Rose Hips and The Healing Process

Disclaimer. I am not intending this article as a medical suggestion, or diagnosis, or any other professional opinion. I do not get paid from any references in this article. These are my opinions as an educated professional RN for the medical and the naturopathic fields. In other words, I have used what I have written about, and these are my experiences. I love to do research and writing these blogs are my way to increasing my knowledge and perhaps yours. Enjoy!

My purpose in writing this is to inform and to promote a concept of listening a little more to our bodies, learn more about our health, so we can be healthier.

The vital health nutrients found in Rose Hips may seem to be the cure-all of supplements. In one sense it is. But there is a very important fact that needs to be considered before we claim that Vitamin C is the “fountain of youth”.

All Disease Begins in The Gut

– Hippocrates, the father of medicine

Our Bodies Need to Be Healthy in order to be able to assimilate any of the vital nutrients for your health. Gut health needs to be functioning well because the digestive system is where health really starts. If your body cannot assimilate nutrients through your gut, then you will not be able to receive full benefit from any good healthy foods or supplement that provides the vital nutrients your body needs.

The digestive tract protects against toxins and bacteria and keeps them from entering our system. It plays the vital role of enabling the nutrients we need to be absorbed. It is such a complex system. The neurons in the digestive tract communicates with many parts of the body, including the brain. * So, if we have a healthy gut, we have a healthy mind also.

*Sources: 1) This Is Why Gut Health Is So Important Posted by Ann-Mary Amber Feb 24, 2018, Gut Health, Healthy Aging 2) Gut Bacteria in Health and Disease Eamonn M. M. Quigley, MD, PRCP, FACP, FACG, FRCPI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983973/

A True Story

Vitamin C is Healthy

Here’s one story that sold me on the benefits of Vitamin C. As a brand-new RN, I felt I was duty bound to save the world. The health benefits of the Vitamin C in Rose Hips intrigued me, and I read all I could about the rose fruit.

The most memorial experience that Vitamin C was effective was in 1980’s when my grandmother had surgery. Little did I realize the results that one-quart jar of my prepared Rose Hips juice would have on 2 lives – my grandmothers’ life – and mine!

I gave that jar of packed Vitamin C to her with instructions that it did not taste well but all she needed was to take a couple of tablespoons of it the day before she went into surgery.

Well, after she came through surgery, in record recovery time, she emotionally told me that she would never take that vitamin C again! I couldn’t imagine that 2 tablespoons of even the worst tasting medicine could be that bad!

But as I must not have given clear enough instructions, she retorted that it was very difficult to get the whole quart down at one time. I was careful not to show my admiration for her persistence! I am glad she did not have many comorbid health issues because I would never recommend that!

Everyone was amazed at the quick recovery she made from her surgery and since that was the only new supplement she took; it was clear that the vitamin C was the main factor involved in her healthy healing!

Just like my grandmother, health was a given with me. She was healthy most of her life and except for 2 surgeries, she lived actively and was independent until she was 96 years old. I never thought I would have to worry about getting ill – until I got older – and became stressed by living a hectic life!

• Through the years, I have learned to get to the root problem of any physical ailment so that the problem does not worsen – or return if it is resolved.
• The phytonutrients, the antioxidant qualities found in rose hips bring health to every vital life process for health. It brings balance to all the body’s systems.

Every disease and inversely, every person, has individual needs or requirements for Vitamin C.

Why does a simple whole food affect our whole-body system?

Why does it not seem to be as effective in one person and not in everyone the same?

It is healthy to ask questions. There are easy solutions and there are complicated reasons. I do not know them all. But there are certain basic nutrient properties that give clues on how much you require for optimum nutrition.

• Your Health Status will give you clues as to whether you can tolerate and absorb nutrients. Watch how you respond to new foods.
• Aging Requirements of nutritional needs differ with age and health status. Your needs are individual, your dose will be individual.
• Any Ongoing Disease Issues will require close watching and monitoring and dosing by you and your medical professional.
• Heart Problems: Natural Vitamins and Calcium, Vitamin A, B, C, D, and E content make this a safe food for everyone, just start slow and – just start.
• Mineral Nutrient Requirements: including Calcium, Iron, Selenium, Manganese are essential for healthy body functions. You cannot get through life without them. So, start with a safer, more natural food, rose hips!
• The body’s circulation system needs Linoleic acid to bring health to blood vessels and more. You will be amazed at what even a little bit of healthy rose hips will do for you!

Linoleic Acid is an essential fatty acid nutrient for a healthy body system balance. Electrolytes and the fatty acid work on keeping the blood vessels open and the organs clean.

I included a few of the recommendations listed on Vitamin C Foundation* just to give an idea of the vast and important uses of Rose Hips for Vitamin C. I am not recommending these doses, they need to be formulated by your practitioner. I summarized them. Please go to the source for more information. Thanks. These figures show how important Vitamin C is.

Source: Thank you vitamincfoundation.org for the following information:

A great thing you can do right now is start with a couple of cups of homemade rose hip tea – and enjoy your day!

Research to Support the Need for Vitamin C

From the studies I came across, the data revealed that each study had a specific goal in mind. All of them decidedly stated facts that:

• – Vitamin C is essential to health and that it needs to be included in the diet in the form of food or supplements.
• – Vitamin C cannot be synthesized, or produced, by the body systems.
• – All agree that because of that fact, Vitamin C is a vital health nutrient.

The recommended allowances differ and are lower than that needed for treatments of specific disease states. The research criteria were based on the information of when cells are saturated with the nutrients. They also agree that those individual differences are difficult to include in the studies.

• The National Institute of Health RDI data is based on:
  • – the studies of white blood cell functions,
  • – what lowest dose protects a person from a deficiency of Vitamin C*.

Here is a table that explains the need for a larger dose than the RDI for specific treatment options, from the data factsheets (National Institute of Health) *.

*References: 1). https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/, Li Y, Schellhorn HE. New developments and novel therapeutic perspectives for vitamin C. J Nutr 2007;137:2171-84. [PubMed abstract] 2). Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000. 3). Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000.

What I Enjoy

One thing I really enjoy about nursing and caring for people who have serious health issues: awareness. People who are aware of how their bodies react to illness, they can tell when something is wrong, they can tell when they get sick.

While my pregnant daughter was in the hospital, she was waiting to have surgery. She sensed that something was wrong with her baby girl. The nurse came and checked her and the baby out and could not find anything to worry about. She went back to the nurse’s station. My daughter then made a direct call to her Dr. He called the nurses station and told them to check the baby out right away because he knew from the past that my daughter was sensitive to changes in her health. But before he hung up, the alarms on the monitor went off at the station and they rushed in to check the baby again. The baby was fine because of the intervention (Oxygen applied to my daughter). The point was that my daughter could sense it before the monitors did.

I will not ever forget that story. It be great if we could all listen to our bodies and develop what I call a ‘health thermometer’. It would save much anxiety, we could be healthier, and we would be taking responsibility for our own health.

I hear many of my patients say they felt the same as my daughter does about their health. As health professionals, we need to listen to the patient’s story.

Let us just listen a little more, learn a little more and we would be a lot healthier.

A Question for You! Have you had your Rose Hip Tea or Juice today? Please share in the comments below. Don’t forget to share us on your favorite social media!