"Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible."
This is such a true statement. I believe faith is not religion. When I speak of faith, it is in my opinion that you have spirituality. There are many individuals who are spiritual as myself but no longer follow a specific faith or religion. I feel I can pray in a Catholic church, a synagogue, a Protestant Church, or even on a park bench in Central Park. I do believe there is a power greater than myself. I do not necessarily call that entity God. But I do believe.
Yesterday, being Mother's Day, I didn't get to write a lot about Hawthorn or my favorite flower, Convalleria.
Hawthorne (Crataegus oxyacantha) has been used for thousands of years. It is sometimes called haw, mayblossom and even mayflower. Other names it has been called are thorn-apple and whitehorn. Since the 17th century, hawthorn has been used by herbalists for congestive heart failure (CHF). It is in the German E monographs, which specifically indicate its usage, dosage, safety and efficacy in Europe. We do not have an entity in the United States for herbs. I think we should as I feel and know herbs and drugs. There needs to be some guidelines. We do have an Herbal PDR for physicians to look at interactions between drugs and herbs. However, how many doctors have you been to that asked "What supplements do you take including herbal remedies?" I think few have even bothered to ask. Herbal Medicine is the new future. We must rely on these plants for cures. Hawthorn is considered a heart tonic (cardiac tonic) along with Convalleria (Lily of the Valley), ginseng and motherwort. Hawthorn does contain proanthocyanidins and flavinoids to effectively pump the heart better. This action is also known to the Foxglove from which a common used cardiac medicine is derived called digitalis or digoxin. The main cardiac effects of hawthorn are improvement of the blood supply to the heart by dilating coronary vessels (arteries of the heart), improvement in metabolic processes of the heart (increasing pump fucntion like foxglove) and the inhibition of the angiotension coinverting enzyme. There is a conventional class of medications called ACE inhibitors that do what hawthorn does. These conventional medications end in -pril. Example are enalapril (vasotec), captopril, ramapril (altace) etc. In addition to these cardiovascular effects, hawthorn is used for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), hypertension (blood pressure) and arrhythmias (palpitations, extra heart beats). It is mainly the flowers and the berries that are used, which is pictured above.
I didn't find hawthorn mentioned in Medicinal Plants of the Bible by James Duke.
Since herbs are drugs, it must be used with caution with beta blockers such as metoprolol as it can exaggerate the hypotensive (low BP) effect. Hawthorn can increase the effects of digoxin (the foxglove plant). I have also seen it increase the sedative effects of central nervous stimulants such as alcohol and psychotropics. I do know that hawthorn can increase the action of Convalleria (Lily of the Valley). I also read that it increases the action of Adonis vernalis.
To be truthful, I have never heard of adonis vernalis! I will have to do more work this week.
The above is of the hawthorn flowers and berries. They are spiny shrubs. To identify a specific species is difficult. I hope I can on my adventures in Ithaca. Flowers are white with 5 petals. It does flower in spring and early summer so look out for it. I do know a folk tale that a scratch from one of the thorns can cause blindness.
Until tomorrow...
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