The meadowsweet is common-leaved, it is also the meadowsweet, or white-headed - a perennial plant with unique medicinal properties that have long been known to the people. This plant is widely distributed in the CIS. Each part can be used for medicinal purposes. From the whitehead make tinctures, decoctions and ointments, healing diseases and helping in the difficult task of maintaining health.
Appearance
White-headed - a perennial plant resembling a yarrow. Its leaves resemble the green covering of elm, for which he received one of his names - meadowsweet meadowsweet. The bush of this plant can reach up to 1.7 meters in height, but the whitehead rarely grows to such an impressive size. Meadow flowers are gathered in small white bunches resembling fluffy shreds of snow. It is a honey plant that exudes a sweet, delicate aroma that makes it easy to recognize.
You can find meadowsweet everywhere, but most often it can be found on the banks of rivers and lakes, or in meadows with high humidity. Naturally, the whitehead grows in other places, but there it is much less common. The meadowsweet blooms in early summer, it was during this period that herbalists collect it.
Useful material
In folk medicine, a white head has long been used. The healing properties and contraindications to this herb are due to its composition. Meadowsweet contains vitamin C, coumarins, phenol glycosides, flavonoids. It also contains tannins and phenolic compounds. Labaznik is rich in essential oils, as well as glycosides, camphor and useful micro and macro elements. This is not the whole list of useful substances contained in the whitehead. All the more surprising is the fact that this plant was on the list of medicinal herbs recently. For a long time, doctors considered the meadowsweet useless, but after conducting research, this injustice was eliminated.
Medicinal properties
Nature, creating its own medicines, does not expect to make a profit, therefore each herbal remedy has a number of healing properties, helps from many ailments, and not from just one. One of the most useful plants that inhabit our planet is a whitehead. The medicinal properties and contraindications of the meadowsweet make it indispensable for the cardiovascular system and not only. It cleans blood vessels from blood clots, makes them young and elastic. Labaznik can be used successfully for the prevention of strokes, heart attacks, tachycardia and hypertension. Also, this plant will help to successfully restore impaired cerebral circulation.
White-headed - a herb that can cure a sick stomach, kidneys, intestines and urinary tract diseases. They can treat gout, anemia, tuberculosis, rheumatism and multiple sclerosis. Ointments and decoctions made from meadowsweet, rubbed externally are also useful. They help get rid of festering wounds, burns, boils, pressure sores and other skin diseases.
Collection and Harvesting
Usually harvesting meadowsweet begins in June-July, depending on the climate. The easiest way to understand when to collect a whitehead, by its colors. If they have completely blossomed, then it's time to collect the plant. All parts of the plant are harvested - flowers, stems, leaves and even roots. It is important not to confuse the meadowsweet with the yarrow during the collection. The characteristic elongated leaves and the sweet honey smell that exudes the whitehead will help in this.
After harvesting, rotten or damaged parts of the plant should be removed, and the remaining raw materials cut into small pieces. After that, the plant is laid out for drying in a dark ventilated room. When the stems and leaves begin to break, and not bend, then it's time to put the finished raw materials in tight bags or glass jars. The aerial part of the whitehead can be stored for about a year, and the root - as many as two.
Meadowsweet oil
Meadowsweet essential oil has all the properties of a plant, but it is much more concentrated. Essential oils are extracted both from the stem of the plant, and from its flowers and leaves. It can be used for cosmetic purposes, as well as in an aroma lamp, to fill the whole room with the sweet smell of a whitehead. Unfortunately, meadowsweet oil is quite expensive, since the process of obtaining it is complicated and requires expensive equipment. But it can be used for the same purposes as decoctions of the plant, that is, the spectrum of its effects is incredibly wide.
Recipes
There are many ways to cook a whitehead. The healing properties and contraindications vary for each prescription, they all serve different purposes, so that everyone can find the right option. For example, you can prepare alcohol tincture from meadowsweet, which is stored for a long time and is an effective healing agent. For her, it is better to use all parts of the plant, but this is not necessary. Washed and chopped raw materials are placed in a tank and filled with alcohol. For 50 g of plant mass, 500 ml of alcohol is needed. The container is closed and refrigerated for two weeks for infusion. The resulting tincture should be shaken and thoroughly filtered, and then pour into a clean container. The received product is taken only once a day, in small doses, per 10 kg of weight - just one drop of tincture. This medicine strengthens the immune system, cleanses blood vessels, normalizes blood glucose levels and reduces appetite.
Ointment
Now you know when to collect the meadowsweet, as well as how to prepare a universal alcoholic infusion from it. But meadowsweet well established itself as a means for external use. For these purposes, a special ointment is made from it, which is then applied to damaged or diseased areas of the skin or joints. It is necessary to properly grind the dry leaves of the whitehead and mix them with melted butter. For 1 tablespoon of foliage, 200 g of oil is needed. Such ointment is stored for no more than 5 days and all this time it should be in the refrigerator. The composition is applied 1-2 times a day under a warm dressing. It is especially useful for joints.
You can make an ointment from alcohol tincture. To do this, it must be mixed with 200 g of beeswax melted in a water bath. There is added 10 g of royal jelly and a little red pepper, as much as is placed on the tip of the knife. All components must be thoroughly mixed and put in a refrigerator for storage. Since the ointment contains pepper, it is important to wash your hands after using it. It must be used in the same way as the previous version of the therapeutic agent.
Contraindications
Labasnik has established itself as an excellent drug that perfectly complements drug treatment. It can be used to treat many ailments - from gastrointestinal diseases to cardiovascular diseases. Increasingly, the whitehead is used in oncology. But this does not mean that the meadowsweet can be abused. When taking a large amount of meadowsweet, blood pressure drops sharply. Therefore, hypotonics should carefully use decoctions and infusions from this plant. Who should not take a whitehead yet? Contraindications apply to people suffering from a stomach ulcer or duodenal ulcer. During exacerbations, they should not use meadowsweet, since it contains salicylates. Even a completely healthy person can be poisoned by a meadowsweet with excessive use. Constipation, nausea and vomiting, and colic may occur.
There are many reasons to use a whitehead. The medicinal properties and contraindications of this plant make it an indispensable medicine. The meadowsweet is especially good at cleaning and strengthening vessels. Similar problems torment every second adult, but almost none of them use the meadowsweet, preferring to drag their ailment throughout their short lives.
Those who choose health are waiting for the amazingly diverse and incredibly useful world of medicinal plants.