Rhodiola rosea - medicinal properties and contraindications

Rhodiola rosea is also called poetically - the golden root. This is not without reason, since the root of this plant brings many benefits to people, and it smells, unlike other roots of many plants, very pleasantly. Its aroma resembles the smell of a rose.

What does the golden root look like?

Radiola refers to perennials. It is a herbaceous plant, not growing more than half a meter. But it sits firmly in the ground, as it has a powerful rhizome, fleshy thick roots. The stems of the plant are erect, and the leaves with unequal teeth have a cup shape, mostly oblong or resemble an ellipse. On the top of the stem, the leaves are always dark green. The stem is crowned with an inflorescence. The flowers at the golden root correspond to the name - they have a yellow color with a golden hue. Collected in corymbose inflorescence, very small in diameter.

All the flowers of the plant are only unisexual, and the fruits are leaflets of various colors - both yellow-green and red overflows. The whole summer blooms, and already in August the fruits appear. Rhodiola feels more comfortable on stony ground - where there is a rocky and mountainous terrain, but also in the flat tundra, off the coast of mountain streams, she is also comfortable.

How to replenish Rhodiola at home

In order to have a stock of this valuable medicinal plant, it is most often cultivated. For these purposes, the genus Rhodiola has to continue with the help of seeds. They are sown in the late autumn or winter. Before lowering the sprouts into the ground, they are grown from seeds in pots or in boxes, be sure to put expanded clay at the bottom, feeding them nutrients and observing that there is good access to fresh air.

Before planting seeds, it is necessary to pour the prepared soil with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate. When the seeds are in the ground, they need to be pressed a little, and on top add a layer of sand, but very small - about 2 mm. You can keep it on the balcony or in the yard, but be sure to cover it with a special film and do not forget to watch the growth of Rhodiola.

When March comes, the plant can be brought into a room where it is warm enough and very light. If all conditions are met, then in a few days the first shoots will already appear. It remains to periodically water them and wait for two leaves to form, to immediately plant them in open ground. Professional gardeners advise transplants to carry out a thin wooden stick with which a young plant is hooked. Then the plant is transferred to a well made in advance.

You can use a 2-year-old root for breeding. It was at this age that he had already gained strength, and weighs about 30 grams. The root system is cut into two parts. It is advisable to treat each in the place of cut with ash. You need to prepare the wells, for which humus is placed in the dug hole. Having placed part of the rhizome in the soil, on top, for good growth, you need to pour humus. When planting, be sure to ensure that the kidneys of renewal are not hidden in the ground. Watering the planted roots, it will be necessary to mulch using peat.

How to prepare rhodiola?

Roots and rhizomes are used in the plant as a healing raw material. The root has a golden color, and if cut, it turns out that inside it is white.But after it has dried in a cut form, all the pieces turn pink.

Since the time of growth and flowering of Rhodiola is the summer time, it means that the roots are harvested and dried during this period. It is best to go to harvesting in August and early September. This time is most favorable because by this period the seeds ripened, and from the stem all the nutrients and nutrients went to the root system. If Rhodiola is not grown at home, then you can find it in coniferous sparse forests, but it is most often found in crevices of rocks, near mountain rivers and lakes.

Herbalists do not advise touching young plants, explaining this by the fact that:

1. They have not yet gained enough strength to withstand violence when part of their root system is removed, and can die or recover for a very long time.
2. They do not yet have a significant amount of valuable substances, so the healing properties are reduced.

To understand which plants are needed for harvesting, you need to pay attention to large plants. And only part of the roots should be removed.

If dried properly, Rhodiola will benefit!

Each extracted root should be washed under running water and check for damage. If parts are found that are already dying, they must be removed, as well as remove the old cork. The correct drying process takes place in two stages, but it does not take more than two days.

