Medicinal properties and contraindications of strawberry leaves. Strawberry leaves treat the heart, liver, kidneys

Strawberries are not only a fragrant berry, but also a medicinal herb. Wild strawberry leaves contain vitamins and microelements that the human body needs. Medicinal raw materials are used at home for the preparation of infusions and decoctions used in the treatment of colds, inflammation of the joints and skin, heavy menstrual bleeding and other disorders of the functioning of the body. In order to maximize the beneficial properties of strawberries, its leaf must be properly harvested and used in the preparation of folk remedies.

Description of the plant and its preparation

Wild strawberry is a perennial plant belonging to the pink flowers. It is characterized by an upright stem, a short rhizome, from which thin curly shoots extend, covered with round leaves. Strawberry flowers are large relative to the size of the bush. The plant flowers in May and bears fruit from June to July.

You can find strawberries in pine forests, on the edges, meadows and clearings. The plant is distributed in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic countries, Kazakhstan.

Strawberry leaf is harvested during its flowering period, when it contains a maximum of useful substances. No more than two leaves must be collected from each bush, otherwise the plant will cease to bear fruit. The leaves are optimally cut with sharp scissors.

Raw materials are dried in the open air or in a special dryer at temperatures up to 70 degrees. When the raw material becomes brittle and loose, this is considered as a sign of its readiness for use in traditional medicine. Harvested raw materials are stored in glass jars or paper bags.

Medicinal herbs can also be purchased at the pharmacy, if there is no desire to procure raw materials on your own.

Strawberry preparation

This drug is inexpensive, which explains its availability.

Composition, useful properties, contraindications

Strawberry leaves are characterized by a complex chemical composition, in which the following components are distinguished:

• a large amount of vitamin C;
• tannins;
• caffeic acid;
• trace elements;
• nicotinic acid;
• fluorine, magnesium, iron, potassium.

Medicinal properties of the leaves of a forest plant:

• strengthen the immune system, thereby providing protection against viral infections;
• relieve intestinal spasm and bloating;
• treat joint inflammation in arthritis and rheumatism;
• remove excess fluid from the body;
• have a hemostatic effect;
• eliminate inflammation of the prostate in men;
• help to restore strength after physical exertion;
• strengthen the myocardium and vascular walls;
• reduce the level of bad cholesterol;
• treat foci of inflammation in the oral cavity.

Before taking folk remedies from a strawberry leaf, you need to consider contraindications to their use.

Who should not be treated with a plant:

• women in the first trimester of pregnancy;
• nursing mothers;
• patients with gastritis and chronic liver diseases;
• people with individual intolerance to strawberries.

Before using strawberry leaves for therapeutic purposes, you should consult a doctor.

Traditional medicine recipes

Properly harvested fragrant strawberry leaf is a valuable raw material for the preparation of infusions, decoctions and teas used in home treatment.

Decoctions and infusions of strawberry leaves are used externally in the treatment of skin diseases and bleeding of hemorrhoids. A concentrated infusion will help relieve the inflammatory process, for the preparation of which they take 2 tablespoons of the leaf and a glass of boiling water. When the herb is well infused with boiling water, the infusion is filtered, the gauze folded several times is soaked with it and applied to the inflamed area.

In order for folk remedies from strawberry leaves to benefit the body, they must be prepared at home strictly according to recipes.

Brings not only aesthetic pleasure to our taste buds. She is extremely helpful. Here you have a whole set of vitamins and components for the prevention of various colds and benefits for the gastrointestinal tract. But no less useful is its greens, the benefits of which will be discussed below.

Beneficial features

With the onset of autumn, we think more and more about vitamins, as there are fewer and fewer fresh and really healthy fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it is worth seeking help from medicinal herbs. For example, if you examine the useful properties and contraindications of wild strawberry leaves in more detail, you will notice that they are a storehouse of healing properties.

For example, a decoction will be very useful in case of metabolic disorders or diseases of tissues and joints, and an infusion of the same components will improve the condition of the skin of the face and cure problem areas. All this is due to countless trace elements that have a wound healing and analgesic effect on the body.

