Many works have been written about the benefits of hawthorn, but what about harm, is there any? Hawthorn mask. Useful properties and applications in medicine

In the article, we will consider the beneficial properties and use of hawthorn. You will learn how to brew the fruits of the plant, when to collect and harvest them. Let's discuss medicinal recipes and their health benefits and harms.

Hawthorn is a shrub or small tree with dense bark and durable wood, making it resistant to natural disasters. Shrubs grow up to 5 meters tall, trees up to 12 meters. The plant belongs to the "Pink" family and has more than 2 thousand species.

You can recognize this or that type of plant by its crown and leaves. For example, the blood-red species has ovate leaves, the prickly hawthorn has a blunt leaf shape.

During the flowering period, small white or pink flowers. In autumn, fruits ripen in the form of red or brown berries. small size. Flowers and fruits are popular among fans of traditional and folk medicine.

Reception of hawthorn has a complex effect on the work of all organs.

• The benefit of the plant lies in the vasodilating effect. The plant tones the heart muscle, supplies enough oxygen. The use of hawthorn normalizes the heart rate and blood circulation.
• Medicinal herb improves the condition of blood vessels, normalizes blood clotting, cholesterol levels.
• The fruits are used in the treatment nervous system. Infusion with the plant soothes, eliminates insomnia. Unlike others medicines, hawthorn does not provoke drowsiness.
• plant eliminates headache, dizziness, shortness of breath, increases protective functions organism.

In addition to the above properties, preparations with hawthorn are used in cosmetology. plant shoots inflammatory processes, swelling, tones the skin.

How to brew and take

To improve well-being and solve health problems, tinctures, infusions, tea, decoctions with hawthorn are used. Drinks improve digestion, normalize blood circulation, and calm the nerves.

Hawthorn infusion

Ingredients:

• Plant flowers - 1 tablespoon;
• Water - 1 glass.

How to cook: Pour boiling water over raw materials. Keep the mixture in a water bath for 15 minutes. Cool and strain.

How to use: Divide the infusion into 3 parts. Take 30 minutes before meals. Store the infusion in the refrigerator.

Result: Relieves insomnia, neurosis. Improves well-being in hypertension and arrhythmias.

hawthorn tincture

Ingredients:

• dried fruits - 4 tablespoons;
• vodka - 2 glasses.

How to cook: Pour vegetable raw materials with vodka. Leave for 2 weeks. Strain after the specified time.

How to use: Take 25 drops with water one hour before meals.

Result: Alcohol tincture helps to cure angina pectoris and hypertension.

hawthorn tea

Ingredients:

• dried or fresh fruits - 1 tablespoon;
• water - 100 ml.

How to cook: Pour the berries into a thermos, pour boiling water. Leave for an hour without opening the lid.

How to use: Drink tea a cup a day until you feel better.

Result: Increases the protective functions of the body, improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Do not cook hawthorn fruit, high temperatures kill active, and therefore useful properties.

The use of hawthorn

For the first time, useful properties became known in the 19th century. One american doctor after long experiments with the plant, he said that the hawthorn was a valuable discovery of the century. Unique properties plants are superior to many drugs.

Treatment of hypertension and hypotension

Obvious signs of hypertension (high blood pressure) are tinnitus, pain in the heart area, a veil before the eyes, and headaches.

Symptoms of hypotension (low blood pressure): paleness skin, low temperature body, dizziness, nausea.

Folk methods for the treatment of low or high blood pressure no less popular than medical drugs.

After numerous studies regarding the effect of hawthorn on blood pressure, it was found that the plant normalizes blood pressure, regardless of whether it is high or low.

Hawthorn decoction

Ingredients:

• hawthorn fruits - 1 tablespoon;
• rose hips - 1 tbsp. a spoon;
• boiling water - 1 liter.

How to cook: Grind the fruits, pour the mass into a thermos. Fill with boiling water. Leave to brew for 6 hours.

How to use: Take a decoction in a glass 3 times a day.

Hawthorn for heart disease

Hawthorn is used for tachycardia, heart failure, coronary disease. Active ingredients plants improve blood circulation, brain activity dilates blood vessels.

