Flower power is a real thing! There’s no doubt that colourful blooms have the power to put a smile on your face when they erupt in spring or are handed to you from the chubby fingers of a little one. But, they’re also extremely powerful for your health too. There are flowers, leaves, roots, stems, seeds, and plant oils that have massive benefit to your physical and mental well-being. The healing abilities of nature proves intelligent design that is far beyond the current understanding of science.
Flowers as Medicine
1. BEGONIAS
This is pretty for any pot or garden and the petals make a lovely tea. Simply wash them, pour hot water over them, and allow them to steep before drinking the water as tea.
Benefits
- Relieves headaches
- Rids the body of toxins
- The flowers and leaves can be crushed and applied to sores or superficial burns on your skin. This reduces pain and aids in healing.
2. CORNFLOWERS
The pretty flowers are dried and used as medicine. They can be used in a tea too.
Benefits
- Helps with constipation
- Eases congestion in the lungs
- Treats fever
- Stimulates the gall bladder and liver to work more efficiently
- Treats vaginal yeast infections
- Aids in treating menstrual disorders
3. LOTUS FLOWERS
Grow your own plants for a pretty little pharmacy in your garden. The whole plant can be eaten. When raw, the flowers taste like raw, starchy potatoes.
Benefits
- Reduces fevers (petals)
- Eases diarrhoea (petals)
- Treats bronchitis (petals)
- Strengthens the heart, spleen and kidneys (seeds)
- Assists the stomach to work more efficiently (leaves)
- Reduces blood sugar (roots)
- Lowers blood pressure (roots)
To enjoy lotus flowers:
- Slice the roots, drizzle them with olive / coconut oil, and sprinkle them with salt; then bake them in an oven (220°C) for about 20 minutes. These make delicious, crisp chips for a healthy snack.
- Dry the seeds and sprinkle them into salads and stir-fries.
- Eat the seeds raw.
- Cook the stem as a vegetable.
- Pickle young stems.
- Eat the flowers raw, or fry or boil them.
4. CHRYSANTHEMUMS
Gorgeous additions to any bouquet, chrysanthemums are also medicinal flowers. Allow the blooms to steep in hot water and then drink this as a tea.
Benefits
- Eases headaches
- Treats the symptoms of colds
- Helps with angina
- Reduces high blood pressure
- May help to treat prostate cancer thanks to their containing the flavonoid acacetin
The cooled tea relieves tired eyes (soak a cotton swap or cloth in the tea, squeeze it, then apply the cloth or swab to your eyes for a few minutes).
5. LAVENDER
Popular for its well-known scent, lavender is also easy to grow as a pretty hedge. The fragrance is known to be soothing and relaxing and is common in soaps, sprays and perfumes. Crush the flowers and use them as flavouring in cold water, ice-creams, or salads.
Benefits
- Improves sleep
- Eases aches and pains
- Reduces hot flushes associated with menopause
- Decreases high blood pressure
- Contributes to healthy skin
- May help to reduce the symptoms of asthma
- Can promote healthy hair growth
6. CHAMOMILE
These cute little blooms are as cheerful as they are medicinally beneficial. Make a simple tea with them and enjoy it regularly.
Benefits
- Treats the symptoms of a cold, particularly a runny nose
- Soothes a sore throat
- Creates a healthy, glowing skin
- Reduces period cramps
- Decreases inflammation
- Plays a role in the treatment and prevention of cancers
- Prevents insomnia
- Helps you to relax
- Assists in treating and preventing mild skin conditions
The dried flowers are also used in medicine to treat:
- Ulcers
- Haemorrhoids
- Menstrual issues
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Insomnia
- Rheumatic pain
- Wounds
7. CARNATIONS
A tea made from the petals of carnations is really beneficial. So, be sure to save them out of your bouquets and use them before tossing them.
Benefits
- Eases anxiety
- Helps fight fatigue
- Reduces stress levels
- Cools the nerves
- Reduces fever by increasing the production of sweat
- Eases flatulence
- Prevents hair loss
- Soothes sore muscles
8. GRANADILLAS
These are unique and beautiful, resembling an inspired piece of art with a touch of madness. The whole plant is packed with antioxidants, so they’re used in many medicines. A tea can also be made from the flowers.
Benefits
- Reduces blood pressure
- Treats depression
- Helps you to sleep
- Eases generalised anxiety
9. ECHINACEA
The pretty, colourful flowers add a vibrant touch to every garden and have been used for their medicinal value for centuries. They can be enjoyed as a tea, or can be taken as tablets or in powder form.
Benefits
- Boosts immunity
- Treats and reduces cold symptoms
- Eases bronchitis and upper respiratory infections
Note: Echinacea might cause stomach upsets.
10. JASMINE
Its heady fragrance is irresistible, and its little blooms pack a punch when it comes to their medicinal value. Make a tea from the petals and enjoy it every evening.
Benefits
- Improves sleep quality
- Treats stomach ulcers
- Reduces anxiety
- Improves digestion
11. NASTURTIUM
The flowers and leaves of this pretty, easy-to-grow plant are edible and so nutritious.
Benefits
- Boosts immune system
- Fights colds and flu
- Soothes coughs by reducing swelling in the airways
- Helps with urinary tract infections
- Treats bacterial and fungal infections
12. MILK THISTLE
This gem has so many health benefits and is easy to grow in almost any kind of soil. In fact, it grows so easily that it’s sometimes considered to be a weed.
Benefits
- Decreases cholesterol levels
- Reduces insulin resistance
- Helps with loss of excess weight
- Treats and supports liver function
- Contributes to healthy, glowing skin
- Helps to build healthy bones
- Reduces the spread and growth of colorectal cancer
Flower Power in Nordens’ Products
We love harnessing the gifts that nature provides to boost our health and treat maladies. So, several of our products contain extracts from flowers. These are:
Organimune – this incredible product contains wild dagga or lion’s ear and cancer bush. It is fantastic for:
- Infections (flu and other viruses)
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Diabetes
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Colds
- Coughs
- Shingles
Apply it topically to ease:
- Boils
- Shingles
- Insect bites
- Bed sores
- Eczema
- Rashes
Our Milk Thistle Haemo-Cleanse harnesses all of the power of this fantastic plant. It:
- Cleanses the blood
- Helps the liver to flush toxins and work efficiently
- Tones the skin
- Infuses your body with antioxidants
- Helps to fights and prevent cancer
Order your flower-powered supplements today for a healthier mind and body. Email info@nordens.co.za or order online.
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