Decoction of hawthorn. Useful properties, contraindications. What diseases does hawthorn treat? Hawthorn flowers - medicinal properties and contraindications

The leaves, flowers, and fruits of hawthorn contain vitamins, minerals, and compounds that have various therapeutic effects, including strengthening blood vessel walls and improving heart muscle function.

Against the background of numerous useful qualities, hawthorn fruits have contraindications and in order not to harm health, they must be remembered. It also does not hurt to know how to properly brew berries, and whether it is possible to take hawthorn during pregnancy.

Beneficial features

Congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, chest pain, low and, angina pectoris, atherosclerosis are an incomplete list of diseases that hawthorn flowers, leaves and fruits help to treat. Tea drinks, juices and hawthorn tincture are used as additional sources to the main therapy.

The cause of cardiovascular disease is various chemicals in the environment and foods that damage the lining of blood vessels. Treatment with hawthorn restores the integrity of the veins and arteries, thereby improving the function of the heart muscle.

Tinctures, tea drinks, juices and infusions from hawthorn have always been used for asthma, indigestion, diarrhea, anxiety, digestive disorders, kidney and bladder problems, lack of appetite, abdominal pain. Externally: to relieve itching in ulcers, boils and frostbite.

The beneficial qualities of hawthorn also lie in improving the flow of peripheral blood, which supplies oxygen to the limbs.

Hawthorn tincture helps to suppress the effects of stress, including nervousness and sleep disturbance.

Hawthorn reveals beneficial properties due to the content of tannins, tyramine and active compounds (these include flavonoids and proanthocyanidins) in the leaves and flowers. And the autumn fruits of hawthorn have an additional high content of vitamin C, which is necessary for immunity and brain blood vessels.

Contraindications

Nature has given us an infinite number of plants, whose medicinal properties, if necessary, help us maintain health. However, all plant forms, including hawthorn leaves, berries and flowers, have contraindications that must be remembered, otherwise harm may be done:

• people with hypersensitivity;
• patients with heart failure, if they are simultaneously taking nutritional supplements that have cardiovascular effects: ginger, ginseng, turmeric;
• children and nursing mothers.

It is necessary to exclude hawthorn during pregnancy (due to possible stimulation of the uterus) and not to combine with some drugs, which include:

• vasodilators (vasodilators);
• ACE inhibitors (drugs for hypertension);
• angiotensin receptor blockers (pharmaceutical group for the normalization of blood pressure);
• calcium channel blockers;
• cardiac glycosides.

Medicines from hawthorn in large doses are toxic and can also be harmful to health. The most common side effect is dizziness. Less commonly observed: nausea, sweating, headache, shortness of breath, insomnia, nosebleeds, palpitations.

Hawthorn tincture will not cause harm if you drink 1 teaspoon three times a day. It goes well with other heart tonics: motherwort or.

From the fruits of hawthorn, in combination with apples, lemon juice and honey, a syrup or jam that is useful for the heart and nerves is prepared. Such delicacies can be drunk with glasses, and eaten with tablespoons, including using them for desserts or tea.

Recipe for jam or syrup.

Ingredients:

• 400 g hawthorn fruit;
• 400 g chopped apples;
• 2 liters of water;
• juice of 1 lemon;
• honey or sugar.

First, boil apples and berries in two liters of water over low heat. The fruits should become soft, and most of the liquid should evaporate. Transfer them to a sieve and let them drip in a sink or bowl overnight. Wipe, add an equal amount of honey. Simmer again over low heat until thickened, removing scale from the surface. Add lemon juice, stir and pour into clean jars.

Indications and reviews

Hawthorn tincture has two effects on the body, sedative and tonic. It calms the nerves and strengthens the heart. The drug is prescribed by a doctor. It is inexpensive, 10-20 rubles per 25 ml, and is sold in every pharmacy as hawthorn tincture, instructions for use of which are stored in a cardboard box along with the bottle. This is an alcoholic drink, as it is made on the basis of alcohol.

Taken in small doses, dissolving 20-30 drops in half a glass of water. For cardiovascular diseases, it is recommended to drink two to three times a day half an hour before meals.

At home, you can also prepare a non-alcoholic drink by replacing alcohol with apple cider vinegar. But the medicinal properties of such a tincture are weak, in comparison with an alcohol-based tincture.

The effect of the drug is achieved thanks to organic substances extracted from hawthorn flowers.

The benefits of hawthorn, the tincture of which has such medicinal properties, is invaluable for health.