Recipe for the normalization of the heart

Ingredients:

• hawthorn fruits - 4 tablespoons;
• motherwort grass - 4 tablespoons;
• cudweed grass - 4 tablespoons;
• chamomile flowers - 1 tablespoon;
• water - 1 glass.

How to cook: Combine 1 tablespoon of dry ingredients, mix. Pour in a glass of boiling water. Leave for 1 hour.

How to use: Take 3 times a day, 80 ml.

Result: Take for pain in the heart, dizziness, heart weakness, hypertension, nervous disorders.

Hawthorn with atherosclerosis

The disease provokes thickening of the walls arterial vessels, loss of elasticity.

Symptoms of the disease: dizziness, joint pain, fast fatiguability, weight loss, pain in the region of the heart.

Decoction

Ingredients:

• dry fruits - 3 tablespoons;
• boiling water - 0.5 liters.

How to cook: Pour the fruits with boiling water, cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Leave for a few hours, strain.

How to use: Take a decoction 3 times a day, 150 ml before meals. The course of treatment is 1 month. Break 2 weeks, then repeat the treatment. Do 5 courses of treatment per year.

Result: The decoction helps even in advanced cases. Regular use improves sleep, normalizes arterial pressure, reduces shortness of breath.

Contraindications

Despite the beneficial properties, hawthorn has contraindications that should not be ignored.

• Pregnant women should refrain from treatment. Vitamin C, contained in the plant in large quantities, increases the tone of the uterus, which can provoke a miscarriage.
• Lactating women. Compresses with hawthorn reduce the amount of breast milk.
• In case of individual intolerance, you will have to find another drug.
• You can not drink a drink for people who have had a stroke without first consulting a doctor.
• The infusion will harm the fragile children's body causing drowsiness and distraction.

Collection and preparation

Closed buds of hawthorn flowers are collected at the beginning of flowering. Blooming buds will eventually lose their originality and useful properties, which will make the treatment ineffective.

Hawthorn, stored for more than one year, gradually loses all medicinal properties. Harvest fruit every year.

Pick flowers in dry weather. Spread the raw materials on a newspaper in a warm, bright room, the temperature in which does not exceed 40 degrees. Properly dried flowers fully retain all the beneficial properties of the plant.

The fruits are harvested in early autumn. Ripe berries with a soft filler are suitable for picking. In order to preserve vitamins during the drying process, do it in a warm, ventilated room.

The hawthorn flower is universal remedy for treatment cardiovascular disease. They contain the most a large number of vitamins, however, it must be borne in mind that sometimes the correct collection and storage plays the most important role.

When collecting flowers, you run the risk of bringing a flower beetle into the house, which will completely destroy your workpiece within a few months.

To avoid this, hawthorn flowers and leaves must be collected in a strictly allotted period for this, and some of them should be used in the form of a tincture, which will allow you to use the beneficial properties of hawthorn all winter.

Description

Hawthorn has long been one of the most famous plants among the people due to its beneficial properties. Most often it can be found under the name of a boyar or a lady-tree. In fact, this plant is a small tall shrub or tree, sometimes reaching a height of 5 m. It is noteworthy that all the branches of the hawthorn are covered with small thorns. Since the hawthorn belongs to the Rosaceae family, the flowers can be either white or pale pink. The main period of their appearance begins from the end of May and continues until July. Since the plant is honey-bearing, the flowers of which are valued all over the world, they spread around themselves at a distance of several meters bad smell, designed to attract insects, whose duty is to pollinate them.

Despite the fact that the fruits of this plant are rather small, round or oblong in shape, their full ripening occurs only at the end of August. The color of the berries, depending on the variety of hawthorn, can vary from red or black to saturated orange color. The pulp of the fruit is fleshy, slightly astringent, while quite sweet in taste.

Places of growth

Most often, not berries are attracted, but hawthorn flowers, the medicinal properties of which allow the plant to compete even with such a leader in the content of vitamins in its composition, like wild rose. You can find hawthorn, in particular, in rare deciduous dry forests, in close proximity to river floodplains or on the edges.

