Hawthorn Heart Health

Hawthorn Berries!

These beauties with their warming energetics a are powerful heart medicine, a digestive aid for food stagnation and a wonderful nervine. Hawthorn is considered by some to be an adaptogen specific to the circulatory system.

Hawthorn is a trophorestorative for the heart and circulatory system, meaning that that it heals not from a temporary stimulating action, but through providing vital nourishment to an organ or organ system. Research has shown that the heart is more than a pump. It houses receptors for a range of hormones and neuropeptides, which are the body’s chemical language for communicating emotions. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the heart is connected to the emotions and stores the shen (translated as “spirit” or “mind” ).

So while hawthorn protects the heart, veins and arteries by bolstering the connective tissue structure of the lining of the heart, blood and lymph vessels it is also indicated for emotional heart conditions. It is an ally for spiritual and emotional heartache from a disconnection with spirit accompanied by weak and slow digestion. Symptoms indicative of disturbed shen are anxiety, irritability, insomnia, palpitations and bad dreams. #hawthornberry #urbanforaging #wildcrafting #foodasmedicine #functionalnutrition #hearttonic #digestiveaid #heartmedicine #heartache #adaptogen #adaptogeniclifestyle #adapt #cardiotonic #shen #cardioprotective