2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
White mistletoe / Viscum albium L. / is a small evergreen parasitic shrub whose fleshy leaves are used for medicinal purposes. It is most often attached to the branches of coniferous trees and poplars.
It has a branched stem and opposite, entire and oblong leaves that are leathery have a dark green color. The flowers of white mistletoe are small, yellow-green and gathered in groups.
History of white mistletoe
The white mistletoe was highly esteemed by the Druids. To them, every creature that lived on the oak carried God's message. When they had to use it, they carefully cut it with golden knives.
With mistletoe twigs, they announced the beginning of the new year. This custom was preserved later in the already Christian Britain, where at Christmas mistletoe twigs were placed in a prominent place at home.
In our country the fruits of white mistletoe are used to make jewelry for both girls and brides. In folklore, the fall of mistletoe is an omen for an abundant harvest.
Composition of white mistletoe
White mistletoe contains Vitamin B8, flavonoids, vitamin C, tannins, resins, proteins, organic acids, provitamin A and others.
Collection and storage of white mistletoe
The white mistletoe parasitizes on coniferous and deciduous trees mainly in Eastern Bulgaria. The usable part of the herb are the leaves and stems.
The twigs with the leaves are harvested in September to the end of March, but only from the white mistletoe, which parasitizes on the pine trees. They are collected by cutting. They are cleaned and dried in the shade.
Properly dried mistletoe should retain its greenish color with a yellowish tinge, no odor, and a slightly astringent taste. Improperly dried mistletoe turns black.
Benefits of white mistletoe
The white mistletoe regulates blood pressure and improves heart health. Helps to get calcium, which is extremely important for the skeletal system. White mistletoe helps with hormonal imbalance in pre-menopausal women and eliminates metabolic problems.
The herb is used to treat epilepsy and atherosclerosis. Regulates irregular menstruation, helps with infertility in women, kidney problems, nervous disorders, outbursts of anxiety and panic, insomnia, dizziness, headaches.
The white mistletoe has a hemostatic and clotting effect, which is why it is suitable for heavy and prolonged menstruation, as well as for bleeding hemorrhoids. White mistletoe is also drunk to enhance lactation in nursing mothers. In small doses it cures convulsions and spasms.
Externally, white mistletoe is used for wounds, frostbite, ulcers, varicose veins. The drug white mistletoe is applied in the form of a cold extract or as a decoction.
Pour 1 tbsp. white mistletoe with 300 ml of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Leave to soak for half an hour, strain and drink 80 ml 3 times a day after meals.
Pour 2 tsp. white mistletoe with 200 ml of cold water and leave to soak for 12 hours. After straining, the extract is drunk in the morning. The same drug can be soaked again and the resulting extract is drunk in the evening.
In general, white mistletoe has a hemostatic effect, regulates blood pressure, has an antitussive and anticonvulsant effect. The herb has a calming and antineuralgic effect.
Harm from white mistletoe
Recommended daily doses of white mistletoe should not be exceeded, otherwise poisoning may occur. Overdoses can also have an adverse effect on heart function. Fruit intake is dangerous. It is best to consult a specialist before taking white mistletoe.
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White Wine
Every sommelier in the world knows the basic law - meat to be served with red wine and fish - with white. This postulate was even proven some time ago by science, when Japanese experts confirmed the rule. They analyzed almost 100 varieties of wine for months and found that white wine sharpens the taste of fish, and red crosses them and leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
White Mistletoe Regulates Blood Pressure
According to a study by Australian scientists, white mistletoe may become one of the main means of treating bowel cancer. Experts have found that certain concentrations of this herb can prevent cancer cells from growing without adversely affecting the body's healthy cells.
What Does White Mistletoe Tea Help With?
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that is believed to have magical properties, and has been used in the past as a talisman for luck and fertility. Even the Romans legalized their marriages under him, and this custom is still found today. Mistletoe grows globularly on trees such as poplar, chestnut, willow and others and it is believed that the better mistletoe is the one that grows on fruit trees (pear, apple).
Medicinal Recipes With White Mistletoe
White mistletoe is an herb with fleshy leaves that regulates blood pressure, improves heart health, clears metabolic disorders, and is used in the treatment of atherosclerosis. In addition, the herb is highly recommended for hormonal imbalance in women - especially before and after menopause.
Benefits And Risks Of Using White Mistletoe
When it comes to mistletoe, everyone thinks of the familiar Christmas bush, under which, when two people stand, they must kiss. Apart from this purpose, however, white mistletoe is used as a universal herb. It is also known as alpine shoots, sorcerer's sign, tree of God's cross, sorcerer's (thunder) broom, pentagram, which unequivocally speak of the great importance of white mistletoe in the past in legends and beliefs, as well as in healing recipes and people's lives.