Indications for the use of the drug:

• ischemia;
• hypertension;
• autonomic dysfunction;
• arrhythmia;
• anxiety, insomnia, depression.

Contraindications: children's age (up to 12 years), pregnancy, lactation, individual intolerance, hypotension.

With the appearance of side effects: urticaria, drowsiness, lowering blood pressure, rash and itching on the skin, stop taking hawthorn tincture. Visit the doctor at the same time.

Reviews: such negative reactions take place mainly due to an overdose of tincture or individual intolerance.

How to brew and drink hawthorn

Do not rush to brew and drink only hawthorn berries. Flowers and leaves also have medicinal properties. Flowers, leaves and fruits are also harvested to make tea.

This low shrub is found along the outskirts of the forest, in sunny, warm places. In spring, it attracts attention with beautiful white flowers, and in autumn with red berries.

In nature, you can find a wide variety of such wild shrubs, but only three species are of value for traditional and folk medicine: blood-red hawthorn, five-petaled and prickly (ordinary).

Indications for taking a drink from hawthorn: heart and nerve diseases, arrhythmia and heart palpitations, chest pain, heart problems during menopause.

Blood-red hawthorn strengthens the heart, lowers blood pressure. It is useful for older people, as it prevents cardiovascular diseases at this age, including angina pectoris and heart rhythm disturbances.

It is also useful to drink tea during infectious diseases (flu, sore throat). It helps protect the heart from the effects of stress due to infection.

Hawthorn is a small, thorny tree or shrub with pink or white flowers that emit an unpleasant odor. Hawthorn fruits can be spherical or oval in shape and bright red or orange in color. This article is about the beneficial properties and contraindications of hawthorn flowers.

The flowering period of hawthorn lasts from May to June. At the end of the summer season, the fruits of the plant begin to ripen and acquire a sweet taste. To date, about one and a half thousand different types of hawthorn are known. For medicinal purposes, blood-red hawthorn is most often used.

Useful properties of hawthorn flowers

Hawthorn flowers, like other parts of this medicinal plant, can be used to prevent and treat many diseases. Each flower contains a whole complex of vitamins (A, B, C, E, K).

• Tannins (it is they that give hawthorn berries a tart, astringent taste) have an active anti-inflammatory effect, help to remove heavy metals from the body, and also help to recover from severe poisoning or diarrhea.
• Choline (B4) helps to normalize the percentage of cholesterol in the blood, and also has a strong calming effect, improves the functioning of the brain and nerve cells.
• Glycosides have a positive effect on the state of blood vessels and the heart.
• Saponins accelerate the activity of metabolic processes in the human body, have an expectorant, choleretic and diuretic effect.
• Organic acids neutralize the effect of harmful substances that enter the human body, and are also an important element in the digestive system.
• Flavanoids improve the functioning of the respiratory system, remove radiation from the body and affect the mental state of a person.
• Essential oils have antifungal and bactericidal effects.

The balanced chemical composition of hawthorn flowers is used to obtain tinctures and extracts, the use of which helps to cure a number of diseases.

In what cases will the use of hawthorn flowers help?

Medicines made on the basis of hawthorn flowers are recommended to be used if necessary:

• improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
• reduce blood cholesterol levels;
• normalize blood pressure;
• stimulate the work of the heart muscle;
• get rid of insomnia and nervous tension;
• increase immunity;
• improve the functioning of the genitourinary system;
• stabilize the menstrual cycle.

Contraindications to the use of hawthorn flowers

The use of hawthorn is contraindicated in people with low blood pressure, as well as during gestation and lactation, with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It is not recommended to resort to the use of preparations based on hawthorn flowers in case of individual intolerance to the plant.

It is also worth considering that the use of tinctures and decoctions of hawthorn flowers can cause vomiting, a sharp decrease in blood pressure, and allergic reactions.

Production of medicines based on hawthorn flowers

Recipe #1

To prepare the infusion, pour 1 tablespoon of dried hawthorn flowers with a glass of boiling water and let it brew in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. Then the infusion should be filtered and taken half a cup before meals. You can drink no more than 3 glasses of this infusion per day. Its regular use will serve as a good prevention of cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure.

Recipe #2

In a glass jar, you need to place 150 grams of crushed dried hawthorn flowers and pour them with a liter of vodka. Then cover the jar with a lid and put in a dark, cool place for ten days, so that the composition is properly infused. Every day, the contents of the jar must be mixed.

It is necessary to take tincture three times a day, 30 drops before meals. With prolonged treatment (more than 1 month), it is worth taking a ten-day break.

