What are the benefits and harms of lingonberry leaves? Lingonberry leaf beneficial properties and contraindications.

Lingonberry is rightfully considered a berry of health, as it easily replaces and is not inferior in effectiveness to many modern medicines. In addition, its berries are a tasty delicacy that will be useful for children and they will enjoy it just as much as candy and other famous sweets.

The leaves of this plant are the most valuable products, from which decoctions and infusions are made that can relieve many diseases.

Beneficial features

Useful properties of leaves:

removal of toxic substances;
antipyretic effect;
decreased blood sugar levels;
strengthening the immune system;
restoration of vitamin balance;
choleretic effect;
diuretic effect - this is where lingonberry has beneficial properties for women suffering from kidney disease, for men it is useful in the same way;
regulation of protein metabolism in the body;
decreased blood pressure;
positive effect on the nervous system;
improving the condition of the skin;
antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

You also need to pay attention to the contraindications of lingonberry leaves. People suffering from gastritis and high acidity should take them with extreme caution.

Due to their properties, the berries and leaves of the plant have a choleretic and antiseptic effect, lower sugar levels, remove toxins, replenish vitamin deficiency, and strengthen the immune system.

Contraindications

The leaves should be used with caution by those people with high acidity. If you have suffered from gastritis, various forms of intestinal and gastric ulcers, it is not recommended to use the product. Hypertensive patients also need to approach the treatment process with this remedy with caution.

Lingonberry leaf can show beneficial properties in tea or decoction. There are a lot of recipes for these drinks and they are all easy to make.

Use of lingonberry leaves

The leaves contain natural antiseptics and antioxidants. Lingonberry leaves are good for skin diseases, inflammation of the mucous membranes, periodontal disease and stomatitis. Tea made from these leaves significantly strengthens the immune system and can even preserve youth.

For medicinal purposes, lingonberry leaves are used quite extensively. For colds and flu, it can be a good antipyretic and strengthen the immune system during the difficult spring period.

For gastritis, lingonberries can be used as a laxative. If you have a sore throat, sore throat, or cough, you can gargle with berry infusions.

Also, the leaves can reduce sugar levels in the body, and therefore are useful for diabetes and various pathologies of the bladder. You can benefit from eating these berries if you have prostate adenoma or difficulties with urination.

The plant can be used for edema of renal and cardiac origin. This fruit copes well with pain in the head, especially in the occipital part.
Lingonberry juice is good for hypertension, bedwetting, and in cosmetic procedures.

For bladder problems

Lingonberries have beneficial properties for the body when suffering from kidney diseases, gastritis, liver and bladder problems.

You can use the following recipe:

Stir a teaspoon of honey in a glass of lingonberry juice.
Drink the drink half an hour before meals twice a day.
For pain in the joints and rheumatism, the following recipe is recommended:
Crush the berries in an enamel bowl.
Apply mashed berries to the problem area.
Secure with a bandage.
Change the bandage three times a day.

For kidney disease

First option: Five grams of dried leaves are poured with one hundred grams of boiling water, and left for one hour. Then strain through a sieve or cheesecloth and divide the resulting amount of infusion four times (drink before meals).

Second option: 10 grams of dry leaves are boiled in 200 milligrams of water for about ten minutes, cooled and strained. Drink a tablespoon four times a day before meals.

For oncology

According to some experts, lingonberries contain certain substances that have a destructive effect on certain types of crayfish.

For example, leukoanthocyanins produce an antitumor effect on the body, catechins help to recover after chemotherapy procedures.

Decoction recipe:

Grind lingonberry leaves.
Mix with half a liter of water in the amount of one teaspoon.
Boil.

For urological pathologies

Lingonberry tea helps well with urological pathologies for both men and women. It is not recommended to use this remedy for hypertension and cholecystitis.

Tea recipe:

Pour a tablespoon of dry leaves into 200 g. Boil water for 15 minutes.
Strain.
Drink half a glass three times a day.

For a cold

First option: Place ten grams of dried leaves and ten grams of fresh lingonberries (pre-crushed or mashed with a spoon) in a teapot and pour boiling water over them. Drink as tea for two weeks. Then take a break for at least a month.

