Who is not familiar with the fragrant dark berry, carefully cultivated on personal plots by female hands?
Blackcurrant is the queen in terms of vitamins and nutrients.
Moreover, not only berries are useful, but also leaves, buds, twigs of deciduous shrubs of the gooseberry family.
Blackcurrant - benefits for the body
The spherical or oblong fruits of black currant are popular not only because of their taste, but also because of their healing properties.
The berries of the plant contain all the trace elements necessary for the human body: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, etc. It is interesting that the most potassium in blackcurrant is 322 mg per 100 g of product. In addition, the fragrant berry is rich in proteins, fats, carbohydrates. There is water in it.
100 g of the most delicious fruits of the plant give a person 63 kcal.
Everyone has heard about currant vitamins. C, A, P, as well as B vitamins - this is the main component of the product.
In addition to the above, the berry contains organic acids, sugars, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins and nitrogenous substances, pectin, volatile, essential oils.
Useful leaves, buds and flowers of the plant. The main component of blackcurrant is ascorbic acid, which is found in all parts of the plant and naturally stimulates the human immune system.
The healing properties of blackcurrant are difficult to overestimate. She is:
• strengthens the body's defenses
• acts as a tonic and vasodilator
• improves metabolism
• promotes appetite
• acts as a blood purifying, hematopoietic, anti-inflammatory drug
• reduces high sugar
• has a diuretic, diaphoretic effect
• treats dermatitis, diathesis, eye diseases, scrofula, diarrhea
• helps with hypertension, stomach ailments, cough, headache, insomnia, as well as joint pain
• relieves edema
• is an indispensable source of vitamins
Prescriptions for the preparation of medicines:
1. Tea. It is prepared from the leaves, buds and berries of a plant. Proportions are free. Raspberry leaves, lingonberries or rose hips can be added to the composition for greater effectiveness. A healing drink is a real storehouse of nutrients. Currant vitamins are indispensable for colds, overwork, vitamin deficiency and simply as a prophylactic.
2. Infusion for stomatitis. A large spoonful of dry crushed leaves of the plant is poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted for about 30 minutes. Then use (after straining) to rinse the oral cavity.
3. Infusion for hypertension. Traditionally prepared infusion (1 spoon of raw materials per glass of boiling water) is consumed several times a day in half a glass.
4. Infusion for the treatment of gastrointestinal problems. A tablespoon of berries and chopped leaves is poured with boiling water (1 glass), insisted, filtered and often drunk a little during the day.
5. For joint pain, drink a warm infusion of currant leaves (at least 2-3 glasses per day).
6. Blackcurrant is used in the fight against excess weight. The therapeutic infusion is prepared as follows: mix a spoonful of dry leaves of a plant, dry leaves of grapes (red). 2 large tablespoons of nettle are added to the composition. All mix well, pour boiling water and insist. Then add freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon. Drink all day 1 glass before eating.
7. Infusion of blackcurrant from skin rashes. Brewed leaves and twigs of black currant (300 g of raw materials per 3 liters of boiling water). The composition is insisted, filtered, poured into a bath of water and take water procedures for 15 minutes.
8. To reduce blood pressure, use a mixture of mashed currants with sugar 1: 2. The tool is a tasty prevention of atherosclerosis.
9. Anti-wrinkle masks are prepared from blackcurrant. Rub a small number of berries and combine the healing gruel with honey. The mask is applied to the face for 15 minutes, after which it is washed off and lubricated with cream or fat cream.
Useful properties of blackcurrant - application in cooking
Thanks to the benefits of blackcurrant, every housewife annually in the summer period tries to procure for the future a delicious berry. The currants are ground with sugar, jam, jelly, stewed fruits are boiled from it, canned leaves.
Sweet and sour fruits are frozen to use as a filling for pies, cakes. Berries are used to make a healing tincture or liqueur, which is used not only as a tasty relaxing drink, but also for the treatment of tuberculosis, anemia, diarrhea.
Prepare tincture like this: the berries are poured into a glass jar (per third of the volume), a couple of fragrant leaves of the plant are added, poured with alcohol and sealed. In a week, the drug is ready! It is filtered and consumed before meals a little.
Pouring is prepared using vodka. 200 g of fresh blackcurrant fruits are crushed, poured with a bottle of vodka, a pinch of sugar and a little lemon zest are added (for a better taste). Insist the mixture in a dark place for 2-3 weeks. Then filtered and consumed as necessary.
Blackcurrant - contraindications
For all its benefits, the product is not recommended for such ailments:
• hepatitis
• thrombophlebitis
• stomach ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer
• increased acidity of the stomach
The harm of black currant is in its excessive use. The product contains salicylic acid and is therefore not advisable for a sick stomach.
In addition, unreasonable eating of berries can (albeit rarely) cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, eating blackcurrant, you must comply with the measure.
Blackcurrant is not recommended during pregnancy. From a small handful of berries, most likely, there will be no harm, but if the expectant mother allows herself to get carried away by aromatic fruits, then negative consequences can be expected.
And, finally, the plant is contraindicated in people who have increased blood coagulability.
The use of black currant - we procure the product correctly
Blackcurrant will bring benefits, not harm, if it is correctly and responsibly approached to harvest it. So, the fruits are best harvested as they ripen, and preferably without peduncles.
Dry them only in the shade or in special ovens. How to determine the readiness of raw materials? Berries should be crumbly and not collect in a lump. A specific smell and sour taste - a distinctive feature of the finished dry product, which is able to maintain its healing properties for 2 years.
Leaves it is most preferable to pluck in June-July. Moreover, those that are located in the middle part of the shoot are suitable for use. The technology for preparing the leaves is simple: they are placed on a cloth or paper and dried in the shade. The healing properties of the product are maintained throughout the year.
Kidney removed in the winter or in the spring. To begin with, twigs are cut, and kidneys are already cut off from them. Raw materials are stored frozen or poured with alcohol. Shelf life is 1 year.
Of course, blackcurrant is extremely useful. It is suitable for the treatment of many ailments and not only. Blackcurrant is an excellent prophylactic immunostimulating agent.
However, do not consider it a panacea for all diseases. Moderate consumption with knowledge of the existing contraindications of blackcurrant can only be beneficial.
