Learn how to make juniper berry tincture and how to use juniper berry tincture at home for various health issues.
Juniper (Juniperus communis) is one of the best natural remedies for urinary tract infections and kidney problems but is also very useful in weight loss and obesity. Before we show you how to make juniper berry tincture at home, learn where to find juniper and how to harvest its berries.
In This Article You Will Find:
Where to Find Juniper?
Juniper grows especially in the submontane and mountain areas, in open and well-sunned spots, as this shrub needs a lot of light. It is often found in the vicinity of hawthorns and rose hip bushes, as they share the same light and soil preferences. At high altitudes, juniper is usually found at the edge of pine, and beech forests.
How to Harvest Juniper Berries
Juniper berries can be harvested from about September through to December when they are fully ripe (are deep purplish-blue with a waxy appearance). Picking juniper berries is one of the most complicated berry-picking operations of this kind. Juniper leaves are extremely tough and can sting while its berries are much too small to be picked one by one. Hence, unless you make it your purpose to harvest juniper berries yearly, we recommend purchasing the berries from a local health shop.
If you still want to pick by hand, you will need a thick pair of gloves and a tarp to place under the juniper bush. Give the bush a good shake and collect the juniper berries that have fallen on the tarp, then separate the berries from the vegetable remains and you have your freshly harvested juniper berries.
How to Make Juniper Berry Tincture
Juniper berry tincture is one of the most powerful remedies with a diuretic, kidneys and urinary antiseptic, and depurative effect in the world. Here is how to make juniper berry tincture:
- Finely grind the dried juniper berries into a powder using an electric coffee grinder.
- Put 15 tablespoons of juniper berry powder in a glass jar, and add two cups of strong food alcohol (90-96 degrees) and a cup of water.
- Seal the jar and give it a good shake.
- Leave the juniper berry tincture to macerate for 10 days.
- Strain through cheesecloth and store in small amber bottles with a dropper.
4 Health Uses of Juniper Berry Tincture
- Urinary Infection (Cystitis) – juniper tincture is among the most powerful urinary anti-infectives in the world, its effect being comparable (if not stronger) to that of many synthetic antibiotics. The dosage is 1 teaspoon of juniper tincture, four times a day, in 18-day courses, followed by a 12-day break. This treatment can be done alongside synthetic antibiotics, whose action is potentiated by this tincture.
- Kidney Stones – the dosage is 1 teaspoon diluted in half a cup of water, 3-4 times a day for 28 days, four times a year, at the change of seasons. Juniper berry tincture stimulates the activity of the kidneys, helps to train microcalculi from the kidneys, and eliminates them through the urine, thus preventing the formation of large kidney stones. This cure with juniper tincture prevents urinary tract infections, given that these infections are among the main factors favoring the formation of kidney stones.
- Water Retention (Edema) – juniper tincture is the most formidable remedy against water retention, unmatched by any other. The dosage is 1 teaspoon of juniper berry tincture diluted in water, three times a day, i.e. morning, lunch has practically miraculous effects of eliminating excess water from the tissues. The results of this treatment are visible from the first day. You may lose an average of 1-3 kg in just one week, due to the elimination of excess water from the body with the help of juniper berry tincture.
- Weight Gain & Obesity – in this case, taking 4-6 teaspoons of tincture per day (of which 2 teaspoons right before the main meal) for 21 days, with a 21-day break. Resume if needed. Juniper tincture regulates appetite, stimulates digestion and elimination, helps to balance hormones, and most importantly fights water retention.
Juniper Safety and Contraindications
When using juniper internally, do not exceed the maximum daily adult dose (10 grams of plant). If this dose is exceeded, one may experience kidney irritations, digestive disorders, mouth irritations, and even spasms. A juniper cure should last no more than 4 weeks, followed by a minimum 3-week break, after which it can be resumed. Using juniper for too long can lead to loss of potassium from the body, very low blood sugar, hypotension, and even hypocalcemia. Other juniper contraindications to consider:
- Never use juniper during pregnancy (in any form), because this plant has proven abortion-inducing effects, being often used in folk medicine to trigger and accelerate childbirth or abortion.
- Avoid juniper treatments if you want to become pregnant (both partners), as juniper has a surprising effectiveness as a contraceptive. Animal studies have confirmed that the reproductive rate of laboratory animals treated with juniper for several months was reduced by 60-70%.
- If you are already suffering from kidney infections, you should use juniper internally cautiously – at first only 1/4 of the recommended daily dose. If you feel any intensification of the irritation when urinating, kidney pain, or irritation in the reno-urinary system, stop using juniper.
For a long time, it was believed that juniper is nephrotoxic and harmful in cases of kidney and urinary infections, but recent studies show that inflammatory phenomena due to juniper are isolated, rather due to individual predispositions. Please consult an herbal medicine specialist before using juniper internally.
More Juniper Remedies:
Juniper Berries Cure
Juniper Berries Tea
Juniper Berry Powder
Juniper Essential Oil
If you’ve enjoyed learning how to make juniper berry tincture and how to use juniper berry tincture as medicine, please share this article so more people can use this information. Let us know in the comments below how you use juniper berries at home. Stay healthy, naturally!
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