Reconstituting Hawthorn Berries – I haven’t shared it here yet, but we recently had a major family emergency. My sister-in-law gave birth to her first child, then immediately went into cardiac arrest. I won’t go into all the details, but it was extremely scary.
She was diagnosed with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy – pregnancy-induced heart failure. She is alive thanks to a HeartMate II pump placed on her heart, an LVAD that helps the left side of her heart pump blood.
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Reconstituting Hawthorn Berries
Although heart disease runs in my husband’s side of the family, it was a huge shock to everyone.
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This scare caused me deep concern about my husband’s heart health. His father had heart disease, his aunt and uncle died of heart attacks, and now his sister unfortunately has heart problems to deal with.
It breaks my heart that she had to endure so much (incredibly courageous, I might add), and worries me greatly that it could be my husband next.
Through this whole ordeal, I researched natural ways to heal a heart and prevent heart attacks. Two main herbs stood out as the best for heart health: cayenne pepper and hawthorn berries, with garlic close behind.
Since I haven’t done anything with cayenne for heart health, I’m going to focus on sharing what I do
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Try right now- which is a homemade Hawthorn Berry Tincture. I plan on working with cayenne soon, especially since I grew (and dried) a TON of it this summer!
Hawthorn berries are small fruits that grow on shrubs and trees that are part of the Crataegus genus
Hawthorn berries are loaded with nutrients and have tangy, tart flavors and a mild sweetness. Usually they are a deep red in color, but you will also find yellow and black hawthorn berries.
Hawthorn berries have been used as herbal remedies for centuries. Hawthorn berries, a key element in traditional Chinese medicine, are loaded with polyphenols, powerful antioxidants. It is associated with lowering your risk for certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and more.
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Hawthorn berries also have strong anti-inflammatory properties and can lower your blood pressure. They can reduce fat in your blood and also help with digestion.
Not only that, but there are some emerging studies that suggest that hawthorn berries can help reduce anxiety, prevent hair loss, and treat a wide variety of other conditions as well.
You can harvest berries from all Crataegus species, or hawthorn species. You may not even know what kind of hawthorn tree you have! If you’re not sure when to harvest your hawthorn berries, start by keeping a close eye on the tree. Ripe berries will be deep red, almost purple.
The texture will also be a bit spicy. Keep in mind that hawthorn berries will continue to accumulate nutrients and sugars long after they are ripe, so you can actually wait a week or two to collect them if you use them in a tincture.
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If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also harvest the flowers and leaves earlier in the year. It can also be added to your tincture.
Of course, before you can make and use a hawthorn berry tincture, you must harvest your berries!
It’s pretty simple and simply involves picking the berries off the tree branch and throwing them into your basket. Just be careful not to prick yourself with the thorns that grow between the tree branches.
You can also order dried hawthorn berries online. The choice is yours! Be sure to get your hawthorn berries early though, as they are not exactly common at most grocery stores.
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Some people believe that hawthorn berries are poisonous – and yes, this is true to some extent. The seeds of hawthorn berries contain cyanide, as do apple seeds.
In fact, apples are closely related to hawthorn berries. But, as with apple seeds, you would have to eat a disproportionate number to do you any harm.
Hawthorn berries are often used to treat medical conditions, mostly those involving the heart. However, you can also treat all kinds of digestive, mental and skin problems with hawthorn berries.
In fact, it is one of the oldest known healing herbs and can improve your body’s immune and inflammatory responses.
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Making a tincture is a great way to have a home remedy on hand at all times to serve as a representative measure for a variety of ailments.
However, this is not to say that this is the only way you can use these berries. You can eat raw hawthorn berries as a snack – they will be tart and somewhat sweet, perfect for on-the-go snacks.
You can also make tea with the berries, leaves and flowers of the plant or bake with hawthorn berries in pie filling, syrup and jam. Hawthorn berries can even be fermented into cocktails or as vinegar that can be used to flavor salads and meats.
I decided to make a tincture using the instructions below. It was easy enough, and my guinea pig… I mean
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First, measure out four ounces of dried hawthorn berries. That’s about half of the (1/2 pound) bag, or 1 cup.
I want to note that when I first opened my hawthorn bag, I immediately noticed a tiny bit of white stuff on most of the berries. It looked like mold to me, so I called Bulk Herb Store and expressed my concern. The receptionist put me on hold and consulted with Shoshanna, the herbalist who runs the store.
Shoshanna assured me that the white stuff I was seeing was actually a normal occurrence; it is seeped from inside the berries, dry on the outside of the skin. Nothing to worry about.
Pour the berries into a glass container. A pint jar is convenient because you’ll want to cover the hawthorn berries with a pint of brandy (or vodka).
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Always use glass as it is an inert material. Other containers may react poorly with the ingredients in your hawthorn berry tincture, causing unwanted interactions. Glass is also easier to disinfect than plastic or metal, and you don’t have to worry about it leaching toxins into your tincture.
I recommend using an amber colored glass bottle in particular. Cobalt is another option. I like the colored glass because it will help filter out UV light and prevent the tincture from going bad.
Screw a lid on the jar, and store in a cool, dark place for at least 2-4 weeks. Be sure to label the jar so you can remember when you started it. Give the jar a good shake each day to help extract the juice from the berries.
Strain the hawthorn tincture with a funnel into the tincture bottle. Store in a cool, dark place. You can store it in the fridge, but it is not necessary.
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This is a pretty strong infusion, so just remember that a little goes a long way. I would honestly start with a smaller dose than two teaspoons – maybe start with just one teaspoon to see how your body interacts.
If you don’t like the taste, you can mask it by hiding it in a glass of fruit juice or adding it to a tea, as you would honey.
Tinctures of dried herbs usually last 2-5 years. You don’t want to make a tincture with fresh herbs, or they may start to spoil due to the excess water content.
Still not satisfied? Don’t worry—I’ll give you a few more ideas to take your hawthorn berry tincture to the next level.
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If for whatever reason you cannot tolerate alcohol (or simply prefer not to have it in your tincture), you can easily make this tincture without the alcohol.
However, there are several benefits associated with the use of alcohol. It can last up to five years in a tincture, while vinegar will only last about three years and glycerin only two years.
That’s quite the shelf life though, so even though alcohol-free tinctures don’t last that long, there’s a good chance you’ll use them up before they expire anyway.
The Mother is the active part of apple cider vinegar that contains proteins, friendly bacteria and enzymes that will improve your digestion and provide many of the same benefits in terms of strength as alcohol, but without the alcohol of course!
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However, you won’t have any of the side effects. Plus, you’ll get all the other health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
Glycerin is a good choice if you cannot tolerate vinegar or alcohol. For example, if you try to get children to take a hawthorn berry tincture with vinegar, they may not be able to tolerate the astringent taste.
The recipe is simple – follow the steps above, but instead of using alcohol, use apple cider vinegar or glycerin. The proportions for mixing the tincture are exactly the same, as are the rest of the steps in the recipe.
Step 1: To make your oat bran infusion, place a cup of dried oat bran in a quart mason jar. Fill the jar with boiling water, put a lid on it and let it steep for four to eight hours (you can do this overnight so you don’t have to