The beneficial properties and contraindications of honeysuckle in Russia have become known since the middle of the 18th century. This happened thanks to the description of an unusual shrub by the discoverer of Kamchatka, Vladimir Atlasov. In his work on the nature of Kamchatka, the Russian researcher S. P. Krashennikov dwelled in detail on the characteristics of the northern blue berry and gave comprehensive knowledge about honeysuckle and its beneficial properties for humans.
Description of the plant
Honeysuckle is a rather powerful strongly branched shrub the size of an adult. The berries of the plant are elongated, dark plum in color and medium-sized - about a centimeter. Only garden varieties of fruits are suitable for food, of which there are about fifty in Russia alone, but “wild” is also used for medicinal purposes, however, in this case, all parts of the shrub are used, except for berries and rhizomes.
Honeysuckle does not require constant care, and to maintain the bush in a culturalstate, you only need to periodically remove excess shoots and prune far-flung branches. The bush blooms with white and blue flowers for one month - from the end of May, and in the first days of July it is already possible to harvest.
The beneficial properties of honeysuckle - berries and inedible parts of the shrub - are affected not only by the variety of the plant, but also by the place of its growth. Ideal for maintaining the maximum concentration of valuable substances in the composition of honeysuckle, a climate close to its native is considered - mostly cool.
Nutritional value and composition of honeysuckle
In the description of the beneficial properties of honeysuckle (see the photo of the plant in the article), special emphasis is placed on the rich vitamin content of the berry, a combination of three basic organic acids, micro and macro elements and pectins. To replenish the daily norm of B vitamins that affect brain activity and improve metabolism in the human body, it is enough to eat 0.2 kg of ripe honeysuckle fruits per day. The same amount of berries is enough to maintain the optimal level of iron in the blood. In addition, honeysuckle contains a record amount of ascorbic acid - about 34 mg, magnesium - 22 mg, sodium - 34 mg, calcium - 21 mg and phosphorus - 36 mg. Honeysuckle contains iodine and manganese, copper and aluminum, tannins and valuable flavonoids.
In 100 g of berries there are less than 9 g of carbohydrates, and there are no fats and proteins at all. That is, the berry has a full therapeutic spectrum of a high-quality multivitamin complex and, at the same time, is actually devoid of calories (about 40 kcal).
Benefits of honeysuckle berries
One of the most unique beneficial properties of honeysuckle is the resistance of its beneficial elements to thermal effects. The value of the berry does not decrease during hot drying or boiling, the valuable substances of the composition do not suffer even when the berries are preserved in the form of jam (syrup) and compotes.
Useful properties of honeysuckle for humans:
- blood pressure regulation;
- immunomodulation;
- treatment of unproductive cough;
- hemoglobin normalization;
- stimulation of intestinal motility, reducing the activity of harmful microflora of the intestinal tract;
- mild diuretic;
- antispasmodic action;
- inhibition of pathological proliferation of cell tissues;
- acceleration of regeneration processes;
- maintaining vascular tone.
Honeysuckle berries are recommended for atherosclerosis, hypertension, seasonal migraines, kidney and liver failure. Antioxidants in the fruit help to cope with the negative effects of antibiotic treatment and chemotherapy.
Benefits of honeysuckle leaves and branches
For the preparation of medicines, the bark of an adult fruit-bearing shrub is used after the harvest has been carried out. It is best to take autumn bark, which can be finely chopped and dried for easier storage.
A decoction of the bark is used to relieve age-related or painful swelling, to improve bowel function, with diarrhea, regular migraines. One of the simplest recipes for preparing a decoction is to scald 250 ml of boiling water with 10 g of crushed dry matter and hold a closed container with medicine in a water bath for 10 minutes. Then, for an hour, the remedy is insisted, filtered and drunk 30 ml before the main meals.
Dry sprigs of honeysuckle are brewed to get rid of joint diseases. Decoctions are added to a hot water bath, and leaves of the plant torn by hand can also be added there.
Using honeysuckle flowers
Honeysuckle flowers are harvested in early to mid-June, dried and mixed with finely chopped shrub twigs. Dried flower petals are not boiled, but insisted on boiling water, taken at the rate of a glass of water per an incomplete tablespoon of dry matter.
Use the remedy in the following cases:
- dermatitis, including wet and dry eczema, acne, psoriasis, trophic ulcers - compresses with infusion all night;
- conjunctivitis - instillation of eyes with strained infusion 3-5 times a day;
- detoxification, cystitis, urolithiasis - drinking 2 teaspoons before main meals.
Compresses from honeysuckle flowers are used to accelerate the healing of open wounds, to reduce vascular "asterisks", with protruding veins on the legs.
Benefits of forest honeysuckle for the body
Useful properties of forest honeysuckle are contained in the inedible part of the plant - branches, shoots, bark, which must be harvested during the period of active flowering of the shrub. Butfruits - small red berries - cannot be categorically plucked and used in medical procedures. In the people, these berries are called wolf berries, and eating them is deadly. Only one branch of medicine - homeopathy includes microscopic doses of extracts from poisonous fruits in prescription formulations.
Useful properties of wild honeysuckle are used for colds of the throat - sore throat, laryngitis, pharyngitis. For this, 2 tbsp. spoons of crushed dried twigs and bark of the plant are placed in a glass dish, pour 300 ml of hot water and boil the composition in a water bath for 10 minutes. The cooled broth is gargled up to five times a day.
For the treatment of infectious diseases of the eyes and for washing the nasopharynx with sinusitis, a more concentrated infusion is prepared from the leaves of forest honeysuckle - from 3-3, 5 tbsp. spoons of dried herbs. The agent is abundantly washed with the affected mucosa and taken orally in a teaspoon.