Second option:

For cystitis

Place a tablespoon of lingonberry leaves in a small saucepan and pour a glass of boiling water into it. Boil the decoction over very low heat for half an hour, cool, strain, squeeze out the raw materials and dilute with cool boiled water (or green tea, or rosehip decoction) to 200 ml. Drink half a glass of warm broth after eating (thirty minutes later).

Action: salt-removing, diuretic, softening stones.

During pregnancy

A pregnant woman is forced to constantly endure severe physical activity, so maintaining the body during this period is vital and necessary. Support is provided by replenishing the supply of nutrients and vitamins.

The plant is notable for the fact that it contains exactly those vitamins that the female body lacks. First of all, it is vitamin C, Carotene, group B. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, Carotene preserves vision, group B regulates the emotional state.

Recipe for immunity:

40 grams of dry lingonberry leaves are poured into a saucepan with a liter of boiling water, covered tightly with a lid and wrapped in towels. Leave it like this for ten to fifteen minutes. After this time, they strain. Add honey to taste and drink like regular tea.

For diabetes

This plant greatly facilitates the course of diabetes and is used as one of the elements of various treatment methods. Having a low glycemic index, the berry becomes a useful product for diabetics.

You need to pour a tablespoon of leaves into one glass of water, bring to a boil and then cook for a few more minutes. The resulting product must be filtered and poured into another container. You need to take the medicine three times a day.

For bleeding

Two tablespoons of dry raw materials are boiled in a water bath for half an hour, poured with a glass of cold water. After this, strain, squeeze and consume 70 ml. every eight hours. Can be stored in the cold, but no more than 48 hours.

Lingonberry infusion with vodka

Lingonberry tincture successfully helps with the following ailments:

rheumatism;
diabetes;
gout;
dysentery;
inflammation of the genitourinary system;
kidney diseases.

Recipe:

One hundred grams of dry leaves of the plant are poured with two and a half liters of boiling water, placed on low heat and simmered for two hours. Then strain and add 200 ml to the resulting decoction. vodka.
Then put it on low heat again and simmer for fifteen minutes (without bringing it to a boil). The finished decoction is taken fifty to seventy grams half an hour before meals three times a day. The course of treatment is six months.

From pressure

First option:

Place ten grams of dried leaves and ten grams of fresh lingonberries (pre-crushed or mashed with a spoon) in a teapot and pour boiling water over them. Drink as tea for two weeks. Then take a break for at least a month.

Second option:

Brew twenty grams of dry lingonberry leaves as tea and drink warm daily for two weeks.

For pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is associated with inflammatory processes in the pancreas that impair its functionality. If pancreatic juice is produced intermittently by the gland, the digestion process is disrupted.

This plant is often used to improve the health of the pancreas. You can use the berry in its pure form or make drinks from it, including it in a medicinal complex.

Lingonberry kvass has shown itself to be effective.

To prepare it you will need:

Sort and wash a kilogram of fruit.
Squeeze out the juice.
Fill the cake with water in a volume of five liters.
Boil.
Boil for two minutes.
Strain, cool.
Add sugar, honey, lemon zest, yeast.
Leave to ferment for 15 hours.

Many people know about the benefits of lingonberries; their fruits are actively used in nutrition and medicine due to their unique composition. But this plant is famous not only for its berries. A source of the most valuable substances for health and an excellent medicine is the lingonberry leaf, which is often undeservedly ignored. To learn how to benefit from all components of the plant, we will consider the beneficial and medicinal properties of lingonberry leaves, contraindications, as well as the rules for their preparation and use.

Lingonberry leaves: medicinal properties and contraindications for use

The chemical composition of the lingonberry leaf contains many rare components. In addition to a complex of vitamins (group B, A, C, E) and an extensive set of minerals (potassium, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, etc.), there are flavonoids, organic acids, arbutin glycoside, vaccinin and lycopene pigments, and tannins. The presence of these components gives the following healing properties:

