Health Benefits Of Goldenrod
You may have seen the little yellow wild flower goldenrod or indeed read about its benefits. It grows like a weed across the fields of Europe, Asia and north and south America, and because of its excellent health benefits it can be found in beauty and wellbeing products ranging from herbal teas to supplements and body creams.
The herb's Latin name is solidago, which means 'to make whole or heal' and reflects its use in traditional herbal medicine. Goldenrod health benefits are utilised in our leg contouring cream Air-Lite, in particular the way this botanical helps to relieve puffiness by working to expel trapped fluid from the body.
In alternative medicine goldenrod is most often used as a supplement for improving urinary health and reducing inflammation. The most powerful part of the plant, used in traditional Chinese medicine and European herbal medicine and beauty products, are the flowers and leaves that grow above the ground. Extracts are taken from these and added to complexes, as in the case of Air-Lite, to reduce swelling and fatigue.
Goldenrod health benefits go further than that though. The plant many beneficial plant compounds, including saponins and flavonoid antioxidants like quercetin and kaempferol, which are especially helpful in inhibiting the growth of bacteria and yeast, being anti-inflammatory and helping to prevent cells from ageing free radical damage.
It’s interesting to note that the antioxidant activity of goldenrod is more than that of green tea – well known for its antioxidant content, and vitamin C.
The benefits of goldenrod are to ease pain and swelling, two key actions delivered by Air-Lite contouring cream. Air-Lite contains complexes to contour (which goldenrod helps with by reducing the trapped waste that compromise leg shape) and energise. Goldenrod does this by promoting blood flow.
It has also been shown to lower the inflammation associated with arthritis, back and knee pain. It’s thought to be the plant’s quercetin content – a flavonoid antioxidant – that is responsible for this. In addition, goldenrod’s health benefits in medical treatments are well documented. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), a government group that oversees medicines, recognises it as being potentially useful for improving the effectiveness of standard medical treatments for minor urinary problems.
In beauty, that benefit alone makes it a useful ingredient for products like Air-Lite which aim to relieve the swelling brought about by fluid retention, reducing cellulite which is chiefly caused by waste that gets trapped around the fat cells, pushing them out of alignment and causing familiar surface dimples on thighs and upper arms.
