The Rose is an astonishingly beautiful flower which is why
it is poetized and immortalized in legends. Long ago, the first rose was raised
from an ordinary dog-rose; some unknown gardener did it about four thousand
years ago.
Ancient doctors used rose water to treat upset nerves, fumed
patients suffering from lungs diseases with rose incense and gave extracts of
rose petals to patients suffering from heart and kidney diseases.
Attar of roses is the basic medical component of roses; it
stimulates and harmonizes people's immune and nervous systems. It also improves
activity of endocrine glands, removes sclerous disorders in organs and revives
cells. Attar of roses is good for digestive tract as it heals mucous membranes,
fights disbacteriosis and fermentative deficiency in stomach and intestine.
Rose petals contain vitamin C, carotene, B group vitamins
and vitamin K that is essential for haemopoesis. Almost all mineral substances of
Mendeleyev's periodic table can be found in rose petals. They contain calcium
that influences metabolism and assimilation of foodstuffs; also potassium which
is important for normal heart activity, copper that participates in haemopoesis
and improves activity of endocrine glands; iodine that is good for thyroid
gland can be also found in rose petals. The list of rose's virtues is long
enough which allows to call rise a universal natural medicine.
It is recommended to collect rose petals early in the morning
when the air is clean and humid, better after rain or abundant dew. Blossomed
out but not fading roses will do for collection of petals. When collected, rose
petals should be immediately dried or used for treatment without washing to
preserve their health-giving components. Collected rose petals may be used for
making extracts, decoctions, rose water or attar of roses.
Bacteria die within five minutes when contacted with fresh
rose petals which makes rose a perfect medicine for fighting skin diseases.
Fresh rose petals will help cure festering wounds and burns; they may also
alleviate allergic itching.
Powder of dried rose petals mixed with honey is an effective
medicine against mouth inflammations, stomatitis and paradontose. The mixture
should be rubbed into inflamed gums. Headaches, sickness and weakness can be
cured with inhalation of roses and attar of roses. Rose inhalations are also
recommended to people with poor nervous system, liable to neurosis and
depressions. Put a bowl with hot water and rose petals in the room in case you
suffer from nervous diseases, cold in the head, cough and flu.
Attar of roses perfectly tones up the cardiac muscle that is
why doctors prescribe rose inhalations for stenocardia treatment. Bath with rose petals is
a perfect remedy against nervous diseases: it tones up, rejuvenates, relieves
anxiety and purifies skin. Pour boiling water over half a glass of rose petals
and infuse in a closed bowl to preserve attar of roses. Pour the infusion and
the petals into the bath; the infusion's healing power will be stronger if
beetroot juice is added to this bath. Never throw faded rose bunches away and
make curative baths of them.
Spraying with rose water is recommended for treatment of
many diseases. Pour a glass of boiling water over 10g of rose petals and infuse
in a covered bowl. Everyday spraying within two weeks is recommended to people
suffering from nervous disorders. In this case, spraying with warm rose water
should be done on the upper third of the back. Spraying with rose water is good
for healthy people as well to strengthen the nervous system and immunity. Apply
rose water to skin and slightly rub. Warm rose water bath for feet helps cure
rheumatism; hot compress with rose water applied to sacrum is good against radiculitis.
Wrap a bad-sheet wetted with rose water round the body to tone up the organism
after a surgical operation. Then muffle up with a dry bed-sheet and a blanket.
Tea made of rose petals (a tea-spoon of dried rose petals
per a glass of boiling water) is good against cold, pharyngitis, bronchitis and
various neuroses; it is a vitaminous drink as well. Rose petal jam is a
wonderful natural medicine especially in cold weather.
If rose therapy is not available you may use dog-rose as its
characteristics are the same as of roses. Hips are to be collected within the
period of late August to October when they are still hard. Green hips will not
do for drying as they contain fewer vitamins. Fresh hips should be dried in the
shade away from direct sunrays. Better use a special dryer or an oven (at
temperature of 80-100 degrees centigrade).
The content of ascorbic acid in hips is ten times more than
in blackcurrant, 50 times more than in lemon and 100 times more than in apples.
At that, the supply of vitamin C depends upon the area of dog-rose vegetation.
Hips collected in the north contain more vitamin C than hips collected in the
south. Hips grown in the mountains or sunlit places contain more ascorbic acid
than those grown in plains or shaded areas.
Dog-rose is called a natural concentrate of vitamins:
besides vitamin C it contains vitamins B1, B2, P, K and carotene. That is why
hips extracts, decoctions and syrup are perfect medicine and prophylactic
against beri-beri and hypovitaminosis. To make hips extracts and infusions even
more effective add some honey or lemon juice before drinking. This is a unique
medicine against cold, flu, chronic bronchitis, lungs diseases, stomach and
duodenum ulcer and others. If mixed with carrot juice, hips extract will contain
almost all vitamins and minerals that people need.
To make a healing beverage against cold, flu and bronchitis
mix two portions of dried hips with one portion of dried nettle leaves. Drink
half a glass of the beverage twice a day with honey.
Hips are perfect surrogate of coffee: they are as aromatic
and tasty as coffee beans. Grind a tea-spoon of dried and fried hips and pour a
glass of boiling water over the powder. Let it brew for some time, then drink
with some milk and sugar.
As presented by - Doctor of medical science Boris Vasilyev
Thanks to Baisch and Skinner