Vitamins and minerals help cope with vitamin deficiency and help improve immunity.
Flavonoids protect the human body from the negative effects of viruses, allergens and carcinogens. In addition, these substances have antioxidant activity, which suppresses the development of tumor formations.
The high content of citric, malic, tartaric, salicylic, benzoic, quinic and ellagic acid allows you to restore the acid-base balance and solve digestive problems. Also, the condition of a person’s skin, hair and nails depends on the amount of organic acids in the body. If they are supplied in sufficient quantities, the skin will always be elastic, and the hair and nails will be strong.
When the glycoside arbutin enters the body, it breaks down into glucose and hydroquinone, which is a powerful antiseptic. The antiseptic properties of this substance are actively used in the treatment of infections of the genitourinary system.
Lycopene and vaccinin are powerful antioxidants that protect cells from the damaging effects of the environment.
The presence of tannins gives an antiseptic and wound-healing effect; with their help, the regeneration of mucous membranes is accelerated and the urinary and respiratory tract is cleansed of harmful microorganisms.

Indications for the use of lingonberry leaves are:

osteochondrosis, all kinds of arthritis and arthrosis, rheumatism, which are treated by removing salts;
cholelithiasis;
inflammation of the kidneys, cystitis, enuresis and other diseases of the genitourinary tract;
hypertension;
diabetes.

Contraindications

Lingonberry foliage is such a safe medicine that it has virtually no side effects.

A contraindication to the use of the product by adults is individual intolerance to the components of the plant. Such treatment is also not recommended for children under 12 years of age, and for girls during puberty (excessive consumption of lingonberry leaf decoction by a teenager can lead to chronic infertility).

Otherwise, there are no special restrictions. Lingonberry greens are healthy and safe even for women during pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, like other medicinal plants, lingonberry leaves can bring both benefits and harm if you do not follow the rules for collecting them and the recipe for preparing products based on them.

How to brew lingonberry leaves and how to prepare them correctly

The effectiveness of folk recipes largely depends on the time of collection of plant materials. When to collect lingonberry leaves for treatment?

Collection and preparation

They must be collected when the concentration of useful substances in them is maximum. This is early spring, when the plant has not yet bloomed, or mid-autumn, when the berries have already been harvested. If you prepare greens during the fruiting period, then during the drying process they will darken and lose most of their healing components.

Do not delay drying the raw materials after collection. Within 5 hours, it is necessary to sort out all the leaves from the garbage and place them on pallets, cardboard or fabric. Traditional drying is carried out at room temperature in a shaded, dry room, which must be regularly ventilated. Drying naturally lasts 2-3 days.

You can quickly dry the foliage in the oven at a temperature of 40 degrees. This process will take 4-5 hours. A properly dried lingonberry leaf has a lighter underside with clearly visible branching of brown glands, as well as slightly downward-curved edges of the plate. It has no smell, but the taste should be bitter and slightly astringent.

Store dried leaves in cardboard boxes or wooden boxes with a bottom lined with paper. They can be stored for no more than 3 years.

Proper preparation of tea and infusions

Dried lingonberry leaves make a healthy vitamin tea that strengthens the immune system and adds strength and vigor.

How to brew lingonberry leaves:

Faster option. Brew 2 tbsp. leaves in a liter of boiling water. After 15 minutes of infusion under the lid, the drink is ready.
A more useful option. Brew tea in the evening, and by morning all the beneficial substances from lingonberry greens will be in your drink.

Is it possible to drink the drink all the time? Due to the fact that with a large number of useful and medicinal properties, lingonberry leaves have practically no contraindications, this tea can be taken for prevention for a long time. To enhance the beneficial effect, you can add other medicinal plants - strawberries, rosemary, licorice, etc. Only those with hypotension should be careful. Before brewing lingonberry leaves into tea, they should definitely consult their doctor. The diuretic that this drink is can lead to an even greater decrease in blood pressure; this is the case when lingonberries bring both benefit and harm.

Tea made from lingonberry leaves is consumed for a general strengthening effect, but if you want to overcome any disease with the help of the plant, you need to strictly follow the recipe.