1. The place for roots should be protected from the sun and wind. Drafts can be detrimental to the quality of the raw materials. The crop is laid out on a clean canvas or white paper, where it lies for a day. Be sure to turn the roots. If the air temperature is reduced at night, it is better not to leave it on the street, but to bring it into the room and cover with a film.
2. The next procedure is to cut the rhizomes and place them on the refractory sheets in the oven. It is advisable to keep the door slightly ajar to reduce humidity. After a few hours, when the roots turn pink, the healing plant is ready for use.

You also need to dry by the rules! Only in properly processed Rhodiola will all useful elements and vitamins remain. But you also need to store it correctly. The plant should be allocated a place with a little humidity and rather dark. It is necessary to ensure that the roots are not subjected to temperature changes and a change in the level of humidity, otherwise they will quickly deteriorate, become covered with mold.

Store securely in closed glass jars. If the roots began to deteriorate, they need to be laid out on a baking sheet and dried in the oven for several hours at a temperature not exceeding 50 degrees.

On a note! Only for two years in the dried roots can useful qualities be preserved, then they will be lost forever.

Rhodiola protects people's health!

Rhodiola was introduced into official medicine not so long ago, also using roots and rhizomes. All prepared preparations have stimulating and adaptogenic properties.

The most important in Rhodiola are precisely adaptogenic qualities. This means that taking any remedy that contains Rhodiola, the body has the opportunity to adapt without stress to a variety of negative influences. Thanks to the golden root, a person significantly increases:

• endurance;
• productivity at work;
• vitality;
• activity and energy;
• concentration of attention.

Taking various products prepared on the basis of an amazing pink root, many metabolic processes are normalized, and energy metabolism in the brain and muscles improves. After a course of therapy with Rhodiola, the body can spend its energy resources more economically, and if necessary, quickly restore them. The plant stimulates mental abilities and improves memory.

Doctors use Rhodiola with:

• functional diseases of the nervous system;
• vegetovascular dystonia;
• exhaustion - nervous or physical;
• hypotension;
• neurasthenia;
• impotence;
• amenorrhea;
• liver diseases;
• periodontal disease.

But even completely healthy people do not give up the plant, since Rhodiola increases efficiency and is a good prophylactic against asthenia.

Herbalists more widely use the qualities of the golden root, so they advise taking Rhodiola as a medicine for the following ailments:

• with gastritis and peptic ulcer;
• diabetes mellitus;
• uterine bleeding.

Rhodiola root owes many useful properties to a large number of vitamins, especially C and PP, tannins, various acids and essential oil. All of these substances, getting into the human body, normalize low blood pressure, improve heart function and help better excretion of bile.

Cooked decoctions and tinctures of Rhodiola rosea increase appetite, have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects.

The golden root belongs to those rare plants that advise people exposed to radiation. It is necessary to take the drug first of all to those who have acute and chronic pathologies. You will need a remedy if frostbite or overheating has occurred. And after the treatment with this plant, the wounds will heal faster, the bones will heal soon, the hearing will become sharper, and eyesight will become more intense.

For patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, there is also a course of therapy, which necessarily includes rhodiola.

Use the plant for scurvy and gout, sore throat and menorrhagia.

But not only inside take Rhodiola as a medicine or tonic. Outdoor use is also widely used. These are mainly baths, compresses and lotions.

The external use of the plant is more effective if a rash or abscess occurs on the skin. They are treated with the same conjunctivitis method. Golden root juice lubricates the gums during the inflammatory process or clean the wounds on the skin.

What are the most popular recipes?

