Chicory root

The healing properties of chicory root have long been popularized by alternative healers, and from a certain time they have attracted the attention of pharmacists. Because:

• iron and potassium in the root of zirconium are useful in cardiac and vascular pathologies, atherosclerosis;
• B vitamins positively influence nervous activity, increase stamina mood;
• chicory stimulates appetite, eliminates heartburn, normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract;
• acts as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial agent;
• improves metabolism, restores liver cells, stimulates the secretion of bile, accelerates the dissolution of gallstones;
• lowers cholesterol;
• has antipyretic and diuretic effects;
• helps to lose weight, prevents the development of diabetes;
• has anthelmintic effect.

Useful qualities are also apparent when applied externally. Recent studies have revealed an antitumor effect. Flowers, leaves and seeds also contain medicinal substances. Of particular interest for medicine is the substance intibin.

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The use of chicory root

The use of chicory root is determined by the richness and diversity of the components. Here they are:

• Inulin (60-70%) is a natural polysaccharide, the most valuable component;
• intibin;
• organic acids;
• tannins;
• vegetable oils;
• proteins;
• carotene;
• vitamins;
• macro and microelements.

Chicory is very useful for excess weight, metabolic disorders. For diabetics replaces both sugar and starch, strengthens immunity, improves metabolism. In reasonable doses, the plant benefits everyone, including children and pregnant women.

World popularity for the plant brought use in cooking, as an additive in the form of a full substitute for coffee. In some countries, root, stems bake, boil. Less popular are the leaves as an ingredient for salad, and in general chicory is considered to be both a food product and a healing herb.

In addition, the miracle plant is used as a component of cosmetic products.

Decoction from the roots of chicory

Recipes decoction from the roots of chicory

• for weight loss:

Spoon finely chopped raw materials, boil 10 minutes in 0.5 liters of water, insist, strain. Eat 100 grams each time, half an hour before meals. Some advise to use a glass of more concentrated means: it dulls the feeling of hunger. For this, 150 g of crushed root is boiled for twenty minutes in two cups of water.

• with liver, kidney, pancreas problems:

2 tbsp. Spoon brew in half a liter of water, after 30 minutes strain and add a spoonful of vinegar (apple) and honey.

• to stimulate the secretion of bile

2 tbsp. L. Cook half an hour in two glasses of water, insist half an hour, use strained three or more times a day.

• for normalization of digestion

2 tbsp. L. Grassy part of the plant pour boiled water (0, 5 liters), bring to a boil, cool, drain. Drink one third a glass several times a day. Proportion of medicinal raw material from the root - 1 tsp. A glass of water, cook 10 minutes, use half a cup.

• for baby baths and rubs

4 tbsp. L. In a glass of water to wear half an hour (in a water bath), use externally.

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Tincture from the roots of chicory

Tincture from the roots of chicory - 20% drugstore, possessing

• urine and choleretic;
• normalizing gastrointestinal processes;
• anti-inflammatory;
• astringent;
• antimicrobial action.

It is used both as an internal medicine and as an external medicine:

Internal:

• with gastritis, hepatitis, gallstones, kidney problems, diabetes, neurasthenia, hysteria, asthenia, worms, dyspepsia, anemia;
• to stimulate appetite, strengthen immunity;
• from toothache.

Outdoor:

• for wiping - with eczema, furunculosis, wounds, ulcers, psoriasis, baldness, hives. It dries the skin, reducing inflammation.

Use (after shaking), adding tincture (1 teaspoon per third of the glass) into the water. Drink a serving half an hour before a meal. Course - from a month to two.

Contraindications concern:

• pregnant women;
• nursing mothers;
• people with intolerance of the components.

The tincture of chicory can be prepared at home under the prescription:

• 40 ml of alcohol pour a mixture of roots and leaves (10 g). After a week, the drug is ready for use.

Drink from the root of chicory

The invigorating drinks from the root of chicory are consumed by hot, prepared for your own taste from harvested or chemist's raw materials:

• soluble powder is added to boiling water or milk with honey or sugar;
• roasted ground root boiled with water for three minutes, after a short infusion sweetened, add cream or milk;
• liquid chicory on the basis of drawing the plants are brewed with boiling water, cream, milk;
• from self-collected and cooked roots, prepare a pure drink or add to natural coffee.

