Hawthorn, also known as mountain red, red fruit, cochineal fruit, is a fruit in the genus Hawthorn of the family Rosaceae, which has high nutritional and medical value. Eating hawthorn products can enhance appetite, improve sleep, keep the calcium in bones and blood constant, prevent atherosclerosis, and make people live longer, so hawthorn is regarded as "longevity food".

Nutritional value :

Hawthorn contains high calorie. Hawthorn is rich in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin C.

Effects on disease and health ：

Hawthorn contains flavonoids, which can prevent and control cardiovascular disease, and it has the effects of dilating blood vessels, increasing coronary blood flow, improving heart vitality, stimulating the central nervous system, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, softening blood vessels, and diuretics and sedation. Hawthorn acid also has cardiotonic effect, beneficial to senile heart disease.

Hawthorn can appetize and eliminate food, especially for meat and food stagnation of the elimination of food better. Hawthorn is used in many medicines that help digestion, such as hawthorn pills.

Hawthorn has the efficacy of activating blood circulation and removing bruises, which helps to release localized bruises and has auxiliary therapeutic effect on bruises.

Hawthorn has a contraction effect on the uterus, and has the effect of inducing labor when a pregnant woman is about to give birth, and promotes the recovery of the uterus after delivery.

Hawthorn contains flavonoids and vitamin C, carotene and other substances can block and reduce the generation of free radicals, can enhance the body's immunity, have anti-aging, anti-cancer effect.

Hawthorn has ingredients that calm asthma and resolve phlegm, inhibit bacteria, and treat abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Dietary taboos:

Hawthorn is not suitable for pregnant women to eat, because hawthorn can stimulate uterine contraction, may induce miscarriage.

Hawthorn aids digestion only promotes the secretion of digestive juices, and does not digest food through the function of strengthening the spleen and stomach, so it is not suitable for those who have a weak spleen and stomach in general.

Children are in the period of tooth replacement, gluttony hawthorn or hawthorn slices, hawthorn cake, for tooth growth is unfavorable. All people eat hawthorn should not be greedy, and also pay attention to rinse the mouth in time after eating, in order to prevent damage to the teeth.

Hawthorn has the function of lowering blood fat, people with low blood fat eat more hawthorn will affect the health.

Buying, preserving and eating methods:

Fresh ripe hawthorn is dark red in color, bright and glossy, and the fruit is plump, round and with fresh leaf stalks. Overripe or long time storage hawthorn skin wrinkled, dark color, leaf stalks withered and shriveled.

Hawthorn is easier to keep, but improper storage (such as moisture, heat, damage, etc.) can also rot, because of its deep red color, rot is often not easy to attract people's attention to the place, soft, brown spots, flesh, mildew are all the mark of rot.

Hawthorn can be eaten directly, or processed to make hawthorn powder, hawthorn cake, hawthorn rolls, and proprietary Chinese medicines containing hawthorn ingredients.