Useful properties and contraindications of dogwood

The beneficial properties of dogwood have been known since ancient times. There was even a belief that in the area where this bush grows, doctors are not needed. In fact, the medicinal properties of dogwood are exaggerated. It does not save from festering wounds. To get the benefit in this case, juniper must be attached to the dogwood.

But there are a lot of vitamins and minerals in the drupe. Even if the dogwood does not heal, then in dried form it makes up for the lack of vitamins in winter. In the Middle Ages, it was enough to feel well in the winter to come to the conclusion about the beneficial properties of dogwood fruits.

What does dogwood look like

The fruit of the wild dogwood bush is a small, no more than 2 cm drupe. The firm core is surrounded by dense sweet and sour pulp. When ripe, the drupe is dark brown in color. Unripe fruits are red.

Varieties of garden dogwood today differ from wild dogwood not only in large size, but also in shape and color. Varieties with pear-shaped and spherical drupes have already been bred. By color, the fruits of garden plants can be:

• pink;
• yellow;
• dark brown;
• red;
• purple.

Drupes of garden varieties are more fleshy. What a garden dogwood looks like in a section is shown in the photo.

Where does dogwood grow

Wild dogwood is a southern plant and its natural range extends from the Caucasus Mountains through the Crimea and southern Ukraine up to Bulgaria. But garden varieties are already adapted to colder conditions, and today in Our Country dogwood grows not only in the southern regions, but also much further north: in the Volga region, the Belgorod region and even in the Moscow region. Dogwood bushes are also planted in the St. Petersburg region, but more often as ornamental green plants. There is no benefit from them as from berries. Harvest in this region is very difficult to obtain.

Nutritional value and composition of dogwood

In common dogwood, everything goes into business. Once upon a time, wood was highly valued in carpentry. Today, the need for wooden crafts has disappeared, but the need for all parts of the plant remains. Mostly berries are used, but leaves, bark and wood are also not left unattended. Sometimes it is more rational to use the bark than the drupes.

Berries contain:

• up to 9% sugar. In garden varieties it can be up to 17%.;
• organic acids up to 3,5%;
• tannins 4%;
• Vitamin C
• vitamin PP;
• flavonoids up to 5%;
• pectin substances.

Leaves as an astringent are more effective than berries, since they contain 14,5% tannins. But the bark, which is 25% tannins, will bring the greatest benefit for diarrhea.

The set of vitamins in dogwood is really scarce. Berries are often used for colds as a source of vitamin C. Eating fresh or dried dogwood fruits for colds is more beneficial than the popular rosehip decoction, since vitamin C decomposes when heated and is absent in the decoction.

The mineral composition is rich. But it closely depends on the composition of the soil where the dogwood bush grows.

Therefore, the amount of these substances and the benefits of the plant will directly depend on the composition of the soil on which the bush grows. For these elements, only average data can be given, which should not be taken as dogma. Such data is in the table below.

The nutritional value of dogwood fruits lies in the large amount of fatty acids they contain. As for the calorie content, it is unlikely that anyone measured it, since the data differ by an order of magnitude. On sites about diet and weight loss, calorie content is indicated at the level of 40 kcal per 100 g of product. In the table below 600 kcal.

What is dogwood useful for the human body

The beneficial properties of dogwood have been known since ancient times, and even the Crimean Tatars used dried cakes from grated berries to prevent scurvy in the famine years. Although at that time they had no idea about scurvy itself.

Perhaps, by the 6th century, the old knowledge of the Crimean residents about the benefits of male derain was firmly forgotten. Or there was no access to berries. But for the prevention of scurvy, perishable oranges began to be used on English ships.XNUMX

The benefits of dogwood are not limited to the prevention of scurvy. It is recommended to use:

• in case of poisoning with heavy metal vapors (very important in our time with an abundance of cars);
• with colds;
• with internal inflammation;
• with a lack of micro and macro elements in the body;
• to strengthen the CCC;
• for the prevention of thrombosis;
• to raise immunity in case of skin diseases (cannot be used for tumor formations);
• restoration of acidity in the stomach;
• to stop diarrhea.