In rare cases, you can find a few bushes in the fields away from the forest. This is explained simply, birds that eat both beetles that feed on hawthorn seeds, and the seeds themselves, making flights, defecate. The seed enters the soil with a share of natural fertilizer, due to which it quickly takes root and begins to grow rapidly.

Today in the world there are a large number of more than 40 species that are diverse only in the territories of the post-Soviet space, among which the most famous is the blood-red hawthorn, most often used for treatment.

Because the the greatest benefit It is the hawthorn flowers that carry the medicinal properties and contraindications must be carefully studied before proceeding with the direct collection. Of course, not only flowers, but also fruits, leaves and bark can be used to prepare medicines, however, it must be borne in mind that the vitamin content in flowers is much higher than in other parts of the plant.

First of all, decide for what purposes you are going to harvest hawthorn. And then, based on the content useful elements, choose which part of the plant will bring your body more benefits. The hawthorn flower contains a large amount of essential oils, various acids, micro and macro elements. Of course, in any case, do not forget to consult a doctor, because self-medication can bring more harm than good.

Harvesting flowers

It is noteworthy that hawthorn flowers, whose medicinal properties are of particular value, can simply not be collected in time, because the flowering time often does not exceed 3-4 days, especially if hot weather persists during this period. Moreover, flowers must be harvested at the beginning of flowering, when they have not yet blossomed. First of all, this is due to the fact that, as soon as they bloom, many flower beetles will settle in them, capable of completely destroying the hawthorn flower that you managed to collect and dry in a short period. Since hawthorn bushes are often quite voluminous, it would be useful to speed up the collection process by cutting off not only individual flowers, but also entire inflorescences. When cutting, it is necessary to try to keep the length of the legs as short as possible.

It is strongly not recommended to collect them in the early morning, when the dew has not yet dried up, and immediately after the rain. The fact is, hawthorn loses most of its beneficial properties. In addition, with further drying, the flowers will acquire a dark shade. At the same time, drying itself should take place no later than 2 hours after collection in a warm, well-ventilated room, where direct flowers will not fall on the flowers. To speed up the process, it would be best to try to distribute them as much as possible. thin layer.

Hawthorn flowers can retain useful properties both in an alcoholic tincture, which must be prepared from freshly cut flowers, and in the form various tinctures based on ready-made dry collections.

When cutting, it is necessary to try to keep the length of the legs of the inflorescences as short as possible.

Harvesting fruits

Fruits should be harvested only after they have reached full ripeness. This period falls at the end of September, until the first frosts come. You can either cut off individual shields with fruits, or separate each one in turn.

If a dryer is used to accelerate the drying process, the maximum temperature in the dryer must not exceed 60 °C. The natural drying process lasts at least a week, after which the finished raw materials will definitely need to be sorted out in order to remove all impurities associated with the fruits: stalks and low-quality berries.

Application in official medicine

If we consider hawthorn flowers, the application will not cause difficulties even for those who first encountered this plant. They are successfully used in violation of the stable work of the heart or high blood pressure.

Any drug created on the basis of hawthorn has detailed instructions describing all the details of the use, however, in any case, you must first consult with your doctor so as not to cause harm to the body by self-medication.

What is hawthorn used for?

If necessary, with the help of hawthorn, you can have a selective effect on coronary vessels brain, calming effect on the nervous system, accelerate the supply of oxygen to such important parts of the body as the heart and brain, as well as ensure constant maintenance of the body in good shape.

In the field of traditional medicine, the most widely used tincture of hawthorn flowers and liquid extract from fruits. They are able to quickly help the body in case of dizziness, shortness of breath, insomnia, and also properly stimulate the body's metabolism.

Hawthorn infusion

An infusion made from hawthorn is one of the easiest medicines to make, the only drawback of which is considered to be short term storage. Of course, if the infusion is made on alcohol, it increases significantly, while it is important that it can not only be purchased at a pharmacy, but also made independently. This is perhaps the simplest remedy that can be prepared from medicinal plants.

But even in the refrigerator, it is stored for no more than a day. Therefore, every day you need to brew a new infusion. So it is recommended to make alcohol tinctures, which, of course, are stored longer.

