Marigolds are excellent flowers to plant around vegetable gardens to keep rabbits, squirrels and bugs at bay, but did you know that they have wonderful medicinal properties as well.  This is one of the main reasons that it is included in our detoxifying teas.  Marigolds have anti-inflammatory properties which mean that they are helpful in healing sunburn, cuts and scrapes, bruises, insect stings, sore throats, athlete’s foot and chapped or dry skin.

There are compounds found in marigolds that stimulate blood circulation.  This will help to expedite the healing process of many ailments.  There are also ingredients in marigolds that help with gastritis, ulcers and inflammation of the liver and liver failures.  Pain from menstrual cycles can also be alleviated teas that contain marigolds.  Bathing in water containing marigolds can be beneficial to people who suffer from burns, acne, infected wounds and various skin ailments.

An oily complexion can be treated by soaking marigolds in warm water and applying them directly to the face for about ten minutes per day followed by a thorough rinse.  There are a few varieties of marigolds.  The household variety of marigolds is called tagetes and these do not contain the healing properties that have been mentioned previously.  The calendula variety is the flower which contains all of the healing properties.

The bright colors on the marigolds petals are provided by a substance called carotenoids which are anti-oxidants.  These anti-oxidants help protect human cells from damage caused by free radicals, molecules found in the body which are harmful to the cells and can lead to damage to DNA and can lead to diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

(To Be Continued)