Contraindications

Despite all the useful properties of the plant, there are some contraindications to the use of wild strawberry leaves:

• This is a fairly strong allergen, so before using it alone or mixed with other herbs, you should consult your doctor.
• With hepatic colic or gastric secretion, it is desirable to reduce the use of tinctures or drugs based on these components to a minimum.
• If the decoction is abused (no more than 3 tablespoons per day), appendicitis can be provoked.

Harvesting wild strawberry leaves

Many people ask the question: how to properly prepare raw materials? The answer is very simple - you need to wait for the period of flowering and fruiting. You need to collect them very carefully, no more than two leaves from each bush and without touching the petiole responsible for photosynthesis. You can collect both with your hands and with the help of scissors, and after collection, be sure to rinse under running water.

When to harvest wild strawberry leaves for tea?

The best time for harvesting green crops is the end of May. Usually noon and dry weather are chosen, then not only the probability of successful drying will increase, but also the number of healing properties.

Useful and healing recipes from wild strawberry leaves

The people very often find useful and healing recipes from the leaves of wild strawberries, since its medicinal value is very high. Of these, infusions, teas and decoctions are prepared, both in pure form and in combination with other medicinal herbs. For example, the infusion has a vasodilator, hematopoietic and general tonic, so it is suitable for almost every organism.

Infusion

The recipe for the infusion is very simple: infuse 50 g of herb for four hours, first filling it with boiling water. Use no more than 150 ml. per day. If there is a need for a diuretic, you need to boil 20g. in a small amount of water (150-200 ml.) You can also use vodka to prepare an excellent tool to increase immunity. Take 30-50 drops, several times a day.

Tea

Like any other herbal tea, it is better to drink this drink in a course, strictly observing the dosage. Excessive consumption can adversely affect both the body and the general condition of a person. It is best to use dried leaves, flowers and berries in tea, since in combination they have a much more effective effect on the body.

A thermos is best suited for brewing such tea, since the liquid remains warm for a long time, which means it contains beneficial properties for a longer time. Pour boiling water over the thermos, then pour the mixture and pour hot water over it. It is desirable to wrap the container with a towel for the best effect.

Decoction

The combination of wild strawberry root leaves is a high concentration of vitamin components, which affects the immune system and the body as a whole. For decoction use 30g. Pour the mixture with one glass of water and boil for 20 minutes, then cool and strain. The resulting decoction is recommended to drink for insomnia, tuberculosis, asthma, etc.

Application during pregnancy

Due to the folic acid contained in strawberries, it is extremely useful for pregnant women. This is especially true for greenery. Despite some contraindications, in which it is not recommended to use anything based on this raw material, a small dose still does not hurt. To do this, you need to consult a doctor and find out in more detail what tea from wild strawberry leaves contains during pregnancy, how to drink it.

It is known that such a drink helps prevent beriberi, and also increases the contractile functions of the uterus. That is why it is recommended to use it before childbirth.

Application for weight loss

If you include strawberry leaves in your diet, this will be a significant plus, since not all herbs contain such a large amount of vitamins. It is also an excellent diuretic and diaphoretic, which plays an important role in cleansing the body. Tea or decoction will help not only in the fight against cholesterol, but also indirectly with fat cells.

In the treatment of many diseases, strawberry leaves, the healing properties of which were known to healers hundreds of years ago, can provide invaluable assistance. Unfortunately, today many people forget about the effectiveness of tea, decoctions and tinctures made from an available ingredient. Even supporters of traditional medicine prefer to use the berries and flowers of the plant in their recipes. Meanwhile, one has only to get acquainted with the composition of strawberry leaves, as many therapeutic properties will become apparent.

Medicinal properties

Speaking about strawberry leaves, experts in the field of natural medicines only remember that they contain a lot of vitamin C. Few people know that each leaf contains a huge amount of useful substances necessary to maintain human health:

• organic acids: quinic, malic, citric;
• tannins;
• essential oils;
• carbohydrates;
• and group B;
• flavonoids and alkaloids;
• carotenoids;
• vitamin C;
• macro- and microelements.

