5 Powerful Medicinal Benefits of the Hawthorn Tree

EMBRACE THE HEALING POWER OF TREES
You don’t have to be a tree hugger to know that trees provide powerful medicine for mind, body, and spirit.

Trees have the power to create a sense of harmony and balance within us. Whether it's through forest bathing, or simply spending time in a green space, trees can promote overall well-being and help us reconnect with ourselves and the natural world.

Trees are crucial for the well-being and vitality of all life on this planet.

For centuries, trees have played a vital role in traditional medicine practices around the world. From the bark to the leaves, every part of a tree holds medicinal properties that have been used to treat various ailments.

Let’s get a quick overview of why tree medicine is so important, especially in our modern world, with world-renowned plant medicine pioneer David Crow. Watch the video below.

(00:00) — What is tree medicine?
(00:22) — Forms of tree medicine
(00:46) — Why are tree medicines important?
(01:30) — Resins
(02:20) — Bark
(02:40) — Spiritual dimension of trees

THE FOREST IS NATURE’S PHARMACY
Forests provide many key ingredients in household products. 40% of the drugs sold in pharmacies across the Western world are derived from plants — the same plants that people from every culture have used since ancient times — including the top 20 best selling prescription drugs in the United States today.

Tree and plant extracts contain a variety of bioactive compounds that help with everything from anxiety, pain relief, healing wounds, strengthening our immune systems, soothing our nervous systems and so much more.

In this blog, we’ll be focusing on five powerful medicinal benefits of the Hawthorn tree.

THE 5 AMAZING BENEFITS OF THE HEARTY HAWTHORN
Hawthorn is a well-known remedy now that comes from the berries and the leaves of the hawthorn tree. It has a long history of use in both Westerner biology, Europeaner biology, and Chinese medicine.

In the following video, David breaks down five medicinal uses of hawthorn.

1. Heart Health
Widely regarded as a cardiac tonic, hawthorn is very good for strengthening the heart muscle and improving the general tone of the heart and the circulatory system.

This is how most people think of hawthorn, but it has a variety of other applications in the cardiovascular system. For example, It's effective for mild to moderate congestive heart failure.

Hawthorn is excellent for supporting the general health of the entire cardiovascular system, including lowering cholesterol in some cases as part of a more comprehensive program for that purpose.

2. Cognitive Function
Hawthorn is also something that is regarded as very beneficial for enhancing and supporting cerebral circulation. This makes sense because if you strengthen the heart, you strengthen cerebral circulation.

For this reason, hawthorn is frequently added to formulas and treatment plans for supporting cognitive function and fighting against cognitive decline because cognitive decline is linked directly to decreased cerebral circulation. So we can see that hawthorn is very good for supporting the link between the heart and the brain.

3. Digestive Flow

In Chinese medicine, hawthorn is a very important herb for the digestive system. It’s largely regarded as a digestive herb specifically for cases of food stagnation — where there's overeating of heavy rich foods.

Now that's an interesting parallel because there's a link there with clearing the cholesterol out of the blood.

The berries contain fiber, which has been proven to aid digestion by reducing constipation and acting as a prebiotic. Prebiotics are foods that nourish and promote healthy gut bacteria, which are vital to maintaining healthy digestion.

4. Stress & Emotional Wellbeing
Because it is targeting the heart, hawthorn is also regarded as having some spiritual dimensions.

Hawthorn is added to formulas and used in programs where there is emotional stress. Specifically when there has been emotional shock and damage to the heart spiritually — or what would be called the shen, or spirit in Chinese medicine.

And so hawthorn is specifically regarded as an herb for grief and sadness, and depression and anxiety. It makes perfect sense because when we are under mental and emotional duress, the heart is also under stress.

5. Supports Bone Health

It’s been found that hawthorn is also very good for musculoskeletal problems, as in supporting connective tissue. Because it's rich in flavonoids, it's also very good to add to formulas for supporting bone health.

The hawthorn berry can be beneficial for bone repair because it increases blood circulation and oxygenation, which aids in transporting calcium from the bloodstream into the bone. It also stabilizes collagen and encourages formation of the bone matrix.

These are just a few examples of some of the major things that we can see that hawthorn does that can all be traced back to the heart and to the digestive system. And with the digestive system of course, we have the link between food stagnation and cholesterol in the blood, but we also have the link between the gut-brain axis. And so by supporting healthy digestion, we are again supporting a healthy cognitive function, which hawthorn also does through the circulatory system.

Hawthorn is a great example of how one species actually has diverse medicinal benefits and applications.

If you study tree medicines further, you will learn that every species has a specific more well-known targeted kind of benefit, but because it is working on one primary area, it can also overlap and be beneficial for many other areas as well.

So the next time you take a hike through a forest, a stroll through your local park, or even a tree-lined avenue, take time to appreciate the beauty and generosity of our tall leafy friends.

What is your relationship to trees? Do you have a favorite? Have you experienced the sacred and/or medicinal benefits of trees? Let us know in the comments below

Join this FREE video event with David Crow and discover practical ways to use proven tree medicine remedies to treat stress and anxiety, all while boosting your immune system — starting today.

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