Hawthorn syrup: a delicious and healthy recipe

Hawthorn is a wild tall shrub of the pink family, which grows in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere.In its habitat, hawthorn chooses the banks of rivers and lakes, mountain valleys, the outskirts of forests, ravines, undergrowth of mixed deciduous forests. The shrub can grow up to 2-3 meters in height and is fruitful, ripe berries are gathered from it in small clusters and have a dark red color.

The taste of the berries is tart, sweet-powdery, inside they have seed kernels. The berries are fully ripe by the end of September - early October. Hawthorn is considered a medicinal plant and is widely used not only in folk and traditional medicine.

The main purpose of using hawthorn fruit is the treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Berries are rich in vitamins and minerals, they help to cure such diseases:

• hypertension;
• heart rhythm disturbances;
• disruption of the nervous and vegetative system;
• migraine headaches;
• vascular spasms and spasm of the gastrointestinal tract;
• reduced immunity (as prevention of seasonal colds);
• arthralgia and arthrosis.

From hawthorn berries prepare jams, syrups, make broths, tinctures and alcohol tinctures. Hawthorn syrup is often combined with other medicinal herbs or fruits, and sometimes with honey. The beneficial properties of hawthorn are used not only for the treatment of adults - it can also be taken by children.

Hawthorn berries are a valuable set of biologically active components:

• ursuloic acid has anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties;
• chlorogenic acid possesses choleretic and anti-sclerotic action;
• caffeic acid possesses bactericidal properties;
• oleic acid improves the processes of vascular and capillary blood circulation;
• flavonoids improve the muscle tone of the vascular wall, reducing its fragility;
• vitexin has a vasodilating effect;
• hyperoside increases the absorption of potassium by the heart muscle, and also participates in the breakdown of glucose;
• quercitin improves the metabolic processes of the retina and brain;
• quercitrin interferes with the transformation of cells into atypical forms and reduces vascular permeability.

In medicine, syrup is understood as a thick substance, which is prepared from water and hawthorn berries extract with added sugar. Syrup has all those useful properties as fresh berries, but, unlike them, it can be stored for a long time. You can buy medicinal syrup from hawthorn fruit at any pharmacy. The price for 100 milliliters of such syrup on average in Russia ranges from 100 to 150 rubles.

Syrup is easy to prepare and independently, at home. To do this, take ripe berries, remove the peduncle and stalk from them, and wash well. Prepared berries are simmered to such an extent until they are softened. Then the berries are removed from the water with a skimmer and transferred to gauze in order to squeeze the juice out of them. To the resulting juice add sugar in a ratio of 1: 1 and boil the composition until thick.

The result is a rich red syrup. So that the syrup does not become brown, it must be quickly cooled by immersing the container in which the syrup was boiled in another container with cold water. For long-term preservation, the finished syrup can be poured into sterilized jars or bottles and stored in a closed, cool, dark place.

Often, black chokeberry or wild rose is added to hawthorn berries - this is done in order to get a multivitamin remedy. Use hawthorn syrup, adding it to hot drinks - tea or coffee.

Syrup, prepared on the basis of hawthorn berries, has a fairly strong therapeutic efficacy, therefore, it should not be treated as a harmless delicacy, but as a medicine. If you purchase this herbal medicine in a pharmacy, detailed instructions for use will be attached to it.

Especially careful to use hawthorn is necessary for those who suffer from low blood pressure, since the level of blood pressure may become even lower while taking hawthorn. As a result, instead of taking advantage of the drug, dizziness, nausea or weakness will be clearly manifested. The same condition can develop in a person with normal blood pressure, if the amount of syrup consumed is too large - in this case, when applying hawthorn, you should always follow the measure and not exceed the recommended dosages.

In addition to the previously listed therapeutic properties of hawthorn, to eliminate hypertension and arrest heart attacks of arrhythmia, it can also contribute to weight loss. To this end, in the spring they collect the flowers of this plant and prepare from them a kind of syrup without cooking. To prepare the syrup, take a glass of fresh flowers and pour them with 100 grams of granulated sugar. Flowers under the influence of sugar after a while will give the juice to strain and drink a teaspoon three times a day.

Under the influence of hawthorn, excess water leaves the body and accelerates metabolic processes, which, in turn, helps to get rid of extra pounds.

Children hawthorn syrup is prescribed from 12 years of age to 1 teaspoon per day, adults can take the same dosage three times a day. Like any drug, hawthorn can cause individual intolerance, so those who try it for the first time need to do it in small quantities, carefully watching their state of health, and at the first signs of an allergic reaction take antihistamines.

Before using hawthorn preparations, it is always better to consult with your doctor first. The doctor will select the optimal dosage and set the duration of the drug in accordance with your state of health.

To learn how to properly prepare hawthorn syrup, see the video.