Juniper Berry

Diuretic, diaphoretic, aromatic, stimulant, carminative, anodyne, emmenagogue, stomachic, antiseptic.

Juniper increases the appetite, aids digestion, and increases the flow of urine (its major use). It is a stimulating diuretic, so it is especially beneficial in eliminating passive congestion of the kidneys resulting from heart problems, and for removing waste products from the bloodstream. Juniper is a great healer to the kidneys, urinary passages, bladder. It is a counter-poison and a strengthener of the brain, memory, and optic nerve.

An Evergreen tree or shrub. The hollow, needle-like leaves are 3-sided, whitened above and in whorls of 3. The berry-like cones ripen, in their 2nd or 3rd year to blue-black and covered with a whitish powder. They contain 3 seeds. Found throughout the U.S. in dry woods, sterile hills.

Use crushed, ripe berries for seasoning veal, roast of lamb or for flavoring gin. It yields a brown dye. Is a diuretic, carminative, and stimulant. It helps in gas, cramps, convulsions, gout, sciatica, edema, nerves, parasites, kidneys (not when inflamed), ruptures and coughs. The antiseptic, diuretic, and detoxifying oil is used to treat cystitis, acne, eczema, cellulite, and rheumatism. Steep 1 teaspoon of the crushed berries in 1/2 cup water for 15 minutes. Take 1 tablespoon, 3 times a day, or 10-30 drops of the tincture. Spray the room, used by the ill with infectious disease, with a strong solution of the needles. It is also used to destroy fungi.