The medicinal properties of mountain ash: indications and contraindications

The healing properties of rowan berries are known to many people. However, in fact, this plant brings much more benefits than it seems. It has long been believed that mountain ash is a plant that brings happiness to the house, protects it from evil spirits. Not without reason such legends appeared. Mountain ash really protects people, however, not because of the magical effect on their aura, but because it has a huge number of healing properties. From the berries of this plant prepare jam, jams, infusions, teas. They are dried so that in winter you can always get a serving of fresh vitamins and minerals.

Wild and varietal mountain ash are equally useful. Many people are repelled by the taste of bitterness, which is felt after eating this berry. Do not be alarmed by this, since there is enormous benefit behind this unpleasant moment. Mountain ash is red and aronia.

Useful properties and contraindications of red mountain ash

This plant is common in almost all regions of Europe. Red mountain ash, whose medicinal properties and contraindications are interrelated, often does not attract people's attention. It is considered a beautiful tree, from which there is no practical benefit. Because of this, the healing properties of mountain ash are often underestimated, which is a big mistake. So, the usefulness of red mountain ash consists in its qualities:

• Mountain ash is a natural storehouse of vitamins. It is especially rich in vitamin C, which is much more in berries than in lemons. Therefore, with colds, mountain ash tea will be very useful. In addition, no pharmaceutical agent can cure vitamin deficiency in the same way as mountain ash does.
• This plant is also not offended by macronutrients. The healing properties of mountain ash also consist in the fact that in it you can find zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium. By the way, this plant contains much more iron than apples.
• People with a slow metabolism can eat mountain ash dishes to speed it up. This also applies to patients who have undergone heavy surgery. The healing properties of the fruits of red mountain ash saturate the cells and tissues of the body with a large amount of energy needed to restore the body.
• Red mountain ash significantly enhances the therapeutic effect on nettle. With anemia, it is useful to use an infusion of these plants.
• If you have problems with the vessels, use mountain ash as a medicinal plant.
• Red mountain ash perfectly stimulates the cardiovascular system. It is difficult to overestimate this property.
• Organs such as the liver and stomach are exposed to harmful factors daily. The healing properties of mountain ash protect them from the negative effects.
• If you have kidney problems, then eat mountain ash, which has a diuretic effect.
• If necessary, with the help of mountain ash, constipation can be treated, since it has a slight laxative effect.
• If you have poor blood coagulability, then you probably need to know that mountain ash can stop bleeding with various injuries.
• Berries are also able to suppress gas formation.
• Mountain ash slows the growth of any pathogenic bacteria.
• The healing properties of mountain ash can prevent any fungal diseases, including thrush.
• Mountain ash bark is also useful, the healing properties of which are that a decoction can significantly reduce blood cholesterol.
• With diabetes, mountain ash significantly reduces the risk of various complications.
• Even in cosmetology, this berry is used. It promotes skin rejuvenation, smoothing wrinkles and eliminating skin defects.

There are also contraindications to the use of this plant. These include:

• The increased acidity of the stomach.
• Peptic ulcer.
• Pregnancy in the early stages.
• Thrombophlebitis and a tendency to this disease.
• Increased blood coagulation.

There are not so many contraindications to the use of mountain ash, but they should be treated with caution. In order for the plant to bring maximum benefits, you need to know how to use it.

How to apply mountain ash

You need to collect berries after the first frost, so that the healing properties of mountain ash are not lost over time. Apply it like this:

• Eat fresh.
• Make a decoction, juice.
• Make jam or jam.
• Make tea.
• Dried berries.

In the latter case, you need to know how to properly dry the plant so that it does not lose its beneficial properties.

How to Dry Red Rowan Berries

After the harvest, most people dry it to enjoy the berries in winter. However, in the drying process, it is necessary to use the correct technology so that the healing properties of mountain ash are fully preserved. So, the algorithm of actions in this case:

• Peel the berries of dirt, twigs and other useless items.
• Rinse the crop thoroughly.
• Blot the berries with a towel, leave them lying on it until completely dry.
• Spread the berries evenly on paper or in a special dryer.
• Stir the berries periodically to prevent mold from forming on them.
• After drying, sort through the berries, throwing out all the blackened fruits.
• Put the berries in a glass or wooden dish, tightly closing the lid.

Store mountain ash at room temperature. If you do everything right, then the plant will retain its beneficial properties for 2 years.

