Hawthorn berry is a grouping of tree plants in the rose family that is native to the temperate regions of Europe, Middle East, Asia, and North America.  Parts of the Middle East consider the plant sacred. Many historians believe it may have been the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus during the Crucifixion.  This medicinal herb is known to be one of the greatest natural agents for improving cardiovascular function.

Hawthorn is endorsed as a cardiovascular aid by Commission E- an important branch of the German government that studies and approves natural therapies.  It is widely used in Europe to improve the circulatory system, treat angina, high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure.  It is renowned for its ability to strengthen the heart and blood vessels and restore healthy muscular tone to the heart wall.

Powerful Anti-Oxidant Nutrients

Hawthorn berry is loaded with a wide array of powerful anti-oxidant nutrients.  Anti-oxidants neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress and tissue damage in the body.  The unique blend of anti-oxidants found in hawthorn come from a group of phytonutrients.  These include tannins, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and phenolic acids.  The standardization of hawthorn products is based on the overall content of flavonoids (2.2%) and proanthocyanidins (18.75%).

Hawthorn has been well studied in individuals with congestive heart failure.  Five of the six major studies performed found dramatically improved symptoms (such as shortness of breath and fatigue).  One study showed that hawthorn (taken at 900mg/day) for 2 months was as effective as low doses of captopril (leading heart medication) in improving common symptoms associated with congestive heart failure.

Unique Anti-Oxidant Blend

The unique anti-oxidant blend within Hawthorn creates a powerful vasodilating effect.  It acts to improve blood vessel endothelial function to where the vessel is able to open with less resistance.  This allows greater blood flow in working tissues and improves oxygen utilization.  This is primarily due to the flavonoids rutin and vitexin along with the proanthocyanins.

Hawthorn improves heart cell metabolism and enhances the flow of electrolytes across the cardiac cells.  This prevents or corrects heart rhythm abnormalities and strongly encourages a healthy cardiac rhythm.

Hawthorne Improves Cardiovascular Function

Hawthorne contains flavones that enhance the function of certain cardiac enzymes.  This effect increases the heart’s contractile force, which effectively boosts stroke volume while increasing the heart’s tolerance to hypoxic conditions.  It also improves the heart’s ability to create energy through anaerobic metabolism which improves the heart’s ability to withstand stress.

Hawthorn also acts to inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE).  Elevated ACE causes an increase in angiotensin II and systemic vasoconstriction.  This process elevates blood pressure.  By modulating ACE levels, hawthorn helps to normalize blood pressure and reduce stress on the cardiovascular system.   The body usually takes two to four weeks to adapt to the hawthorn and have lasting effects on blood pressure.

Improves Tissue Collagen

Hawthorn also helps protect joints with its unique blend of antioxidants. These phytonutrients fend off specific classes of free radicals that are known to damage tissue collagen resulting in arthritic conditions.  Natural remedies that support healthy collagen improve the health of joints, skin, hair, and nails.

When getting hawthorn, be sure to get the whole plant – leaves, flowers, and berry.  The berries contain more proanthocyanins while the flowers and leaves contain more vitexin.  The most effective way to consume hawthorn, if you are unable to get it fresh, is in a dried and ground form.

Put the fresh plant or dried form into shakes or teas and consume daily.  Due to its antioxidant and cardiovascular boosting effects it is great to use pre/post exercise.  This improves exercise recovery by improving oxygen flow and neutralizes scavenging free radicals from damaged tissues.

Sources For This Article Include:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus
• http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-hawthorn-berry.html
• http://www.diagnose-me.com/treat/T9668.html
• http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/hawthorn_berry.php
• http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/hawthorne-tree.html

Parasites are living organisms that live off of a host organism.  Parasites take and utilize the host organisms nutrients and in so doing hurt the host organism.  Parasites take on a number of different forms and can thrive throughout the body.  They most often live within the human intestines.  It is estimated that about 50% of Americans have an abundance of parasitic organisms in their gut. Take action and cleanse your system of parasites naturally.

How do We Get Parasites?

Parasites enter the human body through the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. In 3^rd world countries the most common way to encounter parasites is through contaminated water.  Anyone traveling to a foreign country should be cautious about drinking the water. Poor sanitation and poor hygiene are the most common ways people encounter parasites.  In America, parasites are spread through pork products and shellfish as well as contaminated food and water.

There are thousands of different types of parasites that are common to humans.  Protozoa consist of a single cell and multiply in enormous numbers inside the human intestine. The most commonly found protozoic parasites are giardia, neospora, amoebae, toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidium, and sarcocystis.

Parasites and Worms

Another form of parasite is the Helminth worm.  This includes tapeworms, pinworms, hookworms, threadworms, roundworms and others.  Many individuals doing a parasite cleanse will see the worms in their stools as they are eliminated from the body.

The body’s immune system goes after the parasites once they are identified.  Often times the parasites are extremely strong and multiply too quickly for the immune system to keep them at bay.  Some of the most common symptoms associated with intestinal parasites include diarrhea, gas, bloating, flu-like symptoms, nausea, rashes, joint pain, chronic fatigue, and chronic sinusitis.

Destroy Parasites in Your Body

Parasites love sugar and everything that turns into sugar.  So the best way to starve the parasites is through using healthy fasting and cleansing strategies while eliminating as much sugar and grains as possible from the diet.

Several herbs and foods act as very strong antiparasitic agents.  Extra-virgin coconut oil is loaded with medium chain triglycerides that enhance the immune system in its battle against pathogens.  Raw garlic and onions provide sulfur containing amino acids that are antiparasitic.  Eat six tablespoons of raw, extra virgin coconut oil, one whole clove of garlic, and one large red onion daily to help parasite proof your body.

Dried oregano and especially essential oil of oregano are extremely volatile and antiparasitic.  Use 2-3 drops of oregano oil in water with fresh squeezed lemon and drink this 3x daily.  Clove works just as well so you could also substitute or use clove oil with oregano oil.  Ginger, wormwood, black walnut are also commonly used in antiparasitic strategies.

Fasting with fermented drinks such as fermented whey from grass-fed cows and fermented ginger, kombucha, coconut kefir, apple cider vinegar, etc. are powerful tools to help destroy parasites. Many holistic health coaches recommend a three to twenty-one day low calorie, liquid diet that is rich in fermented beverages, water and fresh squeezed lemon.  Probiotic supplements are highly recommended to help destroy parasites and re-innoculate the gut.

After the cleansing period, it is especially important to utilize high quality fermented raw dairy and vegetables.  Raw, grass-fed fermented dairy products like amasai & cheese and kimchi, sauerkraut, and fermented veggies should be used abundantly.  These foods are rich sources of L-glutamine, an amino acid that helps rebuild the gut.  These fermented foods also contain very powerful strains of good bacteria, organic acids, and enzymes that act to keep parasites out of the body.

If you are in the market for supplements to help speed along the process of ridding the body of parasites I recommend MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations and Oil of Oregano, two powerful supplements for ridding the body of parasites.” – Michael Edwards

Sources For This Article Include:
http://www.drjockers.com/2012/11/beat-parasites-naturally/

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/intestinal-parasites-in-humans.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/032154_candida_solutions.html