Better Health & Beauty with Rose Hips

Not overlooked, but possibly underestimated, the noble rose in all it's varieties has served human health and beauty well throughout the centuries. Roses are common and lovely, they have a sweet scent and help make and flavor some of the world's most prized teas and desserts. The rose hip, or rose "fruit" holds it's own unique place in the world of food, and not only for it's interesting taste. Though the common gardener likes to prepare his roses to create more blooming, beautiful blossoms, it's not completely uncommon for someone to harvest their own rose hips - and use them not only in food, but for medicines too.

Harvest and Preparation
The nutritional value of rose hips is impressive. Considering their weight and size, rose hips have the more vitamin C than most varieties of oranges and other citrus fruits. Rose hips also contain (based on the kind of rose) more iron, calcium, and vitamin A. When you cook or dry rose hips, as with any other fruit or vegetable, they lose a portion of their nutritional content. However, you can mostly find rose hips dried or preserved in a health food store or supermarket.

Gathering rose hips is said to be best just before or just after the first frost of the cold season. To prepare rose hips for making food, you need to be sure you remove the rose seeds themselves from the inside. (Each seed is covered with a lining that's said to be not so nice on your digestive system.) As long as you take care of the seeds, your rose hips can be eaten freshly harvested from the garden. You can cook, dry, or preserve them yourself as well. Rose hips are related to apples and plums, and their taste is similar to that of a crab apple mixed with the rose flower itself.

Rose Hips Tea, Candy, and Salad
Brewing a rose hips tea at home using dried rose hips is a pleasant way to start or end your stressful day. It's packed with vitamins, and tastes sweet and pleasant. By cutting dried rose hips into small pieces and steeping in hot water, you can have a quick and easy tea that's tasty and good for you too.

If you've got a sweet tooth and love healthy snack foods, you can make a delicious rose hip candy at home from rose hips. Slice your rose hips in half, remove the seeds, and coat very lightly with whole churned butter on all sides. Sprinkle with a light layer of cane sugar and put in the oven at the lowest setting, until the candy looks just easy enough to chew through. These are naturally sweet, and can be made without the addition of sugar if you enjoy the slightly bitter taste of rose hips!

You can also slice fresh, cleaned, de-seeded rose hips thinly and toss them with a garden salad. These are best enjoyed with a fresh baby spinach salad, paired with walnuts, pecans, or almonds. It's also a good idea to pair light and floral tastes with a fruity vinaigrette. Raspberry works well!

Rose Hips and Your Skin
The rose hip has lots of antioxidants, as well as lycopene (like tomatoes) and beta carotene (like carrots). These are said to have an effect on the tone of your skin, evening it out and lessening the appearance of discoloration and blemishes. Rose hips also have essential fatty acids, making them useful in cream and lotion for your face and hands especially.

Using rose hips in addition to other beneficial natural ingredients can offer people with sensitive skin enhanced hydration and moisture, without any side effects caused by chemicals in other products. Using products using rose hips can also reduce scarring on the face or neck from acne, or even minor scarring that occurs after surgery.

For more information on how the rose hip benefits your skin and body, visit http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info/. If you would like to buy cosmetics or herbal supplements using rose hips as a main ingredient, visit http://www.rosehipskincare.com/.

Helpful sources:
Home-Remedies info on Rose Hips
University of Vermont Studies & Tips on Rose Hips