The Healing Power of Juniper
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Juniper is a medicine that has been used in ancient times for ailments that science has confirmed to be cured with this little dark berry. It is good for the lungs, digestion and urinary tract. The berry counteracts all kinds of rheumatic diseases that today are usually treated with medicines that have all kinds of side effects. Juniper is healthy, although you cannot eat more than a few berries per day: 2 to 10 grams per day is the recommended dose. You should never take a juniper cure for longer than four weeks because of possible kidney problems.
Naming juniper
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In Latin, this plant is called Juniperus Communis. Juniperus comes from the Celtic word Juniprus and means prickly. When you see the plant you will understand why. Communis means 'ordinary'. Gin is a corruption of the Celtic word Juniprus. In Dutch
Juniper in ancient times
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In ancient Egypt, juniper is mentioned in medicinal recipes in a papyrus scroll from 1500 BC. They were used to mummify bodies. Both Hippocrates, Dioscorides
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Burning juniper wood
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In ancient times juniper wood was burned to drive away evil spirits. It was used as a kind of incense; although you tend to attract nasty demons with that, but that's a different story. In ancient times, evil spirits meant: diseases. In the Middle Ages it was also customary to burn juniper wood to drive away diseases. If a plague epidemic had taken place in a town or village, the houses were cleaned by burning juniper wood. Most people today see a form of superstition in this practice. The idea that people used to suffer from superstition is so entrenched in modern man that it is not even investigated whether the act in question Juniper / Source: Tsvetelina Kostova, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-2.0)
Juniper berries from 16th to 19th century
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Around the 16th century, juniper was seen as a panacea that cured all kinds of ailments. Rembert Dodoens, the pioneering herbal scientist from the 16th century who worked in what is now commonly called Belgium, saw juniper berries as a medicine that was good for the digestion, liver, against cramps and winds, good for the lungs, kidneys and as a pain reliever muscle strains. The special thing about this colorful series of Dodoens healing applications is that they have all been confirmed by science and are still used in herbal medicine to this day
Active ingredients juniper
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As far as essential oils are concerned, the berry contains mainly monoterpenes such as alphapinene, betapinene and sabinene. The leafy branches also contain many essential oils, but slightly less than the berries. The berry also contains some carbohydrates, tannins, bitter substances, organic acids, flavonoids, podophyllotoxin, pectin, fiber, calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium, zinc, selenium, silicon, iron, chromium, phosphorus, sodium and tin. It contains the vitamins
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Consult the herbalist
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Anyone who wants to use juniper as a medicinal remedy is recommended to consult a herbalist. Juniper extracts and medicines in the form of mother tinctures, powders, nebulisate, liquid extract and capsules should only be taken on prescription by authorized persons. A doctor or herbalist can inform you about this, as well as about any side effects and interactions with other medicines or herbs. All medicinal effects of this medicinal herb mentioned in this article are based on scientific research and come from Geert Verhelst's Large Handbook of Medicinal Plants, a standard work in the field of healing plants. The book is used in phytotherapy.