Humanity has identified and described more than 320 thousand plant species, but only a small part of them (about 21 thousand) is used in medicine, mainly folk. Although the fact that it is possible to be treated with plants was known for a very long time. The most ancient treatise on medicine was found during excavations of the Sumerian city. The date of writing is considered the III century BC. A plate with 15 recipes was found, which included willow, mustard, thyme and other herbs.
To date, there is a classification that includes three categories:
- Official. Includes medicinal plants approved for use in medicine.
- Pharmacopoeia. Plants permitted in official medicine, but they are subject to special requirements for storage, collection.
- People’s. Plants that are poorly studied but widely used, especially in those countries where official medicine is not available to a wide range of people.
Most plants are included in the latter category. Red clover is used as a pharmacopeia drug.
Meadow clover
The plant has many names, it is popularly called the red-headed, woodpecker or gut. All these synonyms are applicable to meadow or red clover. Medicinal properties of this plant have been known since ancient times.
Flowering plants occur in July or August. For medicinal purposes, it is the flower that is used, which must be dried during preparation for the preparation of medicines.
Most often, people use clover as a sedative and anti-infectious agent. In many countries, a flower is a symbol of love, faith and hope, and the four-petal has always been considered a sign of happiness for a person who finds such a flower.
Botanical Description
Red clover belongs to perennials from the legume family. It is an excellent feed base for animals. It grows up to 40 centimeters in height. The root is short, with multiple shoots, the flowers are a good honey plant. The buds have a crimson red color, the petals are collected in the head. Flowering occurs in spring and autumn.
In the wild, the plant prefers forest edges and meadows, grows on wastelands and roadsides. It does not grow in wetlands.
The aerial part of the plant, namely the flowers, have a rich composition of biologically active substances, also essential oils, glycosides and vitamins are included.
Today, the plant grows in almost all of Europe, in North Africa and Central Asia. He came to North America and Australia by accident, he was brought by immigrants from Europe.
Cancer and healing properties of red clover
This plant has been used since ancient times in the fight against cancer. The substances that make up the flower inhibit the growth and development of cancer cells and slow down the process. The plant can be used as a prophylactic. It is indicated for use after surgery and radiation therapy as a means to prevent relapse. There are cases when patients managed to completely get rid of the disease only with the help of red clover.
The plant showed the highest rates in the treatment of tumors of the mammary glands and ovaries, with the manifestation of neoplasms in the lymph nodes. It is recommended to use clover for mastopathy, which is the "first step" to the appearance of cancer.
However, it should be remembered that clover can also provoke tumor growth if the diagnosis is "estrogen-dependent cancer." Therefore, you can use flowers only after consultation with your doctor.
Expectorant properties
The healing properties of red clover in the fight against oncology do not end there. The plant has proven itself in the treatment of bronchitis and pneumonia, as it has an excellent expectorant property. Tinctures and medicines from clover perfectly remove sputum, thin it, cleanse the bronchi.
It is this property that gives every right to use clover in the treatment of whooping cough. After all, the disease is characterized by severe attacks of suffocating cough. The plant is also used in the fight against tonsillitis and tonsillitis, with flu, colds and acute respiratory infections.
Arthritis
The healing properties of red clover grass include an antiseptic effect. This allows the plant to be used to eliminate the pain that accompanies arthritis and rheumatism. These diseases usually develop for a long time and intensify after physical exertion, leading to low mobility of the joints. The absence of symptomatic treatment leads to the fact that the arms and legs are deformed, anemia and constipation appear. Along with the treatment recommended by the doctor, it is recommended to use a tincture of clover. This tool allows you to get rid of lime and fat deposits and, as a result, improve metabolism.
To prepare the tincture, you will need a jar of 500 milliliters, which is completely filled with flowers of the plant and poured with vodka. After 10 days, compresses can be made from the resulting mixture, applying them to sore spots.
Female diseases
The healing properties of red clover for women will make it possible to get rid not only of mastopathy and neoplasms. The plant is recommended for menopause, as it helps to alleviate the symptoms.
The useful properties of clover during menopause are even interested in official medicine. In the course of research, it turned out that the plant has isoflavones, which are very similar in composition to the female sex hormone. They can attach to estrogen receptors and have a positive effect on the heart muscle, blood vessels, bladder, and bones. The high content of calcium and magnesium in clover also has a positive effect on reducing symptoms during menopause. It is these two substances that can reduce the manifestation of menstrual cramps and night cramps.
