Best Tips for Natural Heart Care

Best Tips for Natural Heart Care

Friendly plants of the heart

Although herbal medicine only intervenes in addition to cardio-logical consultation, it nevertheless has its place to prevent or regulate rare disorders.

"Heart problems are a perfect example of what herbal medicine can offer," explains Jacques Fleurentin, pharmacist, ethnopharmacologist, and president of the French Society of Ethnopharmacology. The two flagship plants of heart failure are the digitalis, a plant extremely toxic in its natural form, and hawthorn, which is, on the contrary, devoid of any toxicity and resulting from popular traditions. The first is used only in the way of prescribed medicine while the second can be given merely in herbal teas. " 

Poison and remedy

Heart failure is a weakness of the heart that fails to properly pump blood, resulting in decreased pressure and fluid retention (edema). To the deficiency, digitalis is one of the key molecules. It is derived from the leaves of the dark purple foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ), one of the most toxic plants, capable of rapidly causing cardiac arrest. An English healer had however noticed that used at shallow doses in herbal tea, and she seemed to reduce edema. Properties that were then taken by a doctor, then by laboratories.

Indeed, in minute doses - 0.15 mg per adult, barely the tip of a knife - this beautiful poison is a perfect stimulator of the heart muscle. It is only available as a medicine and a prescription. Do not dare to pick it or taste it (it could be confused with comfrey leaves, a delicious and edible wild plant)! Although other drugs can be used to treat heart failure, digitalis has been a reference for two centuries.

Sweet hawthorn

Far away from the dangerous digitalis, hawthorn ( Crataegus laevigata ) is an excellent example of a famous traditional non-toxic plant. The legend says that it was one of the twenty sacred plants of the Celts. If its berries are edible, its flowers are mainly used in herbal medicine. Known for its action on the problems of sleep and nervousness, it is primarily a primary cardio-regulating plant. Properties discovered late nineteenth century by European and American doctors.

Today, several studies have observed its effects on the cardiovascular sphere: increased coronary blood flow, improved contractions of the heart muscle, reduced blood pressure, modulation of the heart rate. So many properties which make it an excellent complement to conventional treatments: moderate heart failure, hypertension, and angina pectoris. While it does not dispense with consultation in case of heart problems, hawthorn is quite suitable for older people with tired heart, without specific heart disease.

This is especially so because it has no known contraindications or interactions with other drugs. In Germany, it is often prescribed as an accompaniment to heart treatments. As an infusion, one or two teaspoons of dry flowers are usually taken per cup, two to three times a day (infusion of 10 to 15 minutes).

Mother-wort and dogwood

Along with these two significant plants, other plant substances are sometimes mentioned as the motherwort ( Nucleons pericardia ) in addition to hawthorn. This beautiful pink flower is particularly active in case of tachycardia in the form of the mother tincture (ask your pharmacist for advice). The glycerine macerate of dogwood ( Cornus sanguinea ) is an excellent classic of gemmotherapy (care buds and young tree shoots).

Its blood-red leaves at the end of summer recall its action on the heart sphere. It would be an excellent remedy for the prevention of thrombosis and infarction. Finally, it is, of course, a whole, healthy lifestyle that is to focus on a healthy heart: regular physical activity and a healthy and balanced diet to limit hypertension and excess cholesterol. Plants alone can not replace a healthy lifestyle or essential treatments!