Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

The Gin-Flavored Healer

Family: Cupressaceae; (includes Cypress)

Genus and Species: Juniperus Communis

Also known as: Genvrier, Geneva

Parts used: “Berries,” actually miniature female cones

If you’ve ever had a martini, you know juniper. Aromatic [uniper berries are the source of gin. Juniper also increases urine production-making this herb a possible treatment for premenstrual syndrome, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure.

French Fumigant

During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed planting a juniper beside the front door kept witches out. Unfortunately, the tree did not provide complete protection. A witch could still enter if she correctly guessed the number of its needles.

As time passed, juniper’s protective reputation evolved into the belief that its smoke prevented leprosy and bubonic plague. As recently as World War II, French nurses burned juniper in hospital rooms to fumigate them.

By the 17th century, juniper was a popular diuretic, used to increase urine production. English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote the herb “provokes urine exceedingly …. [Juniper] is so powerful a remedy against dropsy [congestive heart failure], it cures the disease.” In addition, Culpeper prescribed juniper for “cough, shortness of breath, consumption [tuberculosis] … to provoke terms [menstruation] … and give safe and speedy delivery to women with child.”

Zuni Childbirth Herb

American Indians independently discovered juniper’s childbirth-assisting properties. When the Spanish explorer Coronado entered what is now New Mexico in 1540 looking for the mythical, gold-encrusted Seven Cities of Cibola, he found Zuni women using juniper berries to promote uterine recovery after childbirth. They also used it to treat wound infections and arthritis.

America’s 19th-century Eclectics dismissed the use of juniper in childbirth but endorsed it strongly for congestive heart failure. The Eclectics also prescribed juniper externally for eczema and psoriasis, and internally to treat gonorrhea, bladder and kidney infections, and other genitourinary problems.

Contemporary herbalists recommend juniper externally as an antiseptic, and internally for bladder infections, arthritis, intestinal cramps, and gout. One suggests it as a urinary deodorant in cases of chronic incontinence because the herb gives urine the fragrance of violets. Another daims juniper “destroys all fungi.”

In Dutch

But medicinal claims for juniper take a backseat to its use in gin, invented by the Dutch during the 17th century. Our word gin comes from the Dutch word for juniper, geniver. The English took to gin so enthusiastically that references to its native land still pepper the English language Drink too much gin, and you’re likely to get in trouble or “in Dutch.”

Juniper’s aromatic oil contains a diuretic chemical (terpinen4-0l), which increases the fluid-filtering rate of the kidneys, supporting its traditional use as a diuretic. In fact, it’s an ingredient in the over-the-counter diuretic, Odrinil.

High Blood Pressure - Physicians often prescribe diuretics to treat high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a serious condition requiring professional care. If you’d like to use juniper as part of your treatment plan, discuss it with your physician.

Diuretics deplete the body of potassium, an essential mineral. If you use juniper, eat foods high in potassium, such as bananas and fresh vegetables.

Congestive Heart Failure - Culpeper exaggerated when he said juniper “cured” this condition. But as a diuretic, the herb can be a part of an overall treatment plan. Heart failure is a serious condition requiring professional care. If you’d like to use it, discuss it with your physician.

Women’s Health - In animal studies, juniper stimulates uterine contractions. Pregnant women should not use it (except at term under the supervision of a physician, when it might help stimulate labor). Other women might try it to help begin their periods.

Since diuretics help relieve the bloated feeling caused by premenstrual fluid retention, women bothered by premenstrual syndrome might try juniper during the uncomfortable days right before their periods.

Arthritis - Juniper may have anti-inflammatory properties, suggesting it may have value in treating arthritis-one of its age-old Indian uses. In Germany, where herbal medicine is considerably more mainstream than it is in the United States, physicians prescribe juniper preparations for arthritis and gout.

Myth - Juniper does not “destroy all fungi,” and it has never been shown effective for gonorrhea, bladder or kidney infections.

Rx for Juniper

If you want to use it as a diuretic, or try to treat the inflammation associated with arthritis, or attempt to bring on your period, take juniper as an infusion. For an infusion, use I teaspoon of bruised berries per cup of boiling water. Steep 10 to 20 minutes. Drink up to 2 cups a day for no more than 6 weeks. Juniper has a strong, pleasantly aromatic taste.

Juniper should not be given to children under age 2. For older children and people over 65, start with low-strength preparations and increase strength if necessary.

High doses of juniper cause kidney irritation, and possibly kidney damage. The herb should not be used by anyone with a kidney infection or a history of kidney impairment. Even low doses taken over long periods may cause problems. “The rule,” writes German medical herbalist Rudolph Fritz Weiss, M.D., “is never take juniper for longer than six weeks.”

Overdose symptoms include diarrhea, intestinal pain, kidney pain, protein in the urine (albuminuria), blood in the urine (hematuria), purplish urine, rapid heartbeat, and elevated blood pressure.

If juniper causes any overdose symptoms, stop using it. Up to one-third of hay fever sufferers develop allergy symptoms from exposure to juniper, according to a study in Clinical Allergy. If you have hay fever you might want to avoid this herb.

Other Cautions

Oddly enough, given its potential kidney toxicity, the Food and Drug Administration includes juniper in its list of herbs generally regarded as safe. For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults who do not have kidney disease and are not taking other diuretics, juniper is considered relatively safe when used cautiously for short periods of time in amounts typically recommended.

Juniper should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. Let your doctor know if you experience any unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

Many elderly people suffer kidney impairment. Those over 65 should consult a physician about their kidney function before taking this herb.

Plant Both Genders for Berries

The genus Juniperus contains more than 70 species of aromatic evergreens. Most are small trees, but some grow to 40 feet. The species most widely used in herbal Healing, common juniper (I. Communis) reaches 6 to 20 feet. depending on locale. Its close, tangled, spreading branches are covered with reddish brown bark, sticky gum, and pointed, Ih-inch needles. Males produce yellow flowers and females green flowers. The females also produce scaly, green, ¼-inch, aromatic cones (”berries”), which turn blue-black during their two-year maturation.

If you want berries, be sure to plant both male and female junipers, or the females will not fruit. Junipers usually prefer sandy soil and full sun, but they adapt to many soil and climate conditions. Consult a nursery for advice that is specific to your locale.

Females produce immature (green) and mature (blueblack) berries simultaneously. Harvest only the mature berries in fall. Dry them in the sun. When dry, they turn a dull black. Store them in airtight containers to preserve their volatile oil.