Eating Hawthorn Berries To Lower – Hawthorn is often referred to as “heart grass” because of its various heart-protective abilities. Prized for its ability to elevate and strengthen the heart both emotionally and physically, hawthorn fruit has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for all sorts of serious heart conditions. These include angina, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, irregular heartbeat and even congestive heart failure.
In fact, hawthorn has been used to treat heart disease as far back as the first century! Fast forward to the early 1800s, and doctors in the United States were also using this medicinal herb for respiratory and circulatory health disorders. (one)
Table of Contents
Eating Hawthorn Berries To Lower
Hawthorn fruit, leaves and flowers are used medicinally today. Hawthorn fruit comes in the form of small red berries. Native American tribes enjoyed eating them and also used hawthorn to treat heart ailments and gastrointestinal complaints. (2)
Stop And Smell The Hawthorn: A Mountain Biker’s Guide To Nature
What makes hawthorn berries so healing? For starters, it seems to have numerous flavonoids. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants known to effectively reduce inflammation while boosting immune function. Eating a diet rich in flavonoid-rich foods, beverages, and herbs has been associated with the prevention of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases as well as cancer. (3)
Let’s take a closer look at how a small hawthorn berry can really make big improvements in many people’s health.
Hawthorn bush, also called thorn or May tree, is a deciduous plant. It is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae) belonging to the genus.
. Hawthorn can come in the form of a thorny hawthorn bush or a hawthorn tree. Most often, you can find hawthorn growing on the edges of sunny woodland hills. There are several types of hawthorn, most of which are found in North America. (4)
Hawthorn Berry Brownie Cake W/ Hawthorn Berry Buttercream Frosting
A hawthorn plant has fruits and flowers that bloom in May. Hawthorn flowers are red, pink or white. After the flowers bloom, small hawthorn berries appear. When the hawthorn berries are fully ripe, they are usually red in color, but sometimes black. These fruits are edible. How does it taste? Most people describe hawthorn berries as a sweet and sour mix.
The hawthorn plant is loaded with health-promoting compounds. These compounds have been shown to actually improve heart health. Hawthorn’s antioxidant flavonoids improve blood flow, protect against blood vessel damage and even help dilate blood vessels. (5)
These flavonoids include OPCs. What are OPCs? OPC stands for oligomeric proanthocyanidins. OPCs are some of the most common polyphenolic substances found in plants. (6)
Hawthorn berry is best known for its beneficial toning effects on the heart. As a “cardiotonic herb,” hawthorn has shown impressively to help with all sorts of serious heart conditions. These include heart failure, heart disease, angina pectoris, changes in heart rhythm, and atherosclerosis. According to a 2016 study published in the journal
Science Backed Hawthorn Berry Benefits
To date, research has shown that hawthorn may have a beneficial effect on congestive heart failure (CHF). Multiple studies have shown that hawthorn supplementation results in improvement in heart function based on a number of parameters. These parameters include blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, and exercise tolerance.
One trial in particular gave a commercial preparation of hawthorn leaves and flowers to 78 patients with NYHA Class II heart failure. After two months, patients who took 200 milligrams of hawthorn three times daily had an increase in working heart capacity and a reduction in symptoms. The hawthorn group also showed a decrease in systolic blood pressure during physical activity. Another German study showed that hawthorn extract (LI132 Faros®) works almost as well as a prescription heart failure medicine (captopril). And hawthorn extract had fewer side effects. (9)
) specific extract, either alone or in addition to conventional treatment. After two years, fatigue, stress dyspnea, and palpitations (the three main symptoms of heart failure) were significantly reduced in the group that took hawthorn compared to the group that did not. (10)
Many herbalists recommend hawthorn berries, flowers, and leaves as natural blood pressure lowering agents. a published scientific study
Homemade Hawthorn Jelly
79 type 2 diabetes patients received 1200 milligrams of hawthorn extract or placebo daily for a total of 16 weeks. 71 percent of study participants also took hypotensive medications.
What did they find? The hawthorn group experienced greater reductions in diastolic blood pressure. However, there were no group differences in systolic blood pressure reduction. (11) I hope that more studies will be done soon to support the use of hawthorn in lowering blood pressure.
Reduced blood flow to the heart causes chest pain known as angina. It is sometimes confused with indigestion. But true angina can be a symptom of coronary heart disease. So far, research shows that hawthorn can be an effective natural remedy for preventing and treating angina.
