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Useful properties of pine needles and contraindications are the subject of heated discussions in folk medicine. Pine needles are used to treat dozens of ailments, and it is very interesting to find out exactly what properties they are valued so highly for.
What is useful pine needles
It is not for nothing that pine needles are used for ailments of a cold and inflammatory nature. Coniferous needles have, first of all, strong antiseptic, firming and healing properties, they can be used both separately and in combination with other folk and pharmaceutical remedies.
What does pine needles contain
The benefits of pine needles are determined by its chemical composition. Young pine needles include the following components:
- ascorbic acid;
- vitamins E and B;
- fairly rare vitamin K;
- vitamin P;
- carotene, and this component is present in the needles even more than in carrots;
- phytoncides;
- tannins;
- oleic, benzoic and stearic acids;
- calcium and phosphorus;
- copper and manganese;
- iron and zinc;
- magnesium;
- cobalt.
Also in the composition of pine needles there is a huge amount of essential oil, which has an increased healing value.
What treats pine needles
Pine needles are one of the few folk remedies whose effectiveness is recognized and actively used by official medicine. In one form or another, fresh and dried needles are used to treat:
- colds – cough, runny nose, tonsillitis, tracheitis and bronchitis, SARS and influenza;
- gynecological inflammation – pine needles help with fungal infections and bacterial processes of the urogenital area in men and women;
- diseases of the oral cavity – gingivitis, stomatitis, caries, periodontal disease;
- digestive ailments – gastritis and ulcers, cholecystitis and pancreatitis;
- cardiovascular diseases – pine needles have a powerful preventive and therapeutic effect in atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart failure, poor blood supply to the brain.
Pine needles are used for joint ailments – arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis and sciatica. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, it relieves swelling of the soft tissues around the joint and relieves pain. Eating pine needles is useful for diseases of the nervous system – vitamins B, present in large volumes in the needles, help to improve well-being.
And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the soothing properties of pine needles. Means based on it help to effectively deal with insomnia and emotional disorders, stress and depression.
Harvesting pine needles
Since pine grows everywhere in the middle lane, it is very easy to prepare needles on your own – it is not necessary to buy raw materials at a pharmacy. At the same time, for the competent conduct of the preparation, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules.
- You can collect needles throughout the year, but it is best to do this in winter. During the cold period, pine needles contain the maximum amount of vitamin C and other useful substances.
- To collect raw materials, you need to choose the most environmentally friendly places. There should not be major roads near the forest, and industrial factories and factories should also be avoided. It is better to go deeper into the forest – the trees growing in its middle are the most environmentally friendly.
- When collecting raw materials, the lower branches should be cut, and it is advisable to take no more than a couple of branches from one tree to preserve the health of the pine.
- For collection, you need to choose young branches, but it is better not to touch the freshest shoots. If you damage them, the pine will suffer and may even die.
Pine needles can not only be cut from the shoots of the plant, but also picked up from the ground – from young branches that have been torn off by a strong wind.
Fresh pine needles have the greatest benefit; dried pine needles contain half the amount of vitamins and natural acids. However, for long-term storage, the needles are often dried.
This is done as follows – cut branches are evenly laid out on a clean surface at room temperature and good ventilation. When the coniferous needles are completely dry, they will move away from the shoots by themselves. After that, the needles can be collected in dry glass jars and stored in a dark place.
The use of pine needles
Mostly pine needles are used for medical purposes. With the help of decoctions and tinctures based on it, you can:
- remove phlegm and cure bronchitis, cough and pneumonia;
- accelerate the healing of any damage to the skin – burns, cuts, scratches and boils;
- cleanse the body of toxins and toxic substances, thereby improving blood composition and reducing the load on the liver;
- facilitate the work of the kidneys and gallbladder – needles are an excellent diuretic and choleretic agent;
- reduce blood pressure and improve the condition of blood vessels;
- eliminate inflammatory processes of the digestive and genitourinary systems;
- lower the temperature and remove general malaise;
- relieve joint pain and improve mobility;
- normalize sleep and improve mood.
However, medicine is not the only scope of pine needles. Needles are used in home cosmetology, as part of masks and rinses, they help to take care of the beauty of hair and skin. If you put fresh pine branches in water, then the needles will aromatize the room for a long time and also eliminate harmful microorganisms in the air.