Hawthorn flowers: contraindications

Hawthorn is probably one of the few plants that do not cause side effects even with prolonged use, however, not all people and not in any quantities can use it. Despite the fact that some preparations containing hawthorn are prescribed for people with serious illnesses, there are a number of contraindications, for example, if the dosage of the tincture is significantly exceeded (more than 100 drops of hawthorn), the pulse slows down significantly.

Hawthorn flowers retain their medicinal properties for quite a long time. long period time (about two years). Therefore, you should not worry that you will use a low-quality product, for example, by buying them at a pharmacy, but you should not drink tea with hawthorn if you have been found severe disorder heart disease or kidney disease.

Hawthorn flowers, the use of which was considered by us, should be used with extreme caution by pregnant and lactating women, because the calming effect on the nervous system is transmitted to the baby and can later cause serious disorders.

At the very beginning of summer, hawthorn blooms, delighting us with a delicate aroma and delicate beauty of white inflorescences. O healing properties This plant is legendary. The most common use of all parts of hawthorn is the prevention and treatment of the heart and blood vessels. Medicinal raw material obtained from hawthorn has powerful cardiotonic properties. The color of hawthorn is no exception, the collection of which accounts for only 10-12 days a year.

How to prepare hawthorn flowers

The shrub fades quickly enough, sometimes in hot weather in just a few days, so if you want to stock up on valuable medicinal raw materials on your own, then do not miss the moment when the buds on the inflorescences begin to bloom. Color picking is carried out at the very beginning of flowering.

Cut with scissors or a knife individual flowers and whole corymbose inflorescences. The length of the pedicel is about 3.5 cm. In order to prevent rotting of the raw material and its subsequent darkening, flowers are harvested only in dry weather. Drying is preferably carried out immediately after collection, using an oven or electric dryer at a temperature not exceeding 40 ° C.

If it is not possible to dry the raw material with the help of electrical appliances, it is laid out on a canvas or paper in a thin layer and placed in a well-ventilated dry room, for example, in the attic. The smell of dried hawthorn flowers is subtle, with spicy notes, the taste is bittersweet. Dried inflorescences are stored in tin or glass jars or cardboard boxes no more than 1 year. Use prepared flowers for cooking healing tea, medicinal fees or tinctures.

Composition of hawthorn flowers

The raw materials contain a high concentration of antioxidants, carotenoids, phytoncides, flavonoids, tannins, essential oils, polysaccharides, as well as quercetin, choline, chlorogenic and caffeic acid. Macro- and microelements in hawthorn flowers are represented by: potassium, fluorine, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, copper, boron, chromium, cobalt, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, iodine.

Useful properties of hawthorn flowers

Medicinal raw materials have antiarrhythmic, anticholesterol, hematopoietic effects, and the hypotensive qualities of flowers are more pronounced than in the fruits of the plant. The use of extracts from the color of hawthorn significantly improves brain and coronary circulation, removes hyperexcitability nervous system, normalizes blood clotting.

In folk and traditional medicine infusion and tincture of hawthorn flowers are prescribed for the following diseases:

1. hypertension;
2. chronic heart failure;
3. tachycardia;
4. angina;
5. dizziness;
6. dyspnea;
7. atherosclerosis;
8. vegetative-vascular dystonia;
9. thyrotoxicosis;
10. sleep disorders;
11. menopausal disorders (as an aid);
12. pneumonia;
13. ARI and SARS;
14. rheumatism;
15. asthenoneurotic conditions.

Recipe for tincture of fresh hawthorn flowers

Experienced healers of traditional medicine recommend preparing a healing elixir for alcohol from freshly picked flowers, since it is believed that they contain the maximum amount of biologically active compounds that are partially destroyed during drying and storage.

Hawthorn flowers are placed (loosely) in a glass jar and filled to the top with distilled water diluted 1: 1 medical alcohol(possible replacement for vodka). A tightly sealed container is placed in a dark place for two weeks. Strained tincture is taken 30-40 drops three times a day after meals, diluting them in half a glass of drinking water.