Recipe #3

To alleviate the psychological state during menopause, women are advised to take the following infusion. It will take 2 tablespoons of hawthorn flowers, 2.5 tablespoons of dried and chopped blackberry leaves, 4 tablespoons of fragrant moraine and motherwort, 1.5 tablespoons of marshwort cudweed. One tablespoon of the resulting herbal collection should be poured with a glass of boiling water. Infusion time - 15 minutes. 3 glasses of infusion should be taken per day. The duration of the course is 2 - 3 weeks.

Recipe #4

To improve the work of the heart, you can also use an infusion of hawthorn flowers, horsetail and bird mountaineer. The ingredients must be taken in a ratio of 5: 2: 3. One tablespoon of this collection should be poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for 30 minutes. Then strain the infusion and consume in small portions throughout the day.

Recipe number 5

To combat insomnia, the following tincture will help. It is necessary to pour 40 grams of dried blood-red hawthorn flowers into 200 ml of boiling water. Take the tincture one tablespoon three times a day.

Recipe #6

To prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases, as well as to get rid of dizziness and asthma attacks, you can prepare a decoction of hawthorn flowers and berries. Both components must be taken in equal proportions, mixed. Then three tablespoons of this mixture should be poured with three cups of boiling water and let it brew for two hours. The decoction should be drunk 3 times a day, one glass an hour before meals.

Recipe number 7

With increased anxiety and high psychological stress, it is recommended to brew tea from hawthorn flowers. In this case, the combination of the plant with chamomile, succulent or marigold will be effective.

Useful properties of hawthorn have been known since ancient times.

In Russia, the plant became widespread thanks to Peter 1. At that time, hawthorn was very popular as a cure for heart ailments.

But during the war, hawthorn replaced the missing drugs for the treatment of all the same heart diseases.

Nowadays, hawthorn is no less popular. There are several types of plants, fifteen of which grow in Russia.

Hawthorn - what is he rich in?

Hawthorn is extremely beneficial for health. It contains a huge amount of substances that have a beneficial effect on the human body.

So, the fruits contain flavonoids, fructose, essential oils, saponins, glycosides, tannins.

In addition, hawthorn is a mixture of the most useful organic acids: ascorbic, tartaric, citric, malic.

There are a lot of vitamins in hawthorn: A, K, C, F, B. Some components that make up the medicinal blackthorn (as the plant is also called) are generally rare.

These include ursolic acid, which has a pronounced anti-inflammatory, vasodilating effect. In addition, this acid has antitumor, cardiostimulating, stimulating cell regeneration properties.

Berries contain a lot of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc.

The calorie content of hawthorn is low and amounts to 52.5 kcal per 100 g of product.

Due to its beneficial properties, hawthorn is widely used as a remedy for various ailments. But it finds its greatest use in the treatment of heart disease.

So, the usual pharmacy tincture of hawthorn is useful for the body because of its ability not only to improve the functioning of the nervous system, but also to get rid of heart rhythm failures, in which the pulse is far from the normal 60-90 beats per minute.

Useful and tincture prepared by hand. It is made from the berries (or flowers) of the plant as follows: 25 grams of hawthorn fruit are poured into 100 g of alcohol.

After insisting and straining, they drink a healing composition for heart defects, vascular spasms, as a restorative after serious illnesses.

Tincture from the flowers of the plant is more suitable for the treatment of angina pectoris, atherosclerosis, dizziness during menopause in women.

With such a pathology as cardiac weakness, which is characterized by a very weak pulse, a poor general condition, a collection based on hawthorn is used - the most beneficial plant for the health of the body. Prepare it like this: combine such components (in crushed form) as hawthorn flowers (50 g), horsetail (20 g), mountaineer (30 g).

Everything is thoroughly mixed and the healing collection is brewed in the traditional way (1 spoon per glass of boiling water). The remedy is allowed to brew, and then, after straining, they take it several times a day.

For heart disease and nervous disorders, use this collection: take 4 parts of flowers hawthorn, motherwort, cudweed. Add 1 part of chamomile to the composition and mix well. Brew and take in the same way as in the previous recipe.

Hawthorn is also useful for headaches. It is used as a separate agent, and as a mixture with Ivan tea (in equal proportions). To enhance the therapeutic effect, a little mint is added to the composition. Drink this healing drink before going to bed.

An infusion of hawthorn flowers is also used as a choleretic agent for diseases associated with stagnation of bile. It is prepared simply: a spoonful of crushed flowers is poured with boiling water (1 cup). Insist for half an hour, filter and drink three times a day.

