Want to know what are the most healing dandelion recipes and how to make dandelion salad, and dandelion syrup? Continue reading.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is known as one of the most powerful detoxifying herbs. Thanks to the bitter principles it contains, dandelion revives and tones up the liver and stimulates the activity of the kidneys and bowels. Due to these medicinal qualities, dandelion has an essential role in flushing out toxins from the body.
In the spring, when dandelions have not yet reached full maturity, their leaves work real miracles: they activate the functions of the kidneys, clean the skin and blood, prevent water retention, and even aid in weight loss. But let’s see exactly how you can use fresh dandelion in healing recipes and what to use them for. But first, we want to share with you the main health uses of dandelion leaves, stems, and flowers.
In This Article You Will Find:
Health Uses of Dandelion (Leaves and Flowers)
Consumed fresh in the spring, dandelion helps to eliminate excess water from the body and detoxifies the lymph and the blood. It is a strong drainer plant, it decongests the skin and joints, thus relieving eczema, allergies, or joint pain caused by gout. Furthermore, dandelion stimulates digestion and reduces bloating and constipation. It is recommended for all conditions involving the lymph glands, because it increases diuresis, increases glandular secretion, and normalizes blood flow. Dandelion has no less than four organs that it helps heal with predilection:
- Liver and Gallbladder – recommended in liver conditions (hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis), and diabetes (in long-term cures), as it simulates the activity of the liver and gallbladder, having draining and regenerative effects.
- Pancreas – it stimulates the pancreas directly, but also protects it, as it directly lowers blood sugar and improves the body’s ability to process insulin. It has direct effects of stimulating pancreatic function, it has benefits in biliary dyskinesia, gallstones, cholecystitis, dyspepsia, constipation, obesity, acne, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and atherosclerosis.
- Kidneys – has a powerful diuretic effect on the kidneys and helps flush kidney sand.
- Colon – stimulates its detoxification process directly, by increasing bowel movement and motility; dandelion is among the mildest and most effective laxatives known.
Dandelion is also claimed to have healing properties against cancer, although the anti-cancer active principle of dandelion has not been highlighted by the scientific community. Perhaps it is due to the natural content of inulin in dandelion that strengthens the immune system through its probiotic action and prevents relapses. Experiments have proven, however, the beneficial action of this plant, in the case of bowel, anal, breast, and liver cancer.
Important! Only pick dandelions from non-polluted areas, and not from roadsides or areas frequented by dogs or animals. Before picking the dandelions, ask for their blessing and then thank them for their service. This will transfer all your positive vibes to them, as you harvest them.
3 Healing Dandelion Recipes and How to Make at Home
1. Dandelion Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 handful of dandelion leaves (choose the smallest and thin ones)
- 1 tablespoon of dandelion buds (unopen flowers)
- 1 well-cleaned and finely chopped dandelion root
- 15 g of dandelion flowers petals
- 1 clove of garlic
- fresh lemon juice
- apples, bananas, pears, raw mushrooms, or warm steamed potatoes (cut into cubes).
Preparation
Wash the freshly picked dandelion leaves, roots, flowers, and buds, and cut the leaves and roots into small pieces. Rub a bowl of salad well with the garlic clove. Put the dandelion leaves and buds into the bowl and add the finely chopped root. Season with fresh lemon juice, give it a quick mix, and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
Then add some cubes of apples, bananas, pears, mushrooms, or steamed potatoes, your choice. Apples should not be missing, as they soften the bitter taste of dandelion. Garnish the salad with the yellow dandelion petals and serve immediately. Optionally you can add finely chopped dill or parsley. Have the fresh dandelion salad two or three times a day, 15 minutes before your meal. Do not eat any kind of food 15 minutes after having this salad.
Use & Benefits
To enjoy the healing properties of dandelion salad, have it for at least two weeks. In case you’re suffering from chronic conditions you can extend the cure up to a month, or even more. If you are anemic or weak, you may experience a slight state of weakness, due to the strong detox effect of this plant.
The dandelion salad has anti-inflammatory effects on the liver, stimulates its blood filtering function, favors its reduction in volume, and eliminates abdominal pain. It also strongly stimulates the regeneration of liver cells and favors the elimination of toxins. Moreover, fresh dandelion leaves stimulate bile secretion and, importantly, favor its evacuation. It is also recommended for people suffering from fluid retention, as fresh dandelion leaves are an excellent diuretic. Last but not least, the dandelion helps stimulate the peristalsis of the entire digestive tract, being a great air if you have poor digestion.
