Today, a huge number of herbal seasonings are known in cooking. To add a spicy aroma and taste to dishes, plant seeds, bark, leaves, stems, and roots are used. It is noteworthy that many spices are used not only to solve culinary problems, but also to improve the condition of the body. That is, many seasonings and spices have a positive effect on human health! And within the framework of this topic, I would like to pay special attention to such a spice as bay leaf! The medicinal properties of this plant are truly amazing. And some of the features and properties of bay leaves should not be underestimated. Let's take a closer look at everything connected with this culinary discovery gifted to us by nature itself!
Bay leaf is not just a seasoning
Many legends and myths have been created around the laurel, an evergreen tree. In many cultures around the world, it is a symbol of victory, perseverance and courage. And all over the world it is valued as a seasoning that gives dishes a pleasant taste and beneficial properties.
If you look at the composition of the plant, you can understand why it is so valued in folk and official medicine. It contains:
- vitamins A and C, group B, PP;
- tannins and essential substances;
- impressive list of microelements.
Thanks to its rich composition, there are invaluable health benefits:
- Helps digestion, better absorption of food, improves appetite;
- Accelerates metabolic processes;
- Strengthens the immune system;
- Removes excess salts, waste, toxins;
- Relieves pain, inflammation;
- Strengthens hair, improves complexion and skin condition;
- Fights swelling, normalizes blood pressure;
- Improves the condition of the cardiovascular system;
- Expels parasites from the body;
- Possessing a strong diuretic, it prevents the formation of sand and stones in the kidneys.
There are also contraindications:
- Ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.
- Tendency to cholecystitis and pancreatitis.
- Pregnancy and lactation.
- Cholelithiasis.
- Chronic hemorrhoids and constipation.
- Children under 6 years old.
- Allergy.
- All kidney diseases. The kidneys may not be able to cope when the salts start to come out.
Useful properties of laurel
Laurel forests once covered large areas of Rome and Greece, so the plant was widely used in ancient medicine. The Roman philosopher and naturalist Pliny the Elder named a number of illnesses for which bay oil was used, including paralysis, spasms, headaches, ear infections and rheumatism. In Crete, women used bay leaf tincture to strengthen their hair, and also lubricated bruises and bruises with the product.
The leaves contain 1.3% essential oils, which include a whole range of useful ingredients:
- eucalyptol - has a calming and anti-inflammatory effect;
- terpenes - act as antiseptic, expectorant and antispasmodic agents;
- methyl eugenol - protects cells from free radicals;
- linalool - relieves spasms, improves sleep;
- tannins - remove excess salts from joints and improve mobility.
In addition to the listed components, the leaves contain more than 50 organic compounds, most of which are organic acids and phenols. In 2021, a group of scientists at the University of Salerno studied the beneficial properties of the plant's essential oil. Researchers tested the substance on bacterial strains and fungi and determined its high antimicrobial activity.
An extract from laurel leaves actively suppressed the viability of neuroblastoma cells, a malignant tumor of the nervous system. The experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the plant's components in the fight against neuralgia, parkinsonism and cancer. Scientists have concluded that laurel can be used as an aid in the treatment of these diseases.
Benefits of bay leaf for women's health
First aid for overweight women - for weight loss. The use of bay leaf for weight loss is based on its strong diuretic property:
- Take 3-4 laurel leaves, pour 300 ml of water;
- Let cook for 25 minutes;
- Take 1 tbsp three times a day.
You can drink the healing drink only for 3 days, otherwise dehydration will occur. After 3 weeks, the procedure can be repeated.
If there is a disturbance in the menstrual cycle, then for menstruation, that is, to induce them, you should drink bay infusion. Why should a woman induce her period? If they interfere with an important train, there is a delay of 10 days or a cycle disruption occurs.
But many girls have already heard that a decoction of bay leaves will speed up termination of pregnancy if it is unwanted. This is the method that women used in ancient times.
If your pregnancy is already long, drinking a decoction or tincture is strictly prohibited. You can cause yourself to bleed so badly that even a doctor cannot save you from it.
Recipe: 7 g of leaves, pour 0.5 liters of water, boil over low heat for an hour. Wrap up, leave to cool, strain and drink 1 glass of broth in one gulp. Expect your period the next morning. If your period does not come, then the procedure cannot be repeated, as you can be seriously poisoned.
There is a milder recipe: take 3 leaves, pour a glass of boiling water in a thermos, drink warm. You need to drink 3 glasses a day.
Don't forget that bay leaf can be harmful if overdosed, so recipes must be followed strictly.