Lingonberry leaves for cystitis and other problems with the genitourinary system

Thanks to the action of arbutin, lingonberry leaves for cystitis allow you to quickly and effectively get rid of pathogenic microorganisms in the urinary tract. You can use one of the following recipes:

Prepare a mixture of 1 part dried lingonberries and 3 parts rowan berries. 1 tbsp. The resulting mixture is brewed with 200 ml of boiling water and infused in a warm place for 4 hours. Drink 100 ml of infusion 3 times a day before meals, 30 minutes. Before drinking, dissolve a spoonful of honey in it.
Take 1 tbsp. lingonberries and sage, place in an enamel saucepan, pour 300 ml of boiling water and cook at low temperature for 20 minutes. Then leave for 60 minutes and consume 100 ml 4 times a day. Treatment lasts 15 days.
This recipe uses both the green parts of the plant and 1 tbsp lingonberry fruits. Add 2 tbsp to them. St. John's wort, add 600 ml of water and bring it to a boil, and then cook for another 10 minutes at low temperature. The cooled broth is taken all day in small sips, starting at 4 am and finishing before going to bed. This method treats not only cystitis, but also enuresis.

Children from enuresis. 2 tbsp. a mixture of berries and lingonberry leaves is poured into 400 ml of boiling water and brought to a boil, after which it is cooked for another 10 minutes and cooled. Give the first half of the decoction to the child in portions throughout the day, and let the child drink the rest before bed.

For kidneys with inflammation. Equal amounts of lingonberry and coltsfoot greens are used. 1 tbsp. pour 400 ml of boiling water into the mixture and boil for 5 minutes. The chilled decoction is consumed three times a day, ½ cup, 60 minutes before meals.

For kidney stones. Prepare an infusion by brewing 1 tsp. lingonberry leaves in a thermos with half a glass of boiling water. The product must be infused for at least 3 hours. Reception is carried out in 2 tbsp. up to 6 times a day. The infusion helps to get rid of both rheumatism and gout, thanks to the leaching of salts from the body. For these diseases, take ½ glass every 6 hours.

The plant is also useful for the female reproductive system.

For uterine bleeding. 2 tbsp. pour chopped greens into a glass of cool water and simmer in a water bath for at least 30 minutes. Drink chilled 1/2 glass twice a day.

Lingonberry is one of the few medicinal plants that is safe to use for women during pregnancy. It can also be used during lactation, if during this period a woman has problems with the genitourinary system. However, in both cases, consultation with a doctor is required. There is no need to self-medicate, because you are putting not only yourself, but also your child at risk.

Lingonberry leaves during pregnancy for edema. 1 tsp pour a glass of cool water over the raw materials, boil, and then cook for another 12 minutes at low temperature. Drink half a glass cold 20 minutes before meals.

Lingonberry is successfully used in the treatment of genitourinary diseases, but the range of its use is not limited to this.

Other effective recipes using lingonberry leaves

Lingonberry foliage is indicated for use in many cases.

For salt deposits. Infuse 100 g of leaves in 2.5 liters of boiling water for 2 hours, then strain and add 1.25 cups of 40% alcohol. Simmer the mixture over low heat for 15 minutes, without letting it boil. Drink 1/2 cup of medicine 3 times a day before meals, half an hour. Duration of treatment – 6 months.

For gout. 4 tbsp. Brew raw materials with 2 glasses of boiling water and simmer in a water bath for 15 minutes. Drink a quarter cup of the decoction up to 4 times a day.

For rheumatism. The roots and leaves of lingonberries are brewed in a thermos in a ratio of 1:8. Drink the resulting infusion one glass per day. After just 2 weeks, your condition will improve significantly.

With the growth of bones on the big toes. Prepare an infusion by brewing 1 tsp. raw materials in a glass of boiling water, and leave it for at least 4 hours. Drink 2-3 times a day.

With enlarged liver. Make a mixture of lingonberries and St. John's wort in equal quantities. Not only leaves are used for cooking, but also twigs and roots. Use the mixture three times a day, brewing 1 tbsp. in a glass of boiling water.

To reduce sugar levels in diabetes. 1 tbsp. lingonberry greens are poured into 200 ml of boiling water and infused for at least 60 minutes. Reception is carried out at 1 tbsp. 3 times a day.

To relieve alcohol intoxication. Pour 2 tbsp. raw materials with 2 glasses of water and boil at low temperature under the lid for 15 minutes. Strain and drink in small sips.