Separately and in combination, these substances effectively affect the body. They fight viruses and helminths, eliminate inflammation and accelerate wound healing, and facilitate digestion. At the same time, products based on strawberry leaves relieve tension and soothe, promote the synthesis of blood cells and remove excess fluid from the body.

<>Advice
Strawberry and strawberry leaves have a completely different composition and cannot replace each other.

What ailments can strawberry leaves help with?

The range of application of preparations from strawberry leaves is very wide. They can manifest themselves as universal and specialized means, used independently or in complex therapy.

• Diseases of the throat and mouth, colds. The use of tea and infusions of strawberry leaves, gargling not only relieve symptoms and speed up recovery, but also strengthen the immune system, increase the body's resistance.

Advice
Wild strawberry leaves have approximately the same composition as garden strawberry leaves. They should be collected away from roads, on hills and hills. The optimal time is immediately after flowering and before the appearance of fruits.

• Diseases of the digestive system. A remedy prepared with strawberry leaves will increase appetite, start the secretion of enzymes and intestinal motility.
• Predisposition to pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. Means with strawberry leaves are useful for angina pectoris, hypertension, atherosclerosis. They strengthen the walls of blood vessels and the heart, activate metabolic processes and accelerate the removal of bad cholesterol from the body.
• Gynecological problems. The use of tea and infusions reduces the abundance of secretions during menstruation, alleviates the condition during menopause, relieves inflammation. In addition, infusions and teas with strawberry leaves increase the tone of the uterus, stimulating labor and facilitating the birth process.
• Diseases of the kidneys and bladder. Substances in the leaves of strawberries stimulate the excretion of urine, while at the same time inhibiting inflammatory processes. In parallel, there is a correction of the disturbed water-salt balance.
• Hormonal disruptions. Due to the unique substances in strawberry leaves, iodine is not so intensively absorbed in the thyroid gland.
• Diseases of the joints. Inflammation passes, movements do not cause discomfort.
• Nervous disorders. The sedative properties of strawberry leaves help to cope with unreasonable anxiety, insomnia, apathy, and mood swings.

The abundance of organic acids and antioxidants makes it possible to use strawberry leaves to fight free radicals. Although no special studies have been conducted to confirm or refute this property, oncologists recognize that strawberry leaves and products based on them help in the prevention of cancer.

How to properly store strawberry leaves

Studying the medicinal properties of strawberry leaves and contraindications to their use, you need to take into account the quality of the leaves and the correctness of their preparation. Preparations made from plant materials will reveal their full potential if the following recommendations are observed:

1. Leaves should be collected between the flowering of strawberries and the appearance of berries. No more than 2 sheets should be plucked from each bush, then harvesting will not harm the plants. It is best not to pluck the leaves, but to cut them with scissors.
2. After harvesting, the leaves must be washed, dried and sent for drying. To do this, the leaves must be laid out in one layer and either taken out to the balcony or sent to an electric dryer. Important: when air-drying, the leaves should be in the shade, the sun will ruin them. When using an electric dryer, the temperature should not exceed 60-70º C.
3. When the leaves become brittle and loose, they are laid out in glass jars or cotton bags.

Fresh strawberry leaves are rarely used in folk medicine, most often dried leaves are used. You should not worry about the safety of nutrients: if drying was carried out in accordance with all the rules, the benefits of strawberry leaves will remain in full.

Contraindications

In addition to useful properties, strawberry leaves also have contraindications, albeit very few. Before introducing strawberry leaves into the diet or using them in a therapeutic course, you should read the recommendations of specialists.

• The abuse of products based on strawberry leaves can provoke an allergy, even if there is no predisposition to it. Do not forget that both teas and infusions of strawberry leaves are medicine, not soft drinks.
• Do not take funds in the presence of individual intolerance to strawberries.
• Problems with the secretion of gastric juice can also be considered as contraindications - in this case, teas and infusions with strawberry leaves can cause colic.

Pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 3 years of age should also refrain from introducing tea or infusion of strawberry leaves into their diet.

Several recipes with strawberry leaves

The most popular variant of the drug is strawberry leaf tea, the benefits and harms of which depend on the correct brewing. You can prepare other, no less effective means.

• Tincture. Take 2 tablespoons of dry strawberry leaves and pour 2 cups of boiling water. Stir and put in a water bath for 15 minutes. Instead of a water bath, you can use a thermos. Then insist the broth for 30-40 minutes and filter. It is usually recommended to drink the infusion during the day, so it does not make sense to prepare a lot of it.
• Decoction. In this case, pour 2 tablespoons of dried strawberry leaves with 2 cups of boiling water and keep for 5 minutes on low heat. For maximum benefit, the finished broth should be allowed to brew for half an hour, then strain. Such a drug should be drunk in a tablespoon no more than 3 times a day.
• Tea. Strawberry leaf tea is an effective preventive and therapeutic agent. To prepare it, it is enough to take 3 g of dried leaves and pour them with a portion of boiling water. We insist the contents of the cup for several minutes, a pleasant aroma should come from the tea. The finished drink does not have to be filtered, but it is drunk like regular tea.

In addition to the undoubted health benefits, tea, decoction and infusion with strawberry leaves do an excellent job with some cosmetic problems. These funds are used as components for compresses to speed up the healing of wounds, remove age spots, eliminate signs of acne and allergic rashes. They can be rinsed with hair to get rid of dandruff or strengthen the roots. Rinsing the mouth with a decoction or infusion will relieve bad breath.

Strawberries with useful properties resemble ordinary strawberries, but are more natural, as this is a wild, undomesticated berry that retains the original composition of vitamins. Strawberries are actively used in folk medicine, have a positive effect on the body. For healing recipes, both berries and leaves, roots, strawberry blossoms are used due to the content of medicinal components in them. What are the benefits and harms of using and are there any contraindications?

Medicinal properties

Berries of forest and field strawberries allow you to get rid of some diseases and have the following effects:

• The product of anti-inflammatory, wound healing and bactericidal effect.
• Improvement of blood composition, expansion of blood vessels.
• Acceleration of metabolism.
• Increase immunity, treat colds.
• Improving memory, slowing down the aging process of the brain.
• Providing diuretic, choleretic and diaphoretic action.
• Constipation treatment.
• Stopping blood in case of injury.
• Improved appetite and digestion.
• Effective thirst quencher.
• Treatment of gastritis, ulcers of the stomach or intestines.
• Getting rid of acne, freckles, fine wrinkles.
• Ensuring the normal course of pregnancy and fetal development.
• Getting rid of bad breath.
• Promoting the formation of new blood cells.
• Improved bowel function.
• Normalization of blood sugar levels.
• Removal of excess cholesterol.
• Treatment of nervous disorders, exhaustion.

What are the benefits of leaves and grass

Recipes with plant leaves also have a positive effect on the body:

• They improve the general condition, bring a person into tone.
• Help in the fight against sclerosis.
• They relieve spasms in neurasthenia, leukemia, enuresis, polymenorrhea, larynx carcinomas.
• Lowers blood pressure and slows down the heart rate.
• They remove salt deposits from the body, toxins during the decay of tumors.
• Get rid of edema, skin rashes.
• Hemorrhoids are treated.
• Relieve irritation with purulent inflammation.
• Heals wounds when applied fresh.

What helps strawberry roots

The roots of a forest plant should not be thrown away, since healing decoctions can be prepared from them, which:

• They cleanse the body of toxins, remove sand.
• Contribute to the treatment of dysentery, rheumatism, ailments of the spleen, liver, bladder and kidneys.
• Relieve inflammation of the bronchi.
• Heals weeping wounds.
• Reduce the volume of menstruation, prevent bleeding.

