Health Benefits
In the Balkans, Yarrow is famous as a ‘warrior herb’, since it was heavily used to heal the wounds in the battlefield. But this commonly found plant has a whole treasure of benefits that can help your every day life:
Wound Healing
Digestive health
Anti-inflammatory Properties
Heart and blood tonic
Anxiety relief
Respiratory health & cold/flu
Menstrual health
Mastitis
Urinary Infections
Antiseptic
Reduces Scarring
Blood-clotting
Natural repellent
Wound Healing
Yarrow is a very useful medicinal herb and it is best knows for its wound healing properties. The chemical compound achilliene found in yarrow is responsible for its healing power. It stops the bleeding, makes the skin close, fights bacteria and helps the tissue heal. Its anti-inflammatory action will reduce swelling and heal inflamed cuts or wounds as well as reduce the pain. Make a strong batch of tea, drink it or rinse the wound with it, or do the same with the tincture to help your skin heal and be healthy!
Digestive Health
Yarrow acts as a soothing relaxant on the nervous system. It counteracts cramps and spasm of the stomach, abdomen and uterine system.
It is helpful with conditions such as leaky gut, stomach flu, nausea, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, flatulence, stomach cramps, lack of appetite, bloating and hemorrhoids.
A cup of tea helps with indigestion or heartburn, as this tea promotes bile production that stimulates digestion, preventing food from staying in your stomach too long and causing pain. It is the bitter components of this tea that are said to get your stomach to work better and faster.
By stimulating the production of digestive juices and bile, you are also helping to prevent the formation of gallstones thus keeping your gallbladder and liver happy and healthy.
Anti-inflammatory Properties
Inflammation is the root cause of many health problems and traditional herbal practices in China, Europe and India have used yarrow to calm inflammation for a variety of health issues. Yarrow contains compounds that calm inflammation and thus help with treating many illnesses such as a sore throat, arthritis, rheumatism, respiratory issues, bladder infections (and infections of any kind) and stomach-aches.
Heart
and blood tonic
Research has found that the regular use of yarrow can help to modulate blood pressure, which can lower your risk of atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, coronary heart diseases as well as reducing the risk of blood clots that could cause serious heart complications and varicose veins.
Drinking this plant improves the blood flow, by purifying the blood of toxins and bacteria as well as boosting circulation where there are possible situations of stagnation. Yarrow tea also serves as a heart tonic which means it is used to help restore, tone and invigorate cardiovascular systems in the body and to promote general health and well-being.
Because it helps strengthen and dilate the blood vessels it is indicated for high blood pressure and angina pectoris.
Anxiety relief
Since ancient times, this herb has been used to lower stress hormones and give you a feeling of calmness in the body and mind. A research even showed that it has similar effects to those of diazepam (Valium) without the negative side-effects. If you are looking for a natural way to relax, fall asleep and have a rejuvenating night, have a cup of yarrow tea before bed, or add some other herbs with similar benefits to it, like valerian, lemon balm, lavender or chamomile.
Respiratory health & cold/flu
Yarrow is great when the first symptoms of a cold or the flu set in. It can help clear up mucus and relieve congestion, allowing you to breathe better while soothing a sore throat and strengthening your lungs.
Drinking this tea when you have a fever will help to promote natural sweating and thus could break the fever in a safer and healthier way. Sweating is a way that the body has of expelling the microbes and bacteria.
So – have a hot cup of tea and stay under a warm blanket.
A cup of this herbal tea is also helpful when you are suffering from allergies or hay fever. It helps dry up your nasal passageways, which can be quite a relief when you have been sneezing all day because of dust or pollen.
Its calming and antispasmodic nature helps to bring relief to asthma attacks and it helps reduce their severity.
Menstrual health
Yarrow is a traditional women’s herb, used to ease menstruation. It increases the blood flow in the pelvic area, thus helping with all kinds of problems – from PMS symptoms and painful cramps, to late or irregular menstruation or overabundant blood flow.
Mastitis
If your breasts are producing too much milk, to the point where the condition is painful, topical or oral ingestion of this herb is known to clear up the symptoms.
Urinary Infections
Yarrow also supports the urinary system and is an effective anti-inflammatory and diuretic (helps increase urine production) in cases of urinary infections, such as cystitis.
Antiseptic
Yarrow is the most powerful antiseptic known to man – it is a natural disinfectant and its medicinal properties for fighting infections are unmatched by any other conventional remedy in the market.
Not only does it heal external wounds it also prevents internal infections as it contains antimicrobial properties. Yarrow activates the blood in the affected area, which forms a protective layer to keep the body safe from infection-causing bacteria.
Yarrow has such potent antiseptic effects that it kills the bacteria completely when applied to a wound.
Reduces Scarring
Yarrow is prized by the cosmetic industry as it has excellent scar removal properties. It not only speeds up the healing process but also reduces the appearance of scars. There are many ways yarrow can be used to heal scars, either by oral consumption or by using it in your skincare routines. Its anti-inflammatory properties also calm the irritation and redness surrounding the wounds.
Blood-Clotting
When used in moderation, this herb is able to stimulate blood-clotting, making it quite valuable for acute injuries; however, in excess, this herb can act as a blood-thinner in the body, so caution should be taken.
Natural repellent
Yarrow is an excellent natural repellent. The US Army found that the pure yarrow tincture works as well as DEET for repelling mosquitoes, although for a shorter time. Still, given the fact that DEET is highly toxic and has been known to cause seizures in young children even at low potency, a natural way to get rid of those pesky insects is a smart solution, even if you have to spray a few more times. To use it as a repellent, simply spray the tincture on the exposed skin, or add some flowers or the tincture of lavender, lemon balm or rosemary to add to it potency and smell!