According to legend, Eve, leaving the Garden of Eden, took a clover leaf as a keepsake. Since then, people have endowed a modest flower with white and red heads with powerful life-giving force. The benefits of clover were known in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The renowned healer Abu ibn Sina wrote in his treatises about the use of clover for the healing of ailments.
Clover value
Clover flowers are found among meadow vegetation of temperate latitudes. Visually by the color of the heads, it is easy to distinguish 2 varieties of culture:
· Creeping white shamrock ("white porridge");
· Meadow red trefoil ("red clover" or "scrofulous grass").
Both plants are part of the legume family and have a wide range of practical applications. They are grown as:
1. Medonosov;
2. Feed for livestock;
3. Natural dyes for fabrics;
4. Culinary ingredients (salads, soup, pastries, tea);
5. The components of perfumes and cosmetics.
Official pharmaceuticals and folk pharmacopoeia include parts of the plant in the composition of various medicines.
What substances are in clover
Both types of clover - red and white, are saturated with useful substances, but in a different ratio. In a meadow shamrock, the roots and stem provide maximum benefit. They contain :
Carbohydrates
Steroids
Carotene;
Coumarins
Saponins;
Quinones;
Essential oil;
Vitamins
Trace elements.
The composition of the white porridge contains the same useful components, but in a smaller amount. Traditional healers recommend taking clover preparations both internally and externally. They have therapeutic properties:
· Hemostatic;
Antifungal
· Painkillers;
· Choleretic;
· Tonic;
· Expectorant;
· Antitumor;
Antipyretic;
· Anti-sclerotic;
· · Antibacterial.
What is the benefit of clover in folk medicine
Pharmacologists studied the effect of herbal remedies from red clover on the body and noted the most likely areas of application:
· Bronchial diseases;
Cardiovascular complications;
Osteoporosis;
· Parkinson's disease;
· Violations in the reproductive system;
Dermatological problems (wounds, burns).
No studies have been conducted on the white shamrock, so its use is not officially permitted. Based on the collection of clover, extracts, tinctures, decoctions, infusions, compresses, tea are prepared at home.
Creeping clover helps women to solve gynecological problems that arise during menopause. The effective effect of red clover on the female body is due to the presence of hormone-like components in the composition. The use of extract from red clover reduces sweating, normalizes nervous tension, and inhibits the aging process.
At the same time, phytohormones are powerless to affect the production of follicle-stimulating and luteinizing components and thereby resolve reproductive difficulties.
Men also feel benefits after taking funds from trefoil clover. The substances in its composition overwhelmingly affect testosterone and, thus, eliminates seborrhea, leading to early baldness and acne.
Decoctions and infusions of clover have an expectorant effect. They are used to remove sputum in diseases of the respiratory tract, as well as to relieve inflammation in the oral cavity and larynx. Asthmatics clover is useful as a hypoallergenic agent.
Trefoil herbal remedies are recommended for elderly people suffering from atherosclerosis. In cases of diarrhea, the astringent properties of the plant help. Infusions of clover roots relieve the development of fungal diseases, so doctors advise taking baths with them. Lotions on the eyes relieve inflammation.
Recipes for folk remedies from clover
Juice obtained from a white cereal stops bleeding, relieves inflammation, and accelerates the process of tissue regeneration. It is applied to wounds, burns, ulcers. Clover has a strengthening effect on blood vessels, enhances their elasticity. Juice from red shamrocks rub the skin to remove freckles.
The juice is obtained from the vegetative green part of the plant (stem, leaves, flowers). To improve the taste, honey is added to the drink. Juice is also used for compresses and poultices. The juice has maximum efficiency in the first 30 minutes after extraction. The daily dose for oral administration is not more than 250 ml.
As a medicine, an extract from the inflorescences (heads) of red and white clover is used. The daily dose of the drug is prepared at the rate of 0.5 l of boiling water per 100 inflorescences. The collected fresh flowers are picked, poured with water and allowed to infuse. An infusion of bite helps to improve the general condition of the body, increases vitality. It is recommended for alcoholism, diseases of the urinary and reproductive systems. The treatment course is carried out during the flowering period of plants.
From the trefoil heads do tincture at home at home. For this, the inflorescences are placed in a glass container, poured with vodka or alcohol and left for a while to let it brew. It helps with anemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, headaches. And also known as an antitumor agent.
Tea brewed from fresh heads of white and red clover has a strengthening, antibacterial and antiviral effect. It is useful to drink for the prevention of infectious diseases. In addition, the drink cleanses the body of harmful toxins. In combination with linden flowers, clover tea normalizes sleep.
Doctors advise using exclusively fresh parts of the plant to prepare clover products. Since during storage, the collection can be affected by microscopic molds that produce dangerous toxins. Their penetration into the body can cause irreparable harm.
Safe clover harvesting is done in dry weather. Inflorescences are torn off and dried in the sun or in a drying chamber (temperature +60 C). Dry collection is stored for 1 year in hermetically sealed glass containers.
What is the harm of clover
The use of red or white clover entails the appearance of possible side effects:
Nausea
· Headache;
Rashes
Muscle pain
Coumarin, which is part of clover, is known for its ability to thin the blood and limit platelet formation. Such an action is dangerous for people with fragile blood vessels, unstable blood pressure. Exceeding the dosage of herbal remedies can provoke profuse internal bleeding.
Means prepared on the basis of a shamrock, it is forbidden to drink in the preoperative period (within 2 weeks before surgery). The plant increases the risk of blood clots in the vessels.
An extract from clover is dangerous for pregnant women, since it poses a threat to the unborn baby and can lead to a miscarriage. The use of drugs during lactation is extremely harmful to the baby, because increases the likelihood of disturbances in the life of its internal systems.
