Wormwood has a distinctive aroma and a herbal flavor, wormwood is distinguished by its white stems, yellow and green leaves, and swollen flowers of light yellow color. Parts of wormwood have been used in ancient medicine for hundreds of years.
Wormwood was banned in the United States in the past because it was considered a hallucinogen and had many harmful effects on human health.
Does wormwood have actual health benefits, do it have uses or are its disadvantages greater than its benefits?
Many people eat wormwood in the same way as tea preparation, or the oil extracted from the stems and leaves of the plant is used, and sometimes the oil is extracted from the entire plant.
Wormwood lacks calories, vitamins, and minerals, but it contains many other compounds.
Wormwood is used as a Royale drink, just like other drinks, and its use has spread in traditional Chinese medicine, and although it has been popularized that it causes hallucinations, insomnia and convulsions, it is not considered a hallucinogen.
Wormwood contains alcohol and thujone compounds, which have a hallucinogenic effect, but this has not been proven scientifically with certainty, as these rumors are not yet understood.
Wormwood has been said to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. For example, wormwood has been said to help relieve arthritis by consuming a herbal decoction 3 times daily to relieve pain.
But it is cautioned to use the plant directly on the skin itself, because it contains highly concentrated compounds that can cause painful burns.
But so far, there is no study that confirms the effectiveness of wormwood at getting rid of pain.
In the past, wormwood was used to treat intestinal worms It is believed that the compound thujone, which is one of the compounds of wormwood, has the property of fighting parasites, but there are no studies that prove this true.
When experimenting with wormwood on animals, it was proved that wormwood has anti-tapeworm properties, but this does not apply to humans, so more studies should be done in this matter.
Wormwood contains a compound that acts as an antioxidant and is highly concentrated in the oils extracted from it. Antioxidants may fight oxidative stress in the body that causes cancer. And heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
But more research is needed to confirm the properties of this compound.
Wormwood contains a compound that helps fight inflammation in the body. It boosts the immune system and reduces inflammation, but more research is needed.
- Pregnant women should not be taken wormwood as it may cause a miscarriage.
- Breastfeeding women and children should avoid eating wormwood due to lack of safety information.
- Wormwood interferes with epilepsy drugs so caution should be exercised.
- Heart patients should avoid taking it as it may interfere with heart medications and cause intestinal bleeding.
- Wormwood is a toxic substance and may increase the risk of developing kidney failure.
- Wormwood sometimes causes some types of allergies.
- Taking high doses of wormwood may cause severe digestive disturbances, kidney failure, nausea, and vomiting.
- If wormwood is applied directly to the skin, it may cause burns, so it should not be used directly on the skin.
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