Hawthorn is used as a useful remedy for health, because it is able to tone and strengthen the general condition of the body. After illnesses, as a rule, a soothing tea is used, which is prepared either from flowers or using the fruits of the plant.

Miracle Tea Recipe: pour a large spoonful of dried flowers (fruits) with boiling water (300 ml). Let the composition brew for 20 minutes, then strain it and drink throughout the day.

Hawthorn tea relieves insomnia, calms, lowers blood pressure.

In addition, berries have found their application and in cooking. And although the calorie content of hawthorn is not too high, it still has nutritional and energy value. Delicious jam, jelly, jam, sauces, compotes, fruit drinks are made from fruits.

Useful properties, as well as, as was said, the low calorie content of hawthorn make it possible to prepare healing kvass and juice from it. For the preparation of medicinal drinks, only the freshest and most ripe berries should be used.

Among other things, hawthorn is also brewed in a thermos. If rosehip berries are also added to the fruits of the plant, you will get a deliciously useful remedy for strengthening the heart and good brain function.

Recipe preparation of the mixture is as follows: throw about 7 tablespoons of hawthorn berries (or 3 tablespoons of hawthorn and rose hips) into a thermos. Pour everything with boiling water (2 l) and leave to infuse for a day (at least).

After the allotted time, strain the composition (use a strainer for this purpose), squeeze, pour into a clean bowl and store in the refrigerator. Drink a healing remedy daily (1 glass each).

Hawthorn: what are the benefits for the body?

The unique ancient berry has no equal in the treatment of heart disease. Useful properties of hawthorn make it indispensable for:

Weakness of the heart muscle

Past myocardial infarction

Early stages of hypertension

Angioneuroses

Tachycardia

insomnia

Due to its rich composition, hawthorn reduces the excitability of the nervous system, has a tonic effect on the muscles of the heart, improves blood circulation in the vessels of the heart and brain, and stabilizes the heart rhythm.

As noted, hawthorn is beneficial to the body due to its ability to defeat headaches. But the plant also helps with allergies, epilepsy.

The benefit of hawthorn is its ability to lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

The low calorie content of hawthorn allows it to be used for weight loss. The berry is able to cleanse the body, improve liver function.

The blood-red fruits of the plant relieve pain in the sternum, expand the lumen of blood vessels, fill them with oxygen.

Regular use of hawthorn improves cerebral blood flow, restores normal heart rhythm in case of tachycardia and bradycardia.

The benefit of hawthorn lies in its mild sedative effect. If you take the plant along with sedatives (drugs or natural), then the effect will be the strongest.

Hawthorn goes well and brings maximum benefit with medicinal plants such as valerian, motherwort, cudweed, oats.

Hawthorn is useful for the body of those who suffer from stomach ulcers. The fruits of the plant contain mucus, which envelops the walls of the stomach, has a calming effect on the mucous membrane.

The use of hawthorn helps to get rid of hepatic colic, skin diseases, edema, shortness of breath.

In addition, due to its beneficial properties, hawthorn moisturizes the skin well, relieves swelling, tones and delays the aging process.

Hawthorn is useful for stress and nervous fatigue. Healing berries reduce arousal, dilate blood vessels, improve cerebral and cardiac circulation.

For better sleep after a busy day, it is recommended to drink tea from hawthorn berries before going to bed. You can add honey to the drink (of course, if you are not allergic to it). This will only increase the effectiveness of the tea.

In addition, a mixture of plant fruits and St. John's wort, taken in equal parts, helps to get rid of irritation and anxiety. A tablespoon of the healing composition is brewed with boiling water and drunk like tea.

What else is hawthorn useful for? Its property to prevent prostate adenoma. Regular use of infusion of the fruits of the plant relieves irritability and fatigue and at the same time normalizes sexual function in men.

Hawthorn: what is the harm to health?

Like any other plant, hawthorn must be taken wisely. In case of existing serious diseases, without consulting a specialist, you should not use hawthorn as a remedy.

There are some regulations, knowing which you can count on a positive result when using a healing blackthorn.

1. The plant should not be drunk for too long. It is enough to take a ten-day break after a monthly course of treatment. This will avoid unnecessary side effects and addiction.

2. The harm of hawthorn in its excessive use, which can lead to mild poisoning.

3. Hawthorn should not be taken on an empty stomach, so as not to cause spasm of the intestines or blood vessels.

4. After using the plant, do not immediately drink cold water. Such a thoughtless action leads to paroxysmal pain, intestinal colic.

