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Mist tea - application and effect
contents
- The mistletoe - a half-parasite
- Plant of myths
- What's wrong with the magic plant??
- Preparation of mistletoe tea
- curative effect
- Tea blends with mistletoe
- Mist tea for external use
- Important information for collectors
The mistletoe - a half-parasite
The mistletoe grows on deciduous and coniferous trees, especially on poplars, apple trees, firs and robinia. Mistletoes are semi-parasitic, they themselves photosynthesize, but use the water of the host tree. They do not destroy "their" trees.
The mistletoe eats the fruits of the mistletoe and spreads the seeds. (Image: Bernd Wolter / fotolia.com) The leafy mistletoe prefers apple trees, the fir mistletoe prefers the silver fir and the pine mistletoe likes to grow on pines, larches and spruces. The propagation of mistletoe is done by birds, especially by throttling. The largest German thrush is aptly mistletoe. She eats the fruit, the seed passes through the digestive tract and attaches itself to the host tree with the feces.
Evolution has provided the berries with sticky flesh. The birds have to clean their bills and drape the seeds on tree branches. The seeds are indigestible and the birds give them away with the feces.
The mistletoe shrub is about one meter high. The light green branches form into a ball. In late autumn sticky, white berries sprout out, which is reflected in the Latin name "viscum = sticky".
The flowers of the mistletoe are yellowish and smell a little orange. Male and female flowers are different in appearance and grow on separate trees.
Plant of myths
Mistletoe was considered a magical plant in different cultures. Evidence of such names as "ghost rod", "witches broom" or "Drudenfuß". The people believed that this plant should never touch the ground, so it was named as the "heavenly child". Perhaps the name goes back to the thrushes, which eat the berries, fly on, then excrete the mistletoe core and bring it to other places.
Our ancestors were not strangers to the close relationship between mistletoes and birds. The witches nest, another name for the plant, was also known as bird mistletoe or bird wood.
The mistletoe balls show up in full glory only in winter. Like other evergreen plants, whether Christmas tree or holly tree, it stood for the life that defies the cold.
In winter mistletoes in deciduous trees can be seen from afar. (Image: vili45 / fotolia.com) In the magical medicine of the Middle Ages, mistletoe was used as a remedy for epilepsy: it did not fall off the tree, so the "epileptic" was not killed - that was the logic behind it. The anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner thought in similar superstitious analogies. He concluded from the fact that the plant spreads like an "ulcer", that it is suitable for cancer therapy.
The mistletoe (lat. Viscum album) was considered a panacea. Pastor Kneipp used them as a circulation-supporting agent. Hildegard von Bingen prepared a so-called "Mistelschleim", which should help with liver ailments. Hippocrates also used the mistletoe for healing purposes.
Even today in Britain a mistletoe over the front door for Christmas serves as protection against evil spirits. A freshly prepared mistletoe infusion shows a variety of positive health effects.
What's wrong with the magic plant??
Far from the old belief in magic, the healing effects of mistletoe have been scientifically proven. Today, it helps to stabilize blood pressure and relieves cardiovascular problems. Mistletoe therapy is used in diseases of the metabolism and even for cancer therapies.
Gynecology uses mistletoe preparations for menstrual problems, menstrual pain and menopausal symptoms.
Preparation of mistletoe tea
The tea is made from the herb of mistletoe and generally used as a cold extract. Because the infusion loses by cooking or brewing too many remedies, also the weakly toxic substances (such as Viscotoxin) are not solved by a cold approach and therefore pose no danger.
Basic recipe for mistletoe infusion:
Danger: Mist berries are highly poisonous and therefore may not be used. |
Mist tea, among other things, regulates blood pressure and helps with menstrual problems. (Image: LianeM / fotolia.com) curative effect
The mistletoe tea regulates the blood pressure, we can drink it both at high and too low blood pressure. It promotes digestion and stimulates the metabolism. The protein compounds in the mistletoe promote the body's own defenses. The tea inhibits blood flow and helps against heavy menstrual bleeding.
Mistletoe stimulates the metabolism and is therefore considered a complementary medicine in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The treatment of arteriosclerosis (atherosclerosis) can also be supplemented with mistletoe tea. Drinking cold, he relieves pollen allergy and hay fever.
Furthermore, the application of the medicinal plant infusion for dizziness, tinnitus and internal restlessness has proven.
Tea blends with mistletoe
To treat high blood pressure, at least half a liter of tea should be drunk per day. Helpful in this case may be a mixture with hawthorn and horsetail.
| Recipe for antihypertensive tea For 2 cups you need:
Preparation: Pour the mistletoe with the cold water and let the infusion draw for 8 hours. Put the remaining herbs in a pot and brew with the boiling water. After 10 minutes, mix the cold mistletoe tea and the infusion and peel off the tea. Drink a cup of hot drink every morning and evening. |
In case of increased menstrual bleeding or constant nose bleeding, the Mistelkaut is mixed with a teaspoon of sage, chilled for eight hours and then drunk slightly warmed. Danger: If the bleeding is possibly due to a serious cause and / or if there is no improvement, a doctor should be consulted.
To combat age-related heart failure, the medicinal plant can be mixed with hawthorn and wild garlic. The marigold helps in combination with the mistletoe, among other things against circulatory problems, dizziness, headaches and indigestion.
Mist tea for external use
Mist tea can be applied externally or in the bath water. Envelopes with a tea from the medicinal plant make rheumatic pain more bearable, are a proven home remedy for varicose veins and help with eczema.
Important information for collectors
Mistletoes are not protected. Anyone collecting them for commercial purposes needs a permit from the authorities. Important: Collectors should not damage the host tree. Sawing branches to get to the nests is forbidden for ecological reasons. (sw, no, last changed on 30.11.2016)