Lingonberry is an evergreen shrub, the fruits and leaves of which are rich in vitamins and microelements. This berry is used for medicinal and prophylactic purposes, and delicious delicacies are also prepared from it.
Lingonberry is a perennial evergreen shrub with round red fruits. The berries have a sweet-sour taste with a slight bitterness. Therefore, frozen lingonberries are most often used in cooking, as they become sweeter in this form.
You can collect lingonberries yourself - the shrub grows in forests, as well as in the tundra and taiga. However, the easiest way is to grow this useful plant in your country house. In this case, it will be possible to observe the flowering of the shrub in May, and already in August-September to collect the valuable fruits of lingonberry. Also, until flowering (all April), you can collect the healing leaves of this shrub.
Why are lingonberries useful?
Lingonberry fruits and leaves contain many useful substances. Lingonberry berries and leaves contain:
- organic acids,
- pectins,
- sucrose, fructose, glucose,
- vitamins (mainly A and C, as well as B vitamins),
- anthocyanins,
- tannins,
- various minerals (e.g. sodium, calcium, manganese).
Lingonberry berries are an excellent antipyretic agent, and they also increase immunity, thin the blood and strengthen the walls of blood vessels, promote the rapid healing of scratches and other minor injuries of the skin. Lingonberry is useful for diseases of the urinary system and hypertension. The fruits of this shrub are able to cheer up and restore strength.
After childbirth, it is useful to use lingonberries to speed up the body's recovery. Also, people suffering from obesity can fearlessly feast on the fruits of lingonberries, since they do not contain many calories - only 46 kcal per 100 grams of berries. In addition, lingonberry will help strengthen nerves, improve memory, and get rid of dandruff.
However, in lingonberry, not only leaves and fruits are healing. The seeds of this shrub are also used for medicinal purposes.
Who shouldn't eat lingonberries
This healing berry has practically no contraindications. However, it is worth remembering that, like any other berry, lingonberries can cause allergies. It also contains oxalic acid, so don't overdo it in your kitchen or home medicine cabinet.
This is especially true for people suffering from gastritis with high acidity, stomach ulcers, low blood pressure (hypotension). In the presence of bleeding (especially gastrointestinal), lingonberry berries are highly discouraged, as this can aggravate the situation.
Lingonberry in folk medicine
In folk medicine, lingonberries have been used for centuries to regulate digestion, for example, in gastritis due to low acidity. Lingonberries are also excellent for food poisoning.
A simple recipe for a folk remedy for poisoning: 1 tablespoon of fruits and 1 tablespoon of lingonberry leaves are poured with boiling water. Insist for about an hour and drink 1/3 cup three times a day. A doctor should be consulted before using this prescription.
In addition, the berries have a disinfecting, diuretic and anti-constipating effect. Eating lingonberries strengthens the walls of blood vessels, improves blood flow and prevents blood clots due to antiplatelet properties. For diabetes, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, lingonberries will also be helpful.
In folk medicine, in addition to fruits, the lingonberry leaf is also a valuable raw material. Decoctions and tinctures with the addition of lingonberry leaves are recommended for chronic diseases of the urinary tract and urolithiasis, varicose veins (varicose veins), increased intracranial pressure. In combination with the main treatment, lingonberry helps with certain types of cancer and tumors of the gastrointestinal tract.
Lingonberry leaf is also useful for diseases such as herpes, arthritis, oral diseases, and flu. Medicines from lingonberry leaves will help with angina and bacterial infections. Lingonberry is an excellent helper for edema, chronic headaches, low hemoglobin levels, as well as depression and fatigue.
For best storage, it is recommended to dry or freeze lingonberries, as well as make canned blanks. Thanks to this, you can easily compensate for the lack of vitamins and minerals in the winter.
Lingonberry in cosmetology
Often these berries are used in home cosmetology as a rejuvenating agent. In addition, lingonberries are capable of:
- remove toxins,
- make the skin supple and soft,
- get rid of acne,
- narrow pores,
- get rid of age spots.
There are many different folk recipes for making masks and lotions from the leaves and fruits of lingonberry. The easiest lotion recipe:
Pour 2 tablespoons of dry leaves with a glass of boiling water and boil for five minutes. After that, the broth should be cooled, filtered and wiped on the cleansed face once a day for a week. As a result, the skin will become soft, the pores will shrink, and the complexion will improve.
Important! It is recommended to store such a lotion in the refrigerator and use it only if there is no allergic reaction to lingonberry.
Lingonberry is useful not only for the skin of the face, but also for the hair. Using a homemade lingonberry rinse can restore hair after unsuccessful dyeing or perm. Lingonberry also strengthens hair, prevents hair loss, so it is recommended to use it in the form of decoctions for baldness.
Is it possible to give lingonberries to children
Lingonberries are very useful for children. It can be given to a child both as a treat and as a medicine. Lingonberries will help if the baby has kidney and bladder diseases, intracranial pressure, vitamin deficiency, colds or flu.
This healing berry can be given to children over two years old as an antipyretic agent, as well as a source of additional vitamins and minerals. It is best for young children (from one to two years old) to give lingonberries in the form of fruit drink and only after consulting a pediatrician. Important! You cannot immediately give the child a lot of lingonberries; you need to introduce fruits into the diet gradually, starting with one or two berries.
Please note that a child's body is different from an adult, so do not neglect to visit a doctor before introducing this berry into the diet - lingonberry can cause an allergic reaction in a child. If the baby has poor blood clotting, then it is extremely dangerous to introduce this berry into his diet. It is also not recommended to give lingonberry berries to children under one year old.
Lingonberry in cooking
Lingonberry berries have a sour-sweet, slightly tart taste with a slight bitterness. They are often used as a side dish to dishes - especially in English and Old Polish cuisine. In particular, they are suitable as a condiment for venison (and other meats).
Lingonberries are mixed with pears, orange peels and horseradish. In addition, berries are used to make juice (often as one of the components), preserves, jelly and jam, lingonberry juice. And one of the most useful preparations for the winter is soaked lingonberries with sugar.
Lingonberry creates good flavor compositions with apple and pear fruits. Even after processing, it retains beneficial properties for the body. Also, lingonberry berries contain a natural preservative (benzoic acid), thanks to which they are stored for a long time and do not deteriorate.