Recipe for an infusion of dried hawthorn flowers

Two tablespoons of dried flowers are steamed with 0.6 liters of boiling water and infused for a quarter of an hour. It is recommended to use 100 ml of strained infusion 3 times a day before each meal with arterial hypertension, shortness of breath, disturbances in the work of the heart. The infusion works especially well for older people, since the drink not only normalizes blood pressure, but also improves general well-being and state of the body.

Medicinal collection with hawthorn flowers for menopause

Infusion helps to remove anxiety states and nervous disorders during the period of hormonal adjustment (climax male and female). Mix chamomile, cudweed, marigold and hawthorn color in equal proportions, brew a tablespoon of the mixture with a glass of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, take 1 glass instead of tea 2 times a day. To enhance the therapeutic effect, it is recommended to sweeten the drink with bee honey.

Flower collection for heart failure

Mix 75 gr hawthorn color, 30 gr horsetail and 45 grams of grass mountaineer. Pour a tablespoon of the mixture with 0.25 liters of boiling water and insist under the lid for about 30 minutes. The filtered infusion is drunk in small portions during the day.

Hawthorn root: harvesting and application

Shrub roots are harvested in late autumn, when the plant is in a dormant period. The washed hawthorn roots are cut into small sticks and dried in an electric dryer at a temperature of about 60 ° C. Store the root in paper or canvas bags in a well-ventilated, dry and shady place for up to two years.

For medicinal purposes, a decoction is prepared from dry raw materials, which is most useful for older people who have problems with the heart muscle, as general tonic. The remedy helps with heart failure (I-II stage).

How to take a decoction of hawthorn root?

15 g of dried hawthorn root is poured into 250 ml of boiling water and simmered in a water bath for about a quarter of an hour, and then insisted under a lid until cool. The filtered drink is taken three times a day, 15-20 ml.

Contraindications to the use of extracts from all parts of the hawthorn

Although medicinal plant non-toxic, medicines based on it should be used with caution during pregnancy, during breastfeeding. The powerful hypotensive properties of hawthorn color can harm people suffering from hypotension. The plant is contraindicated in case of reduced blood clotting and bradycardia. AT individual cases individual intolerance is possible.

An excellent stimulant plant, second in pectin content after an apple - it's all about hawthorn. This plant is used in the treatment of many diseases. The use of hawthorn fruits and leaves brings tangible benefits to the body, but it is very important to observe the dosage of alcohol tincture so as not to harm your body.

Useful properties of hawthorn

Beneficial features hawthorn allow you to include it in the composition complex treatment with heart disease, heart weakness, cardiac arrhythmias, tachycardia and angina pectoris, atherosclerosis.

Hawthorn helps to reduce the excitability of the central nervous system, helps to alleviate the condition with headaches caused by cervical osteochondrosis. This effect of the plant is due to its ability to improve cerebral circulation.

The use of hawthorn berries helps to relieve physical and mental fatigue.

The properties of plants allow us to divide them into groups: some weaken, others fasten, others increase pressure, and fourth lower. Hawthorn also normalizes blood pressure, so its use will be beneficial, both at high and low pressure.

Back in the 16th century, hawthorn was used as astringent in the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery. Three centuries have passed: the flowers and leaves of the plant began to be used as a blood purifier, and since the 20th century, hawthorn berries and flowers have been used in the treatment of heart diseases.

Medicines made from hawthorn increase myocardial contractions, while reducing its excitability, increase blood circulation in the coronary vessels and brain vessels, increase the sensitivity of the heart muscle to the action of cardiac glycosides, and relieve pain and discomfort in the heart area.

The use of hawthorn

The excellent medicinal properties of the plant allow it to be used in complex therapy treatment of cardiac disorders, climacteric syndrome, hypertension, diseases of the nervous system, in the treatment of gastritis, increased gas formation, diarrhea.

AT official medicine use alcohol tincture and thick and liquid extracts from the flowers and fruits of hawthorn.

AT traditional medicine the flowers and fruits of this plant are also used.

Hawthorn berries are used for:

• heart attack;
• hypertension;
• atherosclerosis;
• angina pectoris;
• Age-related cardiac disorders;
• Migraine;
• headaches;
• Nervous fatigue;
• insomnia;
• stress;
• Hysteria;
• epilepsy;
• Diabetes;
• Puffiness.

