These gorgeous, sunny flowers first came into my life in the form of a holistic cream from a natural market.
I didn’t know what calendula was, but the cream was amazing!
Fast forward a few years–I’ve now cultivated the use of calendula for a variety of ailments. The last time I was really sick, I drank calendula flower tea to help soothe my throat. To help heal my new nose piercing, I soaked the wound in a calendula tea infusion.
Turns out, calendula flowers are the ultimate healers and have many more uses and benefits for your body. This flower has been used widely throughout history for healing, cooking, and more!
Here are the top 10 research-proven points about how this flower is your next BFF!
Here are the 10 ways calendula flowers can help you heal.
Ready to learn about the amazing benefits of calendula flowers for healing your body? After reading this, you’ll want to start growing these flowers or pick up a bag of dried ones to use!
1. Calendula flowers heal wounds faster – Research shows calendula flowers heal wounds almost twice as fast as untreated wounds. When you use antibiotic creams on wounds, they not only kill the bad bacteria, but the good bacteria too.
This leaves you with an open wound that takes twice as long to heal as one that wasn’t treated with antibiotics.
Using calendula flowers can help to close your wound in half the time of an untreated wound. The best way to use calendula flowers for wounds is through a compress or a homemade balm or salve (see a homemade salve recipe with calendula after the benefits)!
2. Can stop tumor growth and activate healing – Research shows that calendula flower extract has a twofold effect on tumors: stopping the abnormal cell growth and producing lymphocyte action to combat infections and promote healing.
These flowers are often mistaken for marigold flowers, but they’re not the same thing. When it comes to calendula flowers, these bright beauties can actually inhibit the growth of tumors in the body!
3. Heal dermatitis flare-ups with no side effects – This treatment was used on children and was gentle with no side effects yet helped heal and improve dermatitis rash. Calendula has also been used to heal dermatitis in patients receiving treatment such as conventional cancer treatment.
Dermatitis is a skin condition in which redness, inflammation, and dryness create less-than-perfect skin. Dermatitis can be painful, itchy, and unsightly!
Some people suffer from dermatitis alone while others experience dermatitis as a result from taking medications or receiving another form of pharmaceutical medical treatment.
Dermatitis is typically treated with creams or steroid medications–why take prescription meds when you could use calendula flowers to combat the inflammation and dryness of dermatitis with no side effects?
4. Calendula flowers help heal your gums from periodontal disease – Calendula contains properties that can effectively inhibit the collagen-damaging effects of periodontal disease that can cause tooth loss.
Many people don’t realize that periodontal disease (gum disease) actually damages the connective tissues in your mouth that help hold your teeth in place.
When bacteria and infections from gum disease attack these connective ligaments, your teeth can bleed and gums recede. Your teeth can actually become loose and fall out without treatment!
Getting treatment for periodontal disease is essential, but calendula flowers can help stop periodontal disease and promote healthy bacteria in the mouth while you’re healing.
5. Encourages the body to resist colds and infections – The last time I had the flu, I was so miserable I just wanted to die. The illness came about after a period of heavy stress, but I wish I’d been better prepared and more health-conscious so that I didn’t get so sick!
Did you know that calendula can help protect the body against the flu and promote resistance against bacteria and viruses that can cause illnesses? It does this by helping to drain the lymphatic system of toxins that can harm the body.
6. Helps heal burns – Burned skin is painful, whether you have a minor burn such as sunburn or a more severe third-degree burn. It’s hard to put anything on burns without it hurting. However, calendula flowers can be applied topically to help promote healing of burned skin!
To use calendula for burns, you can make a tea out of calendula and apply the solution to the affected skin after it’s cooled, or use calendula as an ointment. You may also make use of a calendula tincture diluted in water to help heal burns.
7. Heals acne – The antioxidant component of calendula flowers has been popular to help heal many skin disorders, especially acne.
Calendula has a very calming effect on skin. In fact, the ancient Egyptians used calendula flowers to give them amazing skin! This herb has been widely used throughout Europe for skin and healing.
When it comes to acne, you can make use of a calendula flower tea infusion to use as a toner on your face or use in a salve to apply to specific areas. Use topically with no side effects for your irritated skin!
8. Calendula helps detox lymph nodes – The lymphatic system plays a vital role in the body during sickness and in regular detoxing. Calendula flowers have been shown to help promote detoxification of lymph nodes and can help drain inflamed lymph nodes.
Lymph node detoxification is important to keeping your tissues healthy and keeping your body ready to defend itself against bacteria and illnesses. This is because the lymphatic system regulates white blood cells and helps keep bad bacteria out of your body.
When bacteria or a virus attempts to enter our bodies, often our lymph nodes will trap the invader and be able to prevent it from afflicting our system. This is why when we’re fighting an illness, our lymph nodes will often become inflamed.
Calendula flowers used as a tea, tincture, or even topical application can help drain the inflamed lymph nodes and assist your body in fighting off that invader!
9. Protect your skin – Compounds such as the flavonoid apigenin in calendula flowers have been shown to protect the skin from UV ray damage, which could alter skin DNA, therefore leading to skin cancer.
Apigenin has been shown to prevent cancer from UVA/UVB rays in studies. To reap the benefits of calendula for skin, you can use the dried flowers for a calendula bath, drink the tea, or use calendula as a lotion or ointment.
10. Stops inflammation – Since calendula flowers are a natural anti-inflammatory, they can help stop inflammation that’s present with chronic disease as well as chronic pain.
Calendula flowers have also been shown to help reduce pain in people healing from wounds and injuries. When it comes to inflammation, calendula flowers stimulate healing as well as anti-inflammatory action on wounds!
How to use calendula flowers?
Calendula flowers are pretty versatile in their usage. They can be used for a variety of applications. Some of the following are just suggestions for how to use calendula flowers!
- As a salve. Just combine dried or fresh calendula flowers with a bit of beeswax, coconut oil, and fresh or dried lavender and simmer on low in a pot for several hours. You’ll have a gorgeous and amazing-smelling salve in no time!
- Cooking and baking. Did you know that you can actually eat calendula flowers? People have said they taste great with eggs, as a decorative addition to baked goods, and more!
- In an infused oil. Want to make your own oil? Just infuse some olive or sunflower oil with calendula flowers and enjoy the smell and taste of this unique oil! You can also use on skin for added benefits.
- Lotion. Have you ever made homemade lotion? A homemade calendula lotion can be moisturizing as well as healing.
- Diaper cream. No one likes sore bums. Make a soothing and gentle diaper cream for your little one with calendula!
- Hair lightener. Calendula is similar to chamomile when it comes to lightening hair. Make a strong tea out of calendula flowers and rinse your hair with it. Allow to sit for a few hours (preferably in the sun) for naturally lighter hair!
You should never use calendula on severe burns or deep wounds without first consulting your natural health care doctor.
Although calendula is a gentle herb, you should always consult a herbalist before use, as with any new herb or supplement!
You can grow calendula right in your yard–it survives in a variety of conditions and is relatively easy to grow. You can also buy dried calendula flowers online in bulk to use in teas, salves, lotions, and for cooking!
Conclusion
Calendula flowers are excellent healers and are a natural and effective way to close wounds, help protect the body from sickness, drain those lymph nodes, and protect your skin from UVA/UVB damage from too much sun exposure.
These flowers are gorgeous and have also been noted for their simple ability to inspire joy in people who see their bright, lively color.
Have you heard of calendula flowers before or seen calendula creams at your supermarket? Let us know if you’ve ever given it a try and what you think!
The post 10 Reasons Why Calendula Flower is the Ultimate Healer appeared first on Urbal Stories.