Many women are interested in whether it is possible to overcome excess weight with the help of lingonberries? The plant, of course, will not remove fat deposits, but will give a drainage effect, removing excess fluid from the intercellular space

For weight loss

For weight loss. Boil 40 g of leaves in a water bath in 200 ml of water for 20 minutes. Cool and take half a glass 20 minutes before meals. It is not recommended to take longer than 1 month.

Application for hair

An infusion of lingonberry leaves is used not only for medical, but also for cosmetic purposes. When you use it on your hair instead of conditioner, you will get soft, shiny, manageable curls, and also get rid of dandruff and hair loss.

Thus, lingonberry is a universal plant, the value of which is not limited to tasty fruits. Lingonberry leaves can be a good helper in the fight against a large list of diseases. So that you do not encounter problems when using this medicinal plant, we examined in detail the beneficial, medicinal properties and contraindications of lingonberry leaves, as well as what all kinds of recipes using them help with. With the right approach, healing with the help of medicinal plants is not much more difficult than with the help of synthetic drugs, but you will certainly be able to avoid side effects.

Almost everyone is familiar with lingonberries. This plant with sweet and sour berries is found everywhere in our country. In addition to the tasty, healthy berries, which are widely used in pharmacology, the leaves of the plant also have no less healing properties.

The leaves of the plant are usually used to treat cystitis, pyelonephritis, and urolithiasis. However, the healing properties of lingonberry leaves extend to many other ailments. So let's talk about lingonberry leaves, application, beneficial properties, contraindications to their use.

Biochemical composition

It has been established that the leaves of the plant contain vaccinin, lycopene, and glycosides. They contain a lot of flavonoids. It also contains tartaric, quinic, ellagic acids, and tannins.

Useful properties of lingonberry leaves

Due to their composition, leathery lingonberry leaves have diuretic, antiseptic, and antimicrobial properties. They are also used as an astringent, anti-inflammatory, tonic, wound healing, cardiotonic, and sedative.

The leaves are successfully used as an antiviral agent, since preparations based on them help destroy herpes and influenza viruses. The shoots and leaves of the bush have antihistamine, antimycotic, and anticancer effects.

Benzoic acid, which is part of the biochemical composition, has an anti-inflammatory effect. The leaves also contain a large amount of plant proteins, so decoctions and infusions are useful for people on a diet to replenish lost proteins in the body.

Application of lingonberry leaf

Plant-based preparations are recommended for those suffering from diabetes. Decoctions and infusions of leaves help reduce blood sugar levels. Decoctions and infusions of the plant are useful for the treatment of arthritis, osteochondrosis, rheumatism, and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The use of lingonberry leaves in folk medicine

Decoction:

To prepare the decoction, pour 1 tbsp. l. leaves with a glass of boiling water. Simmer over very low heat, covered tightly with a lid, for 30 minutes. Cool the broth, strain, squeeze out the raw materials, add boiled water to the original volume.

To treat urolithiasis and bladder diseases, drink ½ cup of the decoction, warm after meals, half an hour later. Before use, stir the decoction; you can add the same amount of weakly brewed green tea or rosehip decoction.

It should be remembered that the decoction has a diuretic effect and can wash away potassium and calcium from the body. Therefore, you should definitely take breaks during the treatment period.

As a means of preventing kidney and bladder diseases, or for treating these diseases during pregnancy, take a quarter glass of warm broth 1 time per day.

Infusion:

For rheumatism, brew 1 tsp in a thermos. raw materials 0.5 tbsp. boiling water. Leave for 2-3 hours, strain, squeeze, take the infusion 0.5 tbsp. every 6 hours.

If you have gallstone disease, you should drink 2 tbsp. l. this infusion 4 to 6 times a day. This remedy is also effective for flu and colds.

To strengthen the immune system and improve overall tone, prepare healing tea. This traditional medicine will improve your health, give you strength, vigor, and lift your spirits. To prepare tea, pour 2 tbsp. l. dry raw materials 1 l. boiling water, cover with a lid, wrap in a towel, leave for 10-15 minutes. Strain, add honey to taste, drink as tea 3-4 times a day.

Lingonberry leaf, used in folk medicine contraindications:

Use lingonberry leaves with caution if you have high stomach acidity. The use of infusions and decoctions of this plant is contraindicated for children under 12 years of age.