5. In some cases, people with low blood pressure should not use the fruits, but the flowers of the plant.

Hawthorn tincture is harmful for individual intolerance to the components.

Hawthorn for children and pregnant women: benefit or harm?

Without a doubt, the beneficial properties of hawthorn cannot be underestimated. Traditional medicine recommends using the berries of the plant for nursing mothers to improve lactation.

Official medicine is against pregnant women taking hawthorn tincture, especially in the first trimester.

It is allowed (in limited quantities) to use an aqueous infusion of the plant for pregnant women, as well as compotes and jam from its fruits.

But the expectant mother needs to be careful when taking hawthorn so as not to get a sharp decrease in pressure and heart rhythm disturbance.

As for the children, then the healing berry is recommended to be given from the age of 12 in small doses to reduce hyperexcitability and to restore the disturbed heart rhythm (if any).

Hawthorn is a source of vitamins and microelements, so necessary for the normal development of the child. However, before using a healing agent, you should consult a pediatrician and find out if your child can use “miracle berries”.

Any, even the most useful plant, will benefit only if used correctly. Before starting the treatment of a particular disease with hawthorn, it is necessary consult with a specialist on the feasibility of using this tool.

Undoubtedly, hawthorn is good for health. Use this plant wisely and a positive result will not be long in coming.

Flowers and fruits of hawthorn bring great health benefits. The plant is used for the treatment and prevention of vascular and heart diseases, normalization of digestion and pressure, overcoming insomnia, overwork, and eliminating nervous strain.

Interestingly, the berries of wild varieties were already used in ancient Asia. In the 16th century, the first cultivated species were bred. Initially, hawthorn, the beneficial properties and contraindications for which are described in detail in this article, was used to eliminate loose stools that appeared with dysentery. Then it began to be used to improve the condition of blood vessels and heart function.

Compound

It should be noted that the exact composition of the hawthorn plant is still unknown. Useful properties (and there are practically no contraindications for use) of the plant make it possible to use it in the treatment of various diseases. It is believed that the healing effect is achieved by plant polyphenols, flavonoids. In addition to giving the fruits a certain color, they help eliminate the fragility of the walls of blood vessels, neutralize free radicals in the body. The composition of the hawthorn can be distinguished:

Hawthorn fruits also benefit from the properties of the acids included in their composition:

• oleanolic- improves brain function, blood supply to the heart and tones;
• ursolic- has anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect;
• coffee- differs in antibacterial properties, besides, promotes active release of bile;
• chlorogenic- useful for the normalization of the liver, kidneys, has a choleretic and anti-sclerotic effect.

The fruits of this plant contain a lot of provitamin A, carotene, vitamins E, C, K. By the amount of carotene, some varieties are comparable to rose hips or carrots. The fruits contain sugar and sorbitol, which is recommended in case of diabetes. They also contain a lot of calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, trace elements of copper, manganese, zinc. After freezing, the amount of tannins decreases, while the berries become less tart and sweeter.

Medicinal and cosmetic properties

The use of flowers and fruits of the plant in the form of tincture, infusion, decoction benefits the human body, has a complex effect on various systems and organs. In cosmetics, the plant helps restore skin moisture. Creams with it in the composition relieve swelling, tone up, eliminate any manifestations of age-related changes.

Heart

What are the beneficial properties of hawthorn? And contraindications before starting its use in treatment must be taken into account, but we will dwell on them later. It has a vasodilating effect and at the same time tones the heart muscle, ensuring a normal supply of oxygen. The rhythm is set, the frequency decreases, the force of contractions of the organ increases. Due to this, fatigue is reduced, excitability decreases, cerebral circulation and coronary blood flow improve. Hawthorn is useful in reducing the manifestations of atrial fibrillation, as well as eliminating tachycardia.

Vessels

Hawthorn fruits normalize cholesterol levels, blood clotting indicators, and also prevent the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques. They are used for spasms of blood vessels.

Digestive system

The use of tinctures and infusions helps with gastritis, flatulence, difficult digestion in young children. Hawthorn is also used to combat loose stools. Useful properties (and, unfortunately, there are contraindications) of its fruits and flowers allow you to cope with dizziness, headache, and shortness of breath. The substances contained in hawthorn prevent the appearance of various types of tumors, improve immunity, and help restore strength after infectious diseases. Young nursing mothers use it to stimulate milk production.