The taste range and properties of industrial beverages enriched with berries cranberries, blueberries, sea buckthorn, rose hips. Although not always these supplements are really natural.

Fried chicory contains more useful substances than soluble, as it undergoes minimal heat treatment. It is an excellent raw material for the treatment and prevention of diseases.

Powdered chicory - a natural product made from the hood by a special technology. It looks like natural instant coffee.

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Extract from chicory roots

Extract from the roots of chicory is obtained by the extraction method: the prepared raw material is boiled over low heat until a very concentrated product is obtained. Dried in sublimators to a powder state - a soluble substance for internal use.

The extract retains the beneficial and detrimental properties inherent in natural raw materials. When buying, you should pay attention to such things:

• enriched varieties may contain non-natural additives;
• quality and quantity of inulin (often it is replaced with pectin);
• the best powder - with the label "natural extract of chicory".

Liquid drawing is also a useful tool. It is recommended for anemia, ischemia, asthma, bronchitis, diabetes, stomatitis, dysbiosis and all intestinal infections, osteochondrosis, problems with the spleen. Regular use strengthens the immune system.

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Coffee from chicory roots

Coffee from the roots of chicory is a great way to replace caffeine for those to whom it is contraindicated. The drink invigorates, but does not increase the pressure, it is allowed to drink hypertensives, diabetics and future mothers (from anemia, to enhance immunity).

However, this drink can not be used without restrictions. In individual people, it causes an increased appetite, nervous excitement, insomnia. Doubt causes and so-called enrichment with vitamins, which is produced artificially. To preserve vitamins, it is useful to pour the chicory mass not too steep with boiling water.

Chicory root applications

The use of chicory root in the form of infusions and broths is recommended:

• when recovering from viral hepatitis, overweight and metabolic disorders, with diseases of the spleen;
• for external use - with skin pathologies;
• for lotions and other procedures - with pediatric diathesis;
• for cosmetic purposes - for coloring gray hair, strengthening and rinsing hair.

You can prepare these preparations yourself. The extract is sold in pharmacies, a ground and soluble product - in supermarkets.

If the chicory is added to the dough, the pastry gets an appetizing look of a pleasant smell of coffee and nut.

For cosmetic purposes, prepare a strong broth.

In cooking, lettuce chicory is used.

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The use of chicory root in alternative medicine

The use of chicory root in alternative medicine is based on a whole range of its useful qualities:

• urine, flow, cholagogue;
• strengthening;
• stimulating;
• vasodilator;
• dietary;
• improving;
• reducing the level of sugar;
• lipolytic;
• analogue of coffee.

Alternative medicine recommends the use of tinctures, compresses, lotions and other forms. The root is used for anemia, colds, infections, cuts, wounds, allergies from insect bites, nervous disorders, insomnia, migraine pain, digestive problems and kidney diseases.

Juice with milk is effective in anemia, scurvy, fees with other medicinal plants - with cholelithiasis.

The roots of chicory for dysbiosis

The roots of chicory for dysbacteriosis are useful because of the presence of inulin. This is a kind of fiber, which is a nutrient medium for beneficial bacteria of the digestive organs. Protects against dysbiosis and all the troubles associated with it, in the first place - from constipation.

Nutritionists are advised to introduce a coffee substitute from the root of chicory in a dietary diet for weight loss. Vegetables and fruits of this menu serve as an excellent food for microflora, while protecting against diarrhea and swelling of the intestines.

How to chop the roots of chicory for coffee?

The easiest way to buy ready-made ground chicory. However, there is another option. The root can be found and dig themselves or buy dry in pharmacies, shops, departments for diabetics. In any case, you should pay attention to ensure that it is strong, without rotten parts and small roots, well cleaned and washed. The color of a healthy plant is brownish.

How to chop the roots of chicory for coffee? Dried roots:

• cut with a knife;
• toast;
• grind with a blender;
• stored in a tightly closed glass jar.

