Do you want to know what a meadowsweet is? Be sure to read this article - you will gain a lot of benefit! It often happens like this: you will pay a lot of money in a pharmacy for some new-fangled medicine, and you drink it regularly, according to all the recommendations and tips contained in the package insert, but there is no result. The disease does not want to give up their positions, and that’s it!
As soon as it’s interesting to know, people were treated when there were no pharmacies nearby? And there were very few people who knew the science of healing various human ailments. But they were treated independently and put their children on their feet. And all because they knew that the medicine is literally a few steps away, you just have to lend a hand, pick the right herb and make a healing potion from it. So that you, too, were fully armed, today we will tell you about one wonderful fragrant plant, called meadowsweet, meadowsweet, or ivan color.
What is a meadowsweet?
If you had to walk in the flowering meadow in summer, then you, of course, saw this wild-growing grass - a beautiful plant with dazzling white bright flowers. There is always a lot of it. If the meadowsweet settles somewhere, it will always dominate among other plants. No wonder the French call the meadowsweet queen of the meadows.
Its aroma is heady, strong, able to drive off pathogenic bacteria. It is believed that a meadowsweet bouquet is useful to keep in any home, just for the sake of cleanliness and hygiene. In the old days, a snow-white wreath woven from Ivan color adorned the bride’s head. This is the extraordinary grass of the meadowsweet! Its useful properties are very extensive.
Please note that this plant was one of the three sacred herbs used for ritual purposes by the ancient Celtic priests. It has astringent, cooling, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. In our article, we will consider what diseases can use flowers, leaves, and other parts of meadowsweet.
Chemical composition
In order to make it easier for you to understand what a meadowsweet is, why and how it helps to cure various diseases, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with its chemical composition. The flowers of the plant contain essential oils, to which it owes its pleasant aroma. In addition, there are binders and tannins.
And the most valuable substance that is part of the meadowsweet is salicylic acid, which, as you know, is able to cope with pain and relieve inflammation. It is the meadowsweet that humanity should say thanks for the appearance of aspirin. In 1897, the scientist Felix Hoffman invented a new medicinal product with the familiar name “Aspirin” or “Acetylsalicylic acid”. Salicin was obtained from the meadowsweet.
It would seem that now you can forget about the medicinal herb. Why bother with it when we have a good, safe medicine on hand? But the fact of the matter is that, unlike the meadowsweet, the Aspirin preparation is not at all safe, especially for people with gastroenterological problems. But the medicinal meadowsweet is able to neutralize the side effects of salicin due to the presence of natural buffering substances in it.
Where grows meadowsweet
The miracle grass, which is discussed in our article, is a very hygrophilous plant. Therefore, you need to look for it in moist, swampy meadows and at the bottom of forest ravines. Where there is a suitable humid habitat for meadowsweet, it develops rapidly, forming dense thickets that can be seen from afar on high white flower-bearing shoots.
Meadow grass is found near rivers and streams, as well as on the shores of lakes, on marshes of grassy and humid deciduous forests. Meadowsweet, the useful properties of which are confirmed by centuries-old folk experience and modern scientific data, can help in the treatment of many diseases. So do not pass indifferently by this magic grass.
What diseases can be treated with meadowsweet?
Let's see what exactly ailments helps meadowsweet. Her treatment is shown:
- With a stomach ulcer. Labasnik relieves pain, protects the mucous membrane, and improves digestion. In addition, the plant has antimicrobial properties, which protects the body from reinfection. For the treatment of ulcers, it is necessary to use meadowsweet in complex therapy and combine it with the root of the marshmallow, chamomile, and plantain.
- With gastritis with high acidity, with heartburn and diarrhea. Gastrointestinal problems often occur in young children. Lubaznik perfectly calms the children's tummy, relieves pain, stops diarrhea. Due to the pleasant taste of the tincture made from this herb, children usually take it with pleasure.