1. First of all, Rhodiola is used as a stimulant and adaptogen, including in your own diet. The drink is prepared as follows: a teaspoon of the root is poured with a liter of water and boiled for 7 - 10 minutes. The mixture is insisted 40 minutes. Drink 2-3 cups a day, adding sugar or honey to taste.
2. To increase efficiency, increase physical and mental strength drink rhodiola extract. The dose may be from 5 to 25 drops. Drink 30 minutes before meals 2 or 3 times a day for a month.
3. As a tonic drink you can offer such a tool. 10 gr. root infuse in 500 ml of water. Drink should be 2 to 3 times a day in 15 ml.
4. If loosened gums hurt and bleed, you can correct the situation if you make such a medicine. A 10 percent tincture of raw or dry root is used, which is infused with 40 percent alcohol. It should be aged 2 to 3 weeks in a dark place, occasionally shaking. It is necessary to lubricate the affected gums several times a day. The same tool is very useful for angina. But then you need to gargle according to this recipe.
5. The following recipe will be especially important for those who eat poorly. To improve appetite, as well as with amenorrhea, stomach problems, make such a tincture. The roots are finely ground to a powder state. 50 gr. take two glasses of vodka. All components are placed in a glass jar. Stand for two weeks, occasionally shaking the container. The tincture will need to be filtered, and then drunk 30 minutes before meals, measuring a dose of 20 - 30 drops. Repeat therapy three times a day. If a person suffers from hypotension, it is not immediately recommended to take a large dose. It is advisable to start with 5 drops, gradually bringing it to only 10 drops.
6. Ailments associated with the work of the heart and the gastrointestinal tract, or colds, can be treated with this infusion. 10 gr. roots pour a glass of boiling water.4 hours, the mixture is infused, after which it should be filtered. The daily norm is 100 ml three times. This tool is also suitable for those who have diseases associated with the nervous system.
7. With problems associated with sexual weakness in men, Rhodiola is also actively struggling, and doctors offer simple methods. One of them. 15 gr roots should be chopped and pour 250 g. boiling water. The medicine should be infused for at least three hours. After straining, you can drink. A single dose - 100 ml, you need to drink three times a day.
8. To stop the bleeding that has arisen, you can do the following remedy. Take a tablespoon of finely chopped root and pour a glass of boiling water. An hour the remedy is infused, but a prerequisite is tightly closed. It is taken in a tablespoon up to 4 times a day.
9. To make the vessels stronger and more durable, and the body is saturated with vitamins, they prepare such a drink. The golden root is mixed in equal proportions with rose hips and black currants. You can replace currants with mountain ash. 2 teaspoons of collection insist in 5.5 liters of boiling water. Drink 3-4 times a day, 100 g.

Reduced immunity can be restored if several medicinal plants are used:

• 20 gr. the roots of Rhodiola and the temptation, rose hips;
• 15 gr. nettle leaves and hawthorn fruits;
• 10 gr. Hypericum herb.

All herbs and fruits must be chopped. They must be thoroughly mixed until smooth. Now a tablespoon of the collection is poured with a glass of boiling water. The mixture should stand on fire for 10 minutes. After the medicine should stand for four hours in a warm place, tightly closed. When it is well infused, it is filtered and refilled with boiling water - 200 ml. The daily norm is three times 70 ml each. Having made such a tool, you can also use it externally in the form of lotions or compresses on inflamed areas of the skin or in places of accumulation of acne or rash.

Restrictions on the use of pink Rhodiola for medicinal purposes

Rhodiola has too much effect. It has a quick effect on various body systems, therefore, when preparing recipes or drinking ready-made solutions and preparations, it is always necessary to observe the dosage and constantly adhere to the required recommendations. Only then will the body be strong and healthy.

However, its preparations are contraindicated in case of too pronounced excitement, as well as with hypertension, chronic insomnia and febrile conditions.

It should be borne in mind that the golden root normalizes pressure only in those cases when it is lowered. The most dangerous situation is if a person uses rhodiola during a hypertensive crisis.

Since the root has a stimulating effect, an overestimated dose can act too stimulantly on the functioning of the cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems and cause pathological phenomena.

Do not exceed the dose before the exam and responsible work requiring attention. Otherwise, headaches may occur.

For children under the age of 12, doctors do not recommend drugs containing Rhodiola. You can not use either decoctions or tinctures, since a strong effect on a fragile body can lead to dangerous consequences. Skin redness and rashes can occur, nausea and vomiting, headaches, irritability, too hysterical behavior can begin.

Video: healing properties of Rhodiola rosea