Cowberry — an evergreen bush which fruits and leaves are vitamin-rich also minerals. This berry is used in the medical and preventive purposes and also cook from it tasty delicacies.
Cowberry — a long-term evergreen bush with round red fruits. Taste at berries — it is sweet - sour with light slightly bitter taste. Therefore in cookery most often use the frozen cowberry as in such look it becomes more sweet.
It is possible to pick cowberry independently — the bush grows in forests and also in the tundra and a taiga. However it is the simplest to grow up this useful plant at itself at the dacha. Will watch an opportunity in May in this case blossoming of a bush, and in August-September to collect valuable fruits of cowberry. Also until blossoming (all April) it is possible to collect curative leaves of this bush.
Why cowberry is useful
In fruits and leaves of cowberry there is a set of useful substances. Berries and leaves of cowberry contain:
- organic acids,
- pectins,
- sucrose, fructose, glucose,
- vitamins (generally A and C and also group B vitamins),
- anthocyans,
- tannins,
- various minerals (for example, sodium, calcium, manganese).
Berries of cowberry are excellent febrifuge and also increase immunity, dilute blood and strengthen walls of vessels, promote fast healing of scratches and other small damages of an integument. Cowberry is useful at diseases of an urinary system and at a hypertension. Fruits of this bush are capable to lighten the mood and to restore forces.
After the delivery it is useful to use cowberry to accelerate restoration of an organism. Also the people suffering from obesity can regale fearlessly on cowberry fruits as they don't contain many calories — only 46 kcal on 100 grams of berries. Besides, cowberry will help to strengthen nerves, will improve memory, to save from dandruff.
However, at cowberry not only leaves and fruits are curative. Seeds of this bush also use in the medical purposes.
Who can't use cowberry
This curative berry has practically no contraindications. However it is worth remembering that, as well as any other berry, cowberry can become the cause of an allergy. Also it contains oxalic acid therefore be not overzealous with its quantity in kitchen or in a house first-aid kit.
Especially it concerns the people suffering from gastritis with excessive acidity, stomach ulcers, the lowered arterial blood pressure (hypotonia). In the presence of bleedings (especially gastrointestinal) berries of cowberry aren't recommended to be used extremely as it can aggravate a situation.
Cowberry in traditional medicine
In traditional medicine throughout centuries cowberry was used for digestion regulation, for example, at gastritis because of low acidity. Also cowberry perfectly helps at food poisonings.
The simple recipe of folk remedy from poisoning: 1 tablespoon of fruits and 1 tablespoon of leaves of cowberry are filled in with boiled water. Insist about an hour and drink 1/3 glasses three times a day. Before use of this recipe it is necessary to consult with the doctor.
Besides, berries render disinfecting, diuretic and antilocking effect. The use of fruits of cowberry strengthens walls of blood vessels, improves a blood-groove and prevents a clotting due to antiagregantny properties. At diabetes, high arterial blood pressure and atherosclerosis cowberry will also be useful.
In traditional medicine, besides fruits, also valuable raw materials is the leaf of cowberry. Broths and tinctures with addition of leaves of cowberry are recommended to be applied at chronic diseases of urinary tract and at an urolithic disease, a varicosity (varicosity), the increased intra cranial pressure. In a complex with the main treatment, cowberry helps at some types of cancer and tumors of digestive tract.
The leaf of cowberry is also useful at such diseases as herpes, arthritis, mouth diseases, flu. Drugs from leaves of cowberry will help also at a tonsillitis, and bacterial infections. Cowberry is the excellent assistant at hypostases, chronic headaches, low hemoglobin and also a depression and fatigue.
For the best storage cowberry is recommended to be dried or frozen and also to do tinned preparations. Thanks to it it is possible to fill with ease a lack of vitamins and minerals in winter time.
Cowberry in cosmetology
Often these berries are applied in house cosmetology as the rejuvenating means. Besides, cowberry is capable:
- remove toxins,
- make skin elastic and soft,
- save from eels,
- narrow pores,
- save from pigmentary spots.
There is a mass of various national recipes for preparation of masks and lotions from leaves and fruits of cowberry. The simplest recipe of lotion:
To fill in 2 St of a spoon of dry leaves with a glass of boiled water and to boil five minutes. After that broth should be cooled, filtered and wiped with it the cleaned face within a week once a day. As a result skin will become soft, pores will be narrowed, the complexion will improve.
Important! It is recommended to store such lotion in the fridge and to use only in the absence of allergic reaction to cowberry.
Cowberry is useful not only to face skin, but also to hair. Use of self-made conditioner from cowberry is capable to recover hair after unsuccessful coloring or a chemical wave. Cowberry also strengthens hair, prevents loss therefore it is recommended to use it in the form of broths at baldness.
Whether it is possible to give cowberry to children
Cowberry is very useful to children. It can be given to the child both as delicacy, and as medicine. Cowberry will help if the kid has diseases of kidneys and a bladder, intra cranial pressure, avitaminosis, cold or flu.
This curative berry can be given to children is more senior than two years as febrifuge and also as a source of additional vitamins and minerals. (From a year to two years) it is the best of all for kids of younger age to give cowberry in the form of fruit drink and only after consultation with the pediatrician. Important! The child can't give a lot of cowberry at once, it is necessary to enter into a diet fruits gradually, since one-two berries.
Consider that the children's organism differs from the adult therefore you shouldn't neglect visit of the doctor before introduction to a diet of this berry — cowberry can cause allergic reaction in the child. If the kid has bad blood clotting, then to enter into his diet this berry extremely dangerously. Also it isn't recommended to give cowberry berries to children, is younger than one year.
Cowberry in cookery
Berries of cowberry have sourish and sweet, a little astringent flavor with light slightly bitter taste. They are often used as a garnish to dishes — especially in the English and old Polish cuisine. In particular, they are suitable as seasoning for venison (and other meat).
Fruits of cowberry mix with pears, an orange peel and horse-radish. Besides, berries use for juice production (often as one of components), jam, jelly and jam, cowberry drink. And one of the most useful preparations for the winter is soaked cowberry with sugar.
Cowberry creates good flavoring compositions with fruits of apple-trees and pears. Even after processing it keeps useful properties for an organism. Also berries of cowberry have a natural preservative (benzoic acid) thanks to which they are long kept in structure and don't spoil.