From Beauty to Remedy: How Roses Can Improve Your Health and Well-being
Roses are all around you in June
As a teenager, I spent one summer with my aunt and her family. She was an amazing cook, and I got to watch her make jams and syrups.
To this day, I remember a hot summer afternoon when she was sitting in the kitchen completely surrounded by the pinkish rose petals.
That particular day my aunt had a very delicate job. Her goal was to cut a little stem on EVERY single petal connecting it to the flower center. Supposedly that would help to remove the bitterness from the syrup.
When I close my eyes now, I can still see those pink translucent petals floating in a rich sugary syrup. The delicate petals created a surprising mouth-puckering, astringent texture of the syrup in your mouth.
I always thought my aunt’s culinary masterpieces had a secret ingredient. A few years back, one of my teachers, David Crow, said that Jasmine is the flower of seduction, but Rose is the flower of love. His teaching helped me to finally understand my aunt’s secret.
Personally, I started to develop a love affair with roses a few years back. My rose obsession began after creating a daily ritual of drinking Tulsi Rose tea. I learned that the smell of roses makes me happier.
Since then, I’ve discovered many other medicinal values of roses.
According to the traditional herbal literature and another teacher of mine, David Winston, rose petals can be used externally for wound washing and conjunctivitis. If you take them orally, roses are great for mood enhancement and support for grief and sadness.
Some recommend trying rose petals for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.
If used by themselves, rose petals in tea can be very fragrant and quite overpowering. Mixing them with other herbs is a good idea.
Roses without a doubt command our admiration and appreciation just for their beauty. However, I’m always curious how do plants work and what scientists discover about these ancient therapies.
There is quite a bit of newer research that evaluates therapeutic benefits of roses.
Take a look at latest studies describing rose’s anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities as well as cardioprotective, hypoglycemic and even exercise-induced stress alleviating effects.
You might know, roses have an amazing fruit called rose hips. Rose hips are one of the highest sources of vitamin C known to men, and I’d like to talk about them separately in a future post.
If none of this persuades you to give roses a try, smelling the products made with this gorgeous flower certainly will.
Over time, I’ve been trying products made with rose petals – there are many gorgeous ones on the market.
These are some of my favorites:
1. Rose petal elixir from Avena Botanicals – If you’ve ever had a rough day, nothing helps better to remove the stress than a teaspoon of this syrup in your tea.
2. Rose water spritzer from Avena Botanicals – Splashing/spritzing some on your face can work well in the skin care routine or help you just as a lovely “pick me up.”
3. Riot of Roses collection from Galen’s way – Master formulators at Galen’s Way created rose cream that is hard to match.
4. Rose attar from Floracopeia – If you are in search of that rare luxurious rose essential oil (most expensive of all essential oils), be prepared to spend some real money or put it on your wish list.
5. Triple Goddess Rose oil vaginal serum from Snow Lotus – An amazing, very healing and beautiful formula for women of all ages.
Roses have high medicinal value and many therapeutic effects – from mood enhancement to stress reduction.
Now, let me know what you think!
What are some of your favorite memories with Roses?
Have you tried products or foods made with Roses before? Do you have some favorites or recommendations?
What type of a Rose product would fit into your life?
Was sharing with a friend some of the medicinal benefits of roses from this post. She suggested another awesome way to use - warm up a cup of milk (any kind) with rose petals or buds and goji berries. You can also add some honey if desired. In her tradition goji berries are great for building your blood. I'm just imagining how fragrant and delicious this beverage would come out.