How to use watercress as a medicinal herb
The health and medicinal benefits of watercress ( Nasturtium officinale) in natural and alternative medicine are well recorded. It is one of the healthiest fresh salad vegetables.
Leaves are rich in minerals and make a great addition to any salad.
Watercress grows wild in rivers and it is always at its best during the summer months when the plant gets more sunshine hours and is more rich in chlorophyll.
Watercress is a member of the cruciferous family which includes broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage and kale. The entire cruciferous family is known to be rich in antioxidants such as beta carotene and vitamin C. Both beta carotene and vitamin C are well known to help the body to remove free radicals which protect the body against cancer.
The inclusion of cruciferous vegetables in the diet is believed to decrease the risk of certain cancers such as cancers of the colon, prostate and bladder.
Many doctors now recommend adding cruciferous vegetables to the daily diet of cancer patients. The link to prostate cancer is thought to be especially strong, and it is thought that this family of vegetables can help to reduce raised PSA levels.
The medicinal use of watercress was first recorded in Culper’s Herbal
(published 1653), and it has traditionally been used to treat kidney disorders and liver problems. Watercress has strong anti bacterial properties and is today commonly used to speed up the body’s detoxification process. It is also used to provide relief from stomach upsets, respiratory problems and urinary tract infections.
The best way to use watercress is to include it in a well balanced diet however
freeze dried watercress can now also be found, and it can easily be made into a decoction.
Add boiling water to 2 tea spoons of freeze dried water cress and allow stand for about five minutes. After five minutes the decoction can be strained and drunk as a tea.
This treatment is a very popular detoxification treatment but can also be used to treat urinary tract infections.
Watercress is full of water and skincare products with added water cress are not only
a good way to control bacteria on the skin but also makes an excellent moisturizer.
It is best to purchase water cress from a supermarket as wild water cress can be contaminated by parasites. Rivers with watercress plants can be inhabited by water snails.
Water snails are carriers of liver fluke and water droplets on the leaves can have tiny water snails attached to them, and they may carry the parasite.
Wild water cress may can also carry a bacteria which can cause listeriosis which is very serious.