Useful flowers

Strawberry blossoms have not only a pleasant smell, but also a number of useful properties:

• Strengthening the walls of blood vessels, preventing their "fragility".
• Increasing vitamin activity.
• Treatment of heart disease and anemia, hypertension and neurasthenia.

The benefits of processed berries

In the off-season, the body also requires vitamins and substances contained in strawberries, therefore, to maintain health, it is necessary to consume processed berries.

Dried

These are bright red shriveled berries with a pleasant smell and sweet and sour taste. They have a higher concentration of nutrients, are used for diabetes, loss of strength, beriberi, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, gastritis, colitis, diarrhea in children.

Frozen forest or field berries

The benefit of frozen berries is that in the cold season, natural strawberries help in the treatment of colds and have a vitamin effect on the body.

Jam, is it possible with diabetes

Helps to improve efficiency, endurance, the functioning of the cardiovascular system, lowers blood pressure, improves digestion, produces a calming effect, relieves insomnia. A special benefit for diabetics should be noted, since natural strawberry jam without added sugar is absolutely safe for diabetics: the sweetness of the dessert is based on fructose, so those suffering from this disease have the opportunity to treat themselves to a little sweet. Calorie content is 220 kcal per 100 g.

Honey

It should be noted that strawberry honey as such does not exist: during flowering, strawberries give such an insignificant amount of nectar that if the bees collected honey only from it, they would quickly die from starvation.

It is most often used for colds, sore throats and is used with hot tea for their treatment: the benefits of berries are added to the main healing properties of honey, which together helps to quickly cure the disease.

It is used only for cosmetic purposes to prevent premature aging, to care for dry and damaged skin, to moisturize, soften and nourish it. It is also used as a tanning agent.

Types of processing on the photo

Dried Frozen Berries Jam

Folk recipes

It should be said that strawberries in any form are used in many traditional medicine recipes. The most popular of them are presented below.

Leaf tea for whole body health

We collect the leaves of the plant in May, carefully cutting them with scissors. We leave them for five hours in the shade, so that the leaves wilt a little, become soft. Next, we knead them with our hands and put them in a cardboard box covered with a rag for 9 hours. Then we take it out, lay it out on a baking sheet and leave it to dry in the sun or in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 45 °. Dried leaves are crushed by hand, placed in a jar and stored for no more than 2-3 years.

To prepare strawberry tea, you need 1 tbsp. l. crushed dry leaves pour half a liter of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. For taste, you can add 1 tsp. mint, black or green tea. Drink tea should be several cups a day. The drink has antimicrobial properties, prevents the appearance of gallstones and urolithiasis, slows down the heartbeat, relieves inflammation in diseases of the liver and respiratory tract.

There is an opinion that by brewing the asterisks (stalks) of a plant in the same way, you can even get rid of cancer!

Infusion against the noise in the head

2 tbsp. l. dried leaves or 1 tbsp. l. fresh pour 1 cup boiling water and insist for 1 hour. Take 4 times a day with honey 1/4 cup before meals. The drink helps to get rid of edema, hypertension and noise in the head.

Decoction for the treatment of nodular goiter

3 art. l. crushed fresh wild strawberry leaves, pour 700 ml of water in an enameled saucepan, put on fire, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Then you should strain the broth and take 200 ml three times a day. It is necessary to use the drink in combination with traditional medicine to speed up the healing process.

With inflammation

3 art. l. pour fresh chopped leaves with half a liter of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Turn off the fire and leave to infuse until completely cooled. In case of inflammation of the oral cavity, gums, tonsillitis, it is necessary to rinse the mouth and throat with the resulting decoction 4 times a day.

Leaves for wounds and ulcers

Fresh leaves must be doused with boiling water and applied to a purulent wound, ulcer, fix the bandage with a bandage. Leaves under the bandage need to be updated every day.

When bleeding

We brew 3 g of dried leaves in 400 ml of water, insist, soak a lotion in the solution and apply it to bleeding wounds. There are also good reviews about the infusion when using it for bad breath: take the remedy daily for half a glass.