- With rheumatism. This disease is treated with meadowsweet due to its strong anti-inflammatory properties. Decoction or tea from the herb effectively soothes chronic pain and reduces inflammation in the joints.
- With colds accompanied by high fever. Teas and infusions of meadowsweet can relieve fever.
- In case of eye diseases, as a preparation for washing them.
- With burns, as an external agent in the form of an ointment.
- As a painkiller.
What phytopreparations can be prepared from meadowsweet
At home, anyone can easily prepare a lot of herbal remedies from medicinal herbs. These can be teas, decoctions, tinctures for oral administration and compresses, ointments, lotions for external use. Moreover, for the preparation of potions, both leaves, and flowers, and young shoots, and the meadowsweet root are used. The latter, by the way, is very often used in the production of various homeopathic medicines.
Healthy Drink Recipes
To prepare a delicious medicinal tea from the meadowsweet at home, we need a tablespoon of herbs, this is about 4-6 g, and half a liter of boiling water. Raw materials, filled with boiling water, you need to insist it for 5 to 15 minutes. If tea stops, it will become more bitter. In the event that everything was done correctly, it turns out a fragrant, sweetish taste and slightly astringent, very pleasant drink.
And here is another interesting recipe that uses meadowsweet flowers. It is necessary to pour 12 tbsp in a saucepan. tablespoons of pure water, put in it 6-8 flowers of meadowsweet, add 12 tbsp. tablespoons of sugar. Pour juice from 2 lemons there. The zest is also not thrown away, but rubbed on a fine grater and added to the mixture. Then you need to bring everything to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes and pour into prepared glass bottles. The vessels are carefully corked and sent to insist in a cool and dark place. For use, you need to take 2 tablespoons of the drink and dilute them with soda water, it is permissible to add a drop of gin or cognac there.
Burn ointment
The grass of the meadowsweet, whose properties allow even very serious wounds to be healed, can also help in the treatment of burns. To do this, you will need to prepare a special liquid ointment. Make it easy. It is necessary to take the plant root crushed into powder (1 part) and pour it with vegetable oil (5 parts). Then the mixture should be infused at ordinary room temperature for 10-12 hours. At the end of the specified period, it must be carefully filtered, after which the product can be considered ready for use. For the treatment of a burn, wound or ulcer, liquid gauze from the meadowsweet is impregnated with gauze folded in several layers, applied to a sore spot and fixed with a bandage (not tight). The dressing is applied for 6-8 hours 2 times a day.
Meadowsweet: contraindications
It is believed that meadowsweet is absolutely safe for most people. Nevertheless, there is a group of people to whom it can cause harm. These include:
- Children under 16 years of age who have symptoms of flu or chickenpox. In this case, the use of meadowsweet can provoke Reye's syndrome.
- People with asthma. They have meadowswort capable of exacerbating bronchial spasms.
- Persons in whom acetylsalicylic acid causes allergic reactions.
For medical nutrition
Meadowsweet grass can be successfully used in clinical nutrition. How to make delicious tea with her help, you already know. And from this plant you can cook salads and even soup!
To prepare a healthy salad, young tender leaves are suitable. They must be finely chopped, mixed with fresh chopped dill, parsley and onions, supplement the dish with chopped boiled egg. You can fill the salad with a small amount of mayonnaise or vegetable oil. Salt is added, of course, to taste.
For soup, we need meat broth, where first potatoes, onions and carrots are laid. All this is cooked until half cooked. At the end, the soup is seasoned with greens of meadowsweet and parsley. Then they give him a boil for another 5-7 minutes. A dish is served on the table with sour cream, you can add an egg to it.
Finally
Now you know what a meadowsweet is and how useful it is. We hope that this wonderful plant will become your reliable friend and helper. Be mindful of your health. If, when using any phytopreparations from meadowsweet, you suddenly feel a deterioration in well-being, stop taking them and be sure to consult your doctor.