Nervous system

The benefit of hawthorn also lies in the fact that it has a sedative effect. This useful plant reduces the excitability of the nervous system, contributes to the normalization of sleep, helps to eliminate insomnia.

Pharmacy funds

For the preparation of medicinal preparations that have a number of useful properties, the fruits and flowers of red and prickly hawthorn plants are used. They are well studied and contain a large number of compounds that normalize the functioning of the heart.

It should be emphasized that today you can buy the fruits of the plant in various dosage forms: it is a powder, herbal raw materials, tincture, lozenges, extract. Means containing hawthorn in their composition help to eliminate arrhythmias, are used to lower cholesterol levels, calm the central nervous system, normalize blood clotting, increase milk production, and in infants - to eliminate impaired digestion.

Lowering blood pressure is an ability possessed by the flowers of the hawthorn plant (the instructions for the preparations are always attached and you must first read it). Tincture from it is prepared from dry crushed fruits in alcohol.

Consider some preparations containing hawthorn in one form or another:

1. "Cardiovalen"- these are drops that, thanks to valerian tincture, adonizide, hawthorn extract, which are part of them, have the ability to increase the strength of heart contractions, in addition, they have a sedative effect.
2. "Fitorelax", produced in the form of tablets, includes an extract of hawthorn flowers and valerian rhizome. Benefits due to sedative properties, allows you to cope with increased nervous excitability, insomnia.
3. "Valemidin" is an alcohol drops designed to eliminate spasm of internal organs and vascular smooth muscles. They also have a sedative effect.
4. "Amrita" is an elixir in the form of a mixture of water-alcohol extracts of wild rose, ginger, elecampane, juniper, cardamom, hawthorn and licorice, thyme. Its medicinal properties and benefits are manifested by a tonic and tonic effect.
5. "Kedrovit" made in the form of an elixir. It increases the resistance of the human body, tones up, helps to cope faster with overwork. Its composition includes fruits and flowers of hawthorn, pine nuts, birch buds, chokeberry berries, honey.

Also interesting is the drug "Demidov Syrup", which removes spasm of smooth muscles, has an effective choleretic effect, reduces the occurrence of gases, while stimulating peristalsis. Includes birch buds, calamus, hawthorn fruits, oregano, oak bark.

Brewing hawthorn at home

It is useful to drink diluted fruit juice in season. It normalizes the digestive tract and improves blood circulation.

hawthorn tea

Put medicinal hawthorn (20 berries) in a thermos in the evening, add a little wild rose, pour a liter of boiling water. Healthy tea is ready in the morning. It is better to brew whole fruits, since in this case more healing substances are stored in them. You can also prepare an infusion of dried hawthorn flowers and fruits - it has a huge amount of useful properties.

hawthorn tincture

Hawthorn tincture is prepared from crushed dried flowers or fruits. It can be used for angina pectoris and hypertension. The prepared components are infused on vodka for two weeks at the rate of 4 tablespoons of raw materials per 2 glasses of vodka. The resulting tincture is filtered. It is used with water 30 drops an hour before a meal.

Infusion

The easiest recipe for its preparation at home is to brew whole berries with boiling water and leave in a thermos overnight at the rate of 2 handfuls of fruits per liter of boiling water. Drink three times a day for a third of a glass. The infusion is useful for angina pectoris, arrhythmias, and also for getting rid of nervous excitement. Crushed berries will turn out to brew faster. It is necessary to pour a spoonful of fruit with a glass of hot water. Half an hour later, the therapeutic home remedy is completely ready. Drink a third of a glass each time before meals.

Contraindications

Any plant can be beneficial if used correctly, this is especially important for heart disease. Before you start using hawthorn on your own, you need to consult a specialist, especially in case of severe disorders of the kidneys or heart. Although hawthorn has useful properties, there are also contraindications to its use. What is the danger?

1. Long-term use can cause an increase in heart rate.
2. The use of fruits in too much can cause poisoning.
3. Taking medicines from it on an empty stomach can cause vasospasm or intestinal spasm, and vomiting can also begin. In such a situation, it is necessary to take tinctures and infusions a couple of hours after eating, reduce the dose or concentration of the agent.
4. You do not need to immediately drink cool water when treating hawthorn, otherwise paroxysmal pains, intestinal colic may begin.

In addition, doctors advise hypotensive patients in some cases (for the effective use of the beneficial properties of the plant in the treatment of heart diseases) to use infusions of flowers, and not the fruits of the plant.

