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Going on long sea voyages, the Vikings always took with them a miraculous remedy that gave them strength and kept them from scurvy – beer brewed with pine needles, bark and cones. Subsequently, when they learned to make distillates in Europe, pine vodka tincture became a popular and effective drug for purifying the blood and treating anemia, colds, vascular and lung diseases.
Useful substances contained in pine cones
During research in pine cones found:
- trace elements: iron, magnesium, selenium, copper, zinc, manganese, iodine;
- carotene, vitamins C, K, P, group B;
- polyunsaturated fatty acids: oleic, linoleic;
- tannins.
Trace elements and vitamins contained in pine cones, needles and bark have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system.
Recently, the Pycnogenol dietary supplement has come into fashion in Europe. This is the patented name given by researchers to a group of substances with powerful antioxidant effects isolated from the bark of the French pine tree. But exactly the same compounds are included in the composition of the tissues of Scots pine, found in our forests at every step.
Pycnogenol, in particular, contains the flavonoid resveratrol, advertised almost as an elixir of youth. This compound really stimulates collagen synthesis, due to which wrinkles are smoothed out. In addition, resveratrol:
- normalizes the level of cholesterol and sugar in the blood;
- strengthens the walls of blood vessels and increases their elasticity. Due to the improvement of the vessels of the brain, memory improves, the ability to concentrate increases;
- reduces blood viscosity, which is important for thrombophlebitis;
- promotes retinal regeneration and improvement of vision in diabetic and hypertensive patients;
- relieves allergy symptoms (neutralizes the release of histamine);
- has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antibacterial effect;
- prevents tumor growth.
Diseases in which the intake of pine vodka is indicated
Doctors recommend tincture of pine cones on vodka for the following diseases:
- after a heart attack and stroke, for rehabilitation. Flavonoids stop the process of death of brain cells. B vitamins accelerate the restoration of neural connections;
hypertension;
- varicose veins, thrombophlebitis;
- joint inflammation;
- swelling of the legs and arms;
- colds, flu, diseases of the upper respiratory tract and lungs, including bronchial asthma, tuberculosis and oncology;
- reduced immunity, increased fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, memory impairment, inability to concentrate;
- persistent headaches;
- diabetes;
- goiter;
- blurred vision and cataracts;
- intestinal dysbiosis;
- stomach or duodenal ulcer (during periods of remission);
- teenage acne (externally);
- for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
Recipe for tincture of pine cones on vodka
The best medicinal raw materials are young green cones 2-4 cm long, collected in June – July (in the southern regions – even at the end of May). But more mature cones collected in August will also do.
In the opened cones of useful substances are much less. Such raw materials are used only as a last resort, if the tincture is urgently needed, and neither green cones nor a ready-made drug can be obtained. If the medicine is prepared on open buds, herbalists advise adding a few pieces of pine bark to the buds.
The cones are washed in cold water and laid out to dry on a piece of cloth. To prepare the medicine, you will need a glass jar, best of all – dark. But if the vessel is light and transparent, it is wrapped in a dark cloth or a black stocking folded several times is put on.
The cones are cut in half and tightly placed in a jar. For a half-liter container you will need 7-12 pieces. When the vessel is full, medicinal raw materials are poured with high-quality vodka, diluted to 40 degrees with medical alcohol or moonshine of double distillation. The use of 90-degree alcohol is also acceptable, but then all recommended doses will have to be divided in half.
The jar is closed with a lid. The medicine should be infused in a dark, cool place (but not in the refrigerator). The tincture intended for the treatment of anemia and goiter is especially carefully protected from light and air access. In the light, the iron and iodine contained in the preparation are oxidized, the liquid becomes red.
After two weeks, the tincture of pine cones on vodka is ready for use. But it is recommended to strain it not earlier than in a month and a half. The filtered medicine is kept in a dark place. For convenience, you can pour the liquid into small vessels.
The use of pine vodka
Usually the tincture is taken in courses of 21 days, with a break of a week. The recommended dose for prevention is 1 teaspoon per day. The medicine is drunk either in the morning, half an hour before a meal, or in the evening, at least 2 hours after a meal. Half an hour after taking the remedy, it is allowed to drink green tea, rooibos or herbal infusion with honey.
In the treatment of most diseases, the dose can vary from 3-4 teaspoons to 3 tablespoons per day. To check individual tolerance, it is better to take the tincture one teaspoon 3 times a day for the first week (half an hour before meals or 2 hours after it). Then people with a weight exceeding 55 kg are allowed to increase the norm to 3 tablespoons per day.
An exception to the rule is patients over 60 years of age. They are recommended to use 3-3 drops of the medicine 5 times a day for the first 3 days, then increase the dose to 10 drops.
Features of goiter treatment
In the treatment of goiter, the first 3 days drink 1 drop 3 times a day, then a month – 3 drops 3 times a day. A break between courses is a month. Courses are repeated until complete recovery.
Joint treatment
With inflammation of the joints, the tincture is used both internally and externally. Compresses are done every evening until the pain subsides.
While taking the tincture, it is recommended to exclude meat from the diet as much as possible and eat more vegetables. For a month for breakfast – unsalted rice porridge, soaked for at least 7 days before cooking (change the water every day). This diet also helps in the treatment of headaches.
Bronchial asthma, lung disease and anemia
For asthma, lung diseases (including tuberculosis) and anemia, mix:
- 500 ml of tincture;
- 100 ml of aloe juice, squeezed from the leaves, which, after cutting, have lain in the refrigerator for at least 3 days;
- 100 ml of honey.
Drink the medicine in a tablespoon 3 times a day.
Coughing
To start an intensive sputum separation, a tablespoon of interior pork fat is melted in a water bath (it is allowed to replace it with butter or cocoa butter) and a full teaspoon of honey. When the mixture has cooled to a temperature of 35–40 ° C, a tablespoon of tincture is added to it. The patient should drink the medicine in one go, then he should be wrapped warmly. Cook 2-5 days in a row until the patient’s condition improves.
Rash
A little tincture is diluted with cold boiled water in a ratio of 1:3. They wash with warm boiled water and soda, then the affected areas are treated with a cotton swab dipped in a diluted tincture. If the skin is very tight, after an hour you can lubricate it with a moisturizer, bypassing the areas affected by the rash.
Also, a cream from:
- 15 ml of tincture;
- 50 g of suet, melted in a water bath.
Rehabilitation after a heart attack and stroke
To restore the mobility of the limbs, it is recommended not only to drink the tincture, but also to rub the cream prepared according to the previous recipe into the skin daily during massage.
Contraindications to taking pine tincture
It is strictly forbidden to use tincture when:
- pregnancy and lactation;
- exacerbation of gastritis and gastric or duodenal ulcers;
- diseases of the liver and kidneys;
- alcoholism;
- individual intolerance;
- children and adolescents under 18 years of age.
Although the tincture of pine cones on vodka has an anti-carcinogenic effect, it is impossible to take it on your own for tumors, without consulting a doctor. It is also better to first consult with a specialist in case of other diseases.