The Benefits of the Use of Red Raspberry in Herbal Preparations

I first learned about red raspberry from some friends who used herbs during pregnancy. I was still new to the idea of herbs, and I had a midwife who was scared of herbs, so I did not use raspberry leaf during my first pregnancy. How I wish I had! When my oldest child was about two months old, he came down with a cold. He couldn’t breath and it was making it hard to nurse. I knew it was viral, so I did not take him to the doctor, but instead asked my friends what to do. One of them told me to give my son one teaspoon of plain raspberry leaf tea every hour or as needed. I obediently gave it a try. As long as I was faithful in giving him the raspberry leaf tea, he was able to breath enough to nurse. He quickly got over his cold and my love of raspberry leaf began. When I got pregnant with my second child, I knew quite a bit more about herbs and I knew I wanted to take the raspberry leaf tea. I drank it religiously my entire pregnancy. My mental clarity and energy levels were so much higher with the raspberry leaf than they had been with my first pregnancy. My hormones were more even and I was less prone to emotional mood swings. The difference was so dramatic, that my husband vowed he would travel to China and back if he had to in order to obtain raspberry leaf for the next pregnancy. I also took Dr. Christopher’s Prenatal formula. Although I started it at 36 weeks, it was extremely effective. Unlike my first labor, which required a week of ineffective contractions in early labor followed by five hours of active labor, my second labor was a total of 4 hours. Each contraction, although not regular, was effective and strong. My daughter was born within 45 minutes of active labor accidentally unassisted and still asleep. The midwife arrived half an hour after she was born. I had barely any bleeding, furthermore, my uterus firmed quickly and returned to its proper location without the need to massage it into place. I continued to drink my raspberry leaf tea every day. It helped with the transition from pregnancy to nursing. My daughter did not have much interest in nursing, but I was able to maintain a full supply with the help of raspberry leaf. When I got extremely dehydrated from stomach flu, my milk nearly dried up, so I drank plenty of raspberry leaf tea and it came back completely. I also drank the raspberry leaf tea with my third child and took the prenatal formula. In her case, I did not have an extremely fast labor, but I did have a very easy labor. She had a short umbilical cord. As a result, I was in labor for 17 hours. Most people would have been very worn our physically from such a long labor. However, the raspberry leaf enabled my body to have two to three very productive contractions an hour followed by a very short transition and delivery. Again I lost very little blood, so little that my experienced midwife marveled that my delivery was almost bloodless, and I did not have to worry about my uterus floating into my abdomen like I did with my oldest child.

My second child is prone to respiratory infections and I regularly give her raspberry leaf tea to aid in expelling the mucus from her lungs. When she was three, I had tried my usual regiment to help her heal from a bronchial infection and nothing was working. The lung and bronchial formula, comfrey syrup, and raspberry leaf tea, complete tissue formula on her chest, and eucalyptus essential oils were not working. I had even tried Dr. Christopher’s asthma remedy with peppermint tea followed by lobelia tincture. My 22-pound daughter drank down almost one ounce of lobelia tincture without so much as throwing up although the breathing got a little easier. In spite of all my efforts, she continued to cough unproductively and struggle to breath. I made her some Marin’s Lung Support Tea. Immediately she felt better and was able to breath again. I gave her a cup every eight hours and she was finally able to clear the congestion. It was during this same infection that I created Marisa’s Lung Support Formula for her. By the time it was finished macerating, she was no longer sick. A friend’s son was struggling with a lung problem. Every time he would go outside, run too much, or get around dust, he would begin wheezing. He was using daily albuterol treatments at home. I asked her if she would try Marisa’s Lung Support Formula. After one week, of taking the lung support formula once or twice a day, she told me that she had not given her son a single albuterol treatment. He had played in the dirt, weeds, and plants with his siblings in plant heavy areas that normally made him wheeze and cough. His mother said she didn’t notice a single cough. She continued to use the entire bottle I gave her over the next several weeks. About a month or so after she ran out, she said that she still had not had to give him more albuterol even though he was no longer taking the formula. I have since used this formula for my children, although not long term. Every time I have used it, they have sounded like they were getting bronchitis with a wet unproductive mucusy cough. A couple of doses, over a couple of days, clears the condition.

During any cold or flu, we rely on raspberry leaf to help us prevent or overcome the infection. My husband keeps a jar of dry raspberry leaf at work and drinks it during the day if he feels like a cold is coming on. I have given my children raspberry leaf if they are beginning to get run down. I often will add cold raspberry leaf tea to a morning fruit smoothie to give them a boost of immunity against the colds and flu going around. Recently, a particularly strong stomach virus passed through our community. Most people who fell ill were sick for at least a week. We gave the children an enema of raspberry leaf and water and had them drink raspberry leaf tea while withholding other foods. Within 24 hours the illness had passed.

I have also found raspberry leaf to be an excellent energy booster. When I am feeling a little anemic or run down, I will drink a cup of raspberry leaf tea with a spoonful of molasses stirred in. It tastes great and gives me an emotional and physical energy boost.

Among friends, I have become known to recommend raspberry leaf for most ailments they ask me about. One friend, in her forties, was having severe PMS. I suggested she drink raspberry leaf every day. After a month or so on the raspberry leaf, she came to me and thanked me for saving her marriage. I could not understand what she was talking about. She then told me that by drinking the raspberry leaf faithfully, her vaginal dryness that she experienced reversed.

I also experienced several instances where the minerals in raspberry leaf helped tremendously. When I was pregnant with my first child, I got cramps in my legs easily. With my second and third children, I did not get cramps as long as I drank my raspberry leaf tea. When my first child was teething, my chiropractor told me that he needed additional calcium to prevent the pain and discomfort of teething. When I had been pregnant with him, I had a wisdom tooth erupt through the gums. It was extremely painful. When I was pregnant with my second child, I had a second wisdom tooth erupt through the gum. I never noticed until one day I poked my tongue in the back of my mouth and noticed a hole had formed in my gum to allow the tooth to push through. I attribute the lack of discomfort to the high absorbable calcium I was getting from the daily raspberry leaf tea.

Raspberry is an amazing plant with so many uses. I believe that there are more uses for raspberry than we have yet discovered. If I had to pick my top five favorite herbs, raspberry is definitely among them. Its versatility and usefulness in common ailments, as well as, its availability in both home gardens and in the wild, makes raspberry a plant that everyone should get to know intimately.