Hawthorn - useful properties and contraindications

Pharmacists admit that tincture of hawthorn is one of the most common and best-selling herbal remedies in a pharmacy. And all because the medicine really helps, copes with many problems and pathologies. Hawthorn perfectly affects the heart, blood vessels, it can be consumed even during pregnancy. The fruits of hawthorn are a real storehouse of vitamins and nutrients. This is a mandatory medicine in the first-aid kit of cores and hypertensive patients. In this article you will learn about the composition of hawthorn, its beneficial properties, as well as contraindications to the use of fruits. In addition, you can prepare various medicines from hawthorn yourself.

Composition of hawthorn

Today, botanists have about 1,500 species of hawthorn, each of them differs in the taste and shape of the fruit. Hawthorn is a shrub that can grow in the shape of a small tree, blooms in late spring or early summer with surprisingly beautiful white flowers. By the way, hawthorn inflorescences are used as actively as the fruits, they contain all the most useful and important for the human body. And for the preparation of tinctures and decoctions actively use the bark of young shrubs. The composition of the hawthorn contains a lot of vitamins - A, C, E, K, the whole palette of vitamins of group B. In addition, the hawthorn contains trace elements, essential and fatty oils, tannins, flavonoids, organic acids, saponins, natural sugars, glycosides. Hawthorn contains substances that are difficult to find in other vegetables or fruits, primarily, we are talking about ursolic acid. It has a bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, vasodilator and antitumor effect. The scope of the hawthorn is incredibly vast, let's try to identify the most effective aspects of this natural medicine.

Useful properties of hawthorn for the human body

Hawthorn has been used in medicine for many centuries, at first it was as an astringent in the fight against diarrhea. In the future, scientists and doctors discovered more and more useful properties of this amazing plant. What do we know about the action of hawthorn today?

1. For heart. Hawthorn is incredibly useful for the work of the heart muscle, it has a soft vasodilating effect, this allows you to saturate all organs with oxygen, provides nutrition to all tissues. Hawthorn is actively used in the fight against tachycardia and arrhythmia. An amazing property of hawthorn is that the medicine normalizes pressure - both at elevated and at reduced rates. That is, hawthorn without fear can be drunk with hypertension and hypotension. Regular intake of drugs from hawthorn helps to establish a heart rhythm, makes it stable, improves coronary and cerebral circulation. Hawthorn is necessarily included in the complex treatment of heart failure, angina pectoris, heart attack, coronary heart disease. Hawthorn is part of many cardiac products.
2. Blood vessels. The hawthorn-based medicine is very useful for any pathologies of the vascular system. Hawthorn helps reduce blood cholesterol, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, makes them more firm and elastic. Preparations based on red fruits are a powerful prevention of the development of atherosclerosis. In addition, tincture and broth of hawthorn is used as a medicine in the fight against varicose veins.
3. For the nervous system. If your life is associated with constant stress, anxiety and excitement, tincture of hawthorn should be at hand. After all, this is a quick and safe medicine that will help you calm down, recover, normalize your heart rate and pulse. With the course of taking hawthorn, you can be less nervous, increase stress resistance, irritability disappear, headaches will no longer haunt you. Hawthorn is an excellent remedy for insomnia. The peculiarity of this medicine is that it does not slow down the reaction rate, you can be treated with hawthorn, even if you drive regularly.
4. Digestive system. Fresh hawthorn, as well as medicines based on its fruits and inflorescences, perfectly affect the work of the digestive tract. First of all, this is an excellent remedy for diarrhea - hawthorn quickly stops dehydration, kills pathogenic microorganisms in the intestines. The course intake of hawthorn allows you to get rid of flatulence, bloating, gas and discomfort in the abdomen. The bactericidal properties of tinctures are used to treat inflamed gastric mucosa with gastritis and an ulcer.
5. For weight loss. Another amazing property of hawthorn - drugs based on inflorescences and fruits enhance metabolic processes in the body. Drink hawthorn while losing weight - it will give energy with poor nutrition, give a feeling of satiety, and most importantly, accelerate the process of burning fat.
6. During pregnancy. Hawthorn contains a huge amount of useful substances, which are so necessary for an organism exhausted by pregnancy. Hawthorn is a quick and safe way to calm down, normalize blood pressure, and improve sleep. It is recommended to drink hawthorn during pregnancy as part of delicious cocktails. Take a glass of yogurt or kefir, add one banana, a couple of spoons of honey and a tablespoon of a strong broth of hawthorn. Whip everything in a blender and drink a delicious smoothie. You will get a light, nutritious, and most importantly, healthy dinner.
7. With a headache. If you are tormented by migraine attacks, dizziness and headaches of any nature, know that hawthorn can quickly relieve this symptom. The medicine dilates the vessels of the brain, eliminating spasm and oxygen starvation, more blood enters the brain. The medicine is especially useful during pregnancy when medications cannot be taken.
8. For immunity and tone. Hawthorn as a whole strengthens vitality, it is indicated for use after infectious diseases, it should be drunk during the flu season and colds - this is a powerful prevention of SARS. And the fruits of hawthorn are added to tea, it is especially useful for people with low immunity - children, the elderly, pregnant women. From ancient times it was believed that hawthorn slows down the aging process, prolongs youth.
9. In cosmetology. Tincture and broth from the fruits of hawthorn are actively used in cosmetology for skin care. Masks from hawthorn perfectly tone the skin, fight wrinkles, swelling and dark circles on the eyelids. The bactericidal properties of hawthorn make it possible to use it in the fight against acne, blackheads, comedones, boils. And this is also an excellent remedy for oily skin - regular rubbing of the face with a decoction of hawthorn normalizes the sebaceous glands, makes the skin dull, without oily sheen. Broth of hawthorn is often used in hair care - rinsing with this composition will help you get rid of hair loss and dandruff.
10. For women's health. As part of the hawthorn, there are phytoestrogens that normalize hormonal failure during menopause. Regular medication can save a woman from dizziness, flushing, excessive sweating.