How to brew the root of chicory?

• Method 1 - for internal use:

Peeled roots are dried, then fried in a pan until the moisture evaporates and a rather unpleasant smell appears. Crushed with a coffee grinder, the mass is boiled, boiled for five minutes, insist.

• Method 2 - for external use:

20 g of dried grass and root pour 2 tbsp. Boiled water, infuse for 10 minutes. Apply with conjunctivitis, for poultices on diseased joints, treat skin pathologies.

• Method 3 - for anti-cellulite bath:

Two st. L. Grass and root on a glass of boiled water withstand for an hour in a thermos bottle, the contents are poured into a bath; take 15 minutes, every other day, 21 times.

• Method 4 - to stimulate hair growth:

30 grams of plants are brewed half an hour in a liter of water. After six hours, put on the roots of hair for 10 minutes, wash and dry the head.

• Method 5 - for hair care:

3 tablespoons of raw material boil 20 minutes in a cup of water, after 6 hours rub into the scalp. Rinse your hair with a less strong decoction.

The root of chicory, burdock and dandelion

Regular use of infusion from the roots of chicory, burdock and dandelion guarantees weight loss in a month. Lose weight while not too burdensome and almost without stress. Recipe:

• all the ingredients mixed in a ratio of 3: 1: 1 (burdock, chicory, dandelion), pour boiling water, cover, stand the hour. Take 50 ml three times 20 minutes before meals. 300 ml of water is enough for two days, after which you need to prepare a fresh remedy.

In parallel with the effect of weight loss, such a collection, taken for a long time, enriches the body with vitamins, increases the body's defenses.

These same roots, in combinations with other medicinal plants, are often used in healing practice (lung, kidney, diabetes, cancer).

Contraindications to the use of chicory root

Contraindications to the use of chicory root:

• gastritis, erosion and ulcers;
• vascular disease;
• varicosity;
• hemorrhoids;
• chronic cough;
• bronchitis, asthma;
• gout, rheumatoid arthritis;
• individual intolerance;
• age up to three years;
• Breastfeeding (may cause severe allergies in the child).

In some cases, chicory is allowed to be consumed if the treating physician considers it useful. With breastfeeding, moms are advised to observe for themselves how the baby reacts to an invigorating drink.

However, one should know that an overabundance of any substances, even very useful, leads to imbalance and undesirable effects, for example, allergies (from vitamin C). Especially when it comes to children.

Individual intolerance is extremely rare.

The substance does not combine with antibiotics.

Given the invigorating and diuretic properties, beverages from chicory grass should be drunk in the morning or at another convenient time.

The dose, from which there will be no harm, is a purely individual thing. But a few cups a day, in the absence of contraindications, definitely will not cause an overdose. However, between the treatment courses should take breaks.

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How to prepare the root of chicory?

The root of chicory is sold in every pharmacy, in markets, in stores. You can prepare them yourself. How to harvest the root of chicory and other herbs so that they do not lose their usefulness?

Travoznai are advised to collect medicinal drugs at a time when they contain the most useful substances:

• grass - in bloom, preferably on a dry, sunny day.
• leaves - from early spring to flowering.
• many roots are especially valuable in the spring.

Two-year-old plants dig out one-year roots, their quality is determined by the leaves: if they are young and juicy, then the roots are strong.

• The root of chicory is harvested in the fall, when the flowers and leaves wither.

Having found a strong root, it is cleaned of clay, small and decayed rootlets, thoroughly washed and dried.

How to dry the root of chicory?

Chicory is a herbaceous plant of the Compositae family, which blooms all summer, has a powerful spindle-shaped root. It grows in gardens, kitchen gardens, roads, on wastelands.

The collected roots, corresponding to the standard, are dried in the sun. To accelerate the process it is desirable to cut into pieces. Five sunny days are usually enough for the medicinal raw material to dry completely. Store the root in a dry cool place, in paper bags, tissue bags, glass jars (only not in polyethylene); useful properties persist up to three years.

Proper use of chicory guarantees a positive effect. However, when adding a plant to the diet, it is advisable to check what effect it will have on your body.