Bilberry

Useful properties of bilberry

Bilberry – a forest low bush with the creeping rhizome and the leathery, falling-down for the winter leaves. Also this plant is called by a chernega, a bilberry, is blackened or a bilberry. Bilberry traditionally grows in light broad-leaved and softwood forests and on peatbogs in the northern and moderate areas of Asia, Europe and North America, however to cultivate a plant rather difficult.

Bilberry in May in greenish-white colors blossoms, and the gray-black berries ripening in the middle of the summer not only are edible, but also have many useful properties. They are often used in traditional and traditional medicine, and also it is considered that bilberry is fine prevention of many diseases.

Useful properties of bilberry cause being its part:

• Vitamins – PP, B9, B4, beta carotene, thiamin, Riboflavinum, pantothenic acid, a pyridoxine, tocopherol, phylloquinone, ascorbic acid;
• Macrocells – potassium (to 77 mg on 100 g of berries), phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and sodium;
• Microelements – zinc, manganese, copper, iron, selenium.

Bilberry caloric content low also makes 57 kcal on 100 g of berries.

In traditional medicine use not only berries, but also plant leaves which are useful at initial forms of diabetes. It is caused entering them a glycoside neomirtilliny which has property to reduce the content of sugar in blood.

Leaves for the medical purposes should be prepared in a blooming period, and fruits – in July-August (in the period of a full maturity).

The advantage of bilberry at treatment is also proved:

• Diseases of eyes (for example, peeling of a retina) and for improvement of twilight sight;
• Diabetes mellitus;
• Digestive tract diseases.

Thanks to dye to the anthocyan which is contained in dark blue berries in significant amounts, bilberry has favorable effect on many systems of an organism and reduces risk of development of various diseases of circulatory system and heart.

Locally berries of bilberry use at treatment of stomatitises, burns, ulcers and ulites.

Besides, the advantage of bilberry for delay of processes of aging of an organism and removal of toxins thanks to the anthocyans which are a part of berries, protoantotsianida, flavonoids and tannins operating as antioxidants is scientifically proved. These properties along with the low caloric content of bilberry allow to use berry as a part of various diets.

Use of bilberry

Berries of bilberry are eaten crude, and also often used for preparation of kissels, fruit liqueurs, pies and jam. Fresh berries are especially useful at avitaminosis, and also at treatment of a scurvy.

At treatment of LOR-diseases it is recommended to apply bilberry berries infusion (1-2 teaspoons of berries on 200 ml of boiled water) or to have tea from plant leaves.

The advantage of bilberry at treatment of an indigestion and diarrhea is traditionally used in traditional medicine. For infusion preparation two teaspoons of berries fill in with a glass of boiled water and insist not less than three hours in the warm place. It is necessary to accept infusion to four times a day before food on a half of a glass. The same infusion is accepted as auxiliary therapy at treatment of catarral quinsy, pneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis.

For topical administration at treatment of the becoming wet eczema, burns and many other skin diseases of berry of bilberry it is recommended to weld then to use as lotions and compresses. Medical action is caused by the phytoncides which are a part of berries having the expressed antimicrobic effect.

Also for processing of wounds use infusion from bilberry leaves for what one teaspoon of the leaves of bilberry which are previously crushed is made one glass of boiled water. In half an hour the received infusion it is possible to process a wound or burn surface.

It is necessary to apply to treatment of conjunctivitis of berry of bilberry with an eyebright, fennel, a camomile or a sea-buckthorn.

Besides, broths and bilberry infusions can be drunk at the gout, rheumatism and other diseases connected with disbolism, and at treatment of diseases of the urinogenital sphere they can be applied to enemas and syringings.

Thanks to a rich vitamin stock and low caloric content bilberry is recommended to be applied as a part of dietary food.

Contraindications

Despite of a set of useful properties, bilberry it is not necessary to eat at an oksalaturiya (a kind of an urolithiasis). At disturbances in biliary tract and against the background of diseases of a pancreas it is recommended to eat dried berries of bilberry in limited quantities.

The individual intolerance of berry meets extremely seldom and is shown as allergic reactions.

Also it is necessary to consider that in large numbers bilberry can lead to locks.