Chickweed, as the name implies, is a plant that is often considered a weed. This is unfortunate, because it has an large amount of health benefits and even some medicinal properties. It can be used as a vegetable for seasoning salads or soups. Some prefer to make a chickweed tea. It is one of the green veggies of the world, and therefore is packed with antioxidants, nutrients, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals such as:
Vitamin C, Beta-carotene, Calcium, Gamma-linolenic-acid, Flavonoids, Magnesium, Riboflavin, Niacin, Oleic Acid, Potassium, Zinc, and Selenium...and this isn't even the entire list!
It is also known as a medicinal herb. Besides the high level of nutrition and digestional roughage, it has several applications for both internal and external healing. Some people use chickweed based creams, salves, and compresses as a topical pain reliever and healing agent. Also, some people use chickweed to stop intestinal bleeding like ulcers, etc.
What makes it able to reduce pain is it works to reduce inflammation. In fact, studies have shown it to react in the body like an antihistamine. This reduces the inflammation and pressure in the body caused by infections and allergies. This is great news for people suffering from chronic allergies, and it may even be a replacement for drugs like Claritin and Benadryl.
Chickweed can be mixed with pure aloe vera drippings, because aloe vera is a similar healing agent. Also, the aloe can help the chickweed penetrate deep into the skin, reducing swelling and consequently pain. Since aloe vera is another herb with similar healing properties, chickweed and aloe together can make a powerful combination to heal the skin and reduce inflammation.
Because this herb chickweed reduces inflammation, some people properly use it to treat itching and rash breakouts. Again, a chickweed salve or compress can be used on any area that is itchy or broken out in a rash.
Chickweed can also be used to treat acne, particularly cystic acne where the skin around the lesion has become inflamed. Mixing chickweed and tea tree oil to use as a diluted warm compress can have an almost magical effect in treating acne. Both are clinically proven to have compounds that will attack acne bacteria and the relating inflammation. Add a little fresh aloe vera to promote fast healing and reduce acne scarring, and you have an all natural acne triple threat!
Chickweed may also have some limited ability to help people lose weight. It has diuretic properties, so it will increase the amount of liquid the body will expel. Chickweed does in fact have some mild thermogenic abilities...which just means it will assist the body to use calories. However, the thermogenesis created by chickweed isn't huge, and it alone isn't powerful enough to increase weight loss. It is best when combined with diet and exercise.
So there are more than a few reasons to include chickweed as part of a weekly diet, and to apply its medicinal abilities. People around the world are starting to become more familiar with this herb, and are using it now more than ever. As natural treatments for medical problems become more commonplace, chickweed is a good bet to become a top choice for many herbalists and medical specialists.
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Greg Podsakoff is the author of "Herbal Remedies That Work", a website dedicated to finding which natural remedies are really effective, including herbs for skin disorders like eczema and natural remedies for psoriasis.
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