Health Benefits
Lowers Blood Pressure
Promotes Good Sleep
Treats Cancer
Soothes Respiratory Distress
Skin Conditions
Helps Treat Depression and Anxiety
Supports Hormonal Balance
Lowers Blood Pressure
While this isn’t the most commonly praised benefit of mistletoe, the extract does have a measurable effect on hypertension, which affects millions of people around the world. By lowering blood pressure, its extract is able to ease the strain and stress on the cardiovascular system and also cutting down on the impact of atherosclerosis. The hypertension reduction of mistletoe extract can help prevent strokes, heart attacks, and coronary heart diseases. It also helps to slow the pulse, which also helps to reduce the exertion of the heart.
Promotes Good Sleep
Mistletoe is known as a very effective nervine agent and has been in use in traditional settings for hundreds of years. It will calm, soothe and tone the nervous system. If you suffer from insomnia or restlessness when you sleep, using it to brew a tea might be the answer for you. The chemical components of mistletoe impact the release of neurotransmitters that calm you down, soothing the nervous system, and allowing for healthy, restful sleep. The nervous system is strongly linked to our Circadian rhythms, so calming down our nerves can regulate our sleep cycle and give us the rest we need.
Treats Cancer
Arguably the most important and widely studied aspect of mistletoe’s health benefits is its role in treating cancer. The effects of mistletoe on cancer are manifold. Some studies have focused on mistletoe’s reduction of symptoms following chemotherapy, which can be exhausting and painful. Other research has also directly linked its extract with anti-cancer activity, and in Europe, more than 50% of cancer patients now integrate some element of it in their treatment regimen.
This rapid increase in popularity and demand for mistletoe has also sparked interest in further research, which has certainly paid off. It has been found that in certain types of cancer, it can cause apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells. Subsequent research has connected mistletoe extract to a higher overall quality of life for patients, tumor shrinkage, and healthier blood counts. For this health benefit alone, it should be on your radar!
Soothes Respiratory Distress
The nerve-soothing aspect of mistletoe makes it ideal for calming the respiratory system in case of distress or irritation. From sore throats, common colds, fevers to coughing and bronchial inflammation, it has shown its ability to calm the irritation and lower the discomfort and tightness in the chest. Mistletoe has antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulatory properties, making them defenders against illnesses and infections. There is a psychological connection between the act of coughing or wheezing, as might occur in an asthmatic attack, and the panic and mental distress, which causes a feedback loop. It can interrupt that neural connection and calm the mind and body at the same time.
Skin Conditions
Mistletoe can be used for bathing. You can also apply it to the skin to help treat varicose veins, ulcers on the lower legs and eczema. Some people also it as pain-killer, to help treat joint pain (rheumatic and neuralgic pains) by rubbing it into the skin.
Helps Treat Depression and Anxiety
Mistletoe has emerged as promising alternative therapy against mood-related conditions including depression, anxiety and fatigue, especially when these conditions are associated with cancer treatments. Several studies have shown that mistletoe can improve coping ability of both cancer patients and survivors.
Supports Hormonal Balance
Mistletoe has been used to help manage menopause symptoms, such as fatigue and trouble sleeping, and to regulate hormones when a woman experiences irregular periods. In post-menopausal women, the population most likely to suffer from osteoporosis, it may also be able to help defend against weak bones and fractures.
