What is valuable horse chestnut? The medicinal properties and contraindications, as well as the scope of its application, we will consider here. With the onset of May, snow-white “candles” of chestnuts bloom in our streets or parks. This tree is not only remarkable for its lush beauty, but for the beneficial properties that have already been studied, they continue to be successfully used by official, traditional medicine. It is important that the healing properties are possessed not only by the fruits of this tree, but by leaves, bark, flowers (inflorescences).
In our Krasnodar Territory, two types of chestnuts grow:
- horse chestnut (inedible) - grows everywhere,
- seed chestnut (edible) - grows in the subtropical zone.
I really like chestnuts. Any. Horse chestnut is such a positive in spring when it blooms! When I see flowering chestnuts, my mood always rises. Light chestnut candles - what could be more beautiful!
It is believed that the name "horse" is due to the association of the appearance of the fruit with the color, gloss of the skins of horses of bay color. It is also called "ordinary" in order to note, to somehow distinguish among other representatives of the horse chestnut family. This magnificent tree blooms by May, continues to bloom for about 25 days.
The ancient Slavs used the power of living trees to restore the health of the entire human body or parts of it. Healers, healers, healers knew the healing properties of trees that give energy to a person. Chestnut has the property of taking negative energy from a person.
Chestnut treatment is best in the early morning, at sunrise. You need to hug the tree, cuddle with it with your body, ask the tree to take away your negative energy. The energy of the chestnut is kind, soft. Therefore, it does not cure much, but rather relaxes a person, relieves internal stress, which is associated with a person’s physical condition, calms, relieves a constant feeling of discomfort.
From the depths of centuries, information has come to us from druids that each person has his own tree, which endows a person with certain qualities. So, people born from 15. 05 to 24. 05 or from 12. 11 to 21. 11 are people of chestnut.
Blooming chestnut, photo:
Preparation of medicinal raw materials, the composition of useful compounds
Around August – early September, chestnut tree kernels mature and become suitable for further use. To prepare medicinal potions, the kernels are separated from the peel (pericarp), spread out in an even layer, left to dry for about a month. When a dryer is used for this, a temperature of + 60 ° C is sufficient. A couple of days is enough to achieve the desired state of the fruit. Horse chestnut prepared in this way retains its healing qualities for about 2 years.
For medicinal purposes, the bark is harvested in the spring - it should be removed from branches that are at least 3 years old. The bark is dried in a well-ventilated room, so it retains its healing properties for about a year. As for the inflorescences, they are collected during flowering. Immediately after collection, the flowers are laid out on a clean surface, in a sunny place, after which, the rest of the time, they are dried in the shade. Leaves, like flowers, can be harvested from May to September - they can be stored for no more than one year.
All of the above parts of the tree contain flavonoids, vitamins, acids, enzymes, and other useful ingredients.
Let's consider them in more detail:
- Glucosides help to cope with the problems of the central nervous system, work on the expansion of blood vessels.
- Organic acids help to eliminate toxins from the body, and also optimize the state of blood vessels.
- Fatty oils help the speedy healing of wounds, stop inflammatory processes.
- Vitamins of groups "A", "B", "C", "K" contribute to the strengthening of immunity, provoke the production of hemoglobin. The presence of vitamin "A" helps to fight cancer, "includes" regenerative processes in the body.
- Coumarins thin the blood.
- Tannins help fight inflammation.
- Pectins help treat cardiovascular diseases.
- Flavonoids help lower blood pressure (arterial, ocular).
- Starch, in which the initial component is A-glucose, works as an energy source for muscles (especially for the heart muscle).
In addition to the above substances, chestnut kernels contain chromium, iodine, calcium, iron, and bromine.
Horse chestnut, medicinal properties and use of its components
What chestnut has no competition in is the ability to lower blood density, prevent the formation of blood clots. These qualities have been successfully used to treat varicose veins, fragility of capillaries, and manifestations of thrombophlebitis.
Horse chestnut for varicose veins, tincture recipe: take 50 g of horse chestnut flowers, pour vodka (500 ml). Soak tincture in the dark for two weeks. During this time, you should periodically shake the infusion. Then strain everything. Tincture is advised to take 30 drops 3 times a day half an hour before meals. The duration of treatment is 3-4 weeks.
Freshly squeezed juice from flowers helps with varicose veins in the legs, as well as in the treatment of very unpleasant ailments - hemorrhoids. To do this, the juice is diluted with water (25 drops + one tablespoon of water), taken orally in the morning, in the evening. For the treatment of these delicate problems, sitting baths with a decoction of chestnut bark also help well. 50 g of raw material are taken per liter of water, after boiling it is left to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, cooled to an acceptable temperature, used for baths.