With anemia

Pour 20 g of fresh leaves and 20 g of berries with half a liter of water, bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. We filter and drink 150 ml three times a day.

For women

• Strawberries have a positive effect on the female body. The pulp of the berries is used to create cosmetic face masks, and when using strawberry juice, you can get rid of acne, blackheads and skin wounds. The systematic use of berries prevents the aging process.
• Nutritionists recommend including strawberries in the diet of losing weight, as the berry helps to improve metabolism, helps to get rid of extra pounds. Freshly squeezed strawberry juice also contributes to weight loss, if consumed in 6 tbsp. l. daily before meals, without drinking anything.
• Abundant menstruation and uterine bleeding, uterine fibroids are treated with an infusion of wild berry roots: 1 tsp. dry root pour a glass of boiling water and insist for half an hour. We drink a little throughout the day. Also, to reduce the volume of menstruation 2 tbsp. l. chopped fresh strawberry leaves, 2-3 green berries and 1 tbsp. l. inflorescences is poured with a glass of boiling water, brought to a boil and cooled. Take during the day in small portions until the bleeding stops.
• With uterine fibroids, you need 5 tbsp. l. Pour wild strawberry herbs with 1 liter of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. We insist an hour, filter, drink 1/3 cup three times a day.

During pregnancy

Moderate consumption of fresh and processed berries during pregnancy has a positive effect on the body of the expectant mother:

• An increase in the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
• Normalization of the functioning of the heart.
• Cleansing the body of toxins and preventing toxicosis.
• Promoting the creation of new cells.
• Bringing the uterus into tone.
• Improving the process of digestion, quenching thirst.
• Removal of edema and heaviness.
• Strengthening the walls of blood vessels.

Pregnant women are allowed to use raw, dried berries, jam, compote and strawberry syrup, but in reasonable quantities so as not to cause an allergy to the product in the unborn baby.

When breastfeeding

The complex of vitamins, which includes strawberries, when used by a nursing mother, enters the baby's body, saturating it with vitamins and nutrients. It is necessary to introduce strawberries into the diet of the mother gradually, at the age of 4–5 months of the child, starting the morning with one berry a day and observing the reaction of the baby. If no allergy was noticed in the child, then after 2-3 days you can eat a couple of berries again.

Strawberries in cosmetology: extract or fresh berries?

Often, strawberry extract is used in creams, masks, lotions, gels, balms and shampoos to moisturize, cleanse and soften the skin, and whiten it. Strawberry-based mask recipes allow you to get rid of many appearance flaws.

Rejuvenation mask

Every day we wipe the skin of the face with strawberry juice and let it dry, after which we repeat the procedure three more times. Then we wash with cool water.

Anti-fat

Lubricate the face with 1 tsp. freshly squeezed juice. Let's dry. 2 tsp Whisk berry gruel with the protein of one egg and apply the mixture on the face for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

To soften

We mix 2 tbsp. l. juice, 1 tbsp. l. cream and 1 tbsp. l. honey, apply to the skin in three layers, wait 15 minutes and rinse with hot water.

Skin lightening

Every morning we wipe the skin with a cube of frozen juice or crush the berries on the face, rubbing them into the skin. Leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse with cool water.

For sensitive

1 tsp mix cottage cheese with 1 tsp. honey and 2 tsp. strawberry juice. Apply to face, leave for 15 minutes, then rinse with cold water.

Contraindications and possible harm

The use of strawberries with the following features of the body can lead to poor health and physical ailment:

• Individual intolerance or allergy to strawberries.
• Increased acidity of the stomach.
• Exacerbation of ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract.
• During pregnancy and HB, the use of strawberries should be limited to the permissible norm and care should be taken with the use of other parts of the plant in the early stages.

The medicinal properties of strawberries are difficult to overestimate, since recipes are prepared on its basis that improve the general condition of the body, helping to get rid of certain diseases. The use of traditional medicine should be combined with traditional methods for greater effectiveness. But before introducing such recipes into your diet, you should consult a doctor to prevent possible harm to health.