Horsetail

Horsetail is another popular fern that has been used for herbal remedies since the times of Ancient Egypt. Traditionally it has been used to treat issues related to skin, hair and bone health but also has a wide range of healing properties. In holistic health, horsetail has been used in the treatments of fibroids due to its ability to shrink fibroids and being a natural diuretic. Diuretics are substances that increase your body’s excretion of urine. Horsetail’s diuretic effect is one of this fern’s most sought-after properties in folk medicine. Horsetail has high amounts of silica which is what makes it very effective for hair, skin and bone health. Researchers believe that horsetail’s bone-remodeling effect is mostly due to its high silica content. In fact, up to 25% of its dry weight is silica. No other plant boasts as high of a concentration of this mineral. Silica, which is also present in bones, improves the formation, density, and consistency of bone and cartilage tissue by enhancing collagen synthesis and improving the absorption and use of calcium. The high silica content also makes horsetail very effective for wound healing, hair and nail health.