STRAWBERRY

fragaria vesca

STRAWBERRY
fragaria vesca

Other Names:

AMARRUBIA, Anube, Arrugui, Fragaria, Frutillar, Guindón, Magueta, Meruéndano, Metra.

Strawberry has been using as food for millennia, but its medicinal properties were not discovered until the sixteenth century. The great Swedish botanist Linnaeus, who put names to many plant species, has to be cured of gout that he suffered after subjected to a diet, which was the strawberry one of its major components.

Habitat: common at the edges of roads and edges of forested regions across Europe. In Spain it is less common in the south. It is now widely cultivated in temperate regions of Europe and America. You can also find asilvestrado.

Description: perennial plant of the Rosaceae family, which reaches from 5 to 20 cm in height. The leaves are trifoliate, over the pale underside. Their flowers are white, and have 5 petals. The real fruits are actually granite that are attached to the surface of the strawberry.

Used parts: strawberries (false fruit) and leaves.

Properties and indications: strawberries contain various sugars, minerals, vitamins A, B and C, organic acids, pigments, enzymes and mucilages. Have been discovered in them too small amounts of salicylic acid and salicylates, chemicals similar to aspirin, which provide anti - inflammatory action. According to Font Quer, juice (juice) of strawberries is one of the more complex products of the plant kingdom, by the variety of chemicals that compose it.

The strawberries provide health throughout the world, as invigorate and stimulate the physiological functions, and purifying the blood. These are your duties:

Depurativas and alkalizing: strawberries facilitate the removal of waste substances, such as uric acid, causing inflammation in joints and kidneys. They are highly recommended in case of arthritic and gout, caused by excess uric acid.

Laxatives: because of its content in mucilages, facilitate transit and evacuation. Are shown to combat constipation and intestinal laziness.

Toning and remineralizing: are recommended especially in cases of anemia, and inappetence states of convalescence from febrile illnesses or debilitating. They open the appetite and stimulate the metabolic functions.

Emollients: used externally to the skin as a poultice, strawberries have a softener, cleaning and trim much higher than that of many chemical lotions. Have been used in local application, to cure the frostbites, every day rubbing the affected parts (usually hands) with ripe strawberries.

Strawberry leaves contain tannin and flavonoids, which make astringent and anti - inflammatory. They are used in the following cases:

Gastroenterocolitis diarrhea and, for its tannin content.

Cracks in the skin and nipples: apply them locally on the affected area, the dry and heal.

Inflammation of the mouth (stomatitis) of the gums (gingivitis) and throat (pharyngitis) in rinses and gargarismos.

Use: Internally are taken in infusion: It is done with 40 - 50 grams of leaves per liter of water. It is very pleasant flavor. Take 4 or 5 cups a day. Externally, in compresses: with the same infusion that for internal use, but a little more concentrated, the imprint of cotton towels that are applied on the cracks in the skin or nipples. Also in mouthwashes and gargarismos with infusion concentrated.

Precautions: some people susceptible to eating strawberries are produced by urticaria allergic reaction. They can try desensitised by putting a piece of strawberry under the tongue every day for 8 or 10 days.

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