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The medicinal properties of juniper berries and contraindications are an important question for those interested in traditional medicine. Almost mystical medicinal properties are attributed to berries and other parts of the plant, but so that the juniper does not do harm, you need to study its features in more detail.
Why is juniper useful?
A coniferous shrub from the Cypress family, which grows throughout the Northern Hemisphere, has many medicinal properties and is highly revered in folk medicine. It contains organic acids, pectins and resins, natural sugars, flavonoid compounds. For the preparation of medicines, it is customary to use all parts - not only berries, but also wood, coniferous needles and roots. Each of the parts has its own unique properties that bring a strong healing effect.
Why are juniper berries useful?
The fruits are used in the preparation of strengthening, anti-cold and choleretic agents. Among the medicinal properties of berries are:
- antibacterial - juniper effectively fights inflammation and infections;
- tonic - eating berries is useful in case of loss of strength and depression, with weakened immunity;
- pain relievers - the medicinal properties of the plant help with headache and toothache, with painful joint inflammation;
- diuretics and laxatives - using medicinal berries is useful for normalizing digestion and cleansing the body of excess fluids and toxins.
Juniper berries are actively used in the creation of skin care products, the plant helps fight cellulite and maintain youth longer.
The healing properties of juniper bark
The bark of a juniper tree contains not only vitamins and essential oils, but also other components - resins, tannins, saponins. Due to this, wood brings a pronounced beneficial effect in aromatherapy, juniper twigs eliminate bacteria in the room and purify the air. Also, on the basis of the bark, anti-inflammatory and bactericidal agents are prepared for the treatment of joints and pulmonary ailments.
Why are juniper cones useful?
Dried ripe berries, or juniper cones, in an increased concentration contain all the vitamins and acids present in fresh fruits. On the basis of cones, medicinal products are prepared that bring a good effect for colds and chronic pulmonary ailments, for renal diseases and edema.
The healing properties of juniper roots
Like the bark, the rhizomes contain an increased amount of tannins and diterpene alcohols. Juniper roots are used in the preparation of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs. The medicinal properties of the roots include the fact that drugs based on them thin the blood and have a pronounced beneficial effect on blood vessels.
The medicinal properties of juniper needles
The needles of a medicinal plant contain a huge amount of phytoncides and vitamin C, it also contains ethers and tannins. Therefore, juniper needles are used to treat a wide range of diseases.
First of all, pine needles have a beneficial effect on coughs and lung infections. Medicines with the addition of needles help with reduced hemoglobin and malfunctioning of the thyroid gland, with disturbances in the heart rhythm and weakened blood vessels.
Why is the smell of juniper useful?
Even the aroma of a medicinal bush has healing properties. When inhaling the smell of juniper, the following effects are observed:
- anxiety and depression go away, mood improves;
- efficiency increases, sleep becomes stronger and more calm;
- cold or chronic cough passes, nasal congestion disappears.
The aroma of juniper helps to get rid of migraines, inhaling the smell is useful for infectious diseases of the respiratory tract.
Important! The juniper scent repels insects, so its properties will be especially beneficial in the summer season.
The benefits of juniper oil
The composition of the juniper contains essential oil in large volumes, and it contains phytoncides, terpenes and borneol, camphene and pinene. The oil has a beneficial effect when used in aromatherapy as it purifies and disinfects the air.
For medicinal purposes, juniper oil is used to normalize digestive processes, to get rid of coughs and insomnia. The oil helps to improve lymph flow and outflow of bile, has pronounced disinfecting properties.
Health Benefits of Juniper
The benefits of juniper for humans are very diverse - berries and other parts of it help to significantly improve well-being. In one form or another, juniper can benefit both adults and children.
Why is juniper useful for men
The beneficial properties of juniper for men are primarily in its tonic properties. Berry-based alcoholic tinctures are beneficial in weakening sexual functions, decoctions and teas improve blood circulation and protect the cardiovascular system from failures.