Fresh and dried needles are actively used in gardening. First of all, it acts as a mulching material for garden trees and plants. If you scatter it on the ground in a dense layer, the needles will prevent the evaporation of moisture from the ground and prevent the growth of weeds. In winter, the needles serve as a good insulating material for the root system of heat-loving plants. And due to the bactericidal properties of the needles, they are often used in the preparation of disinfecting solutions for spraying.
Recipes with pine needles in folk medicine
On the basis of pine needles, many simple but very useful remedies are prepared. Methods of use and dosage of drugs may vary, however, in any form, needles have a guaranteed positive effect on the body and improve well-being.
Decoction of pine needles
A simple and useful remedy based on pine needles is a vitamin coniferous decoction. The drink helps well with beriberi and weakened immunity, has a complex cleansing effect due to the high amount of antioxidants. A decoction of pine needles is used to treat and prevent scurvy, after undergoing heart surgery or after chemotherapy.
Prepare the remedy as follows:
- about 30 g of fresh needles are poured with a glass of boiling water;
- boil for 20 minutes over low heat;
- then remove from the stove and insist under the lid for another 2 hours;
- filter.
To improve the taste, natural honey can be added to the drink. Drink pine broth on a full stomach in half a glass.
Pine needles also help with coughing, in this case it will be most useful to brew needles not in water, but in 500 ml of milk. Prepare the remedy and apply it in the same way as a regular decoction.
Pine needles with rose hips and onion peel from pressure
Pine needles are beneficial for hypertension, and to increase the beneficial effect of needles, it is recommended to mix with onion peel and rose hips. The remedy is prepared as follows:
- 5 large spoons of pine needles are mixed with 3 large spoons of rose hips;
- add 2,5 tablespoons of onion peel;
- pour the components with a liter of boiling water and put on moderate heat.
After the mixture boils, it will need to be boiled for another 10 minutes, and then insisted for at least 12 hours. Take a filtered remedy three times a day for half a glass. Reviews of pine needles, rose hips and onion peel indicate that the drink has a quick therapeutic effect, and with course use it helps to stabilize pressure and prevent it from fluctuating any more.
Pine needle tea
The benefits and harms of tea from pine needles are widely known – the drink quickly compensates for the deficiency of vitamins, strengthens the immune system and relieves discomfort in the stomach. You can prepare healthy tea as follows:
- 2 large spoons of pine needles are carefully crushed, while the bases of the needles must be cut off and discarded;
- raw materials are poured into a teapot and poured with hot water in a volume of 250 ml;
- when the tea has cooled naturally to room temperature, it is filtered through a strainer.
They drink pine tea in an amount of no more than 2-3 cups a day, you can add honey or sugar to the drink, the benefits of this will not decrease, and the taste will improve. Vitamin tea contains a huge amount of vitamin C and is therefore especially effective in fighting inflammation or colds.
Kvass from pine needles
Another healthy and tasty drink based on pine needles is aromatic refreshing kvass. It’s very easy to prepare, all you need to do is:
- take 5 liters of ordinary kvass;
- pour them 1 kg of fresh pine needles;
- insist for a day so that the drink ferments properly;
- strain from the needles and pour into another vessel.
Coniferous kvass can be consumed 3-4 glasses a day, preferably on a full stomach – if you drink carbonated kvass drink on an empty stomach, heartburn and a feeling of heaviness may occur. Kvass will have a strengthening effect on the body, improve mood and help to cheer up, and in the summer heat it will also serve as an excellent refreshing drink.
Infusion of pine needles
Pine needles retain their healing properties as part of a simple infusion on water. To prepare it, you need to take 1 large spoonful of thoroughly washed needles, pour it with a glass of boiling water, and then insist for only half an hour.
Strained and cooled remedy is used four times a day on a full stomach. Since the concentration of nutrients in the infusion is quite high, you need to take a drink 1 large spoon at a time – an overdose can lead to nausea and migraines.
Pine infusion is beneficial for a wide range of ailments. You can use it for joint ailments and high blood pressure, with poor digestion and the first signs of a cold.
Bath with pine needles
The healing properties of pine needles are used not only internally, but also externally. In particular, for arthritis, rheumatism, osteochondrosis and other ailments, baths with the addition of fresh or dried needles are of great benefit.
