Description
Hidden Pond Hawthorn Berry syrup is made from wildcrafted fresh berries. We simmer the berries in distilled water, strain out the mash, and boil the remaining liquid until it has a brix count of at least 15 (about 25% of its original volume). We add vegetable glycerin and a small amount of organic grape alcohol to preserve it.. The result is concentrated pleasant-tasting syrup.
Hawthorn is considered more of a food than an herb. Hawthorn jams and jellies were popular at one time. As such it does not have a reputation of being interactive with most medications. However, check with your physician before taking hawthorn berry syrup. The recommended dose is ½ teaspoon three times per day. Hawthorn contains antioxidants, including oligomeric procyanidins (found in grapes and linked to reduced heart disease), flavonoids including quercetin, tannins and amines.
Hawthorn Berry syrup is made from the berry of the hawthorn tree. Hawthorn (crataegus oxycantha) is a deciduous tree native to Europe and widely grown in North America and western Asia. It is sometimes called “mayflower” because its beautiful white and pink flowers emerge at that time of year. Hawthorn’s use as an herbal medicine has been known for thousands of years in both the East and the West. Its use as a heart healing food has been recognized in North America for about 200 years and became widely popular in the USA at the turn of the 20th century before allopathic drugs came into vogue.
Today Hawthorn has a wide range of uses. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, it helps protect us from heart disease, control high blood pressure, improve blood flow, and may be used externally to treat boils and skin sores. Hawthorn has also been shown to be effective in treating high blood pressure (including people with type 2 diabetes) AND low blood pressure.
Herbalist Christopher Hobbs states that hawthorn has the unique ability to strengthen the pumping action of the heart without raising blood pressure. Hawthorn also steadies the heartbeat and increases the heart’s tolerance of oxygen deficiency as might occur during times of stress or if an artery is partially blocked. In these ways it helps protect against heart attack, one of the most common causes of death in the Western world. Dr. John Christopher, herbalist, claimed he healed patients from edema caused by heart failure and from heart valve leakage using hawthorn berry syrup. Many people have reported reducing or reversing angina. Studies have shown that hawthorn will increase endurance and exercise duration.
