Despite scientific and technological progress, traditional medicine continues to exist. No one passes on magic medicinal recipes to their grandchildren anymore, but when illnesses make themselves felt, everyone knows that a grandmother, armed with folk recipes known to her alone, will cure faster, better and more reliably than any therapist with an armful of pills and syrups. One of the brightest representatives of herbal "medicines" is cranberries. This is a small shrub with a branched stem, decorated with shiny, elongated and juicy leaves, as well as red berries, similar in appearance to cranberries. Cowberry flowers are small, pale pink.
Cowberries are classified as long-lived plants, and deservedly so: its rhizome can be underground for up to 5 years, growing in breadth and not appearing on the surface. The approximate time of fruit ripening falls, as in the case of other representatives of the berry species, in autumn. They are rounded, scarlet in color, but their taste is sour, tart, sometimes with a slightbitterness.
The natural growth conditions are the forest zones of the forest-tundra and tundra. If you want to harvest this berry from the forest, you should go to coniferous forests: pine and spruce, as well as to birch. By the way, despite the general similarity of cranberries and lingonberries, you should know that for the first, a wet swamp-type area is preferable, while lingonberries love light, warmth and dryness.
What is useful in a berry
Cowberries, like many other berries, are a storehouse of vitamins and other useful substances. It has an impressive content of organic acids, including malic, lactic, citric, tartaric, quinic, salicylic, benzoic, succinic. These small berries contain carbohydrates, polyphenols, pectin, a lot of vitamin C, PP, phosphorus and iron. There is also a lot of essential oil in it, which includes a variety of organic compounds. Lingonberry seeds are no less useful than the juicy pulp of the fruit. The reason for this is the fast-dissolving fatty oil contained in these small grains. Perhaps it is precisely this abundance of useful components that can explain all the properties of lingonberries, thanks to which this berry is present in most traditional medicine recipes.
Nutritional and energy value
As for the calorie content of lingonberries, it is about 43 kcal per 100 grams. This figure may be more or less, depending on the ripeness of the berries. Carbohydrates in 100 grams of berries contain 9.6 g of proteins- 0.7 g, fat - only 0.5 grams.
In what situations lingonberries help
The properties of lingonberries are useful for kidney stones, liver and joint ailments, diabetes and gout. For the treatment of all these diseases, leaves from the bush will be needed. The prepared decoction in the shortest possible time will facilitate the course of the disease, and over time will contribute to a complete cure for it. At first, the thought of using leaves in this way seems simply amazing, because everyone is used to using only berries, occasionally seeds, but not foliage. And it's all about the antiseptic substances contained in the leaf. They provide these beneficial properties of lingonberries, improving the functioning of the digestive tract, liver and kidneys.
Cowberry for weight loss
It seems surprising, but those struggling with excess weight can also use lingonberry leaves to more effectively get rid of the hated kilograms. In this situation, the use of leaf decoction is combined with the usual diet or nutrition system. When lingonberries are chosen as an aid, the medicinal properties and contraindications (see the article for a photo of the berry) should be studied as carefully as possible so as not to harm the body, which is already deprived of vitamins. For cooking, you will need 40 g of raw materials and 200 g of boiling water. Having connected them together, the infusion should be covered with a lid and left for a quarter of an hour. Take it three times a day 30 minutes before meals for half a glass. If there is increased acidity of the intestine, it is better to take the decoction latersome time after eating. The standard course is exactly 3 weeks. As for the further use of the miracle remedy, it is better to coordinate it with the doctor in order to be sure that the treatment is only beneficial.
In case of intoxication, anemia and neuroses
The healing properties of lingonberries (berries) will come in handy the next morning after the feast. It perfectly removes alcohol from the body, has diuretic, laxative and antiparasitic qualities. Berry decoction normalizes the overall tone of the body and perfectly quenches thirst.
Drinking freshly squeezed lingonberry juice is useful for high blood pressure, people with neurosis, anemia and poor eyesight. And due to the fact that the properties of the berries also provide an antimicrobial and bactericidal effect, the juice actively destroys all putrefactive and other dangerous bacteria that live in the intestinal tract.
Cowberry leaves. When to collect and how to store
Cowberry leaves, unlike berries, can be harvested in March and early April. In general, as soon as the snow starts to melt. After collecting the right amount of leaves, they should be dried, getting rid of excess moisture. To do this, they should be laid out in the attic of the house, in the oven or oven at low temperatures. The main thing is the lack of direct contact with direct sunlight. It is also important not to overdry the raw material, not to burn it. When the leaves reach the desired state, they are poured into a container with a lid, or a bag made of dense light-tight fabric and stored in a dark, cool place withminimum air humidity. They can be kept in this form for up to two years. Based on them, you can prepare decoctions, or you can add crushed leaves to tea: it turns out very tasty and he althy.
Benefits of cranberries for women
The beneficial properties of the described plant are in demand among women planning pregnancy and already in this position. What a versatile and unique cranberry! Medicinal properties and contraindications for women must be taken into account when treating it. Indeed, in the presence of certain ailments, its use is strictly prohibited, since it can be dangerous for mother and child.
Advertising on TV and on the Internet reports that it is impossible to endure and give birth to a he althy child without absorbing synthetic vitamins. However, many of these artificial, non-natural preparations of dubious origin are quite interchangeable with lingonberries. You can use it in the form of a decoction of leaves or berries, juice. Lingonberries mashed with sugar do not lose their beneficial properties. But it acquires a pleasant sweet and sour taste.
Cowberry has antidepressant properties, which is incredibly important for pregnant women. After all, as you know, hormonal disruptions now and then provoke uncontrolled mood swings. The use of lingonberries significantly reduces the intensity and frequency of such phenomena, stabilizes the emotional state. If the temperature suddenly rises, lingonberrythe juice will help normalize it.
Neutralization of pregnancy problems
The properties of lingonberries help reduce edema (due to its mild diuretic effect), which are especially annoying in late gestation. It is allowed to drink a decoction of leaves and berries even during breastfeeding. However, after three weeks from the start of treatment, you should consult a specialist about further treatment.
In case of problems with the cardiovascular system and low hemoglobin, the use of a decoction will also not be superfluous. For those mothers who do not want to saturate their own and children's body with "chemistry", a great option is lingonberries. Medicinal properties (a photo of it, so as not to be confused with other berries, is attached) of this plant will help with many problems.
When use is contraindicated
Berry, as you can see, is incredibly useful. However, this remedy is still curative, although it is absolutely natural. Good, but sometimes lingonberries are not so safe. Medicinal properties and contraindications during pregnancy must be kept in mind.
It is impossible, as already mentioned, to treat young mothers with excessive production of gastric juice. It is also not recommended for women with a weak stomach, as it is recommended to take it on an empty stomach in most cases, which, in turn, can provoke intestinal upset.
It is dangerous for people suffering from low blood pressure, because one of the qualities of this berry islowering blood pressure. It is forbidden to take cranberries and with cholecystitis.
Cowberry is a very useful berry. In addition, you can use not only its fruits, but also the leaves. It is imperative to take into account contraindications so that the treatment does not have the opposite effect. It also has lingonberries useful properties for children. The main thing, before starting treatment with it, is to get a full consultation from a specialist who can accurately determine whether the use of the plant is permissible. Even if the doctor approves "lingonberry therapy", after a month from the moment it began, you should come to the appointment in order to make sure that everything is in order and receive further recommendations or, possibly, a ban on subsequent use.