There are 2 ways to prepare a pine bath:
- according to the first method, coniferous decoction is first prepared – 1 kg of needles is poured into 10 liters of cold water, insisted for 10 hours, and then boiled for half an hour and insisted for another 90 minutes, after which they are poured into the prepared bath;
- according to the second method, a small bag of permeable clean fabric is stuffed with pine needles and dipped in water with a temperature of about 38 ° C.
Taking a bath with the addition of pine needles is recommended for no longer than 20 minutes, best shortly before bedtime.
A bath with the addition of pine needles is beneficial not only for diseases of the joints. Carrying out the procedure is useful for strengthening the heart and blood vessels, and pine needles also help with nervous disorders, increased fatigue, and metabolic disorders. Pine needles have a positive effect on the condition of the skin – the body after such procedures becomes smoother and more elastic, the skin is tightened and smoothed.
Other recipes
Pine needles are very common in traditional medicine recipes; they are used for most diseases. In addition to decoctions, infusions and tea at home, you can prepare other valuable products based on coniferous needles.
Pine needle jam has a wonderful taste and useful properties. Prepare it like this:
- washed needles in the amount of 2 glasses are mixed with a glass of dried rose hips;
- pour 700 ml of boiling water and remove to infuse for 12 hours;
- 300 g of sugar are added to the infusion, topped up with another 3 glasses of water and put on the stove;
- boil for an hour until the mixture thickens.
About 5 minutes before removing the jam from the stove, freshly squeezed lemon juice is added to it. If you use jam along with tea, then the healing properties of pine needles will help strengthen the immune system and eliminate inflammatory processes in the body.
In recipes for the treatment of pine needles, pine ointment is often mentioned. For its preparation it is necessary:
- boil 20 g of chopped needles, and then shift them in layers with butter;
- during the day, simmer at a low temperature in the oven, taking breaks every 2 hours;
- after the finished coniferous oil has cooled slightly, it will need to be poured into a glass container and put in the refrigerator to solidify.
You can use the resulting cream for joint ailments, in the treatment of herpes, hemorrhoids or skin lesions.
With a cold, the benefits of pine needles are manifested in inhalations. To carry them out, you need to finely chop 25 g of needles, pour 100 ml of hot water and boil over low heat for a quarter of an hour. Then, for another quarter of an hour, the broth is insisted, and then they bend over the pan, covering their heads with a towel, and carefully inhale the rising hot steam.
Safety measures
Pine needles contain a huge amount of vitamins, organic acids and essential oils. On the one hand, such a rich composition gives pine needles tremendous beneficial properties. But on the other hand, pine needles, if consumed in excess, can easily damage the body.
Against the background of an overdose of pine needles, severe headaches and a runny nose often develop, nausea occurs, and in especially unfavorable cases, inflammation of the stomach and intestines may develop. Therefore, you need to use products based on pine needles very carefully, carefully observing the dosages indicated in the recipes.
Contraindications to pine needles
In some cases, the properties of pine needles can cause severe harm to the body. It is not recommended to use decoctions and infusions based on needles:
- in acute hepatitis and other severe liver damage;
- with chronic renal failure and serious inflammatory diseases of the kidneys;
- in the presence of individual intolerance to the natural product;
- with heart failure;
- in case of infectious diseases of the skin – in this case it is impossible to use pine needles either internally or externally.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers should also refuse preparations based on pine needles – the beneficial properties of raw materials can easily turn into harm for the mother and child. It is not recommended to offer drinks from pine needles inside to children under 7-10 years old, the products can damage a sensitive children’s body.
Terms and conditions of storage of raw materials
Fresh pine needles retain the greatest health benefits. That is why they are collected in small quantities, and immediately after collection they are put in the refrigerator or crushed and frozen in the freezer. Under such conditions, the needles remain useful for the body for 2 months and are suitable for both internal and external use.
In addition, pine needles can be dried, while the valuable properties will decrease, but there will still be quite a lot of use in the needles. Dried pine needles are stored in dry sealed jars in a dark place, it is desirable that the temperature also does not exceed 10 ° C. From time to time, dry needles in a jar are recommended to be stirred up to prevent mold. Dry raw materials can be used for 2 years, but then a new collection will be required, since the needles will lose their useful properties.
Conclusion
Useful properties of pine needles and contraindications are very diverse – needles have a beneficial effect on the body in many ailments. However, if there are contraindications or in case of an overdose, the needles can cause serious harm, so proven recipes must be followed exactly.