Contraindications and possible harm
Despite the fact that the product has an invaluable therapeutic effect on the body, its use should be treated with caution if you have the following problems:
- acute cholecystitis;
- kidney and liver pathologies;
- individual intolerance to the plant;
- Protein metabolism disorders;
- ulcers of the digestive system.
Harm from consuming the leaves is possible during pregnancy due to substances contained in the product that can cause severe bleeding. However, this only applies to taking infusions and decoctions from the plant. To ensure that the spice is safe to consume, it should be added to dishes in moderation to impart a pleasant aroma. External use (lotions, compresses) will not entail negative consequences.
Bay leaf tincture for the elderly
For older people, bay leaf is a real salvation from many ailments. With its help, you can regulate blood pressure, protect blood vessels from atherosclerosis, prevent blood stagnation, and improve blood circulation.
Most often, older people suffer from joint diseases. Bay tincture is very beneficial for joints.
How to properly prepare a tincture for treating joints:
- Take 5 leaves, add 300 ml of water, bring to a boil, opening the lid so that the essential oils evaporate.
- Boil for 3 minutes, wrap, leave to brew overnight.
- Divide the decoction into so many equal portions that you can drink this portion within 12 hours, otherwise it will lose its medicinal properties.
- Take the medicine 15 minutes before meals. Treatment is carried out only for 3 days, brewing a fresh portion of the product daily.
- Treatment regimen: drink for 3 days, pause for 20 days, again for 3 days. Take a break for 3 months, then resume treatment.
- After drinking a course of decoction, it is necessary to compensate for the calcium deficiency. Calcium gluconate should be drunk crushed with the addition of a couple of drops of lemon juice. Or eat more foods high in calcium.
The following remedy will help clean your joints from salts: chop the leaves, take 3 tsp. pour 650 ml of water, boil for 5 minutes without a lid, wrap, hold for 3 hours. Drink 2 sips of the mixture every hour. Treatment is carried out for 3 days, then take a break for 3 weeks.
To cleanse from salts and toxins, you can carry out therapy with the following drug: boil 5 g of spice in 300 ml of water, transfer to a thermos. Leave until morning. This dose should be taken throughout the day.
Thus, carry out the treatment for 3 days. Be careful - the color of the urine may change greatly to dark. This is fine. But it is not recommended to cleanse for more than 3 days.
In addition, during cleansing, your head may feel dizzy and hurt, your joints may ache, and your heart may beat faster. Usually the symptoms go away within a day.
Medicine in oil
To relieve joint pain, you can use medicine in oil. Grind the leaves to a powder, take 1 tbsp. powder, pour a glass of warm olive oil, put in a dark cupboard for 15 days. Then the remedy must be stored in the refrigerator.
For rheumatic and arthritic pain, lubricate the joints, while doing a light massage of the sore spot, followed by wrapping. Course - 2 weeks.
Treatment of advanced musculoskeletal disease can be carried out with butter ointment. Instead of olive oil, take butter in a ratio of 1:2.
Heat the resulting composition in a water bath for 30 minutes. Lubricate the sore areas in the morning and evening, followed by wrapping (first with wax paper, then with a scarf) for 2 weeks.
Selection of raw materials
Laurel leaves are used to prepare medicinal remedies at home. Due to the fact that they are a common seasoning, plant materials can be purchased at any grocery store. Owners of country plots where laurel trees grow can prepare the raw materials themselves.
It is recommended to harvest plant materials in late autumn or winter - during this period the leaves accumulate the greatest amount of useful substances.
Drying of raw materials is carried out at a temperature of no more than 35°C in an oven or using an electric dryer. Higher temperatures lead to the destruction of beneficial substances.
When pressed, the finished raw material easily breaks with a characteristic crack. To prepare healing tinctures, dark green leaves without spots, mold or signs of damage by parasites are used.
Tincture on alcohol-containing liquids
In order not to prepare the product every day, laurel can be infused with alcohol, moonshine and vodka. It is good to make a compress with the tincture on sore spots. To treat all types of joint pain, it is necessary to prepare a vodka tincture.
Important! The compress should be done daily for 1 month. If redness is observed, then dilute with water 1:1
Recipe for making alcohol tincture
Pour 10 leaves with 0.5 liters of alcohol, vodka or moonshine. Leave in the refrigerator for 14 days, shaking occasionally. If there is redness after the compress, you can dilute it with water 1:1.
To treat joints and spinal hernias, you can use the tincture. How to prepare: pour 18 pieces of laurel with 0.5 liters of vodka, close tightly, put in a warm place for 3 days, shake the mixture daily. For pain in the elbows or knees, rub the mixture in, then wrap it in a scarf for 2–3 hours.