Juniper helps with joint and muscle pain - it is recommended to carry out warming rubbing with essential oil and tinctures on the fruits.
The benefits of juniper for women
Juniper brings benefits and harm to women's health - decoctions and infusions of berries help to cope with gynecological inflammations and infections. Berries are able to normalize hormonal levels, so it is useful to use them for painful periods and during menopause.
Berries stimulate the reproductive system, their medicinal properties are beneficial in the weakening of libido and even in infertility. Juniper is used to care for the beauty of the skin and hair; it contains many vitamins, organic acids and antioxidants that slow down the aging process.
Why is juniper useful for children
In the absence of allergies, the medicinal properties of juniper are beneficial for children. Infusions and decoctions, prepared on the basis of berries, strengthen the child's immunity and help to quickly cope with colds. Juniper helps with digestive upset in children, helps to normalize restless sleep and improves brain activity.
However, it is possible to offer medications to babies only after 5 years of life. In addition, alcohol infusions of berries are strictly prohibited for children and adolescents up to the age of majority.
Attention! Juniper can be not only beneficial, but also serious harm, so you should definitely consult with your pediatrician before offering berry-based products to your child.
Juniper during pregnancy
Despite all its medicinal properties, during pregnancy, juniper is contraindicated, from its use inside there will be harm. The fact is that the berries provoke excessive contractions of the uterus, and this can lead to a deterioration in the woman's well-being and even to a miscarriage. Expectant mothers are only allowed to inhale beneficial vapors.
The same applies to lactation - at the time of feeding, it is better to refuse juniper. The presence of traces of this plant in breast milk is highly likely to provoke an allergy in a child.
What does juniper cure?
Traditional medicine is very actively using the beneficial properties and contraindications of juniper fruits. The coniferous tree serves as a cure for many diseases and is capable of, if not eliminating them completely, then at least significantly alleviating the symptoms.
Juniper for prostatitis
The anti-inflammatory properties are good for prostate inflammation in men. This remedy is of particular benefit:
- 3 large spoons of juniper berries are mixed with a spoonful of fennel fruits;
- add 1 spoonful of dry licorice root, chamomile flowers and parsley root;
- mix the ingredients;
- pour 2 large spoons of medicinal collection with 500 ml of water;
- boil for 10 minutes.
You need to take a healing collection twice a day - only 3 sips. The medicinal properties will be most beneficial if you drink the remedy on a full stomach.
Juniper for colds
Juniper treatment is beneficial for ARVI, influenza, bronchitis and other colds. Dried berries in a volume of 2 large spoons need to be poured with boiling water, and then boiled for another 10 minutes.
When the broth is properly infused and cooled, it will be possible to drink 2 small spoons three times a day.
When coughing, the greatest benefit is inhalations with juniper steam. About 15 dried fruits need to be poured with a liter of boiling water, and then left under a closed lid for 10 minutes. Then you need to bend over the container, covering your head with a towel, and inhale the aromatic vapor for several minutes. The healing vapors of the plant will penetrate the respiratory tract, bronchi and lungs and help to quickly eliminate the inflammatory process.
Important! When inhaling, it is necessary to take slow and shallow breaths, otherwise you can burn the mucous membranes and only worsen your own health.
Juniper for oncology
The medicinal properties of juniper are so great that they are even used for the treatment of cancer. In particular, with leukemia, it is recommended to take a healing collection, which contains juniper. To prepare it, you need to mix:
- juniper cones or wood;
- flax seeds and pine buds;
- linden flowers and nettle roots;
- oak acorns and common blackhead;
- mountain arnica and white mulberry leaves.
All of the listed ingredients are taken in equal amounts, mixed, then 2 large collection spoons are measured and boiled in 500 ml of water for about 10 minutes. The finished product should be drunk three times a day, 3 sips on an empty stomach and a couple of sips immediately after eating.