Man's health
The medicinal properties of meadow clover will allow men to get rid of a number of purely male diseases. First of all, the plant allows you to stop baldness. But most importantly, it helps to overcome erectile dysfunction.
To combat impotence, there are several folk recipes for using the healing properties of red clover. How to brew and apply the plant, read below:
- With red wine. 2 tablespoons of clover are poured with 400 milliliters of red wine and steamed in a water bath for 30 minutes. Use 1 tablespoon daily 3 times.
- Alcohol tincture. For 500 milliliters of medical alcohol, 4 tablespoons of the plant's raw materials will be required. All mix and insist for 10 days in a dark bowl and at room temperature. After this, tincture is used 3 times a day for 1 tablespoon.
- Decoction. 3 teaspoons of clover are added to 1 cup of boiling water, covered and insisted for 30 minutes. After can be consumed as tea, with the addition of honey. Such clover tea can be consumed no more than 3 times a day and no longer than for 10 consecutive days.
Such funds are suitable for those men who do not have problems with potency, but do not want to have them in the future. As you know, prevention is the best way to avoid any pathology.
Cholesterol plaques
Red clover has healing properties for cholesterol. It can be used even at an advanced stage of the disease.
In official medicine, clover is used to make medicines that are used to dissolve cholesterol plaques. Clover effectively breaks them down and removes them from the body. In addition, the plant allows you to restore the damaged system of blood vessels, improve their elasticity.
How to use the healing properties of red clover at home? Here are some suggestions:
- Decoction. Pour 10 flowers with a glass of water and bring to a boil over the fire. After 20 minutes, you can strain and consume for 3 weeks, drinking half a glass 3 times a day.
- Tea. It is necessary to mix clover grass with meadowsweet grass in equal parts and pour hot water, but so that its temperature does not exceed 85 degrees. The product is placed in a teapot and used as tea. In addition to lowering cholesterol, the drink will help get rid of headaches.
- Alcohol tincture. In a two-liter jar, it is necessary to place the flowers of the plant exactly half the capacity. Fill a jar with 500 milliliters of high-quality vodka. For two weeks, insist in a dark place, then place in the refrigerator. You need to drink tincture daily for 30 days, 1 tablespoon 1 time per day. After a break is made for 1 month, and you can repeat the treatment. This tincture is also recommended to use in the spring, when there is a strong lack of vitamins.
Fighting Hypertension
It is a well-known fact that hypertension can be called a disease of our century. It is hard to imagine what percentage of the world's population faces a persistent increase in blood pressure, because not everyone seeks medical help.
And even in this case, the medicinal properties of red clover can reduce pressure. The most important thing when using the plant on your own is to adhere to the collection rules so that the clover really shows its healing power. First of all, it is necessary to collect raw materials from July to August, it is during this period that the plant maximally concentrates all the vitamins and useful mineral and other substances. It is necessary to collect the plant far from roads and industrial enterprises.
To prepare antihypertensive tea, you need to chop the flowers and clover grass, mix with cold water in a ratio of 1 to 1 and simmer for several minutes. Let it brew for 30 minutes.
You can use this tea not only during periods of exacerbation of the disease, but also with the appearance of noise and pain in the head. You can drink only ½ cup at a time. And it’s best to stick to a specific pattern:
- ½ cup to drink on an empty stomach in the morning;
- ¼ at lunch;
- ¼ in the evening, before going to bed.
Contraindications
Along with the medicinal properties of red clover, there are also plenty of contraindications. The main ones include:
- the presence in the plant of a huge amount of fiber can lead to diarrhea;
- patients who suffer from constipation, on the contrary, can observe the fastening of the stomach, since there are a lot of tannins in clover;
- with exacerbation of liver and kidney diseases, you can not use the plant, since it can give a strong load on this organ;
- the presence of individual intolerance and allergies to the plant;
- in the recovery period after a stroke can not be consumed, as flowers can cause the process of blood clotting.
So, we examined the main medicinal properties and contraindications of red clover grass.
Use by women
The healing properties of red clover grass will help to solve many problems in women, but the plant is not recommended during the period of bearing the fetus, since the grass actively affects the production of female hormones, and it is they that affect the process of bearing the baby. Clover can have a similar effect in the presence of an estrogen-dependent form of cancer, provoke the production of female hormones and the development of the disease.
Thrombophlebitis and varicose veins are also a contraindication for the use of clover, as it causes an increase in blood viscosity.