Of course, lingonberry leaf has many healing properties. But when using it in treatment, be sure to observe the measure. Remember that lingonberry preparations have diuretic properties, and therefore can lead to a decrease in blood pressure.

Hypotonics, beware! Take infusions, decoctions, teas based on it for no more than 2-3 weeks with a mandatory 10-day break. The main thing is to help your body, not harm it. Be healthy!

Lingonberry is an evergreen representative of the Heather family. The plant consists of a creeping, horizontal root, with branched shoots reaching a height of 20 cm, dark green, shiny leaves up to 3 mm long, curved at the edges, and small red berries. The bushes reach a height of 15 cm. They grow throughout the Russian Federation. Mainly in damp coniferous and deciduous forests, tundra zones, and peat bogs.

The plant is not grown on an industrial scale; only bushes grown in its natural habitat are used.

Lingonberry is a very useful plant. The berries have a huge amount of vitamins and minerals; they are actively used in cooking, for making sweets, marinades, and fruit drinks. Lingonberry jam is a traditional Swiss delicacy.

The leaves and shoots of the plant are widely used in medicine for the treatment of various diseases. They are harvested in April, before the plant begins to flower, and in the fall, in October, after the end of fruiting. Fresh leaves are picked from the bush, dried at a temperature of +35⁰С to +45⁰С degrees and stored in a dark and cool place. The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years.

In pharmacies, lingonberry leaves are sold as a medicinal mixture in the form of a crushed plant for preparing decoctions and infusions, or in filter bags used for brewing lingonberry tea.

Useful material

Lingonberry leaves contain a huge amount of a wide variety of medicinal substances and microelements, such as:

Arbutin is a strong anesthetic used to treat bladder diseases. In cosmetology, this chemical is used to lighten the skin. Despite its medicinal properties, this chemical element is dangerous in large quantities and can cause severe poisoning.
Flavonoids and tannins remove waste and toxins from the body, trigger the process of regeneration of skin cells, have a disinfecting effect, and can quickly relieve inflammation and pain.
Organic acids (gallic, ellagic, oxalic, tartaric, quinic) have anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. Gallic acid and ellagic acid are natural antioxidants used to neutralize and subsequently remove free radicals from the body.
Phenolcarboxylic acids are characterized by antipyretic, antirheumatic, anti-neurological and anti-inflammatory effects.
B vitamins are necessary for the proper development of the body.
Vitamin C, potassium, manganese, calcium and other micro- and macroelements that make up cells are necessary for human life.

Indications for use

Lingonberry leaves are used:

In medical applications, tea, decoction and infusion are prepared from lingonberry leaves.

To prepare herbal tea, you need to brew 1 packet of herbal tea with 2 cups of boiling water, wrap it in a warm towel and leave for 10 minutes. If desired, you can add honey, mint or lemon. Use twice a day for low immunity, chronic fatigue syndrome and colds.

Depending on the disease, decoctions of varying concentrations are prepared:

For gynecological diseases: 60 gr. Brew the crushed plant with 1 glass of liquid, put it in a pan of water, let it boil and cook for 30 minutes. Cover the resulting mixture with a lid, wrap it in a towel and leave for 2 hours. Then filter the herbal decoction and drink 100 ml twice a day before meals.
During pregnancy: 1 teaspoon of the plant is diluted with 1 glass of hot water, placed in a water bath and brought to a boil. The mixture is cooled, filtered and kept for 30 minutes. It is recommended to take 50 ml three to four times a day under the supervision of the attending physician, since, in addition to its benefits, in case of an overdose, the herbal tea helps to increase uterine tone.
For joint diseases, gout, gastritis, cholecystitis: 60 g. Ground leaves need to be steamed with 200 ml of liquid, and simmered in a water bath for 25 - 30 minutes, stirring so that the mixture does not boil. Cool the resulting broth, filter and dilute with water to the 200 ml mark. Drink one third of a glass three times a day. This decoction also helps with tuberculosis, intestinal infections, leukemia and cancer.
For stomatitis, various purulent inflammations of the oral cavity – 50 g. collection, dilute in 100 ml of water, place in a saucepan with water, cook for 25 minutes, cool, pass through a sieve and use as a mouth rinse.