Hawthorn bioflavonoids help dilate both peripheral and coronary blood vessels. This can improve blood flow to the heart, making hawthorn very beneficial for angina. Hawthorn proanthocyanidins are also believed to reduce the tension of blood vessel walls. Again, this is very helpful for deterring angina. (12)
Red Hawthorn Berry Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
In one study, 80 subjects (45 to 65 years old) with stable angina pectoris were randomly assigned to four groups. The first group was the aerobic exercise group. The second group received an extract of hawthorn. The third group did aerobic exercise, they also took hawthorn extract. Finally, the fourth group was the control group. After 12 weeks, the researchers discovered that the combination of aerobic exercise and hawthorn supplementation was “an effective complementary strategy for significantly reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and heart problems.” (13)
Animal studies have shown that hawthorn berry extract may be a useful natural remedy for reducing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the body. In China, hawthorn is called “Shan-Zha”. An animal study showed some really impressive health results from the ethanol extract of Zhongtian hawthorn, a wild Shan-Zha variety with larger hawthorn berry.
This 2016 study found that hawthorn berry extract not only lowered overall high cholesterol levels, but also significantly reduced LDL cholesterol, liver cholesterol and triglycerides, and body weight. (14)
Scientific studies conducted in 2008 revealed that hawthorn berry extract is excellent in reducing inflammation. This is crucial to health, as we know that inflammation is at the root of most diseases.
Buy Now Foods
Research also shows that the extract of the hawthorn berry is a free radical scavenger. This is extremely beneficial for human health, as free radicals can cause cellular damage (including DNA damage) by stealing electrons through a process called oxidation.
Animal study in 2008 also showed how hawthorn berry extract has protective effects for the gastrointestinal tract and successfully kills various types of unwanted bacteria. (15)
How can you include hawthorn fruits in your life? There are several options. You can opt for hawthorn berry tea prepackaged or loose. Loose hawthorn berries can often be purchased in the bulk section of many health food stores. You can also take a hawthorn supplement in the form of a capsule or an extract of hawthorn in the form of a liquid tincture.
So far, safe hawthorn doses appear to range from 160 to 1,800 milligrams per day for a period of three to 24 weeks. Noticeable improvement in symptoms can take six to 12 weeks. (18)
Shrubs For Birds
You should not take hawthorn if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Do not give hawthorn products to children. Hawthorn supplement is recommended for short-term use by adults. If any symptoms worsen while taking hawthorn, you should stop using it and seek emergency medical attention.
For some users, hawthorn may cause nausea, stomach upset, fatigue, sweating, headache, dizziness, palpitations, nosebleeds, insomnia, agitation, and other side effects.
Although hawthorn is known to be great for the heart, it can interact with prescription medications taken for heart disease. Medications used for other heart conditions, high blood pressure, and male sexual dysfunction are also known to interact with hawthorn. Some specific drugs known to interact with hawthorn include digoxin, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers (CCBs), nitrates, phenylephrine, and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. If you have heart disease or any other health condition, or are currently taking medication(s), consult your doctor before taking a hawthorn berry product or any other hawthorn supplement. (19, 20)
It should not be forgotten that heart failure is a very serious health condition. If you suffer from this condition, it is best not to self-treat with hawthorn supplements.
Hawthorn Berry Wreath On White Background. Used In Herbal Medicine To Lower Blood Pressure, Improve Circulation And Help With Cardiovascular Problems Stock Photo
Ax on Facebook 40 Dr. Ax on Twitter 1 Dr. On Ax Instagram, Dr. At Ax Google Plus, Dr. Ax on Youtube by Dr. Share on Ax Pintrest 269 Email Print Article 310
On Facebook Ax 22 Dr. Ax on Twitter 0 Dr. On Ax Instagram, Dr. At Ax Google Plus, Dr. Ax on Youtube by Dr. Share on Ax Pintrest 0 Email Print Article 22
Ax on Facebook 1788 Dr. Ax on Twitter 22 Dr. On Ax Instagram, Dr. At Ax Google Plus, Dr. Ax on Youtube by Dr. Share on Ax Pintrest in 1 Email Print Article 1.8K
On Facebook Ax 32 on Twitter Dr. Ax 22 on Instagram by Dr. At Ax Google Plus, Dr. Ax on Youtube by Dr. Ax Share on Pintrest 18 Email Print Article 72SelfHacked has the strictest sourcing guidelines in the healthcare industry and we link almost exclusively to medically peer-reviewed research, usually at PubMed. We believe that the most accurate information can be found directly here.