Is Rooibos Tea Good for Hot Flashes?

Partly: if caffeine or hot drinks trigger your hot flashes, naturally caffeine-free rooibos tea served cool may help you avoid those triggers, but rooibos itself has no proven hot-flash-relieving mechanism. There is no good clinical evidence that rooibos tea treats hot flashes. Let it cool before drinking if heat bothers you, and seek medical advice if symptoms disrupt your life.

Can rooibos tea relieve hot flashes?

Rooibos tea may be a comfortable drink choice for someone who notices hot flashes after caffeine or hot beverages. That possible benefit comes from avoiding a personal trigger, not from a demonstrated treatment effect of rooibos.

Triggers vary, and avoiding caffeine or serving a drink cool will not necessarily prevent hot flashes. Rooibos tea is reasonable to try as a beverage, but do not rely on it to treat frequent or severe symptoms.

For a broader look at choosing beverages when symptoms occur, see the best drinks for hot flashes.

How might rooibos tea affect hot flashes?

Hot flashes involve changes in the body’s temperature regulation and are common around menopause. Some people notice that caffeine or hot beverages seem to bring on symptoms; others do not. Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free, and serving the tea cool lets you avoid the heat of a freshly brewed drink.

Rooibos also contains plant compounds that researchers have studied in relation to ovarian function. Laboratory findings do not establish that a brewed cup changes hormone levels or temperature regulation in people. There is no established biological mechanism by which rooibos tea relieves hot flashes.

Drinking fluids can replace some of the fluid lost through sweating. Hydration supports normal body function, but drinking rooibos tea has not been shown to prevent hot flashes.

What does the research say about rooibos and hot flashes?

The available evidence is limited and does not demonstrate that rooibos tea reduces the frequency or severity of hot flashes. In particular, findings about rooibos compounds or extracts cannot automatically be applied to a cup of tea.

A 2022 systematic review of rooibos and ovarian function found limited laboratory evidence suggesting that rooibos may influence certain ovarian cell functions. The authors called for more research into its effects and potential uses. The review does not establish that drinking rooibos tea changes estrogen levels in people or improves hot flashes.

A cell study cannot show whether a drink works for symptoms in daily life. Human clinical trials measuring hot flashes would be needed to assess whether rooibos tea provides a benefit beyond being a caffeine-free beverage.

How can you use rooibos tea safely?

Try rooibos tea as an ordinary drink rather than a treatment. If warmth seems to trigger your symptoms, let the brewed tea cool and refrigerate it before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 rooibos tea bag
• 240 mL water (1 cup)

Steps

1. Heat the water according to the rooibos tea package directions.
2. Steep the rooibos tea bag for the time recommended on the package, then remove it.
3. Let the tea cool, refrigerate it promptly in a covered container, and serve chilled if preferred.

Drink refrigerated rooibos tea within 24 hours. Discard it sooner if it develops an unusual smell or appearance. There is no established dose of rooibos tea for hot flashes, so more is not necessarily better.

Notice whether symptoms seem different when you choose a cool, caffeine-free drink. Because hot flashes can vary from day to day, a change after one cup does not prove that rooibos caused it.

Who should be careful, and when should you see a doctor?

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, check with a clinician before using rooibos regularly for symptoms or taking concentrated rooibos products; safety information for these uses is limited. If you have liver disease or take regular medication, ask your clinician or pharmacist before using rooibos supplements or extracts, whose effects and interactions are less certain than those of the tea.

Talk with a clinician if hot flashes or night sweats are frequent, interfere with sleep or daily activities, or are new and unexplained. Seek advice as well if you have fever, unexplained weight loss, or bleeding after menopause. A child with persistent night sweats or hot-flash-like symptoms should be assessed by a clinician rather than treated with a home remedy.

Seek urgent medical help for sweating accompanied by chest pain, fainting, or trouble breathing. Effective medical options may include hormone therapy or nonhormonal prescription treatments, depending on your circumstances. Do not stop or change prescribed medication in favor of rooibos tea without discussing it with your clinician.