Sea buckthorn is a valuable natural gift of autumn. Its useful qualities have been known since ancient times. Sea buckthorn is used in folk medicine, cooking and cosmetology. Its berries are a real storehouse of healing qualities.
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General information about sea buckthorn
Sea buckthorn belongs to the sucker family. This shrub loves the sun's rays, is very unpretentious and frost-resistant. Sea buckthorn is widely cultivated in ordinary home gardens. Buckthorn is especially popular.
Most often, the berries in this shrub are yellow or bright orange in color, but there are special varieties with original red and pink fruits.
Depending on climatic conditions and habitat, sea buckthorn can reach the size of a small tree, but most often it looks like a shrub. In comfortable conditions, sea buckthorn can grow and bear fruit for more than a dozen years.
Sea buckthorn is a dioecious plant, therefore there are both female and male variants of sea buckthorn. Interestingly, the berries do not grow on the "male sea-buckthorn".
The roots of the plant can spread in different directions to a distance of 8-12 meters. To prevent damage to other garden plantings, sea buckthorn is often enclosed by a fence dug in the ground, or annually digged near the shrub soil and cut off long roots.
Sea buckthorn is planted in spring, and the crop is harvested in the first half of autumn. Sea buckthorn berries are very healthy, but unique in taste. Most often they are used in cooking or in traditional medicine.
Useful properties of sea buckthorn
Fresh ripe sea buckthorn berries are just a treasure of healing substances, vitamins and elements. They contain flavonoids, beneficial acids, glucose, tannins and fructose.
The use of sea buckthorn fruits increases immunity, strengthens the heart and blood vessels. Sea buckthorn is recommended for the prevention of stroke and heart attack.
The list of medicinal properties of sea buckthorn:
- has an anticarcinogenic effect;
- Has a painkiller and healing effect;
- strong antiseptic;
- strengthens the immune system and nourishes the body with vitamins;
- It has a mild laxative effect for constipation;
- strengthens blood vessels and heart muscle.
Contraindications to the use of sea buckthorn:
- individual intolerance;
- chronic diarrhea;
- acute form of diseases of the stomach and gall bladder;
- kidney stones or bladder;
- hypotension.
You should stop taking sea buckthorn drugs if you have itchy skin rashes, rashes, difficulty breathing, swelling, bitterness in your mouth, and excessive salivation after eating.
With problems with potency in men and a decrease in libido in women should take berries of sea buckthorn 30-40 grams daily.
A good way to provide yourself with fresh tasty berries for a whole year is to freeze them. The medicinal qualities of sea buckthorn are not lost during freezing and heat treatment.
For medicinal purposes, natural sea buckthorn oil is widely used. It is used in both traditional and traditional medicine. It is not at all necessary to engage in independent extraction; in almost any pharmacy you can buy this unique product.
In sea buckthorn oil, there are contraindications for taking: individual intolerance and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in acute form.
During chemotherapy, patients are advised to take sea buckthorn oil three times a day before meals.
Also, this tool heals and restores the liver.
Outwardly sea buckthorn oil is used to restore the skin after burns and frostbite, as well as in the formation of pressure sores.
In the field of gynecology, sea buckthorn oil is prescribed for the treatment of colpitis and erosion. With a cold, you can drip 1-2 drops of oil in each nostril several times a day.
With tonsillitis with severely inflamed tonsils, it is very useful to lubricate the sore throat with natural sea buckthorn oil. Redness and inflammation will subside much faster.
For medicinal purposes, not only berries are used, but also sea buckthorn leaves. They make various healing broths and tinctures. Dried leaves are added to tea, which makes it not only useful, but also very fragrant.
Anti-inflammatory and restorative decoctions are prepared from the bark of the plant.
During pregnancy, there is no special ban on the use of drugs from sea buckthorn.
Doctors often recommend that future mothers take oil inside, eat jam or drink sea buckthorn teas, especially during colds. This natural medicine rarely causes allergies in newborns, so sea buckthorn can also be used when breastfeeding.
It is very useful to drink juice from sea buckthorn. It is rich in useful acids: succinic, oleic and ursulic. Regular consumption of sea buckthorn juice nourishes the body with vitamins and energy, tones, improves blood circulation, strengthens the nervous system and cleanses the body of harmful substances.
Sea buckthorn in cosmetology
In cosmetology, natural sea buckthorn oil is actively used. It can be added to the cream or used in pure form with very dry skin. Oil masks are indicated for irritations, acne, or redness of the skin.
Sea buckthorn oil is great for massage. It perfectly warms muscles and does not leave a sticky oily layer on the skin.
Oil baths strengthen nails and make the plate stronger and more resilient.
Also, cosmetics with sea buckthorn treats problematic hair well. You can buy ready-made cosmetic products or make oil hair masks yourself. To do this, apply sea buckthorn oil to the scalp and hair along all lengths. Then put on a warm cap (plastic bag and scarf) and leave for 2-3 hours. Then rinse hair thoroughly with warm water. This mask is best done 1-2 times a week.