The beneficial properties of dogwood are almost identical to those of raw rose hips. But in the latter part of the benefit is lost during heat treatment. In the case of dogwood, the loss of useful properties of berries does not occur.

Dogwood does not have any alkaloids, like coffee and tea, but more than caffeine has a tonic effect. For good health, it is not necessary to drink drinks containing alkaloids. It is enough to restore the mineral-vitamin balance. The tonic effect of dogwood fruits is based on this.

The benefits of dogwood for women

When comparing the benefits and harms of dogwood for women, the pros outweigh the cons.

With regular use of berries:

• enrich the body with useful elements;
• eliminate emerging inflammation;
• struggling with bacterial invasion (no, they don’t drive worms);
• increase performance.

All these manifestations of beneficial properties are possible due to the large amount of vitamin C and a well-chosen set of macro- and microelements.

The use of berries is contraindicated:

• with peptic ulcer;
• gastritis;
• plant allergies;
• CNS disorders.

There will be no benefit, but harm can be done.

Is it possible dogwood during pregnancy

In general, berries have a beneficial effect on the body of not only the mother, but also the expected child. Before eating berries, it is better to consult a doctor. If there are no contraindications, then it is not only possible, but also necessary.

Is it possible dogwood while breastfeeding

Like other foods high in vitamin C, dogwood fruits can be an allergen. Whether or not to consume oranges, strawberries or dogwood while breastfeeding is up to the mother.

If the child does not have allergies, then compote can be used with benefit for diarrhea in infants.

Is it possible for children dogwood

Dogwood berries bring both benefit and harm. If a child is allergic to strawberries or citrus fruits, it is highly likely that he will give an allergic reaction to dogwood.

If the child does not have allergies, then you can benefit from some of the health benefits of dogwood berries. In case of stomach disorders, it is difficult for a child to make a decoction of bark or leaves that tastes unpleasant to drink. But the child will drink sweet dogwood compote with pleasure.

Useful properties and contraindications for taking dogwood for men

In men engaged in heavy physical labor, the immune system often suffers. Due to the large number of trace elements and other beneficial properties, dogwood fruits are able to restore immunity. In winter, dogwood blanks will supply a man’s body with deficient vitamins and minerals.

A man is also a person, therefore contraindications to the use of all parts of the plant are the same as for women.

Medicinal properties of dogwood

Due to the beneficial properties of the plant, its parts are used in the therapeutic treatment of diseases as an additional remedy. But as the only medicine, dogwood berries cannot be used for any disease. Otherwise, there will be more harm than good.

Help dogwood from hemorrhoids

In fact, taking dogwood berries only alleviates the symptoms. But it seems to people that if nothing hurts now, then they have already recovered. The general recommendation for hemorrhoids is less meat, more plant foods and lots of movement. The beneficial properties of dogwood for hemorrhoids are beyond doubt. Fresh, like any berry, it weakens. Exacerbation occurs with constipation, when a person has to push. Since dogwood from hemorrhoids acts instead of a laxative, the patient gets relief. With the same success, you can use:

• dried apricots;
• prune;
• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• tomato juice in an amount of 1 liter per day.

The challenge facing a sick person with hemorrhoids is the prevention of exacerbation.

But the treatment of hemorrhoids with dogwood with bones can lead a fan of traditional medicine to a hospital bed. And there are several reasons for this state of affairs.

How to be on the operating table and get rid of hemorrhoids

For the treatment of hemorrhoids, it is recommended to swallow dogwood berries along with a whole bone. At the same time, it is argued that there are a lot of fatty acids in the bone, which will help with hemorrhoids. Perhaps the acids really contribute to the release of feces, but where does the body get them from?

There is an answer to this: the bones are completely digested in the intestines. About the mechanism of plant reproduction with the help of drupes, which is studied in biology classes at school, is modestly silent.

Dogwood in the process of evolution has adapted to expand its range with the help of herbivores and benefit from their eating drupes. He did not count on a person. The gastrointestinal tract in herbivores is much better adapted to the processing of coarse plant foods than in humans. But the bones of the dogwood came out intact with the litter. Does anyone really think that the human gastrointestinal tract can cope with a bone that deer and roe deer could not cope with?