In ancient times in Russia, women knew how to treat simple diseases on their own and procured drugs manually. In each house, one could find dried hawthorn fruit or alcohol tincture. It was believed that this is the cure for all ills.But is hawthorn so safe?

Contraindications to taking medications from hawthorn

We have already said that hawthorn is a potent remedy that in some cases can bring the body not only benefits, but also harm. Here are a few contraindications that you should be familiar with before using hawthorn in your treatment.

1. During pregnancy, hawthorn is used only after consulting a doctor, especially if there is a history of cardiac pathologies. You can not use hawthorn, along with lemon, rosehip and other products containing vitamin C. A large amount of ascorbic acid in the body can cause hypertension. During pregnancy, only a weak decoction of hawthorn water-based, no alcohol tinctures are allowed.
2. With lactation, hawthorn is contraindicated, it can slow down or completely stop the production of milk.
3. With heart disease, hawthorn does not help restore heart rate, but only hides the course of the disease.
4. Tincture and decoction of hawthorn can not be taken after a stroke, as well as if you have kidney problems.
5. Prolonged use of alcohol tincture of hawthorn can lead to diseases of the stomach, intestinal colic, especially if you drink the medicine on an empty stomach.
6. Frequent consumption of fresh fruits of hawthorn can provoke the development of constipation, since the pulp has a strong astringent effect.
7. It is noted that prolonged intake of hawthorn can lead to arrhythmia. If you have cardiological diseases, be sure to go to the doctor, do not self-medicate.
8. Fresh juice of hawthorn contains many acids that destroy tooth enamel. Drink this juice through a tube, and then be sure to rinse your mouth with clean water.
9. Like any other product, hawthorn can cause an individual reaction of the body in the form of a rash, redness of the skin, itching, swelling. If such symptoms occur, such treatment should be discarded.

Remember that with serious diagnoses, you must always ask your doctor about the advisability of taking medications from hawthorn.

Hawthorn Medicines

In numerous recommendations for the treatment of hawthorn, we read about tinctures, decoctions, juice of this amazing fruit. But how to prepare these medicines correctly in order to preserve the benefits of raw materials?

1. Decoction. A water-based broth is prepared quickly, literally in 5-6 hours it will be ready for use. In a liter jar, pour a large handful of hawthorn so that the jar is filled by a third. Next, you need to prepare the water - it should be boiled, but not boiling, about 95 degrees. Boiling water kills ascorbic acid, the medicine will lose most of its valuable substances. Pour the fruits with hot water, wrap and leave for 5 hours. It is much more effective to brew hawthorn in a thermos - the water there remains hot for a long time, which means it absorbs more nutrients. The broth is especially useful during pregnancy, when alcohol tinctures are prohibited. But remember that women in position need to dilute the broth and drink a less concentrated drink.
2. Alcohol tincture. This form of medicine is good in that it is stored in the refrigerator for a long time, up to 2-3 months. Fresh fruits should be washed and dried, poured into a glass bottle, then pour hawthorn with diluted alcohol, and better quality vodka. Keep in a dark and cool room for at least three weeks, preferably a month. You can infuse the medicine in the refrigerator, but you should use a bottle of dark glass. When the tincture is ready, it is filtered, poured into a clean container and stored in the refrigerator. Take 15-20 drops 2-3 times a day, depending on the diagnosis.

Remember that you can also drink hawthorn at one time on your own - if nerves are naughty, diarrhea has developed, or your heart is beating violently. But before a course medication, be sure to consult a doctor, this is really important.

Decoction and tincture can be prepared not only from fruits, but also from hawthorn inflorescences, flowers have the same useful property. Ripe hawthorn fruit is very healthy to eat fresh - do not miss this moment. Juice is extracted from the pulp - it is considered the most valuable and nutritious. For the winter, hawthorn can be frozen, add several fruits to the teapot along with tea leaves. This will not only protect you from diseases, but also fill the house with a pleasant aroma of autumn.

Video: useful properties and application of hawthorn