Juniper for joints
For articular diseases, the medicinal properties of juniper are used mainly externally. You can prepare a tincture on strong alcohol - 20 berries must be poured with 100 ml of alcohol and kept in a dark place for 10 days.
The finished tincture is filtered by squeezing the berries, and then the painful joints are thoroughly rubbed with a remedy or a warming compress is applied for a couple of hours.
Juniper in gynecology
Juniper as a medicine is beneficial for gynecological infections, colpitis and thrush. The medicinal properties of berries help to cope with bacteria and fungus, eliminate pain and burning sensation.
Douching with a medicinal decoction will bring the greatest benefit. Pour about 20 g of juniper berries with a liter of water, boil for no more than 5 minutes, then cool and filter. The genitals are irrigated with a slightly warm solution twice a day.
Juniper and pressure
Juniper broth inside lowers blood pressure. To prepare a remedy you need:
- mix 10 g of berries with oat grains and wheatgrass root, taken in a volume of 5 g;
- pour the collection with a liter of water and boil over low heat until a third of the liquid has boiled away;
- cool and filter the finished broth.
You need to drink the remedy three times a day, several sips. With a course intake for 2 weeks, the berries will be able to stabilize blood pressure.
Juniper for kidney stones
Infusion of juniper fruits has diuretic properties and is beneficial for calculi in the kidneys. Prepare a remedy as follows:
- a large spoonful of berries is poured with a glass of hot water;
- keep the product for 4 hours under the lid;
- filter the infusion.
You need to take the product three times a day, a single serving is only a third of a glass.
Juniper for blood purification
The beneficial properties of juniper berries help cleanse the blood, fill it with valuable substances and improve the composition qualitatively. Cleaning the circulatory system is very simple - every morning you need to chew fresh berries.
You need to start the course of treatment with only 5 berries per day and add 1 piece daily until the total daily dosage is 15 berries. After that, it is necessary to reduce 1 berry daily, until only 5 fruits remain for the day again.
Juniper for vessels
Vitamins, essential oils and organic acids in berries strengthen the vascular walls, lower bad cholesterol and help improve brain function. The healing properties of juniper baths are best used to cleanse and strengthen blood vessels.
A small spoonful of berries should be mixed with 2 large spoons of dried lavender, mint and oregano. The collection is wrapped in a clean linen bag and dipped in a filled hot bath, after which it lies in it for about 15 minutes.
Juniper for hemorrhoids
Juniper berries are used in folk medicine to treat hemorrhoids, both external and internal. The healing properties of the plant help to quickly eliminate hemorrhoids, and you can use juniper in two ways at once.
- Taking juniper oil. If you stir 1 drop of the plant's essential oil in a small spoonful of honey and use the medicine twice a day on an empty stomach, you can eliminate the problem of constipation, leading to hemorrhoids, and strengthen the walls of the vessels of the small pelvis.
- Medicinal enemas. Only 3 drops of essential oil need to be dissolved in 5 ml of chamomile broth and briefly introduced into the anus. You need to repeat the procedure for a week 1 time per day.
You can apply juniper oil internally and externally separately, or you can combine treatment methods, then they will bring an early effect.
Juniper for diabetes
The medicinal properties of juniper berries and other ingredients help in the treatment of diabetes. To prepare the medicine you need:
- mix 10 g of juniper berries with dandelion roots and flax seeds, they need to be taken 20 g each;
- add 30 g of burdock root, the same amount of nettle leaves and 25 g of dried blueberries;
- pour 5 large spoons of collection with a liter of water and leave for a couple of hours.
Then the infusion will need to be boiled over a fire for another 10 minutes and filtered. You need to drink the product three times a day in the volume of a glass. Juniper combined with herbs will lower glucose levels and help improve liver and pancreas function.
Healing remedies based on the plant help to get rid of excess weight, instructions for the use of juniper fruits allow even obesity to be treated with it.
