![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blueheronhealthnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Hawthorn-high_blood_pressure.jpg\" "\\"Hawthorn")
A cousin to the common tea rose is being heralded as one of the most powerful and easy-to-find herbal remedies for high blood pressure, dangerous cholesterol, heart disease, and more.<\/p>\nA cousin to the common tea rose is being heralded as one of the most powerful and easy-to-find herbal remedies for high blood pressure, dangerous cholesterol, heart disease, and more.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not even anything new; in fact, healers throughout many generations have used its leaves, berries, and bark to cure a cacophony of problems, with researchers finally taking notice.<\/p>\n
Researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center have recently released a study looking at the many benefits of the hawthorn bush. <\/p>\n
This cousin to the common rose is a thorny shrub that grows in sunny places all over the world. It has blooms like the rose, and even has berries that form after the blooms die off in early June.<\/p>\n
These berries have been used in compounds for supplements because of the extremely high antioxidant content. The chemicals act as vaso-dilators, which help to soften the blood vessels in people who suffer from high blood pressure.<\/p>\n
People with high blood pressure have systolic readings (top number) of at least 140 for a sustained period of time. Systolic pressure is the measurement of the pressure of the blood against arterial walls during a heartbeat. Uncontrolled, high pressure damages the vessels causing them to harden.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why herbs that act as natural vaso-dilators are so effective. They help to relax the vessels, preventing damage that would otherwise result from the continued insult of high blood pressure.<\/p>\n
The compounds were also found to clean the arteries of the dangerous LDL cholesterol that builds up within the arterial walls which eventually leads to deadly plaque build-up.<\/p>\n
And just when you thought the benefits were limited to the major vessels deep inside the body\u2026 hawthorn extract has been used for many centuries to treat skin sores and boils due to its healing properties with capillaries in the skin.<\/p>\n