An infusion is suitable for treating hair, scalp and acne. It is made from 50 gr. raw materials steamed in an enamel pan 1 liter. boiling water and leave until cool. The infusion is suitable for washing, compresses and rinsing hair.

With long-term herbal treatment, an overdose of the body is possible, so it is recommended to use the medicinal collection in courses of 10 - 15 days with a break of 3 - 4 months.

Contraindications

Decoctions of lingonberry leaves have the ability to wash calcium out of the body, so when taking the drug it is recommended to monitor the condition of your teeth.

In addition, it is forbidden to consume lingonberry leaves if:

breastfeeding;
children under 18 years of age;
acute renal failure;
for heart diseases associated with heart rhythm disturbances;
individual intolerance to a medicinal plant;
peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, various bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract;
gastritis with high acidity;
with low blood pressure;
varicose veins, thrombosis in blood vessels;
tendency to internal bleeding, various typologies.

Drinks made from lingonberry leaves should be taken strictly as directed and under the supervision of a doctor. The arbutin contained in the plant, in case of overdose, can cause severe intoxication.

Video: medicinal properties of lingonberry leaves

Lingonberry is a perennial shrub plant common in the temperate climate zone of Russia. It grows everywhere in the taiga, where its spread is facilitated by animals and birds that eat delicious berries. Grows in any forests and undergrowth, on peat bogs and even mountain slopes. Very unpretentious, prefers sandy and rocky soils.

Despite this, for a long time, experiments on cultivating the berry for the purpose of harvesting lingonberry leaves and fruits were unsuccessful. Only in 1994, the first plantations of a medicinal plant were created in Germany, which made it possible to increase the crop yield by 30 times. Attempts to industrially grow lingonberries have also been made in Russia, but today there are no specialized enterprises in this area in our country. The raw materials sold in the pharmacy chain are obtained under natural growth conditions of the crop.

Properties of lingonberry leaves

Due to the absence of industrial plantations, the volume of raw materials extracted annually is small. But this is not the only reason for the lack of valuable lingonberry leaves in the pharmacy chain and its high cost. The fact is that collecting material from one bush stops its natural development for a long time. To recover completely, the bush requires from five to ten years, so the procurement of medicinal raw materials is carried out in limited quantities.

Requirements for raw materials

The beneficial properties of lingonberry leaves are determined by its composition. They are recognized as the main medicinal raw materials of this plant. Harvesting is carried out at certain times - immediately after the snow melts or after the completion of the fruiting cycle of the bush. The frequency of procurement is determined by the composition of medicinal raw materials, which varies depending on the growing season.

Lingonberry leaves collected in summer turn brown. This color indicates that the raw material is of poor quality and the use of lingonberry leaves will not be effective. High-quality raw materials collected on time have the following characteristics.

Size. The length of the leaflets should be thirty millimeters and the width more than fifteen millimeters. A leaf that is more than one year old grows to this size. Young shoots are not used for harvesting, since their composition does not meet the requirements of GOST. If smaller leaves are found in the package, the raw materials are of poor quality.
Color. On the outside of the leaves it is dark green, rich, and the surface itself is smooth and glossy. The inner surface is lighter, but also green and matte. During drying, high-quality raw materials do not change color, and if they turn brown, such leaves are rejected from the batch.

The raw materials are odorless. They come on sale in the form of pressed braces, from which you need to break off a part and weld it. A decoction of lingonberry leaves has a bitter, astringent taste.

Compound

A hint of viscosity is given to the product by tannins, which determine the medicinal properties of lingonberry leaves. Their volume in the composition reaches ten percent. These components have an anti-inflammatory astringent effect, which is why lingonberry tea has been used for a long time as a remedy for diarrhea.

Scientific research in recent years has made it possible to identify other valuable substances that make up the medicinal plant. This has radically changed modern recommendations for the use of lingonberry leaves.

