berries that have good color and are still shiny.

You should not harvest rose hips from bushes that have been treated with pesticides. Even if you wash them thoroughly, there is still a chance of toxic exposure. Once harvested, wash the rose hips thoroughly before using them to make syrups or tea. If you intend to dry them, it is often safer to do so with a commercial dehydrator than by air. They have been traditionally used for their medicinal properties and are heavily researched today.

Thanks to the presence of ellagic acid, lycopene, and phenols, rose hips offer numerous benefits and enhance your health in various ways. An accessory fruit of the rose plant, the rose hip is also called rose hep or rose haw. Other names include dog rose fruit, hipberries, hip fruit, hop fruit, and brier hip. It is usually red or orange, but in some species, the color ranges from dark purple to black.

The fruit begins to form in early summer, and ripens in the late summer through autumn. It is popularly used to make the traditional Hungarian fruit brandy called palinka, which is well known in countries sharing Austro-Hungarian history. The rose hips come in two varieties — Rosa gallica and Rosa canina, which are native to Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

The fruit is usually harvested either about a week after the first frost or in late fall. Back To TOC. The fruit has a number of uses. Primarily, it has its use in preventing a number of ailments — some of those include osteoarthritis and stomach ailments 1. It can also be used as a diuretic and mild laxative. The fruit is also used to reduce thirst and other types of gastric inflammation 2.

Rosehips benefits are many and the reason that they are so popular is because they are highly effective in treating a wide variety of health conditions. Let us see what are they. According to one study, rose hip extract had reduced the growth and migration of breast cancer cells 3.

In the study, the highest concentrations of rose hip extract had reduced the migration of breast cancer cells by as much as 45 percent. The fruit extract also prevented the cancerous growth in the brain, a place where the breast cancer cells tend to spread to.

Another Serbian study focuses on the phytochemicals present in rose hip tea. The polyphenols present in the fruit may prevent the human cancer cells from proliferating 4.

According to a Spanish study, rose hips could be active components in functional diets that can help prevent colorectal cancer 5. The fruit also has an anti-inflammatory action, which contributes to its cancer-preventive properties 6. Rose hips contain certain bioactive compounds like phenols, ascorbic acid vitamin C , beta-carotene, tannins, and pectins — all of which help curb oxidative stress, which can otherwise lead to cancer 7.

A Japanese study also stressed on the efficacy of the fruit to suppress inflammation and the resultant cancer cell proliferation 8. One major flavonoid in rose hip, called tiliroside, possesses commendable anti-inflammatory action. Though the rose hip extract is safe, one thing must be kept in mind — patients who are taking rose hip along with some medication must exercise extra care. This is becase rose hips may interact with prescription and over-the-counter drugs 9.

Rose hips also contain other active compounds called carotenoids, which are known to decelerate the expansion of certain forms of tumor Rose hip extract was also found to prevent epithelitis, which could be caused by radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer The fruit has also been observed to stop and even reverse the growth of certain cancers Rose hips, surprisingly, also contain lycopene the compound that renders them their red color.

Lycopene is popular for its anticancer activity. It stimulates the communication between cells, the damage of which leads to the growth of cancerous tumors Regular intake of rose hip extract has been linked to lowered cholesterol levels The fruit is particularly effective in obese patients — patients who consumed a drink made of rose hip powder daily for six weeks saw a significant drop in their total blood cholesterol levels by as much as 5 percent.

This drop can even reduce the risk of heart disease by 17 percent. Rose hip can also be used as a safe alternative to anti-cholesterol drugs like statins that might have side effects. It's linked to many health benefits - improved immunity, heart health, weight loss, and skin anti-aging.

Rosehips are an excellent mild blood cleanser, support circulatory health, adrenal health and connective tissue health. Rosehips are very high in antioxidants Anti-oxidants protect against free radicals that damage the cells of the body. Rosehips contain high levels of polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamins C and E, all of which have powerful antioxidant properties.

Rosehips can fight skin aging! Rosehip tea is high in vitamin C which, along with vitamin A and lycopene, promotes collagen synthesis and can protect skin against sun damage. An 8 week study showed rosehip extract improved elasticity, moisture and wrinkles. Rosehip supports your immune system Rosehips have been shown to have among the highest vitamin C content of all fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C stimulates the production of white blood cells, protecting against infection.

Rosehip can aid weightloss New research suggest that rosehip extract may be a good for preventing obesity and reducing visceral fat.