Raspberry Leaves
Raspberry leaves are best harvested before the plant flowers, so we’ve been hard at work to harvest what our family needs until next spring, as well as additional for the farm store and our remedies. You can prepare Raspberry leaves several ways, the most common being a simple tea. Personally, because of how nutritive they are, I like to make Nourishing Herbal Infusions with them. However, they are high in tannins which can make for an incredibly bitter and astringent brew. When I make Raspberry leaf infusions I tend to only let it steep for 4 hours or so instead of 12 to cut the bitterness a bit. You can also tincture raspberry leaf! You can make an alcohol based tincture to extract the ethanol soluble constituents, or a glycerin based tincture to pull the water soluble constituents. I prefer glycerin and use a non gmo vegetable glycerin that is coconut derived and naturally sweet.
Raspberry is one of the most well loved pregnancy herbs, both for its nutritional content, but also because it's considered a uterine tonic. The constituents in raspberry leaves tone pelvic muscles and also relax and stimulate the uterus in perfect balance. Postpartum, Raspberry leaves are a galactagogue which helps to stimulate and increase milk production! Now while this plant is best known for pregnancy and postpartum, it’s also incredibly helpful for heavy menstruation and menstrual pain. Those bitter tannins also play a huge role in the medicinal healing this plant offers. Any ailment that requires tightening of tissues (diarrhea, excessive bleeding ect) can be helped with Raspberry leaves.
Raspberry leaves are an incredible source of antioxidants (those tannins!). They help protect against free radicals that cause cell damage. They also contain flavonoids which have antioxidative properties, anticarcinogenic properties and anti-inflammatory properties! Raspberry leaves are loaded with vitamins and mineral, including magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin A, E and C!
All in all this is a wonderful herb to have in your apothecary. It’s gentle, nutritive and supports overall health, especially women's health. A small tip, if the bitterness is a bit much, you can cut it with a pinch of salt, or add a squeeze or fresh lemon juice, some local raw honey or even a pinch of peppermint.