A good adjunctive treatment for blood diseases (especially leukemia) is chestnut flowers. One tablespoon of dried chestnut color is poured into 250 g of cold water, brought to a boil, then removed from the heat, insisted for about 7 hours. After filtering, the infusion should be taken orally by one tablespoon all day (as often as possible). The amount of therapeutic decoction is determined taking into account the individual needs of the person or the degree of the disease. The treatment is carried out in courses: three weeks, a break for 10 days, then again three weeks.
A similar prescription, dosage is used during treatment, the rehabilitation period for brain tumors.
Horse chestnut, photo:
The chestnut fruit shell is widely used by traditional medicine to treat male problems, such as adenoma, prostatitis. For this, the dried peel is ground to a powder state, mixed with medical alcohol (1:10), 70% or 40% alcohol can be used. For 70%, two weeks of infusion are enough, for a month of vodka. The drug should be taken 10 drops 15-20 minutes before a meal, once a day (preferably in the afternoon). To achieve a lasting therapeutic effect, a course (3 weeks / 10 days / 3 weeks) will also be required.
The brown peel of the chestnut contains a powerful hemostatic substance, its decoction (15 g + 300 g of water, cook for 10 minutes) is a good remedy for uterine bleeding that is not caused by malignant abnormalities. Such douching is best done twice a day.
For the treatment of uterine fibroids, brewed powder made from fried chestnut kernels helps a lot. It is prepared by the type of coffee - 1 teaspoon + 250 g of boiling water. The resulting dose should be divided into three times, drinking inside a third of the drink three times throughout the day. With mastopathy, it is recommended to brew dried flowers (5 tablespoons per liter of water). Pour raw materials in the evening, bring to a boil, remove from heat, insist all night, and drink several sips in the morning (with a difference of 1 hour between meals).
A decoction is also prepared from the leaves (1 tablespoon + 0.5 l of water). The raw materials are boiled in a water bath or over low heat for 20 minutes, after which they are cooled, taken 100 g before meals. Such a decoction helps to alleviate the manifestations of gout, rheumatism, gastrointestinal dysfunctions, bile disease, the consequences of tuberculosis (rehabilitation period), bronchitis.
Contraindications to the use of chestnut drugs are:
- Hypotension - chestnut-based drugs lower blood pressure.
- Violation of the cycle, pregnancy.
- Diabetes mellitus - chestnut thins the blood, with poor coagulability, it is not worth taking medications based on it.
- Presence or suspicion of internal bleeding.
In addition, you should not collect fruits, flowers, leaves from trees growing near roads, in the city center, in the territory, around factories where there is an unfavorable environment.
Horse Chestnut Tinctures
As practice shows, folk experience, namely tinctures of chestnut fruits have the most effective therapeutic effect. Among the many recipes of broths, alcohol tincture confidently takes first place in popularity. This is a really powerful tool that is literally under our feet.
Chestnut fruits, tinctures, how to do, why apply? Alcohol tincture successfully treats rheumatism, gout, helps fight joint inflammation, and relieves pain. With such dangerous diseases as leukemia or a brain tumor, horse chestnut provides effective support to the body, contributes to an early cure along with taking the main drugs.
Chestnut tincture, photo:
The so-called classic tincture on chestnuts is done as follows: take 20 fruits, peel them, cut them into small pieces, grind them in a meat grinder. Pour the resulting slurry with 1 liter of vodka, remove to a dark place (10 days), and then filter through gauze. A more concentrated infusion is also prepared, only for 8 chestnut kernels a glass (250 g) of strong vodka is taken.
From chestnut color, you can also make alcohol tincture. To do this, the flowers are separated from the legs, take 50 g of raw materials, pour half a liter of vodka, and then remove the container in a dark place for two weeks. Thus, you get an excellent remedy for varicose veins of the lower extremities, which can be taken orally or externally. Inside - 30 drops per tablespoon of water three times a day (20 minutes before eating). External use does not imply contraindications, restrictions.
Flowers of chestnuts, tincture, photo:
Beautiful, useful horse chestnut, medicinal properties and contraindications to its use must be considered. Despite the fact that there are much more positive qualities in chestnut-based preparations than warnings, they should be treated without fanaticism. Excessive use of undoubtedly valuable chestnut tincture can cause skin irritation and provoke an allergic reaction. As the sage said: “the spoon contains medicine, and the cup contains poison”, everything should be in moderation. Use this nature-granted healing potion. Be healthy!