The Benefits Of Red Clover

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Read the first part: Agricultural technology and the use of red meadow clover

Forgotten properties of red clover that pharmacologists remember

Clover of the usual three-leaf shape is used as an amulet of youth. Also, the shamrock is considered a lucky talisman.

Known cross with clover leaves, called in heraldry "cross bottoni". Clover with five petals portends misfortune. In Chinese semiotics, clover is the sign of Spring.

The three-leaf clover is an obvious symbol of the Trinity. Used to ward off black witches and evil spirits, it is a protection from the evil eye and black magic. Associations with the Trinity arise from the three-leafed clover shape.

The four-leaf clover is rarely seen - a memory of a lost paradise. I don’t know how in paradise with medicine, maybe it’s better than in our clinics, but the fact that three-leafed red clover helps to maintain the strength of youth is almost a divine property.

× Gardener's handbook Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

Our great-grandmothers at dawn, when everyone was asleep, went out into the clearing and collected dew from the clover. Then they poured it into a small vessel, and then put three branches of clover there for the whole day. Then they washed their face at night with this water, which served as an anti-wrinkle cream. So it turns out like this: the cream given to my wife is not some kind of advertising gadget.

Now, seriously: red clover contains isoflavones. These are plant chemicals similar to the female sex hormone estrogen. Their molecule is similar, but certainly not identical. But the condition of the skin, hair, and the entire appearance of a woman during her life is determined precisely by the influence of these female sex hormones. With age, their synthesis decreases, the skin becomes dry and wrinkled, hair thinns, fullness appears - a woman is aging.

As you know, the most saturated sources of phytoestrogens are soybeans, flax seeds and red clover, and there are 20 times more of them in clover than in soybeans, 17 times more than in flax seeds. Red clover contains isoflavones: genistein, deidzein, biocanin A and formononetin, while soy contains only the first two of these substances and small amounts of glycitein, which has no pronounced estrogenic effect. Moreover, red clover contains small amounts of coumestans with moderate estrogenic activity.

The fact that in countries where isoflavone-rich foods are consumed, there is not only a low incidence of breast and endometrial cancer, but also prostate cancer, suggested that isoflavones, in addition to estrogenic activity, have a beneficial effect on androgen receptors. I will not go into the chemistry of this complex process. However, they are effective in relieving climacteric disorders in women and have an important prophylactic effect against cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

× Notice board Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

The main active components of red clover:

• polysaccharides, flavones (pectolinarin) - improve the detoxification function of the liver;
• saponins, fatty acids, sitosterols - normalize lipid metabolism in the liver, preventing its fatty degeneration;
• flavonoids (isorhamnetin, kaempferol, quercetin), vitamins A, E, C - provide protection of liver cells and blood vessels;
• glycosides (tripolin, isotrifoline) - enhance the secretory functions of the liver and gastrointestinal tract;
• organic acids (salicylic, coumaric) - improve bowel function;
• essential oil (furfural, coumarin methyl acid) - has an antibacterial effect;
• isoflavones (formononetin, genistein, daidzein, triphoside) - have a hormone-like (estrogenic) effect;
• vitamins B ₁, B ₃, microelements (cobalt, copper, zinc) - a source of vitamins and microelements.

As recently as five years ago, the main research was aimed at studying the use of red clover for the treatment of female diseases due to the high level of phytoestrogens. A study published in February 2008 in Urology (carried out at the Department of Urology and Andrology, Landesklinikum Thermenregion Baden, Austria) showed that red clover is also beneficial for men.

Scientists evaluated the effects of red clover extract on prostate, liver function, quality of life, and sexual function in men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Twenty men, with an average age of 65, received 60 mg of clover-derived isoflavones daily for one year. The results showed that the average PSA level decreased and the average prostate volume decreased by 5 cm3. The condition of the liver significantly improved in men.

I specifically cite data from an English-language medical journal so that readers understand that our health is in our hands, that a medicine for oneself can be grown in a summer cottage. Traditional medicine compares the action of red clover to that of ginseng.

It regulates metabolism, prevents the development of atherosclerosis by lowering blood cholesterol, removes toxic substances from the body and restores the body's resistance to infections and adverse conditions. Red clover also has blood thinning properties that help prevent blood clots.

Clover flowers in dried and crushed form are used in cooking as a seasoning for soups. Dried and crushed leaves are ground into flour and added to bread, increasing its nutritional value. Such bread is a dietary product. A salad is prepared from young stems and leaves of clover and boiled like spinach. Clover flowers are fermented like cabbage and served as a delicious salad in winter.

During the war, red clover was prescribed to wounded and weakened soldiers - it strengthened the legs. We, too, should have adopted this experience in our summer cottages, because strong legs are also needed there. Scientists explain this by the fact that natural polyphenols have strong antioxidant properties, due to which they protect the body from oxygen starvation, ionizing radiation and poisoning, and stimulate immunity.

Clover is used locally and internally for fractures, burns, ulcers, as well as for anemia, jaundice. The biostimulating properties of clover are explained by the rich content of organic acids such as succinic acid, which activate metabolism. Of the ginseng substitutes, this is perhaps the most affordable product for us.

If clover grows in paradise, then there will definitely not be health problems there, even if it is four-leafed. But for now we need to live on our own land and be treated on it too. And there will be no problems if you sow clover on the site. The recommended daily intake of clover for adults is 1-2 teaspoons of dry herb with flowers. They are insisted in one glass of boiling water for 15-30 minutes. It is necessary to take this infusion up to three times a day.

I will not dwell on the treatment in detail, there is a special literature for this. Surprisingly, the composition of clover seeds also holds many secrets. In any case, I do not know of a single plant, the seeds of which, a year after insisting in alcohol, would germinate as if nothing had happened, and during their growing season they bloomed magnificently, and gave normal seeds. This has only been reported with ginseng root in China.