Plus growing time. The dogwood drupe must rot for 2 years before the seed can germinate. In nature, no organism can afford to waste time. The gastrointestinal tract of herbivores damaged the bone, but the seed (with fatty acids) remained intact and germinated the next year. Do we think too highly of ourselves, believing that our intestines will be able to cope with the bones?

Thus, when swallowing the bones, at best, these foreign objects will pass through.

When swallowing garden dogwood, the chances of intestinal blockage are much higher. In addition to the fact that the drupes are larger, the seeds of garden varieties have very sharp tips. Perhaps these tips will have time to dissolve. Or maybe they dig into the gastrointestinal mucosa. In the photo below, the bones of a garden dogwood.

If the intestines are clogged with such bones, the patient will inevitably end up on the operating table. That’s where his surgeon from hemorrhoids and relieve.

The benefits of dogwood for hemorrhoids without cheating

From therapy, it is necessary to exclude the “miraculous” bones and pay attention to the real beneficial properties of dogwood. The use of the pulp of berries and dogwood decoctions really contributes to the prevention of exacerbations and alleviates symptoms during attacks:

• essential oils contained in drupes have an anti-inflammatory effect;
• tannins relieve discomfort and itching in the anus;
• minerals help restore blood circulation in hemorrhoids;
• organic acids thin the blood, preventing the formation of blood clots;
• iron prevents the formation of blood clots in hemorrhoids.

The therapeutic benefits of dogwood pulp for hemorrhoids are beyond doubt, but you do not need to eat the bones.

But many other components are destroyed. To benefit from eating dogwood berries for hemorrhoids, they should be eaten fresh or dried. Usually half an hour before meals eat 15-20 dogwood berries. You can not use a decoction of the leaves for hemorrhoids.

Is it possible to take dogwood with gout

For gout, cornelian root is used, which also has beneficial properties. But in the manufacture of a decoction, it is mixed with the grass of the paw-shaped kirkazon. For 300 ml of boiling water, a teaspoon of crushed root and a teaspoon of herbs. Insist 8 hours.

How to take dogwood for pressure

A decoction of rose hips and dogwood can normalize pressure: 0,5 liters of water per 1 tbsp. rose hips and 2 tbsp. dogwood drupes. Boil 20 minutes. Cool down. Dosage not specified. You can simply use half a glass of fresh dogwood juice. In this case, there will be more benefits. But only if there are no contraindications.

Is it possible dogwood with pancreatitis

Experts did not come to a consensus, since pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that requires a special diet. Until it is clear whether there will be benefit or harm from eating dogwood fruits, it is better not to eat dogwood.

Will dogwood help with diarrhea

Useful properties of dogwood are not only miraculous berries. The leaves and bark of this plant contain a lot of tannins.

For diarrhea, it is better to use the bark or leaves, which have more astringents than the drupes, and the benefits of other parts of the plant will be higher.

Dogwood in folk medicine

Since the beneficial properties of dogwood trees have long been noticed by the people, the fruits of the dogwood were used wherever possible. From wood products to applying marshmallows to festering wounds. In the years when there were no antibiotics and people died at the age of 30, humanity could not help but pay attention to various infusions and decoctions. Dogwood fruit is also not over. And there was more benefit from this than from bloodletting.

What is useful dogwood juice

The benefits of dogwood juice are almost as good as the beneficial properties of the fruit. Juice has a wide range of effects. It is used like:

• anti-inflammatory;
• antibacterial;
• immunostimulant;
• blood pressure regulator;
• vitamin preparation;
• astringent for diarrhea.

The production of juice provides for special equipment for separating the pulp from the seeds, so in everyday life there will be more benefit from decoctions, tinctures and syrups.

What is useful fruit drink from dogwood

The recipe for making fruit drinks is simple: dilute the juice with water and sweeten. Useful properties of fruit drink are the same as those of juice. But you need more drink.

The benefits of dogwood compote

The beneficial properties of compote are weaker than those of juice due to the lower concentration of substances. But you can benefit from compote even in winter by brewing dried fruits. For juice, only fresh dogwood is needed.

