Butcher's Broom

Butcher's broom is a small evergreen shrub, a member of the lily family, which grows in the European areas and North Africa. It has tough, green, barkless stems which send out many short branches with rigid leaves. In the spring it produces small greenish-white flowers.

Like holly and mistletoe, which it resembles, it has separate male and female plants. Flowers are succeeded by large scarlet berries which remain through the winter and are often used like holly for room decorations. The name "butcher's broom" probably comes from the old-time practice of using bunches of the twigs tied together to scrub butcher's chopping blocks to remove grease.

Ingredients:
Each capsule contains 400 mg of the dried, powdered root.

Constituents
Butcher's broom contains: glycolic acid, a diuretic that decreases cholesterol levels and prevents coagulation in the blood; steroidal saponins which lower the level of cholesterol and help prevent atherosclerosis; saponosides and prosapogenins rusiogenises, which are anti-inflammatory and vasoconstricting.

Properties
Butcher's broom is a mild astringent with anti-inflammatory, deobstruent (removes obstructions in the system), diaphoretic, diuretic and vasoconstrictive properties.

Specific Uses

Butcher's broom has been known for 2,000 years for its healing properties, especially for its benefits to the circulatory system. Theophrastus (c 325 BC.), Pliny (60 AD.) describe its healing of the lame by reducing swellings, and flattening varicose veins in some patients.

In the Middle Ages, it was highly valued food.The young shoots have been cooked like asparagus. The "Aculeatus" were butcher's broom eaters, who farmed the plant for its sprouts.They appeared to remain remarkably free of circulatory disorders.

The plant appeared in the medical literature of France, Germany and Italy until around 1910, when herbs began to fall into disuse, but is now making a comeback due to recent research showing its benefits in circulatory disorders.

Different parts of the plant have been used for various complaints or conditions. The root is used in modern medicine to clean the veins. Poultices have been made of the berries and leaves to help knit broken bones and parts of the joint.

Recent tests by German and French doctors indicated that butcher's broom root lessens post-operative thrombosis; showed definite and measurable relief for hemorrhoid and varicose vein sufferers; and prevented or corrected the development of phlebitis in some patients.

There is little doubt that this product has a fortifying effect on the vessel-wall muscles and definite anti-inflammatory properties. Hence, butcher's broom is an excellent remedy for varicose veins, prevention of blood clots, prevention of post-operative thrombosis and hardening of the arteries. For these purposes butcher's broom is best used in combination with other circulatory herbs such as capsicum, hawthorn, ginkgo and garlic. It may also be combined with vitamins, minerals or other medications for circulatory disorders.

Recommended Use
Take 2 capsules with a meal twice daily.

Sources
Today's Herbs
Vol. IV Number 11, July 1984. BiWorld Publisher and Woodland Books, Orem, Utah.
Let's Live Magazine
May 1983, Oxford Ind. Herbal Information Services, 1984, Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
A Modern Herbal,
Vol. I, Mrs. M. Grieve, Dover Publications, New York, New York.

For Educational Purposes Only -
This handout was prepared by Nature's Field P.O. Box 425, Springville, UT 84663. It may be copied and distributed provided it is not altered in any way.

Customer Comments
CIRCULATION - "A man named Dean could barely walk with a cane when he entered my store. His doctor had told him he would have to amputate his leg due to severe lack of circulation. His other leg was just a little better. We talked about building health in the Circulatory System using BUTCHER'S BROOM
, MEGA-CHEL,and OMEGA-3 EPA.

He started on them right away. He came back a week later walking without a cane! He was ecstatic about how much better his legs were feeling. A week after that he was walking everywhere without pain. Then one day he came in complaining his legs were feeling like they were just "waking up" - a tingling, painful feeling. I told him to be patient and the feeling would go away. He went back to the doctor who confirmed that he no longer needed the amputation. It's been almost two years and Dean is still taking maintenance amounts of Mega-Chel and Butcher's Broom faithfully. He literally bounces into my store to buy them." L.H.