Also, preparations from hawthorn fruits are beneficial for dermatitis, reduced immunity, colds and viral diseases.

Hawthorn fruits are also used in cooking because of their very pleasant taste and beneficial properties. Berries can be consumed fresh or prepared from them compotes, syrups, jams, jams, teas. Dried fruit flour is added to baked goods.

But you can not consume more than a glass of these berries during the day. An overdose is fraught with a sharp drop in pressure.

The acids in the composition of the fruit, which have a rejuvenating effect on the skin, allow the plant to be used in cosmetology.

How and when to collect hawthorn for the winter

Hawthorn inflorescences and flowers are harvested during the flowering period of the plant. It is important not to miss the moment: flowering lasts only 3 to 5 days. Dry weather is needed to pick flowers. dried natural way stored in paper bags.

Harvesting for the winter of hawthorn fruits occurs in the fall, in the period from the end of September to the beginning of October. At this time, the fruits are usually already fully ripe. The collected berries are washed, dried in a dryer at a temperature of 40 degrees. The shelf life of fruits is several years.

Recipes for medicinal infusions from hawthorn

Infusion from the flowers of the plant

3 tablespoons of dried raw materials are poured into 0.5 liters of boiled hot water. Let it brew for half an hour. Take two tablespoons twenty minutes after meals three times a day.

Berry infusion recipe

Pour an incomplete glass of ripe or dried berries of the plant with a liter of boiling water in a thermos and let it brew all night. After straining, you can drink a third of a glass for, angina pectoris, to relieve nervous excitement and etc.

herbal tea

Dried fruits and flowers of the plant are used to make tea.

teaspoon fruit, tablespoon dried leaves black currant, raspberries, cherries are poured 300g. boiling water, infused under a closed lid for fifteen minutes. Drink 150g twice a day.

Drinking this tea is powerful prophylactic against high blood pressure, headaches, colds.

Alcohol tincture of hawthorn

It's not hard to cook at home medicinal tincture from the hawthorn fruit itself. Mash a glass of fresh washed hawthorn berries until pureed. Transfer to a glass dish, pour 250g. alcohol 70%. Close the container tightly and store in a dark place. insist for three weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain through cheesecloth. Store prepared tincture in glass container dark glass. Daily rate 30 drops three times a day. Usually take the tincture before meals.

Tincture is used in the treatment of tachycardia, atherosclerosis, angina, hypertension.

Alcohol tincture helps with PMS, as well as during menopause, relieving feelings of tension and stress.

At severe stress, insomnia mixed in equal proportions of tincture of hawthorn and valerian. Take thirty drops three times a day.

The same composition helps to cope with edema, relieves spasms of blood vessels, improves kidney function.

Prevention of heart disease

As a prevention of heart disease, they drink an infusion of hawthorn and motherwort: take 1 teaspoon of hawthorn fruit (you can also take flowers) and dried motherwort inflorescences and pour them with a glass of boiling water. After an hour of infusion, strain and drink a third of a glass an hour before each meal.

But all these wonderful healing properties of hawthorn will benefit the body only if a strict dosage is observed. An increase in the concentration of a substance in the body causes sharp drop pressure, nausea, vomiting. And, of course, you can not use the drug as alcoholic drink. This can inflict severe harm body and in rare cases leads to a direct threat to life.

Contraindications for admission

Attention! Long uncontrolled reception preparations based on hawthorn is the cause of depression of the nervous system and a decrease heart rate. The use of an extract or infusion of hawthorn on an empty stomach contributes to the occurrence of intestinal spasms. It is impossible to drink hawthorn fruits with water in order to avoid intestinal colic.

During pregnancy and lactation, hawthorn is prohibited.

If you are prone to allergies, start taking drugs with small doses, controlling the state of the body.

It is forbidden to take hawthorn for hypotensive patients. Hawthorn berries lower blood pressure, so in hypotensive patients it can cause sharp deterioration well-being.

Only an overdose can bring harm. Be careful.

Consume in reasonable quantities fresh hawthorn and various options. Be healthy!