Drink from chicory
The use of chicory is known to people since ancient times, it is mentioned in the so-called papyrus of Ebers, an ancient Egyptian document containing medical information of the epoch of Pharaoh Amenhotep I( about 1536 BC).According to this written source, the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt used chicory for the preparation of medicines from snake bites and poisonous insects.
The benefits of chicory were described in their writings by well-known ancient doctors and scientists - Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder. Curative characteristics of the plant interested Avicenna, who prepared from it drugs for the treatment of vision, joints, digestive organs.
In ancient times, the root of chicory was endowed with not only medicinal, but also magical properties. In many countries there was a belief that with its help you can become invisible. There was also such a sign: if on July 25 to dig out the root of chicory and tie it to the staff, it will protect from the knife and bullets during the journey. In Paul Seedyr's Botanical Dictionary of Hermetic Medicine, this plant says: "The root( chicory) can serve as a powerful remedy for spoilage, but it should be collected with appropriate ceremonies: on the birthday of John the Baptist, before sunrise, kneeling, touchinga root of gold and silver, and then with the sword of Judas Maccabeus to pluck out of the earth with vows and other ceremonies. Being assembled at Jupiter in Sagittarius or the Sun in Leo, and moreover in the hour of Venus, it gets properties to heal ulcers and wounds and promotes scarring. "
The popularity of chicory has increased when at the end of the 18th century the German gardener Tamme from Thuringia first made a coffee substitute from the roots of the plant. Europeans loved the new drink, although it was not cheap, because raw materials were brought from afar. Till now many people( for example, inhabitants of Germany and Baltic) with pleasure drink coffee with addition of chicory. In Latvia, a cold drink with honey, apple juice and lemon is prepared from it, and in Estonia they love egg coffee with chicory.
No less success was enjoyed by a healing plant in our country. From 1889 and before the First World War, about 400 poods of dry root were sent from Russia annually. The main center of its harvesting was the Yaroslavl Province.
The chicory healer has not lost its importance in our days. Useful properties of chicory used in folk medicine, often added to medicines. The substances that are contained in it have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, soothing, urine and choleretic effects. Chicory normalizes the metabolism in the body, cardiac activity, acts as a vasodilator and antipyretic agent. It is used in the therapy of diabetes mellitus, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys.
When pregnant
One of the most useful drinks for a pregnant woman is chicory: it facilitates the work of the heart, it has a beneficial effect on the liver, contributing to the rapid removal of toxins, which is especially important during pregnancy. Chicory regulates the work of the intestines, which will bring relief to a pregnant woman, who has a tendency to constipation. Healing effects of chicory, stimulating the work of the stomach, doctors noted in the old ages. It is known that chicory tones, causes appetite, relieves heartburn.
For those who do not tolerate milk in its pure form, it should be taken into account that the addition of chicory improves its digestibility by four times, because it prevents the formation of lumps during the clotting of milk in the stomach.
According to research by Australian scientists, chicory increases the number of red balls in the blood, thereby purifying and refreshing the blood composition, and every sensible woman who wants to give birth to a healthy child should always remember that nutrients from her blood flow through the placenta to the baby. Thus, the mother's pure blood provides the health and vitality of the baby.