Compress with tincture
For a sore back, a compress will help: moisten gauze in the tincture, place it on the sore spot, cover with wax paper and a scarf, hold for 2-3 hours.
The warming procedure should be carried out for a month. If the compress brings relief, then after a 2-week break the treatment should be repeated.
For people with sensitive skin, the alcohol tincture should be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio. Bay vodka tincture can be used for sprains, contusions and bruises.
Medicine taken orally will help get rid of swelling and restore motor activity. Pour 8 leaves into 2 cups of boiling water, let it brew for 1 hour. Strain, add 1 tsp. honey, take 0.5 cups three times a day after meals for 10 days.
Bay leaf tincture for the treatment of alcoholism
Tincture of vodka or alcohol can be used to treat alcoholism. How does bay leaf work?
- Relieves symptoms of intoxication and hangover.
- After heavy drinking, it normalizes the functioning of all organs.
- Strengthens the body's resistance to the harmful effects of alcohol.
- A course of treatment relieves cravings for alcohol and ultimately eliminates alcoholism.
A tincture of laurel in moonshine or alcohol will help to quickly relieve a hangover: pour 7 leaves into 0.5 cups of alcohol-containing liquid, lightly heat it with steam, let it brew and drink in 3 doses during the day.
The next day you need to make an infusion of water: pour 3 leaves with a glass of boiling water, let it brew and drink the infusion throughout the day. The next day the procedure can be repeated. In order for a person to finally quit binge drinking, the infusion must be taken for 2 weeks.
During this time, the person will calm down, as laurel has a calming effect, cope with insomnia, depression, and recover from stress.
Treatment of the most common diseases
Hypertension affects most of the adult population. There is an easy way to get rid of hypertension using bay leaves. Take 4 laurel leaves and pour a glass of boiling water. Leave for 24 hours, drink 100 ml twice a day before meals. The course is 2 weeks, then a break of 1 month. This treatment can be carried out if the pressure is not higher than 160/90.
If the pressure is higher than this indicator, then 1 tsp should be added to this infusion. dill seeds
Without harming your health, try to reduce your blood pressure:
- Brew 2 tbsp in 1 liter of boiling water. green tea, 12 spice leaves.
- Leave for half an hour in a closed container.
- Every 15 minutes, drink 2-3 tbsp. infusion.
- After 2.5 hours, measure the pressure.
Cholecystitis
When treating chronic cholecystitis, populists recommend 30 pieces of spice, pour a glass of heated vegetable oil, leave for 6 days, strain. Before going to bed, add 1 tsp. in kefir or milk.
Cystitis
Take 5 leaves per glass of boiling water and boil for 7 minutes. Take half a glass twice a day until the condition improves, but no more than a week. Heavy urination will begin, so you need to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and take calcium.
Diabetes
If you have elevated sugar levels or have been diagnosed with diabetes, then traditional healers advise taking bay decoction for 3 weeks as an additional treatment for diabetes. It will not only help lower blood sugar levels, but will also normalize carbohydrate metabolism.
To reduce sugar, prepare this medicine. 20 spice leaves, pour 400 ml of water, boil for 5 minutes over low heat, drink throughout the day. The same drink will help get rid of puffiness.
Another recipe: brew 10 pieces of spice in 300 ml of boiling water in a thermos, leave for 24 hours. Take 50 ml before meals for 7-10 days. Before starting treatment, do a sugar test, then after treatment to ensure effectiveness.
Cough, ARVI, throat diseases, otitis, sinusitis can also be treated with infusions of this wonderful plant.
Indications
It is important to correctly understand what to expect from using bay leaf tincture. This recipe has a fairly large but limited range of indications for use:
- Fungal skin diseases, nail fungus.
- Acne and pimples on various parts of the body.
- Increased sweating of the skin.
- Allergic rash and skin itching.
- Hair diseases, including alopecia - increased hair loss.
- Psoriatic plaques on the skin.
- Damage to the skin due to diabetes and liver diseases.
- Abrasions and purulent wounds on the skin.
- Bruises and subcutaneous hemorrhages.
Most of the indications relate to the field of dermatology, since bay leaf has an excellent effect on the structure of the skin, hair and nails.
However, the tincture also has indications for other human diseases:
- Bronchitis and tracheitis.
- Inflammatory bowel diseases.
- Dental pathology.
- Intestinal colic.
- Menstrual pain.
- Diseases of the joints of an inflammatory nature.