2. Dandelion Stems Cure
Eat 5-10 young and fresh dandelion stems including buds or young fresh leaves (from unbloomed dandelion flowers) on an empty stomach, 15 minutes before lunch. Do not eat anything all day before lunch, except for natural cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices for breakfast. Eat the stems the same day you picked them, or 24 hours after picking maximum, provided you’ve kept them in an airtight container in the refrigerator so they do not dehydrate. Otherwise, they are too old and lose their medicinal properties.
Use & Benefits
For best results, you can follow this cure for at least 14 days, but in the case of chronic conditions, the cure can last 3-4 weeks. In diseases such as diabetes, psoriasis, and certain forms of cancer, the dandelion stem cure lasts for several months, acting as a catalyst for the healing process. If you are underweight, or suffer from anemia, be careful, as this cure has powerful detox properties and you can experience this as weakness. The dandelion stem cure is recommended for relapsing sinusitis, rhinitis, indigestion, hypoacidity, bronchitis, and asthmatic bronchitis.
Important! The dandelion stem cure should not be extended after the dandelions have bloomed, you can only use the stems from unbloomed dandelions. That is, a few days in the month of March.
3. Dandelion Syrup Recipe (Raw)
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls of dandelion petals
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 500 g of raw honey
Preparation
Put the dandelion petals (use only the petals and not the calyx) the cinnamon stick, and the cloves in a glass jar and pour the raw honey on top. Seal the jar and leave the jar in a warm place for 3 weeks, but not in direct sunlight. Then remove the cinnamon stick and cloves (but leave the petals), and your dandelion syrup is done. You can enjoy it spread on bread, as a nice dessert, but you can also use it to sweeten your tea dandelion tea or any other herbal tea.
Use & Benefits
To enjoy the healing properties of this dandelion syrup, you can have 1-3 teaspoons of the dandelion syrup before each meal, for a minimum of 12 days. Dandelion syrup has hematopoietic properties (helps make new blood), calms coughs, aids the liver and bile and is beneficial for gallstones. Dandelion jelly is another amazing alternative to dandelion syrup, with very similar health uses. You can check the recipe here.
10 Health Uses of Dandelion Recipes with Directions
1. Biliary Dyskinesia
Dandelion is an excellent liver drainer as it stimulates liver activity, and is used in the natural treatment of biliary dyskinesia, small gallstones, as well as liver cirrhosis. For this, you can eat the raw dandelion salad or drink dandelion root decoction or leaves infusion. Or enjoy the salad and the tea at the same time for better results. The dandelion syrup is another amazing healing dandelion recipe that helps heal the liver and the gallbladder. Even more, dandelion works very well together with milk thistle as these two powerful herbs have a profound cleansing effect on the liver.
2. Hepatitis
According to research done in South Korea (2000), and in China (2003), the active principles in dandelion inhibit the division of liver viruses, prevent liver fibrosis, and stimulate liver cell regeneration. Furthermore, dandelion stimulates the appetite and digestion of people suffering from hepatitis.
Dandelion leaves do not fight hepatitis themselves, but they help the liver to function normally and reduce liver infection. You can eat the dandelion salad prepared according to the instructions above, or use powdered dandelion leaves and roots, by grinding the dried plant. In this case, the dosage is four teaspoons of dandelion powder daily, on an empty stomach, over the course of one month, followed by a 1-2 week break, after which the treatment can be resumed.
3. Chronic Kidney Failure
The dandelion syrup and dandelion stem cure have the most beneficial effects for this chronic disease. When you’re not in the spring season, and don’t have fresh dandelion available, you can drink a liter (4 cups) of tea a day made from equal parts of dandelion root and leaves, corn silk, and dried bean pods. For infectious kidney diseases, you can also have dandelion flowers and leaves infusion, alongside methylene blue capsules. Back in the day, methyl blue pills were the main therapy for kidney diseases of an infectious nature. Unfortunately, this therapy has been replaced, not with the greatest success, by synthetic antibiotics.
4. Diabetes
Studies done in the United States on a group of volunteers have shown that following a cure with dandelion stems and leaves, for several weeks, alongside an adequate anti-inflammatory diet, improves diabetes considerably. Almost half of the insulin-dependent volunteers progressively reduced their insulin dosage, while some, at the doctor’s recommendation, no longer needed insulin. For diabetes, you can follow the dandelion stems cure or enjoy the fresh dandelion salad.