To obtain a healthy dietary drink, you need to mix the berries of the plant with buckthorn, lovage roots and yarrow in equal volumes. 20 g are separated from the collection and the ingredients are poured with a liter of hot water, and then insisted for 2 hours.
You need to drink the remedy four times a day, 3 sips. Juniper improves the functioning of the digestive system and promotes faster disposal of toxins. In addition, the use of the plant normalizes the hormonal background, which is also responsible for body weight. All of the listed benefits of the plant make it a good tool for fast weight loss.
What is juniper used for?
The indications for the use of juniper fruits extend not only to home medicine. The properties of the plant can be considered completely universal, the juniper is beneficial in cosmetology and in hygiene procedures.
Juniper in cosmetology
The medicinal properties of the plant are very popular in home cosmetology, as they are excellent for skin and body care.The essential oil of the plant is especially often used, it benefits the epidermis of any type and has a pronounced rejuvenating effect.
Juniper oil cleanses oily skin and shrinks pores, heals acne, softens too dry epidermis and soothes skin irritations. Therefore, it can be added to almost any masks and scrubs for the skin of the face. You can also meet juniper in cosmetic lotions, creams and masks in stores - many manufacturers include a natural component in their products.
In addition, essential oil is used in the perfume industry. It not only enriches the smells, but also serves as a fixative, that is, it is responsible for the longevity of the fragrance.
Juniper for hair
For hair care, the essential oil of the plant is also used - the juniper makes the hair softer and stimulates its growth. In addition, masks with the addition of useful oil help to eliminate dandruff, the properties of the plant normalize the oily skin on the head and free the pores from toxins.
The oil of the medicinal plant can be mixed in a volume of 1-2 drops with any base oils and applied to the curls as part of the masks. You can also add juniper to regular shampoo, about 5 drops of oil per handful of hygiene product.
Juniper broom for a bath
Admirers of the healing steam highly value the properties of juniper wood and its needles and make fragrant brooms from the branches of the plant. Before visiting the steam room, you only need to soak fresh branches in boiling water for a quarter of an hour, and then whip the skin with them properly.
Brooms have a complex therapeutic effect, they improve blood flow and make the skin more elastic. And since the brooms in the steam room exude a rich coniferous aroma, the procedure is also useful for the respiratory system - a bath with juniper branches is great for chronic coughs and colds.
Since the properties of the plant have a pronounced positive effect on nervous disorders, juniper pillows are very popular. They are ordinary pillows for sleeping, densely stuffed not with feathers or padding polyester, but with shavings of juniper wood.
During use, such a pillow continuously releases phytoncides and aromatic vapors of essential oil. A pleasant light smell not only helps to calm down and fall asleep faster, but also has a healing effect in case of colds - it eliminates bacteria, strengthens the immune system.
Advice! Sleeping on a juniper pillow is beneficial for insomnia and colds, but it is also used to treat joints. A dense roller can be placed under the neck and lower back - this will have an orthopedic effect, and the medicinal properties of juniper will help relieve inflammation.
Juniper aromatherapy is performed in a variety of ways. Not only aroma lamps and pillows stuffed with wood shavings are used, but also juniper wood beads - beautiful, fragrant and very useful.
The delicate coniferous smell that such beads exude does not irritate the sense of smell, but has a therapeutic effect - it strengthens the body's defense system, soothes the nerves, helps with insomnia and migraines. The big advantage of beads is that they can be carried everywhere with you - they are an accessory that matches almost any outfit.
The essential oil of the plant is sold at the pharmacy, but other parts must be harvested by yourself. To do this, you need to know the basic rules for collecting.
When to pick juniper berries and other parts of the plant
It is customary to pick the berries of the plant in September, at which time they fully ripen and acquire a rich blue-black color and pronounced medicinal properties. You can continue collecting until the end of October.
The bark for medicinal purposes is best harvested in early spring, during the beginning of the growing season it contains especially many valuable substances. The needles can be harvested from autumn to spring, and as for the roots, they are pruned both in spring and autumn.
