Healing Allies: Hawthorne

Crataegus Spp or Hawthorne is a powerful ally for the heart. It is often thought of as just a cardiovascular herb, but she is so much more than that. Hawthorne is available in multiple forms, tea from the leaves and flowers, tinctures, and extracts. The berries when eaten whole are a tangy-sweet snack. The berries and flowers provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity and improve cross-linkage in the connective tissue of the blood vessels.

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Healing Allies: Passion Flower

Passion Flower is useful in supporting insomnia and nervous system disorders. The leaves ingested as tea or tinctures address; insomnia, anxiety, seizures, Parkinson’s disease, neuralgia, shingles, and nervous palpitations or headache. External use can address hemorrhoids, burns, or inflammation, especially when used in a neutral sitz bath. Passion Flower fruit has a sweet and sour flavor and can be eaten whole. When eaten it acts as a sedative, anxiolytic, antispasmodic, hypotensive, and nervine. It has an affinity for the heart and liver according to the herbalist, Michael Terra. Passion Flower is also helpful in decreasing amphetamine-induced hypermotility, aggressiveness, and restlessness.

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