Health Benefits
Most of the time, when we go for a walk in nature, we return with small burrs attached to our pants, shoes or socks. Those sticky little seeds are actually Burdock, and were the inspiration for the invention of Velcro!
Burdock root and leaf are both used medicinally. They have slightly different benefits, so you can use one or the other, or mix them together for a wider range of their amazing benefits!
Skin health
Digestive health
Detoxifies the Liver
Natural Diuretic
Anti – Cancer effects
Skin health
The leaves are primarily used for most skin ailments, especially acne and pimples, eczema and psoriasis. The leaves give the skin a deep and fast cleaning, and a inner glow and radiance.
They can also be used as a poultice to put on burns to soothe the skin and to help heal the affected area on the skin more quickly. It is also good for boils and carbuncles.
Burdock leaves positively effect the sebaceous glands in the skin. When these glands aren’t working well, they can be either under-active or over-active, which can result in a variety of symptoms, including dry/scaly skin, different kinds of rashes, oily skin, or acne. Burdock can address a wide range of these types of skin conditions.
For a radiant, healthy skin you can use Burdock leaves internally and externally, either as a tea or as a poultice. Combined with the Burdock root it will have a deeper effect on your skin, since the root is a potent cleanser of the liver, blood and lymphatic system, all the important aspects of skin health.
Digestive health
Burdock leaves promote health of the stomach. They are appetite enhancing, midly diuretic and help the healthy functioning of the liver.
Detoxifies the Liver
The chemicals that give burdock its bitter taste, also stimulate bile production and digestive juices in the gut, which helps the liver to rapidly process toxins and flush them from the system. Clearing toxins from the blood is one of the main purposes of the liver, and burdock’s organic compounds and components have been directly linked to improving this function.
Liver health is very important for balanced functioning of our body, as it processes and eliminates all of the toxins that we accumulate in our everyday lives. If it gets clogged, the toxins soon start to build up in all of our organs, making the perfect environment for the development of illnesses. Burdock is the perfect helper to keep your liver happy and healthy.
Natural Diuretic
Diuretics stimulate the kidneys and help the body get rid of excess fluid, mainly water and sodium. Burdock is a natural diuretic so through burdock consumption, you can naturally and easily help your body to eliminate excess water by increasing urine production. This is also beneficial for arthritis and other joint related problems and inflammation.
Anti – Cancer effects
European physicians of the Middle Ages and later used burdock to treat cancerous tumors (as well as skin conditions, venereal disease, and bladder and kidney problems). Many herbalists today say burdock can stop cancer cells from metastasizing, making it a potential natural addition to cancer treatment. In fact, animal studies of mammary, colon and pancreatic cancer have shown promise for burdock’s ability to fight against cancer.
One big reason burdock shows promise for naturally fighting cancer is the fact that it contains arctigenin. Arctigenin is a lignan found in certain plants of the Asteraceae family, including greater burdock (Arctium lappa), which has been shown to combat cancer cells by selectively stopping the proliferation of cancer cells and by inhibiting the cancer cells’ production of particular proteins (NPAT proteins), hence crippling cancer’s ability to reproduce.
Arctigenin is a cancer-specific phytochemical that kills human lung cancer cells, human liver cancer cells and human stomach cancer cells. Studies like this are proving what many have believed for years — that burdock is a seriously effective natural cancer fighter!