Hawthorn

When Herbalist think of heart or heart problems, Hawthorn Berries come to mind and rightfully so, as you will soon see.

The Hawthorn tree usually grows from 15 to 30 feet in height. There are as many as 1000 species in North America. In my state I find the shorter variety. I find them in old farm fields as it is one of the first plants to start the change from the unused field back to forest. I find many people confusing the Buckthorn for Hawthorn and vice versa. There are two differences. One is the leaves; the other is how the berry is attached to the tree. Neither of these is visible in the winter when people are chopping down trees with large thorns on them.

When you find a Hawthorn, you will understand its Latin name; "Crataegus" is Greek for hardness –of the wood. "Oxus" means sharp and "akantha" means a thorn. All are referring to the needle long thorns found on the branches. Also according to Mrs. Grieves in A MODERN HERBAL, the word "Haw" is an old word for hedge. This tree is also found as hedge filler in many areas.

The white flowers appear in May and turn into a bright red fruit that dries on the tree in the fall. This dried fruit is dark purple/red. It resembles a miniature stony apple but it has two large seeds in relationship to its pea-sized fruit. It should resemble the apple for it is another relative of the Rose family along with Apples, Apricots, Quince, Wild Cherries, Raspberries and Blackberries.

Now let me tell you how Hawthorn works on the heart muscle. The heart muscle needs Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium. Hawthorn Berries are very high in the first two and sufficiently high in the third according to the constituents in Blake's Globalherb computer program.

Hawthorn has Chromium. It is said to lower bad Cholesterol (LDL) and raise the good cholesterol (HDL). "Studies done by the Chinese state that Hawthorn Lowers Cholesterol and triglycerides by improving excretion. It increases urination" according to Hanna Kroeger.

A lot of my students are surprised to find out that the heart doesn't make the cholesterol. This is made by the liver and the heart has to put up with this junk. By the way, low cholesterol reading on a serum blood test doesn't mean that you have low cholesterol. If all the cholesterol is attached to the walls of the veins and arteries, everything will look fine but your blood pressure will be high. The heart just has to work harder to get the blood through your narrowing "pipes." When there is high cholesterol or triglycerides, I tell my students to clean up the liver—a much better practice than using diuretics. This can be handled with "Liver" herbs like Milk Thistle.

Hawthorn also contains Selenium and is recommended for weak hearts. Selenium is very hard to find in our food because of the depleted farm soil but trees have the ability to put roots down 30 to 50 feet. They don't depend on what we do to the top three feet of the soil. When they want something to keep them healthy, they just extend a hair root and find what they need. This is why everyone needs to be using some form of herb. Our bodies need trace minerals. Herbs have trace minerals. They are called trace minerals because we don't need a whole capsule of something like Selenium.

Hawthorn, like its cousin the Apple, is very high in Vitamin C. When you combine Vitamin C with Selenium, you have two of the most important antioxidants in the nutritional world and they are said to protect against strokes. Vitamin C is very good at protecting the arteries against capillary breakage or leakage along with excessive clotting. It also helps to lower the cholesterol levels.

What we are doing with Hawthorn Berries is supplying the heart with all the elements that nourish it. In doing so we are allowing the heart to rebuild. I tell my students that you can't make a cake without flour and eggs in the house. When we nourish the body it does amazing things in the rebuilding area. With today's medicine we are in such a rush to transplant and drug the ill organ, when what we should be doing is supplying the body with what it needs to rebuild what we were originally given. Did you know that every organ can rebuild if 10% of the organ is healthy and you start to supply it with the right nutrition?

Hanna Kroeger, noted herbalist wrote, "Unlike digitalis, Hawthorn is not effective in correcting a complete failure as they don't contain the same compounds." Although she did use Blue Malva Tea to correct heart valve problems with much success.

The German equivalent to our FDA (Kommission E) published in there "Monograph Notes" that there were "No contra-indications from Hawthorn Berries. The German elderly used it as a tonic even without a heart condition according to Kroeger.

There have been studies made in China showing a marked relief from angina attacks when using Hawthorn. Laboratory studies suggest that Hawthorn's action "May be created through the effects on the central nervous system. Oxygen levels increase in the heart," According to Kroeger.

Other things that are seen as problems for the heart are, atherosclerotic (Artery plaque), arteriosclerosis (Hardening of the arteries), irregular heartbeats and palpitations, general tightness in the chest, difficult breathing and fatigue, all of which are treated in both China and Germany with the herb, Hawthorn.

Because of its ability to increase the force with which the heart contracts, it appears useful for congestive heart failure as suggested by Dr. Kim Vanderlinden in the Health Counselor, Vol.7, No. 4.

Dr. Shen, a Chinese herbalist, whom I met on the Internet, suggests Chinese sage (Dan Shen) 9gm, Safflower (Hong Hua) 9gm, Pseudoginseng root (San Qi) 3 gms and Chinese Licorice root (Zhi gan Cao) 6 gms. Slow boil the herbs in 4 cups of water for 40 minutes. Drink twice a day along with Hawthorne and Ginseng for "Remarkable recovery from by-pass surgery."

In my herbal classes, my students enjoy learning how to make a tonic and the one we make is a Hawthorn Berry Tonic. This is made by soaking the dried berries, then simmering them for 20 to 30 minutes, strain and return the liquid to a cleaned kettle. We add to this, raw sugar (SUCANAT), cool and bottle it. This is good for many months in the refrigerator. I like to add some Black Cherry Juice Concentrate for flavor but Hawthorn doesn't taste bad.

While making the tonic, we are struck by its dark red/purple color. This is the compound known as flavonoids. Hawthorn Berries have a large amount of this substance which is said to balance the body's hormones. "Flavonoids work with Vitamin C (Hawthorn being high in Vitamin C) to build bones, collagen, tendons, capillaries and strong teeth according to Kroger. Sounds like additional bonuses?

Flavonoids made the news a while ago when some French study came out exclaiming that a glass of red wine daily would help one to have a healthy heart. It is the purple skin in the grape that is loaded with Flavonoids as are the other members of the Rose family, namely the dark-skinned berries.

Hawthorn Berry Tonic is normally taken daily over time to reap the results that have been mentioned here, so it surprised me when one person told me of experiencing pain periodically in the upper left arm and by taking a dose of Hawthorn Tonic, was relieved within the hour.

There are many other herbs that affect the heart but none quite as effective yet mild and safe as Hawthorn.