In this article, we are going to look at the hawthorn tea recipe. But do you know what hawthorn is?
For those of you who don’t know hawthorn: hawthorn, scientifically known as (Crataegus monogyna), is a flowering plant and a member of the rose family. Hawthorn is native to temperate regions of Europe, North America, and northern Asia.
For many years, the parts of the plant including the leaves, flowers, berries, stems, and bark have been used in herbal medicine for treating cardiac diseases, strengthening the aging heart, aiding digestion, high blood pressure, and many more
Hawthorn tea is basically an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by either boiling crushed hawthorn leaves, hawthorn berries (fruit), or hawthorn bark in water.
The nutritional value of hawthorn tea
Hawthorn tea made from leaves, berries, flowers, or bark contains the following nutrients
- B-vitamins
- Antioxidants like flavonoid rutin, procyanidins, vitexin, catechins, and folic acid.
- Vitamin C
- Phenols (anti-inflammatory and antiseptic)
- Saponins
- Calcium
- Iron
- Calories
How to make hawthorn tea
We are going to mainly look at a hawthorn tea recipe using dry hawthorn berries.
Ingredients
- 70 g of dried Hawthorn berries (70g)
- 6 cups of water
- 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
Instructions
- Put dried hawthorn berries in a medium pot with about six cups of water and boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely
- Strain using a fine-meshed sieve and serve.
- If the tea is too tart, you can either add sugar or honey to get a sweet taste.
Other ways to add hawthorn to our diet
- You can add hawthorn to your diet in many different ways. These include including:
- Eating raw hawthorn berries. They have a slightly sweet taste and can be used as snacks.
- Hawthorn berries can be made into jam, pie filling, and syrup
- Hawthorn berries can be fermented into wine or flavourful vinegar used to make salad dressing.
- We can have hawthorn leaves, berries, and flowers that can be used to make hawthorn supplements in form of powder, pill, or liquid form.
Health benefits of hawthorn tea
Here are the six impressive health benefits of hawthorn leaves, flowers, berries, and bark.
1. May lower blood pressure
One of the commonly used foods to help lower blood pressure in Chinese medicine is hawthorn berries.
In one study, 39 patients were treated to a daily dose of hawthorn extract for 4 months and another group of 40 patients took a placebo. The group that took hawthorn showed a greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure than the placebo group.
We have a related article on herbs to lower high blood pressure, you can get it here.
2. Cardiovascular help
A study published in Current Medicinal Chemistry showed that hawthorn contains certain bioactive compounds including flavonoids, phenols, oligomeric procyanidins that can help various heart conditions, including early stages of heart failure, angina pectoris, high blood pressure, mild arrhythmia, and atherosclerosis.
Hawthorn is also a natural diuretic. It can reduce fluid build-up to give you relief from congestive heart failure.
3. Anti-inflammatory
A 2008 animal study published in the journal of agriculture and food chemistry showed that: The high antioxidant content in hawthorn can help chronic inflammation that has been linked to several diseases including type2 diabetes, asthma, and certain cancers.
Relate: Anti-inflammatory herbs and foods
4. Aid digestion
For many years, hawthorn berries have been used as a digestive tonic. The fiber in the berries is prebiotic and can also help to relieve constipation which in turn decreases the transit time of food in your digestive system.
We have a number of articles related to herbs and digestion. Among these include;
Spices and herbs for gut health
Home remedies to cure indigestion
5. Lowers blood fat
hawthorn helps to lower blood fat. At normal levels, cholesterol and triglycerides are perfectly healthy and play their roles such as hormone production and distribution of nutrients to different body parts. However, imbalanced blood fat levels, more so high triglycerides, and low HDL (good) cholesterol can lead to plaque build-up in your blood vessels. This may cause a heart attack or stroke.
6. Relieves chest pain
Research shows that combining exercise with hawthorn can lower the risk of atherosclerosis and improve overall exercise tolerance.
Are there side effects of using hawthorn?
Hawthorn is generally safe when used as recommended. However, there have been reports of mild nausea, stomach upset, fatigue, sweating, headache, dizziness, insomnia, and agitation in some people.
If you happen to be on drugs for heart diseases, blood pressure, or cholesterol, speak with your healthcare provider before using hawthorn.
Hawthorn may also affect blood clotting and increase the risk of bleeding. Therefore, stop using hawthorn supplements or tea at least 2 weeks before surgery.
Bottom line
All parts of the hawthorn tree can be used to make hawthorn tea. These include the flowers, leaves, berries, and bark.
The tree parts have a high antioxidant content that is responsible for the numerous health benefits, especially for your heart.
Research shows that hawthorn may improve blood pressure, blood fat levels, help heart failure, reduce inflammation, promote hair growth, and aid digestion.
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