4 types of healthy thistles and their properties

thistlesplants bristling with thorns, associated with open fields and vacant lots, they have a bad reputation but, when closely observed, show a unique beautyto which must be added their remarkable medicinal virtues.

The word thistle itself has clear negative or even derogatory reminiscences. A surly or especially ugly person is called a thistle, which, in addition to being impertinent, overlooks the fact that both plants and people can show a hidden beauty that escapes the superficial gaze and unfair prejudice.

Thistles are usually very robust plantswith stems and leaves armed with thorns and flowers protected by shields of also spiny bracts.

This trait responds to a clear strategy: resist the rigors of a climate with little rainfall and great insolation during a good part of the year, like that of the Mediterranean coast, and also serve as deterrent measure to avoid being devoured or nibbled by herbivorous animals.

To begin with, a thistle is a thorny plant, which usually inhabits poor and arid land, highly exposed to the sun, such as roadsides and wastelands.

But this definition is imprecise to say the least. And it is that there are thistles that abound in very humid environmentson riverbanks and pastures, and there are those that need the shade of the forest to thrive.

Healthy properties of thistles

Most of our thistles belong to the Compositae family, but there are also we find thistle-like plants among the umbellate (the eringians) and the dipsacaceae (the teasels).

There are huge thistles, up to two meters tall and more, such as the tree thistle and some milk thistles, and creeping thistles that grow attached to the substrate, As the Onopordum acaulon and the cirsium acaule.

There are chapters in the shape of a sphere, very beautifulpurpleto as in burdocks or sky blue as in tinder thistle, and others crown shaped golden as the pugs.

Some species of thistles have been used by man, either as food (it is the case of Cynara cardunculusa relative of the artichoke, used to curdle milk, or of the thistles Scolymus hispanicusconsumed in vegetables), as ornament (the carlinas and cardanzolas), to card the wool (the cardencha), as fuel to produce biomass and also as natural remedy.

The cardanzolla (Carduncellus monspeliensium) It is an endemic thistle to the east of the Iberian Peninsula and the southeast of France, typical of dry pastures and stony areas. Today it is little used as a medicinal plant, but it had been used as a purgative and vulneraria, to cure snake bites and insect stings.

According to Font i Quer account in his Dioscoridesthe shepherds used it in the past to heal wolf bite wounds of which their flocks were victims.

4 beneficial thistles for health

Below are four of the Thistles that are most used today in phytotherapy:

1. Burdock: a purifying thistle of the first order

Burdock (arctium minus) is a thistle that breaks the norm because it does not have thorns on the leaves and the stemand because it prefers somewhat humid and shady environments.

presents some oval leaves, often enormous, and the flowers in chapters on a sphere of green bracts and spiny

His properties:

Antibacterial Astringent Digestive Hypoglycemic Diuretic Purifying.

Who is it suitable for:

Its roots are indicated to treat urinary tract infectionsfor relieve edemarheumatism and as a support for hypertensive.

It’s a excellent depurative externallyuseful for the treatment of acne, hives, as well as eczema, boils, ichthyosis, pruritus, psoriasis and fungal infections.

How it is taken:

In decoction, fluid extract, tincture, powders, and the liquid extract and the burdock oleate in gels, lotions and creams for external use.

Precautions:

The usual ones for hypertensive people when taking diuretics.

2. Milk thistle, a favorite in phytotherapy

milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is by far the most widely used thistle in phytotherapy and iswhich has more scientific studies.

It is a very robust plant, which can reach a meter and a half in height, with the large, glossy leaves, spotted with white on the underside, hugging the stem and with very thorny margins.

The flowers, purpleappear in large terminal chapters, protected by long spiny bracts, curved downwards.

It’s found in open fields, roadsides and fields, and may be dominant. It blooms in the month of May and June, and its fruits and seeds are used for medicinal purposes.

His properties:

Hepatic protector and repairer Digestive Cholagogue Diuretic Astringent Antihemorrhagic Venous tonic Hemostatic Febrifuge

Who is it suitable for:

Its virtues as a liver restorer derive from a substance, silymarinexperienced with success in the treatment of hepatitis and liver cirrhosis.

Milk thistle-based remedies have been shown to useful for repairing liver cells damaged by viral infections and alcoholism.