Glycoside arbutin. Its level reaches nine percent. Once in the human body, it is broken down into glucose and phenol hydroquinone. The latter is a powerful natural antiseptic, a substance that inhibits the growth of pathogenic microflora and has an antibacterial effect. Arbutin stops inflammatory processes in areas of “direct contact”, due to which it is most effective in inflammatory processes of the kidneys and bladder. The substance has a pronounced diuretic effect, which increases the effectiveness of therapy.
Flavonoids. The level of these substances is not too high, but their effect can also be observed when taking tea from lingonberry leaves. Flavanoids improve the condition of the cardiovascular system, control vascular tone and stabilize blood pressure. These substances have an antioxidant effect, protect cells from the influence of free radicals, which trigger the aging process and disrupt normal tissue reproduction.
Vitamin C. It is believed that lingonberries contain the maximum amount of ascorbic acid. But that's not true. There is much more of it in the leaves. So in one hundred grams of berries ripened on the bush, the content of ascorbic acid ranges from eight to twenty milligrams per hundred grams of product. And in a leaf for the same volume of raw materials, the vitamin C content is two hundred and seventy milligrams, that is, almost fourteen times more. Therefore, the question of how to take lingonberry leaves to increase immunity in case of illness and vitamin deficiency makes much more practical sense than taking an infusion of berries.
Coumarins. Lingonberry harvest is useful not only for the kidneys and the treatment of cystitis. The substances coumarins included in its composition have a positive effect on the functioning of blood vessels. They prevent thrombosis of blood arteries and eliminate their blockage with plaques. They have a vasodilating, mild sedative and analgesic effect.

The natural product contains a whole range of natural acids, phenolic glycosides, which have a mild choleretic and diuretic effect. It is no coincidence that lingonberry leaf is recommended to be included in preparations or drunk in its pure form to normalize metabolic processes in the body and for weight loss. According to reviews, it normalizes metabolism and allows the body to tone up faster.

Terms of use

How to brew lingonberry leaf so that it brings maximum benefits to the body? First you need to determine what problem you need to solve. If you use lingonberry leaves for cystitis, you can prepare a decoction using classical technology, pouring boiling water over the raw material and simmering it over low heat.

If the product is used to increase the body’s immune forces or normalize metabolism, it should not be boiled. During the boiling process, vitamin C is completely destroyed, which turns the drink into ordinary tea without medicinal properties.

For kidney inflammation

Preparation

Place a handful of lingonberry leaves into the container.
Fill with water with a volume of six hundred milliliters.
Heat through and let simmer gently for ten minutes.

Recommendations on how to drink lingonberry leaves to treat kidney diseases are given by the famous Soviet herbalist and herbalist Mikhail Nosal. The resulting decoction should be drunk during the day in three doses. A fresh decoction should be prepared daily, and the course is continued until recovery.

For rheumatism and gout

Medicinal raw materials have anti-inflammatory and mild analgesic effects, therefore they are recommended for relieving pain syndrome accompanying inflammatory processes in the joints.

Preparation

Grind the leaf, use one tablespoon.
Pour two hundred milliliters of boiling water.
Boil for five minutes.
Leave to brew for one hour, strain.

It is recommended to take an analgesic and anti-inflammatory decoction four times daily, a tablespoon before meals.

For cystitis

To relieve inflammation and pain during urination, as a diuretic for cystitis and inflammation in the urethra, a decoction of lingonberry leaf is used; it has no contraindications. Can be used for children and pregnancy.

Preparation

Grind the raw materials, use four teaspoons.
Fill with water with a volume of five hundred milliliters.
Boil for twenty minutes.
Leave to brew for twenty minutes, strain.

Tonic infusion

An effective remedy for restoring body tone. Can be used to maintain strength during a cold and after recovery as a source of natural vitamins. Due to the presence of arbutin and tannins in the composition of the product, it has a slight expectorant effect, which makes it possible to use it in the complex therapy of bronchitis.

Preparation

Grind the raw materials, pour a handful of leaves into a thermos.
Pour boiling water in a volume of five hundred milliliters.
Close the lid tightly and leave for thirty minutes.
Strain.

Take this tonic infusion during the day, half a glass before meals.

The beneficial properties of lingonberry leaves make it possible to recommend them for the treatment of kidney and bladder diseases. This natural, safe product has a pronounced anti-inflammatory and diuretic effect. Having a positive effect on vascular tone, lingonberry tea heals the circulatory system and prevents the development of thrombosis. It is indispensable in the recovery period after colds and will support the body's immune forces in the fight against them.