Popular wisdom says: "A handful of parsley is equal to a handful of gold." And our ancestors have long used parsley not only for culinary purposes, but also treated a number of diseases with it, used it for cosmetic purposes.
Let us and we follow their example. After all, parsley can truly work wonders, since ancient times helping to cure a variety of diseases.
There are two forms of parsley - root and leaf. Root parsley is mainly grown in Russia. She mainly uses a root vegetable for both food and medicinal purposes. Leaf parsley does not form a root crop at all, but has only slightly thickened, branched roots, which are not eaten. For both food and medicinal purposes, only the leaves are used.
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Chemical composition
Parsley is a wonderful seasoning for soups, meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Especially useful are parsley, which has the richest chemical composition. Its leaves contain vitamin C - up to 130 mg%, carotene - up to 5 mg%, niacin - up to 3 mg%, folic acid - up to 2.5 mg%, various mineral salts of macro- and microelements.
Parsley root vegetables are less rich in vitamins. Vitamin C in them is 3 times less, and there is almost no carotene at all. But roots have up to 1.5% proteins and up to 9% carbohydrates. All parts of the plant contain essential oil. Its content in fresh leaves is up to 0.2%, in dry leaves - up to 0.1%.
The essential oil in leaves and roots gives parsley a special aroma that stimulates the appetite and has a beneficial effect on digestion. In addition, these oils resist decay and have a strong anti-inflammatory effect. And parsley seeds contain from 2 to 7% essential oil and up to 20% fatty oils, making them a potent medicine for many diseases.
Medicinal uses of parsley
If in official medicine parsley is used little, then traditional medicine has long been using its widest therapeutic possibilities.
Parsley has long been used to stimulate appetite and improve digestion. Parsley has a tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, stone-dissolving, tonic and analgesic effect.
In folk medicine, decoctions and infusions are made from the roots and especially the leaves of parsley, which improve respiration and cardiac activity, help with inflammation of the prostate gland, in some countries they are used to treat kidney disease. In case of bruises, abscesses, insect bites, pounded parsley leaves are immediately applied to sore spots.
Parsley seeds in folk medicine are used as a diaphoretic and diuretic for cardiac edema, stones in the kidneys, ureters and in the bladder, for cholelithiasis, etc.
Parsley juice has such a strong effect on the human body that no more than 50 grams of it can be consumed per day. You need to take it only 1 tablespoon, because with large doses of intake, you can overexcite the nervous system.
And for people suffering from gout and with kidney problems, the use of parsley should be sharply limited, and its juice should not be drunk at all. All parsley medications are easy to make at home.
In chronic and acute prostatitis, intestinal and renal colic, flatulence, cardiac edema, infusion of parsley root is widely used. To prepare it, pour 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley roots with 1 cup of boiling water, insist in a thermos for 8-10 hours, drain. Take an infusion of 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
As a diuretic, with atony of the intestines and bladder, with uterine bleeding, an infusion of parsley seeds is used. To prepare it, 1 teaspoon of parsley seeds must be thoroughly grinded, pour 2 cups of boiled cold water, insist for 8 hours, drain. Take 2-3 tablespoons every 2 hours.
In folk medicine, decoction of seeds in milk is considered an effective remedy for dropsy.To prepare it, 2 tablespoons of seeds must be poured with 2 cups of milk and "simmer" in a Russian oven until the liquid is reduced by half. The infusion is taken in 1 tablespoon every 2-3 hours.
An infusion of the whole plant (herbs and roots) is used as a diuretic. To prepare it, 1.5 tablespoons of the crushed mixture must be poured with 1.5 cups of boiling water and insisted for 40–45 minutes at room temperature, drain. Infusion take 0.3 cups 4 times a day 20 minutes before meals.
The same effect is obtained by infusion of parsley leaves in milk. To prepare it, put parsley leaves in a saucepan, pour milk over them. Then put the pan in the oven, let the milk brew, but do not boil. Take an infusion of 1-2 tbsp. spoons after 1 hour.
Much more often for medicinal purposes, parsley is used in collections with other plants. As a diuretic, a collection consisting of 1 teaspoon of parsley fruits, 1 teaspoon of fennel fruits, 1 teaspoon of juniper fruits, 6 hours of birch leaves and 6 hours of lily of the valley leaves is used. To prepare the infusion, 1 tablespoon of the mixture must be poured with 1 cup of boiling water, infused at room temperature for 30–40 minutes. Take 0.25 cup infusion 4 times a day.
In the same cases, a collection is used, consisting of 1 tsp of parsley fruits, 1 tsp of celandine herb, 4 tsp of bearberry herb. To prepare the infusion, pour 1 teaspoon of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water, insist at room temperature for 30–40 minutes, drain. Take 1 glass 3-4 times a day.
The same effect is exerted by a collection consisting of 2 hours of parsley herb, 1 hour of adonis herb (adonis), 1 hour of angelica herb, 2 hours of burdock root, 2 hours of knotweed herb, 3 hours of nettle herb. To prepare the infusion, pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes. Take 1 glass in the morning on an empty stomach, in the evening before bedtime and in the afternoon 1.5 hours after a meal.
As a diuretic for kidney disease, a collection consisting of 1 hour of parsley fruit, 5 hours of bearberry leaves, 1 hour of cornflower flowers, 1 hour of birch buds, 1 hour of elecampane root is used. To prepare the infusion, pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a warm place for 30 minutes. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day.
A collection similar to it is also used, consisting of 1 tsp parsley fruit, 4 tsp tripoli leaves, 2 tsp bearberry leaves, 1 tsp cornflower flowers, 1 tsp birch buds, 1 tsp elecampane root. To prepare the broth, pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 1 glass of boiling water, boil in a water bath for 10 minutes, cool. Take 0.5 cups 3 times 20 minutes before meals.
In case of kidney and urinary tract diseases, herbalists often use a collection consisting of 1 tsp of parsley, 1 tsp of celandine herb, 4 tsp of bearberry herb and 4 tsp of herb hernia. To prepare the infusion, pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 1 glass of cold water, leave for 6 hours, boil for 15 minutes. Take 0.3 cups 3 times a day.
Read also the article Parsley: useful tops and roots.
"Ural gardener", No. 32, 2018
