Hawthorn Berries – sources, health benefits, nutrients, uses and constituents at NaturalPedia.com

Hawthorn berries, which have the scientific name Crateagus oxycanthus, are also known as English hawthorn, Haw, May, May blossom, May bush, May tree, Quick-set, Shan-cha, Thorn-apple tree, or Whitehorn.

The hawthorn family of herbs is included in a family of around 100 to 200 related varieties of little trees and shrubs. Hawthorn trees grow up to five feet tall on hillsides and wooded areas all around the world, but mostly in North America, in the eastern area of the United States. Their flowers, which are red, white, and pink in color, usually bloom in May. Their fruits, which are not even half an inch in diameter, come in red, yellow, black, blue, and purple, and are low in fat but are also low in protein.

The hawthorn plant serve as a food source for wildlife and an effective shelter from the elements and from nearby predators.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used hawthorn as corsages during wedding feasts. At an early time they were already used as medicinal herbs – the Romans believed they had the ability to ward off evil spirits while the Greeks first used hawthorn for therapeutic reasons during the first century A.D. The United States first used hawthorn for the same reasons back in the 1800s.

List of known nutrients

• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin B3
• Vitamin B5
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin C

Medicinal uses for hawthorn berries

Hawthorn berries have antioxidant properties that fight free radicals – especially those that are caused by environmental toxins such as air pollution, cigarette smoking, radiation, and ultraviolet light, among others – that contribute to aging and heart ailments.

Hawthorn berries are good for reducing the production of low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol in the bloodstream.

Hawthorn berries are good for the stomach. They ease abdominal distention and diarrhea, abdominal tumors and food stagnation, and are a good remedy for dropsy or edema, which is the increase of interstitual fluid in any organ. They help break down fat and are good in dealing with indigestion that is caused by eating too much fatty foods.

Hawthorn berries are good for alleviating anxiety symptoms such as chest tightness and heart palpitations.

Hawthorn berries are a good remedy for insomnia. In a study that was published in the August 2010 issue of the journal Pharmaceutical Bulletin, it was found that between 10 and 1,000 milligrams of hawthorn pulp and seed extracts gave rise to opiate-like calming effects.

Hawthorn berries can be used by women undergoing menopause to prevent incidences of hot flashes and night sweats. Hawthorn berries are also found to reinvigorate aging ovaries.

Hawthorn berries are good for preventing liver ailments.

Hawthorne berries have diuretic properties. They regulate fluid retention in the body and help provide for the dissolution of kidney stones.

Body systems supported by hawthorn berries

Hawthorn berries are good for the cardiovascular system, especially when it comes to addressing heart issues such as congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarct, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and angina, or the chest pain that is caused when your heart muscle doesn’t receive enough oxygen-rich blood.

Overall heart health can be protected by the consumption of hawthorn berries as they help relax as well as dilate arteries; increase the circulation of blood as well as oxygen back and forth from the heart; increase stamina; and maintain healthy blood vessels.

Hawthorne berries are good for the circulatory system and for boosting the blood flow to the tissues within the body.

Hawthorne berries are good for healthy ejection fractions, which are the small fractions of blood that are pumped out of the right and left ventricles with every heartbeat. Normal ejection fractions are between 50 and 70 percent of the total ejection fraction rates.

Ways to use hawthorn berries

For delectable hawthorn berry recipes, visit this site.

Where to learn more

• Hawthorn berries are very helpful for many heart related conditions
• Medical science and herbalists agree: hawthorn berries are a “great heart food”
• Review Finds the Herb Hawthorn Can Boost Heart Health
• Give your heart a valentine: Pretty, red Hawthorn berries boost cardiac health
• Hawthorne berry improves cardiovascular function

Summary

Hawthorne berries are good for the circulatory system and for boosting the blood flow to the tissues within the body.

Hawthorn berries are good for preventing liver ailments.

Hawthorne berries have diuretic properties.

Sources include:

HerbWisdom.com

HealthBenefitsTimes.com

ChineseSoupPot.com