The recipe for making compote is simple. Dried fruits are poured with water so that it covers the fruits. Depending on the required concentration of water can be added. After that, the fruits are boiled for about 10 minutes over medium heat with the lid closed. Sugar is added to taste either immediately in the pan or in a separate glass.

dogwood syrup

Boil compote. Add sugar at the rate of 0,5 kg per 1 liter of water. Stirring, boil everything to the desired density. There is almost no benefit due to the breakdown of vitamin C during the preparation of the syrup, but it will help with diarrhea.

Cornel infusion

The fruits are poured with boiling water and left to infuse for several hours in a warm place. The benefits of infusion are greater than from syrup, but less than from compote. When pouring boiling water, not all active substances pass from the fruit into the water the first time. Especially if dry fruits were chosen for the preparation of the infusion.

What are the properties of dogwood honey

The benefits of dogwood honey are similar to other varieties of this product. It is a natural potent antibiotic. Among other varieties, it can stand out in smell. Otherwise, the product of processing nectar by the stomach of a bee does not differ from other types of honey.

dogwood tea

Regular tea has astringent properties and is used to stop diarrhea. But regular tea also contains more caffeine than natural coffee. Caffeine raises blood pressure and is contraindicated in hypertensive patients. The benefit of dogwood leaf tea is not only that it can stop diarrhea, but also that it does not cause other effects.

The benefits of dogwood marshmallow

Pastila is an old, well-forgotten Tatar lavash from the Middle Ages from the grated pulp of dogwood fruits. In this form, all the useful properties of the original product are preserved as much as possible. And in winter, you can get a lot of useful vitamins and minerals from marshmallow. Plus, it’s just delicious.

Is it possible to take dogwood for weight loss

The eternal female question “What to eat to lose weight.” Losing weight with dogwood is real. It is enough to use dogwood in the morning and in the evening. Before or after a meal? Instead of.

Dogwood fruits are low in calories, but if you eat other foods with them, then the calories will come from other foods and there will be no benefit from the diet. There are no foods that, by the mere fact of eating, would reduce weight. At one time, the benefits of pineapple and wolfberry (goji berries) for weight loss were also advertised.

In fact, any diet is depriving the body of any nutrients. In an attempt to find these substances, the body begins to burn fat. You can lose weight even on fried potatoes with lard. If you eat it at night and at the same time:

• not being able to eat to satiety;
• work hard for a day.

But such a mockery will not bring benefits to the body.

At the same time, the principle of “eat less, move more” continues to operate and brings more benefits than diets.

The diet should be prescribed by a doctor. And the benefit of cornelian fruits lies only in the fact that they supply the body with essential minerals and vitamins. Thanks to the beneficial properties of the fruit, you can arrange a fasting day once a week with the use of only dogwood and fortified natural drinks.

Useful properties of dogwood leaves

The leaves also have useful properties, but very narrowly focused. They contain up to 14% tannins – tannins. Leaves can be used for intestinal disorders to stop diarrhea.

In such cases, the bark is more useful, it contains up to 25% tannins. But the bark is inconvenient to harvest and then brew. In addition, harvesting the bark will lead to the death of a useful plant. And the loss of a certain amount of leaves will not affect the well-being of the dogwood bush. And the leaves dry better.

Restrictions and contraindications to taking dogwood

Sometimes dogwood does more harm than good. With increased acidity in the stomach, berries should not be consumed, as they will add acid. Heartburn is a very unpleasant sensation.

People suffering from constipation should not drink tea from the leaves and should be careful when eating the fruit. Due to the danger of an allergic reaction, it is undesirable to use dogwood in baby food.

It is undesirable to drink dogwood juice before going to bed. Due to the tonic effect, there is a chance to drive away sleep and, instead of good, do harm. The amount of fruit necessary for such an effect is unlikely to be eaten.

Conclusion

The beneficial properties of dogwood are not questioned by anyone. But this is not a panacea for all diseases. Overestimating the benefits of this plant and attempting to self-medicate with dogwood can lead to complications or death due to late seeking qualified medical help.