Raw material collection rules
The first thing to remember before picking juniper is that only an ordinary subspecies of the plant is suitable for medicinal use. Juniper Cossack is poisonous and has no useful properties.
The berries are picked as follows - a piece of cloth or a large sheet of thick paper is spread under the selected plant, and then the branches of the bush are shaken properly. Ripe berries fall down on their own, this additionally helps to separate ripe fruits from unripe ones.
Further, the berries can only be cleaned of needles, dirt and dust and put to dry. The juniper is dried in a standard way - in the shade and in good ventilation.
How to store juniper
Dried berries, roots, bark and needles are recommended to be kept at room temperature in a dark place. It is best to store raw materials in dry glass jars or linen bags. The medicinal properties of the juniper retains up to 3 years, after which it is necessary to carry out a new collection, since the essential oils and vitamins in the composition of the stale plant are destroyed.
There are several main ways to use the twigs and fruits of the plant. On its basis, not only medicinal drinks are prepared, but also sweet treats, both of which bring health benefits.
Infusion on juniper berries
Juniper berries are used in the preparation of a medicinal infusion. Pour a couple of small spoons of fresh berries with a glass of hot water and leave covered for 2 hours, and then strain.
If the medicinal properties of plant-based infusions are used for medicinal purposes, then tea with aromatic twigs can be consumed at will, for your own pleasure. To prepare the drink, you need to finely chop the clean needles and branches of the plant in the amount of 3 large spoons, and then brew with boiling water in a ceramic teapot.
You need to infuse the drink for about half an hour, then it can be poured into cups and, if desired, flavored with honey or lemon juice. The benefits and harms of juniper tea are that the medicinal properties of the drink soothe the nerves and improve mood, but, of course, it should be consumed in moderation.
Another effective remedy with medicinal properties is a simple decoction on the fruits of the plant. To prepare it, 5 g of berries need to be poured with a glass of freshly boiled water, put in a water bath and cook for about a quarter of an hour.
Then the container with the broth is wrapped in a thick towel and left until the drink has completely cooled down.
Dried juniper berries are used to make jam - the delicacy turns out to be not only tasty, but also very useful for health. True, in large quantities, the medicinal properties of juniper can harm the body. Therefore, usually a small amount of fruit is added to other ingredients, for example, to citrus fruits, and the finished jam is multi-part.
Application of juniper cones
In fact, juniper cones are the dry berries of this plant - no wonder they are called cones. The main area of application of cones remains medicinal drinks and jams, but they can also be found:
- as part of spicy mixtures;
- in sauces;
- in sweets;
- in gingerbread.
Juniper cones are used in the process of smoking meat and fish, in the processing of fatty meats. The plant enhances the aroma and taste of certain vegetables, such as beets or savoy cabbage.
Calorie content of juniper berries per 100 grams
The berries of the plant have an average nutritional value. 100 g of fresh fruit contains only 116 kcal. At the same time, nutrients are represented exclusively by carbohydrates - there are no fats and proteins in the product.
Contraindications for use
In some cases, the medicinal properties of juniper can be harmful. Contraindications to the use of the plant are:
- severe hypertension;
- pregnancy and lactation;
- plant allergy;
- renal failure;
- chronic gastritis and ulcers in the acute stage;
You can use the medicinal properties of the plant for no longer than 2 months in a row, then you need to take a break.
An ambiguous question is the benefit or harm of a juniper in the country. Planting coniferous bushes on the site undoubtedly decorates the landscape and also eliminates the problems with the collection of medicinal raw materials. But at the same time, the plant does not coexist well with fruit trees, since it is a carrier of a disease that is dangerous for them - rust.
The medicinal properties of juniper berries and contraindications are adjacent to each other. Not everyone can use plant-based products, but if there are no prohibitions on the use of juniper, its properties will bring tremendous health benefits.