Powder from crushed leaves of wild honeysuckle stops blood and disinfects wounds, it is added to anti-burn and antifungal ready-made products, in anti-acne masks.
Honeysuckle for women
For women, the beneficial properties of honeysuckle are used in aesthetic medicine and cosmetology. Berry extract is readily used in the industrial production of caring cosmetics. Essential oil and concentrate are added to products for problem skin, damaged hair, and even dietary supplements to improve vision and stabilize weight.
High-quality and natural beauty products, which include enough honeysuckle concentrate for healing, are very expensive, so many women prefer to use homemade beauty and he alth recipes:
- To restore the hair structure - mix dry chamomile and a mixture of crushed bark and leaves of honeysuckle (1: 2), pour boiling water over them, insist for an hour and rinse washed hair with liquid.
- Acne and early wrinkles lotion - crush 7-10 dried honeysuckle fruits, add a pinch of crushed shrub leaves and pour 3 cups of boiling water over everything. After 25 minutes, the hot infusion is filtered and the resulting product is used to wipe problem skin.
- For youthful skin - fresh berries of a garden shrub (8-12 pieces) are crushed with a press to release the juice. Then the pulp is added to a ready-made mask based on oatmeal, cottage cheese or cosmetic clay.
It is very good for women's he alth to eat at least a handful of fresh berries a day. It is believed that this helps prevent the development of mastopathy, uterine fibroids and the formation of tumors on the reproductive organs.
For men
The beneficial properties of honeysuckle for men are aimed at maintaining the cardiovascular system. Since men suffer from ischemic diseases and atherosclerosis more often than women, and the recovery of the body after an exacerbation of the pathology is longer and more difficult, this area of he alth should be constantly monitored.
Asprevention and at the first signs of a deterioration in he alth associated with circulatory disorders, men should include honeysuckle in the mandatory daily diet. You can prepare such a decoction: 4 tbsp. spoons of berries are placed in a thermos and brewed with half a liter of boiling water. After two hours, the liquid is filtered and the whole infusion is drunk for three days in equal doses, before the main meals.
This infusion can also be used to stimulate the synthesis of testosterone during its natural, age-related decline. Do not prepare solutions of double or triple strength, even in the absence of contraindications. The beneficial properties of honeysuckle for men and the positive effect of the treatment become possible not with the “shock” of portions, but with the regular use of berries and products from them.
Honeysuckle for kids
There are no exhaustive studies on the effect of honeysuckle on the children's body, so doctors recommend refraining from including berries in the children's diet at least until the child reaches the age of three. Nutritionists and he althy nutrition experts have a different opinion and advise to abandon the unique product only for existing contraindications. The beneficial properties of honeysuckle berries, in their opinion, far outweigh dubious fears about the negative reaction of the child's body to a new product.
At an early age, children quickly get used to the unusual taste of berries, and complementary foods do not cause them protest, but it is better to introduce honeysuckle into the diet of an adult child in combination with the usualproducts - cottage cheese, milk porridge, natural yogurt.
Honeysuckle for pregnant women
The beneficial properties of honeysuckle have also been proven when carrying a child, and the dosages of fresh berries will differ for women who have already consumed honeysuckle repeatedly before pregnancy, and those who decide to diversify the menu after confirming this fact. In the first case, it is allowed to eat up to 70 g of goodies per day, in the second - no more than 40 g.
It is unreasonable, if possible, to include honeysuckle berries in the diet to refuse this important source of valuable substances, because regular consumption of fresh, dried or canned product relieves a pregnant woman of toxicosis, stimulates appetite, improves bowel function and relieves heartburn, characteristic of the latter months of gestation.
Honeysuckle for diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is accompanied by the appearance of characteristic symptoms, which traditional medicines are almost unable to cope with. So, with a sharp set of overweight, doctors still recommend adherence to the strictest diet, the effectiveness of which is poorly manifested even after a long time. And it is possible to partially cope with edema only by constantly taking diuretics that negatively affect the endocrine system.
These and other problems that worsen the quality of life of diabetic patients can be combated by introducing honeysuckle tincture from the flowering and deciduous parts of the shrub into the treatment tactics:
- 45 g of dried ingredients brew 0.5 liters of boiling water;
- insist the drink until completely cooled, strain.
During the day, you can consume up to 300 ml of this tincture.
Alcohol tincture on honeysuckle
Useful properties and contraindications of honeysuckle are completely transferred to the tincture from the berries of this plant, prepared with alcohol, moonshine or vodka. Only adults can take such a drink and not exceed the permissible dosages.
For 1 liter of alcohol liquid take:
- two full glasses of washed and dried berries;
- ¾ cup purified water;
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar.
Honeysuckle should be finely chopped with a knife, put into a 2-liter jar, and pour vodka on top. The jar is closed with a plastic lid and cleaned in a secluded place where direct sunlight does not penetrate. After seven days, a chilled syrup made from water and sugar is introduced into the jar, and after another 5 days, the finished tincture is filtered and drunk in accordance with the destination.
Contraindications
The unique properties of honeysuckle can not be used by everyone, but the restrictions usually apply only to the berries of the bush - they cannot be eaten by patients in a state of acute gastritis or with a stomach ulcer. Nevertheless, warm infusions from the flowers, leaves and branches of the plant can significantly alleviate symptoms and promote the speedy regeneration of damaged tissues. An absolute contraindication to the use of honeysuckle is considered only individual intolerance to the components of the composition.
