Hawthorn for lowering blood pressure

Hawthorn for high blood pressure

Hawthorn for lowering blood pressure has become increasingly popular lately and for good reason – it works. But using Hawthorn for high blood pressure is no fad. It’s been a well-trusted cure for hundreds of years.

Hawthorn trees and Hawthorn tincture

Hawthorn is one of the three sacred trees of the Irish and has always played a big role in Celtic folklore. As a symbol of protection a cutting was placed on doorways to ward off evil. Ribbons were also placed on the tree as decorations on May Day.

Although Hawthorn don’t grow very large they are tough and can live for up to 400 years. Today the Hawthorn is found clinging onto the mountainsides here in Wales and is often used as a hedgerow shrub.

 

Hawthorn for lowering blood pressure

The hawthorn berry has long been regarded as a ‘heart herb’. Tinctures and teas made from it has been used to relieve stress and strengthen the heart by the Druids.

Modern science backs these beliefs. Hawthorn has a mixture of phenols that strengthen the heart, lower cholesterol, reduce resistance in arteries, and lower blood pressure. It acts as a vasodilator – helping the arteries to relax and widen and let the blood flow more smoothly with less pressure.

One Iranian study showed a significant decrease in blood pressure over a three month period of using Hawthorn. The effects of Hawthorn build up over time if taken regularly. Hawthorn’s cardio-protective effect actually gets stronger over time.

 

Supplements containing hawthorn

If you want to use hawthorn for lowering blood pressure but don’t have access to hawthorn trees, or just prefer to take hawthorn in a pre-made preparation, you can buy supplements containing hawthorn.

You can get supplements containing only hawthorn extract, or you can get supplements with other blood pressure-lowering ingredients too, such as Alistrol. More details:

Hawthorn tablets:

Some natural health practitioners recommend  hawthorn supplements of 100-250mg, taken three times a day. Some also recommend that hawthorn supplements contain at least 10% procyanidins (a key group of antioxidants).

Nature’s Way make ‘Heart Care’ tablets with 80mg hawthorn extract from the leaf and flower and lots of procyanidins:

Nature’s Way Hawthorn extract tablets (Amazon.com)

Nature’s Way Hawthorn extract tablets (Amazon.co.uk)

Alistrol – blood pressure lowering supplement with hawthorn:

Alistrol is a natural supplement specifically designed to help lower blood pressure. As well as hawthorn it contains garlic, holly leaf and daikon seed – all known to have blood pressure-lowering properties.

You can read more about Alistrol in our article here: Alistrol review (this article also has links to buy Alistrol)

 

Do-it-yourself hawthorn for lower blood pressure

Hawthorn (using the berries and flowers) can be taken as a tea or a tincture. I take it every morning – 25 to 30 drops of tincture in a glass of water. You can buy Hawthorn tincture at most good health food shops. Or you can make your own:

To make Hawthorn tincture pick the flowers in the May/early June and/or the berries in late September/October. Place the berries and/or flowers in a jar and fill the jar with a spirit of 50% to 60% volume alcohol.

Strong vodka is usually recommended but I have used moonshine with good results. Leave the mixture for 2 – 4 weeks out of direct sunlight. Then strain it and dispose of the solid stuff. Store the tincture in small dark bottles with a dropper for easy access and use.

Take 25 – 30 drops of Hawthorn tincture up to three times daily for cumulative and beneficial results and lower blood pressure.

If you have enough tincture left over from the year before, you can use it to extract the goodness from another picking of Hawtorn flowers and/or berries.

Consider Hawthorn a powerful ally in your quest for lowering blood pressure and restoring good health. Taken with a health diet and ample exercise and you should see your blood pressure come start to come down in no time at all.

Personally I prefer using just the Hawthorn berries to make the tincture as they are simpler to pick and use. It’s also easy to see when the mixture is ready to be strained. When the dark red berries have turned white, the heart tonic phenols are in the liquid, not the berry and it’s time to separate the two into tincture and compost.

Avoid leaving the berries too long in the alcohol. If you leave it too long (over 3 or 4 months) it will just turn into a mushy jelly unsuitable for use.

P.S. If you do make your own hawthorn tincture, don’t eat the berries while you’re picking as their seeds contain a substance which is turned into cyanide in the stomach….! If you really want to try the berries, make sure to spit out the seeds.

 

NOTE: Hawthorn can interact with some medications

Hawthorn is known to interact with some blood pressure and heart medications (including beta-blockers, calcium channel-blockers and digoxin). So talk to your doctor before starting to take hawthorn if you’re on prescription medications.

 

More herbs, foods, drinks, exercises, tips for lowering blood pressure

By the way, if you need to lower your blood pressure starting today, and want to accomplish it without taking medications it’s not as hard as you may think.

You can just follow the 9 steps in our new guide to get back to healthy blood pressure the way nature intended it.

Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally is a comprehensive guide to the many things you can do to lower your blood pressure, such as changing some of what you eat and drink, being more active, and learning to relax more deeply and deal with stress better.

The guide is laid out in a step-by-step format which you can take at your own pace, so that it’s easy to follow, fun to read – and it works.

Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally also includes the Breathe-Slow slow breathing program. Slow breathing has been proven to be the fastest way to lower blood pressure, although to keep up the effects you need to do it regularly. Breathing slowly for fifteen minutes or so is simple but tends to be one of these things that’s easier said than done… So the Breathe-Slow audio tracks guide you through it for maximum blood pressure-lowering effects.

I would personally endorse the Breathe-Slow program too. I do a 15 minute slow breathing exercise most nights before bed. It’s very relaxing and even in the span of 15 minutes my blood pressure will drop 10 points or more.

Click here for more details: Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally and Breath-Slow audio tracks