Popular uses for red mountain ash

For centuries, tried and tested methods of using mountain ash cannot be compared even with modern medical treatment methods. So, how to properly apply the plant for various problems:

• If you have gastritis, then use 1 teaspoon of mountain ash juice before each meal.
• If you need to cleanse your intestines, drink 50 g of mountain ash three times a day. You can add honey to it.
• If you need to strengthen the immune system, saturate the body with vitamins or get rid of anemia, take 1 teaspoon of rowan berries, pour 2 cups of boiling water, cool the broth, add honey to it and slowly drink throughout the day.
• Rowan is also able to relieve sore throat. To do this, add 1 teaspoon of fresh berries to 1 cup of boiled water and gargle with the infusion obtained during the day.
• Rowan is useful not only for diseases. The medicinal properties and contraindications for women are of particular importance, since with the right dosage, the juice of this plant eliminates toxicosis. In this case, you just need to eat fresh rowan berries in small quantities. You can also add honey to them.
• To get rid of warts, wipe them with mountain ash juice for several weeks.
• To use mountain ash as a cosmetic product, pass the berries through a meat grinder, and then make facial masks from the resulting mass.

You must also know what damage this plant can cause.

Possible harm to red mountain ash

Although the plant has a huge number of useful properties, one should not underestimate the harm that it can cause if used improperly or if contraindications are neglected. So, the harmful properties of mountain ash:

• Parasorbic acid, which is found in red rowan berries, acts in large quantities on the body as a strong antibiotic. In this regard, you can not eat many fruits of the plant in one day. You run the risk of significantly impairing the functioning of the immune system and making the body vulnerable to certain types of bacteria.
• If you digest raw foods poorly, then you should not get carried away with rowan berries. The pectin they contain can trigger stomach upsets, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
• With hypertension, the use of mountain ash can significantly worsen the condition, if there is it in large quantities.
• Modern doctors claim that treating rowan juice with an open wound does not bring any benefits.
• If the mountain ash relieves sore throat, then it can aggravate stomatitis. Do not rinse your mouth with fruit juice if you have this disease.
• If you are prone to allergic reactions, then mountain ash, most likely, will not bring you any benefit, since it is one of the most powerful allergens.
• If you have been diagnosed with acid reflux, rowan juice will only aggravate the situation.

All these factors can arise only if you use mountain ash in large quantities. When used correctly, none of the above side effects threatens you. That is why these factors cannot be called contraindications for use.

Remember that if you eat dried fruits, then they lose their antibiotic properties. In this case, you can not be afraid that there will be problems with the immune system after eating berries.

Red mountain ash has a low calorie content, therefore, with proper nutrition or diet, the fruits will not harm you.

Medicinal properties and contraindications of Chokeberry

Aronia is popularly called chokeberry. It has the appearance of a small shrub with black fruits. Unlike red mountain ash, a plant with black fruits does not grow everywhere, it is grown for decorative or medicinal purposes. Only chokeberry leaves and berries are used, no bark was found. Mountain ash is harvested in early October, although it ripens in late summer. This is due to the fact that berries will bring the greatest benefit in the fall. By the way, at this time of the year only aronia can boast of such a number of useful substances . The healing properties and contraindications to the use of the plant are known to all traditional healers.

The beneficial properties of this plant can be discussed for a very long time. It is in no way inferior to red mountain ash, and in some moments even surpasses it. So, the medicinal properties of chokeberry berries:

• Mountain ash is able to bring the level of cholesterol in the blood to normal.
• Due to the presence of pectin in the berries, chokeberry is able to remove toxins from the intestines.
• It is useful to eat berries of black mountain ash at high pressure, since the plant is able to treat hypertension.
• Rowan has a diuretic effect.
• Fruits contribute to the treatment of atherosclerosis, this has been scientifically proven.
• With any problems with the cardiovascular system, chokeberry will contribute to its strengthening.
• Potassium contained in the plant prevents the formation of edema.
• If you use black mountain ash for diabetes, the risk of complications will significantly decrease.
• Since aronia is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, with vitamin deficiency or colds, this plant is very useful. It boosts immunity and fights viruses.
• The plant significantly increases the acidity of the stomach, contributing to the secretion of gastric juice.
• Rowan juice is an excellent antiseptic.
• Like red mountain ash, chokeberry eliminates blood clotting problems.
• Surprisingly, black mountain ash is able to remove radioactive elements and heavy metals from the body.
• Chokeberry kills harmful microorganisms and fights oncological diseases.
• Mountain ash stimulates the liver, protecting it from the harmful effects of various food components.
• Even with nervous tension, it is useful to eat black rowan berries. They reduce the degree of stress, leading the person’s emotional state to a stable and balanced one.