5. Strengthening The Heart Muscle
While improving liver function and cleansing the blood, dandelion also reduces the pressure on the heart muscle, thus helping strengthen it. For this, you can eat 5-6 fresh dandelion flowers daily (only the yellow part), during the entire flowering period, which starts in early Spring and continues all throughout summer. One of the other possible explanations is that bitter herbs such as dandelion, fenugreek, nettles, lettuce, endives, and horseradish support the production of nitric oxide, which helps relax blood vessels, improving blood flow.
6. Constipation, Hemorrhoids & Obesity
All these health problems can be greatly alleviated by eating fresh dandelions. The reason is that dandelion juice regulates bowel movements and liver activity, promotes weight loss, and cleans and strengthens the walls of blood vessels. The dandelion salad recipe above is also an excellent remedy for constipation. And the reason is that dandelion leaves act as a safe and natural laxative: they increase the quantity of bile reaching the intestines and thus prevent constipation.
7. Anemia
The dandelion salad above was initially designed by a Swiss nun to treat anemia. Along with this salad, she also recommends drinking 200 ml of beet juice and 50 ml of nettle juice per day. Nettle is a natural source of iron and cleanses the blood, while beet is a fantastic aid in all blood-related issues, including leukemia.
8. Eczema
Even the most stubborn eczema backs off after a two-week cure with dandelion salad, alongside a mostly raw food diet (70% of your diet should be raw foods). The healing abilities of the dandelion salad cure are further boosted if you also drink one liter (4 cups) of heartsease tea daily.
9. Acne
Dandelion syrup in long cures supports body detoxification, and thus hormones are balances out naturally. During this natural treatment, it is also recommended to eat green onions, lettuce, celery leaves, radish and radish greens – all raw. Dandelion is especially recommended in acne, furunculosis, seborrheic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, herpes infection and aging spots (which also have their origin in the overburdened liver).
10. Varicose Veins
Following the dandelion stem cure, alongside the dandelion syrup is a great way to stop varicose veins from progressing. Backed by a healing diet, one can even reverse and heal varicose veins. Even more, fresh dandelion leaves used topically can cure varicose eczema, that has been resistant to other forms of treatment. For this, take a bunch of well-washed and fresh dancelion leaves and crush them using a rolling pin.
Anoint them with a little clean pork lard and apply them directly to the affected areas. Change the poultice two or three times a day, and fix it in place by covering it with a light bandage. Usually, after a few weeks, the varicose eczema lesions heal and the red-blue color disappears.
Topical Use of Dandelion Leaf Juice
Topically, the fresh dandelion juice from flowers and stems is an amazing natural remedy for freckles. Here is how to use it. Mix equal parts of dandelion juice (crushed flowers and stems) with lemon juice and honey, to which you add kaolin or green clay, until you obtain a soft paste. Apply this mask on the clean face, once every two days. After it dries on the face, remove it by rubbing with your wet fingers, and wash off the remains with warm water.
Then make a decoction with 4 tbsp of dandelion flowers and 2 tbsp of white Pasque flower (Pulsatilla alba) in a cup of water. Boil for 5 minutes, then strain and leave aside to cool for a bit. Use the decoction in compresses. Mash the used plants and mix them with oxygenated water. Apply this herbal mask to your the face, and wash it off after 10 minutes.
Important! Avoid using bleaching creams, as they contain bismuth and white mercury precipitate, two very toxic ingredients. These toxic creams diminish freckles on the spot, but once the first sunray hits your face, the freckles will return with a vengeance.
Dandelions Uses Safety and Precautions
There are no known contraindications in using fresh or dried dandelion leaves, stems and flowers is food or for healing purposes. Among all spring plants that grow in our region, dandelion is the most powerful drainer. If you feel the need for a detox a fresh dandelion cure is exactly what you need. Such a common plant, yet with so much therapeutic value. The best dandelion for these remedies is the one picked from clean, unpolluted areas, where herbicides and pesticides have not been used, located as far as possible from urban areas or roads.
Read Also: Healing Dandelion Jelly Recipe
Dandelion is a panacea for the human body due to its tremendous purifying and cleansing properties. Its “yellow hat” basking in the sun, dandelion is the purifying symbol of April with incredible healing powers. If you’ve enjoyed these healing dandelion recipes and how to use them for healing purposes, now that we’re in full dandelion season, please share this article with as many people as you can. Stay healthy, naturally!
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