It is indicated in case of hepatic insufficiency, including acute hepatitis, other liver disorders, such as lazy liver syndrome, or as a natural restorer after an allergy or food poisoning. It is also useful in case of indigestion and loss of appetite.

As a hemostatic, it is indicated in superficial hemorrhagesnosebleeds and metrorrhagia.

How it is taken:

In infusion, generally associated with other plants such as the fumiaria, the cachurrera and the gentian, and in anti-hemorrhagic remedies, with nettle and lion’s foot, 2-3 cups daily. In tincture, fluid extract and capsules.

Precautions:

Some have been described side effects such as headaches, dry mouth and itching.

The hypertensive people and those that follow antidepressant treatments with MAOIs You should consult your doctor before taking this plant.

3. Cardo santo: to gain appetite

Typical of abandoned fields, olive groves and margins of cereal crops, the holy thistle or blessed thistle (cnicus benedictus) It is a thistle of modest size, with a short or almost non-existent stem.

This thistle has the highly segmented leaveswith spiny margins and yellow tubular flowersgathered in solitary chapters, embraced by a crown of spiny bracts.

It blooms from the month of April and is present in the east and center of the Peninsula. The fruits, flowers and leaves have been used for medicinal purposes.

Properties of the holy thistle:

Digestive Appetizer Hepatoprotective Febrifuge Diuretic Antibiotic Anti-inflammatory Hypoglycemic Antifungal.

How holy thistle helps health:

The holy thistle contains a very bitter substance, cnidin, which favors the secretion of gastric juices. It has traditionally been used as an appetite stimulant in people who are listless, anorexic or convalescent from an illness and as a digestive after a large or heavy meal.

Exerts a restorative effect on the liver similar to milk thistle, but softer.

It had been used to treat intermittent cold sores or high fevers.

It is credited with a slight ability to lower the level of glucose in the blood, which makes it useful as support for diabetic patients.

Promotes diuresis and it is indicated for this purpose for fluid retention, urination problems, urinary conditions such as cystitis, excess urea and uric acid, as a natural help to control blood pressure in hypertensive people and for prevent stone formation in the kidney.

How to take the holy thistle:

Decoction or maceration, two cups a day, before or after eating; in tincture, in liquid extract and traditional use: macerated in white wine.

Precautions when taking holy thistle:

Avoid high doseswhich could cause irritation of the gastric and intestinal mucosa and the appearance of vomiting and diarrhea.

4. Runner thistle: to heal wounds

The Running Thistle (Eryngium campestre), despite its appearance and its name, has little to do botanically with the other thistles, since it is related to anise and carrot.

It is a grayish-green plant, with segmented basal leaves. and spiny and the flowers gathered in spherical glomeruli, protected by also spiny bracts.

Blooms in late spring and early summer, and it is sometimes very abundant in abandoned fieldsroadsides and dry meadows.

It is also known as mushroom thistle, because at its feet are born the mushrooms of the cardor, some saprophytes that feed on the roots of the previous year. and it is called runner thistle because its aerial parts, very light, when dry, are easily displaced by the windwith which they manage to disseminate their seeds.

For medicinal purposes the root is harvested.

Medicinal properties of runner thistle:

Diuretic Digestive Aperitif Hemostatic Emenagogue Astringent Antidiarrheal Expectorant Hypoglycemic Cicatrizant.

What is runner thistle used for:

It is a very common plant, which It has been used traditionally to increase appetite and relieve stomach ailments.

has the virtue of stimulate urineand for this reason it has been destined to treat different urinary conditionssuch as inflammation of the bladder or cystitis, dropsy, fluid retention, oliguria and edema.

Help to calm the intensity of rheumatic painincluding gout.

It is attributed a mild antidiarrheal effect, useful in punctual diarrhea, and has been used to lower glucose in the urine. Externally it is a good remedy to heal the wounds and accelerate their healing.

How to take Runner’s Thistle:

In decoction or maceration of the fresh or dried root, cut into pieces, in syrup, fluid extract and tincture.

The decoction in external use in poultices or watering the affected area.

Precautions when taking runner thistle

The people with hypertension or heart disease should consult with the doctor before consuming this diuretic plant.