Almost all the necessary substances for human health are chokeberry. The medicinal properties and contraindications, as already mentioned, are closely related, so it’s worth talking about when the plant can not be used. It is forbidden to use chokeberry if you have:

• increased blood coagulation;
• period of exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• hypotension.

Not only in these cases, black rowan is prohibited. Therapeutic properties and contraindications apply only to adults. Before using chokeberry in any form, children, the elderly and pregnant women should consult a doctor.

Chokeberry: medicinal properties and contraindications. Pressure

Particular attention should be paid to mountain ash as a food component, which greatly affects pressure. This is due to the fact that the plant is prohibited for hypotension. If you have problems with pressure or even a predisposition to them, then before eating mountain ash, you need to consult a doctor, and it is better to completely abandon the use of chokeberry. The plant reduces pressure, so it is effective for hypertension, and if the disease progresses. Pathology, which is at the initial stage, is best treated with other methods, for this, chokeberry is not suitable. The healing properties (it lowers the pressure excellently) have long been used by medicine.

What is the best way to consume aronia

In order for the plant to bring maximum benefits, you need to properly prepare it. Basic rules for the use of mountain ash:

• If possible, eat fresh chokeberry more often.
• For the winter, you can wilted mountain ash, make juice, mousse or jam from it.
• The plant does not lose its properties in frozen form.

Chokeberry has a pleasant sweet and sour taste with bitterness, unlike mahogany fruits, so it can be eaten fresh. It will not bring harm if you are not allergic to the plant. Also, do not abuse rowan. In very large quantities, it can lead to indigestion.

Black mountain ash, the healing properties of which are preserved only with minimal processing, will not bring benefits if it is dried. Instead, it needs to be wilted. Below we will tell you how to do it.

How to wilt aronia

To wither aronia, you need to wash it, dry it and put it in a thin layer on paper, leaving it to dry in the sun.

You can also achieve a similar effect using the oven. To do this, the fruits of mountain ash must be dried by spreading them on a baking sheet. Initially, the temperature must be adjusted so that one is in the range of 30-40 degrees. When the berries cease to secrete juice, increase the temperature to sixty degrees. Make sure that the plant does not lose its black color, as it is an indicator of the preservation of all necessary beneficial properties.

An alternative to dried mountain ash is frozen chokeberry. However, the berries lose vitamin P, but the remaining beneficial properties are preserved. In the cold season, the mountain ash needs to be thawed. It retains taste, so it is pleasant to eat it raw.

Chokeberry: healing properties. Recipes

To strengthen and maintain health it is not enough just to know about the beneficial properties of mountain ash, you need to be able to cook it correctly. Here are a few medical recipes:

• Pour the berries with water in a ratio of 1:10. The resulting liquid is slowly heated over a fire. The broth should be infused for at least twenty minutes, then strain, divide into 3 servings and consume them throughout the day. This recipe strengthens the immune system and nourishes the body with vitamins.
• With hypertension, it is enough to eat 100 grams of rowan berries daily.
• Rowan jam is a universal disease prevention tool. It is prepared very simply. Boil the berries for five minutes, then add two cups of sugar to the liquid. Boil the resulting mixture until a thick mass is obtained. Let the jam cool, after which it can be sorted into banks.
• Alcohol tincture of black rowan is an excellent tonic. To prepare it, it is necessary to grind the rowan berries into a homogeneous mass. After that, add sugar, cloves to the container and let the berries brew in a dark, cold place. After two months, add alcohol to the container, mix thoroughly. Ready tincture can be added to tea.

Thus, mountain ash is a universal remedy for many diseases. It has a huge number of useful properties, with virtually no contraindications. It is worth considering that berries can cause allergic reactions, but if you do not consume them in large quantities, then you have nothing to fear.

Red and black fruits are different in their composition and properties, so you need to know about the characteristics of both types of plants. Do not forget that if used improperly, you can get the opposite result.