Useful properties of blueberries: how a small black berry will surprise us
Everyone knows that blueberries help restore vision, but this is not all of its abilities. The beneficial properties of blueberries make them indispensable for many other problems. In small fruits there is a huge healing power, thanks to which blueberries are widely used in folk medicine. What can this plant do and where is it used?
What does blueberry look like and where does it grow?
Blueberries grow in the form of a low bush with small oval leaves. The plate has serrated edges and is painted in bright green with a glossy sheen. Its height does not exceed 50 cm, and the plant belongs to the heather family. Blueberries bloom in May with very small spherical cups of white-pink color, lowered down.
You can meet useful bushes most often in pine and spruce forests, since she loves acidic soil. Cultures are also found near swamps. Berries ripen in the second half of summer. They are covered with a blue bluish bloom, and if you wipe it with your fingers, you will find a black berry in your hands. There are many small seeds inside the berries, and the taste is dominated by sweet and sour notes with a pronounced tart aftertaste.
The plant has many names among the people, but they are all associated with the characteristic color of the fruit. Among the most popular are: blackberry, blackberry, blueberry, blueberry.
For medicinal purposes, the leaves of the plant are used, which are collected in May, as well as ripe berries. The leaves are dried, and the berries can also be frozen. Also used for medicinal purposes are the berries of dogwood, barberry, honeysuckle.
Useful properties of blueberries
The black berries contain many organic acids and tannins. It also contains vitamins (A, B, C) and trace elements (magnesium, calcium, manganese), as well as flavonoids and pigments.
Products based on black berries or leaves have a positive effect on the human body:
- strengthen blood vessels;
- improve metabolism and vision;
- stabilize pressure;
- slow down the aging process;
- relieve heartburn and stomach cramps;
- increase gastric acidity;
- kill infections of the mouth;
- serve as a diuretic and anti-inflammatory agent.
It is not recommended to use preparations based on blueberries in the presence of allergies. Also, you cannot use them at the same time as blood thinners so as not to provoke bleeding.
What problems will black berry help
Decoctions and infusions of blueberries are widely used in folk medicine:
- as an adjuvant in diabetes;
- to restore vision;
- with rheumatism and gout;
- as a remedy for diarrhea and dyspepsia;
- for the treatment of intestinal and stomach catarrhs;
- with stones in the urinary system.
In scientific medicine, at the moment, blueberries are recognized only as a good astringent for indigestion and an auxiliary agent for vision problems.