Juniper Berries are there for the Picking
Juniper Berries are There for the Picking
I use juniper berries and leaves a great deal in cooking as I love their strong flavour and fragrance. If you have any berries right now in your garden you’ll also know the joy of freshly picked berries. However good quality plump/dried ones (not dried out, wrinkly and old) are also a great option. As well as delicious in Autumn and winter dishes, juniper berries help a great many immune and urinary tract issues. As a practitioner, I use them for bladder infections, stubborn glandular fever, and for those that cannot use or those that are semi-resistant to antibiotics. If you are lucky enough to have access to a juniper shrub try making a fresh cup of its leaves and or its potent blackberries. This will give you its anti-microbial components and also vitamin C. (It was used to treat Scurvy). Any Juniper in your garden will work and of course, our native wild species would be best (Juniperus
communis).
There have been extensive studies into the biochemistry of juniper wood, leaves, and berries. There are 80 to 100 different compounds in Juniper identified so far. It is a plant which can ably kill off a wide range of microbes to include being active against resistant ‘staph’ and ‘bacillus’ bacteria and potentially it is as potent as ‘ampicillin’ and ‘erythromycin’ in some cases. This particular study used its leaves.
Junipers have been and are still used extensively in the Americas, China, India, and Europe and Juniper is still ‘official’ in German medical practice.
Probably the best compilation of Juniper facts is in Stephen Buhner’s book ‘Herbal Antibiotics.’ It is not just an anti-microbial; it is noted for its uses for enhancing liver and kidney function and for increasing urine output without reducing either potassium or electrolytes and enabling better kidney filtration. Great if you have a resistant UTI. It can also help lower blood sugar levels. I chose to put Juniper berries in my ‘Parsley and Cornsilk Herb Tea’ where it helps the bladder empty and disinfect undesired bacteria etc.
Try our Parsley and Cornsilk Herb Tea
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