Various forest and field plants are traditionally used for the preparation of medicinal potions. But they must be used with caution, even for those who have rich experience in phytotherapy. For example, special attention should be paid to the medicinal properties and contraindications of hawthorn. Raw extracts of this shrub are popular, but due to the large number of biologically active components, the result of the application may be the opposite of what is expected.

Leaves, blooming flowers, bark can be brewed. It is extremely beneficial to take them from plants whose stems caring gardeners have not forgotten to cross so that they develop better and bloom more magnificently. However, blood-red, orange, black "apples" bring the most benefits. They accumulate the maximum amount of microelements, vitamins, organic acids (including rare ones), flavonoids, protein components, essential, fatty oils, antioxidants. The listed components, taken orally with a liquid, are quickly absorbed and included in the work of many organs and systems. The results of their combined impact are:

• successful healing of wounds, inflammation;
• harmonization of sleep, restoration of psychological balance;
• improvement of the general condition of the heart, blood vessels, liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract;
• disappearance of external signs of aging.

In order for the effect of drugs on health to proceed as favorably as possible, it is required to use environmentally friendly raw materials of excellent quality. You can not pick berries and leaves in smoky, littered areas (forests, groves of the Moscow region), buy from unscrupulous sellers in dubious pharmacies, in city markets, from hands.

Useful and healing properties

The use of hawthorn both for medicinal purposes and for the prevention of diseases is not limited to the preparation of aqueous and alcoholic solutions, teas, fruit drinks, compotes. If you have experience, you can make jellies, jams, sauces, pie fillings, even face masks. The choice of means depends on the purpose of using the plant, the characteristics of the body of a particular person, individual indications and circumstances. Most often, tinctures are used in everyday life, because they:

• easy to buy or make from any above- or below-ground part of the shrub;
• it is not forbidden to use internally or externally (as agreed with the doctor);
• can be stored for a long time under normal conditions, like blanks for the winter.

There are many recipes for infusions and liqueurs, but they are all similar in key points. You need to use alcohol not weaker than 40% or vodka. Keep the raw materials poured in the required volume in the dark for at least 3 weeks with constant shaking, then filter.

Heart disease

This is not the only thing hawthorn helps to cure, however, drugs based on it are mainly used in the prevention or treatment of angina pectoris, coronary disease. The use is carried out regularly, for a long time, with strict observance of dosage norms. The best medical effect is manifested when a person additionally tries to eat right, not to overstrain mentally, lead a healthy lifestyle, and follow the individual prescriptions of a specialist.

The easiest way to prepare an infusion. You should take 1 full tablespoon of crushed "apples" (possible with flowers - they will strengthen the heart muscle), add 1 cup of boiling water, leave for an hour under the lid. Take several servings per day for half a cup. You can collect by adding raw materials of chamomile, motherwort, lemon balm, mint, rose to the tea leaves. Phyto mixtures are considered even more useful than single components: there is a kind of complementarity, crossing of beneficial properties and characteristics of plants.

It is good if there is access to fresh boyars, garden or harvested in the forest at the first frost (when the binders in the composition have partially disintegrated, and there are still many vitamins and other useful components). They can be crushed and, adding warm water, squeeze the juice through cheesecloth. It is recommended to drink it in 1 tbsp. l. before meals.

Hypertension

Alcohol tincture is a unique tool that allows you to successfully normalize the increased pressure. It relaxes the walls of blood vessels, due to which tinnitus and headaches disappear. You can even avoid the development of the disease at its initial stage without the need to drink tablets or suspensions. The course of admission is 20 drops before meals, diluted with water. Herbal preparations are somewhat weaker, but quite effective - for example, from the fruits of hawthorn along with motherwort (1: 1, tsp). It is necessary to mix the raw materials, brew 300 ml of boiling water for an hour, strain, then drink 100-300 drops before each meal. This simultaneously reduces pressure and calms psychologically.

Contraindications regarding drugs for men and women are the same. It is forbidden for hypotensive patients to take them (occasionally, the use of non-concentrated phytochemicals based on shrub flowers is allowed). The rest need to carefully coordinate the dosage with the doctor. If a course of treatment is started with any pharmaceutical preparation, a decoction or vodka tincture can enhance the effect of the medication and do more harm than good.

Atherosclerosis and vascular problems

A decoction of dried hawthorn flowers painlessly relieves such ailments. For 1 glass, you need to take the same volume of boiling water, place it in a container placed in a water bath, simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then insist for an hour under the lid, strain, add boiled fresh water to the initial volume and drink half a cup three times a day for 2-3 weeks, 20 minutes before meals. Many unpleasant symptoms disappear: nausea, fainting, frequent heart rhythm failures.

