Red Clover
Red clover is a wild and very common plant. Red clover is abundant throughout Europe, Central and Northern Asia from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle. Red clover has been naturalized to grow in North America. As the other name, "bee-bread" suggests, red clover produces a honey but far less than white clover.
Our entire range of Red clover
Red clover also grows well in grazing land where it binds nitrogen into the soil. Planting red clover will improve the soil because the roots have special nodules that house nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These bacteria can grab nitrogen from the air in the soil and make it available to the plant. When the red clover plant decomposes it makes that nitrogen available to the soil.
Benefits of Red clover
Red clover has many medical properties. The flowering heads of red clover improve urine production, circulation of the blood and secretion of bile. They also act as detergent, sedative and tonic. Red clover has the ability to loosen phlegm and calm bronchial spasms. The fluid extract of red clover is used as an antispasmodic and alterative. Red clover contains
minerals such as
calcium,
magnesium,
chromium,
potassium, and
vitamins such as
niacin, thiamine and
vitamin C.
The health benefits of Red clover include increasing positive cholesterol levels in women who are risk for cardiovascular disease due to
menopause as well as strengthening arterial walls.
Red clover is one of the premium sources of phytoestrogens, plant estrogens that mimic the female sex hormone. These phytoestrogens help to increase the levels of estrogen in our bodies, thereby reducing menopausal symptoms.
Other health benefits of Red clover include its ability to reduce hot flashes in menopausal women and ease irritating skin conditions such as
eczema and
psoriasis. It is also thought that Red clover may contribute to a reduced risk of bone loss due to the effects of
menopause.
Red clover has been traditionally used in folk medicine as a
cough expectorant because of its ability to increase the expulsion of mucous.
Red clover is used for symptoms of menopause,
osteoporosis,
high cholesterol, cardiovascular blood flow, and
diabetes. Because the risk of many diseases is increased with the onset of menopause in women, red clover can be especially beneficial to females. The isoflavones in red clover may slow down bone loss and encourage bone density, thus combating osteoporosis. And because these same isoflavones increase the levels of “good” cholesterol in the blood, it is believed that red clover can help protect against cardiovascular disease.
Red clover also contains the powerful
antioxidant tocopherol, which is a form of
Vitamin E. Antioxidants help prevent cancer and other diseases by fighting dangerous free radicals in the body.
"Scientists are testing an extract of red clover as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy for symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flushes."
As women age and estrogen levels decline, their so-called 'good' HDL cholesterol levels fall. Therefore women should be looking for ways of maintaining healthy cholesterol levels during and after menopause.
Many menopausal women are concerned about the type of product they should use to maintain cardiovascular and bone health during this time of their life and red clover isoflavones are now emerging as a viable alternative.
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