Neurosis, nervous excitement, dizziness

Any available berries are suitable, from which infusions are prepared. Dry fruits (1 tablespoon) should be brewed with 1 glass of water, hold a little under the lid, then drink a third of a cup for 3 weeks 20 minutes before each meal. Juicy, large and small - grind on a grater or gouge with a chopper with bones, typing 2 tbsp. l. gruel. Then pour 1 cup boiling water, boil over low heat until the volume is halved. The course of admission is the same, in portions of 40 drops.

Thyroid disease

Accompanied by disorders of thinking, sleep, chronic weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness. You can alleviate the manifestations of symptoms if you take the flowers of hawthorn and St. Take 3 to 4 times a day for half a cup. The standard course is 3-4 weeks.

Bags under the eyes, swelling on the face

Easy to remove using a double infusion: 1 tsp. dry hawthorn leaves per 100 ml of boiling water. Hold for half an hour, strain, divide in half. Warm up one part a little, add 2 tbsp to the other. l. ice water and lower cotton pads into both in turn, covering the eyes or swollen areas with them for 1 minute. Finish with cold application.

For men

The shrub can help in the fight against prostate diseases, indirectly increasing sexual activity. It is necessary to draw up a collection, the action of which is aimed at harmonizing the blood supply to the gland, removing tumors. To hawthorn flowers and peppermint grass, add medicinal veronica, Ivan tea, bird mountaineer (1: 1: 2: 3: 3), brew 1 tbsp. l. mixture of 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes. Regularly take a third of a cup one hour before meals.

For women

Breastfeeding, expectant mothers, as well as those who do not tolerate menstruation, hawthorn of any variety (classic, hybrid crossed with wild rose) is rarely prescribed. It is allowed to take only highly diluted aqueous phyto-solutions, which help to quickly get rid of insomnia, put nerves in order, and relieve excessive excitability. You can make homemade green or black tea by putting two or three berries in the tea, or a smoothie that you drink before bed. You need to take 1 tbsp. l. concentrated infusion from the raw materials of the bush, twice as much kefir or yogurt, half a teaspoon of honey, a whole banana. Mix everything thoroughly and beat with a mixer (blender) until foam appears.

If you want to alleviate the psychological state in menopausal neurosis, a decoction of 14 tbsp should help. spoons of dry collection: marsh cudweed, hawthorn flowers, blackberry leaves, motherwort, fragrant moraine (1.5:2:2.5:4:4). 1 st. l. brew the mixture with 1 cup boiling water, keep warm for 15 minutes, drink immediately. Repeat three times a day for 2-3 weeks in a row.

Means based on shrub raw materials are used externally, making anti-aging masks. The skin upon contact with them is exposed to ursolic acid (one of the rare plant components) and begins to intensively produce collagen. Simultaneously:

• the elasticity of the fibers increases, the pores narrow;
• stimulates blood flow, improves cell nutrition;
• disappear acne, pimples.

To achieve this, you need to apply masks on your face once a week for 10-20 minutes. The composition of the universal remedy includes gruel from boyarok, sour cream, honey. When treating oily skin, you need to add to 1 tsp. fruit juice 1 tbsp. l. curdled milk and three times more fat-free cottage cheese, dry - 4 mashed green grapes, problematic - milk and fresh yeast.

For kids

According to popular reviews, in case of severe indigestion in preschoolers, an infusion can be made from a piece of hawthorn root that has been cleaned and washed with hot water. Approximate size - half a finger. It must be brewed with 200 ml of boiling water and left covered until it cools slightly. Then give the sick child to drink, as usual tea.

Contraindications for use

Hawthorn fruits, with their universal medicinal properties, are non-toxic and harmless for long-term use, but only for an adult who observes dosages. This is a maximum of 150 g of fully ripe berries per day. A larger amount can cause a sharp drop in pressure, increased heart rate, loss of concentration. Also, funds based on shrubs of any variety are not taken on an empty stomach, and they are supposed to be washed down with warm water. Otherwise, side effects will appear - nausea, vomiting, vascular, intestinal spasms.

Permission to receive herbal remedies should be given by an experienced specialist in the field of medicine - a therapist, a pediatrician. Children under 12 years of age, allergy sufferers, those who are prescribed treatment with antiarrhythmic pharmaceuticals, hawthorn is contraindicated. Patients with diabetes and people from whom work requires maximum focus on the tasks at hand should be careful with it. Tinctures containing alcohol should not be used by pregnant and lactating women.