As far back as I can remember being alive, I have always had a fondness for the scent of pine trees.
Most likely my love of the aroma started when I was under a year old, while camping in a forest at a campground with my mom, dad and brother in the Ozarks.
Using pine needle tinder and dried pine branches for campfires was commonplace.🔥
Pine fragrance is unforgettable and addictive.
Think
Christmas trees
scented candles
even Lysol cleaner.
🌲🌲🌲
What Is Pine?
Pine is actually a broad term that encompasses more than 170 different species of coniferous trees that fall within the Pinaceae family. You can find species of pine in the majority of the Northern hemisphere, but there is only one that is native to the southern hemisphere. While some species have been introduced to the tropical climates for lumber or ornamental purposes, pines are very hardy and tend to become invasive in these regions, so they are slightly discouraged by the international community. These trees can have impressive lifespans, some stretching to 1,000 years of age, and the oldest known “pine” tree in the world is over 4,500 years old and can be found in California.
!steemitworldmap 36.33 lat -118.46 long Sequoia National Park, California d3scr
The most interesting health benefits of pine include its ability to boost the immune system, improve vision health, stimulate circulation, protect against pathogens, and improve respiratory health.
In terms of medicinal benefits, pine needles, cones, bark, and resin all hold medicinal qualities, as well as the pine essential oil that can be extracted. The innermost bark can be dried and eaten and is valued for its high nutrient content, while the needles can be brewed into a popular tea that has a number of beneficial qualities.
Pine Essential Oil
Pine essential oil is obtained from the tree commonly known as pine, which has the scientific name Pinus sylvestris. It is believed that this tree originated in Austria and Russia before spreading to different parts of the world. If you are still not sure what tree we are referring to, you have probably seen it used as a Christmas tree all over the world! One of the reasons that pine oil has become such an important element in supplemental health is its availability. It is relatively easy to make, and pine trees grow in huge numbers all over the world.
The health benefits of pine essential oil include its ability to
reduce inflammation and associated redness, protect against sinus infections, clear mucus and phlegm, cure skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, boost the immune system, fight fungal and viral infections, stimulate the mind and body, and protect your home and body from a variety of germs.
The numerous health benefits of pine essential oil have made it one of the most important essential oils used in aromatherapy. Pine essential oil blends well with many other oils including cedarwood, rosemary, lavandin, sage, labdanum, and juniper, and therefore, it can be widely used in aromatherapy. It has a very low toxicity, so it is one of the safest essential oils, although some people are sensitive and can suffer from mild respiratory irritation when inhaling too much of this powerful oil.
Health Benefits Of Pine
We’ll take a closer look at some of the most important health benefits of pine.
Boosts Immunity
Whether you consume the dried bark peels of pine trees or brew a tea from the pine needles, you will be able to access a considerable amount of vitamin C, an unusually high amount of a tree species, actually. Vitamin C is an essential element of our immune system, as it stimulates the production of white blood cells and has antioxidant qualities that help prevent chronic illness and diseases. Furthermore, vitamin C is a crucial component of collagen, which is necessary to create new cells, muscles, tissues, and blood vessels.
Improves Vision Health
There is also a high level of vitamin A and various carotenoids found in pine needle tea and bark. Carotenoids act as antioxidants in the body, particularly for the eyes, preventing the development of cataracts, increasing vision strength, and slowing the onset of macular degeneration. By reducing oxidative stress in the ocular system, this tea can keep your vision strong well into your old age.
Skin Care
One of the most important health benefits of pine essential oil is its role in treating various skin problems. Dermatologists often prescribe this oil for treating psoriasis, itching, pimples, eczema, skin diseases, poor skin, scabies, sores, and fleas. It gives you a balanced, smooth, renewed, and shiny skin and can also act as an antioxidant for free radicals which have a negative impact on your skin. Free radicals attack the healthy skin cells and cause them to mutate, resulting in premature aging, wrinkles, and sagging skin. Pine essential oil can combat these negative effects.
Cosmetic Applications
Pine essential oil also has a mesmerizing essence and gives a sweet aroma to the cosmetics. It is also used to make perfumes and scented products. Furthermore, pine essential oil can remove lice from the hair, and is widely used as massage and bath oil. That’s why you so commonly see pine oil as a part of soaps and even cleaning products.
Boosts Metabolism
Pine essential oil also increases metabolism and boosts your activity levels. It is also helpful in purifying the body due to its ability to treat intestinal problems. It is diuretic in nature and helps remove excess water from your body through urination. By stimulating the frequency and quantity of urine, you eliminate more uric acid, excess water, salt, and fat from your body. It also keeps the kidneys healthy, because they don’t have to filter the toxins more than once. Pine essential oil is also used in case of food poisoning because it stimulates the body to process as well as eliminate toxins at a faster rate through urination.
Relieves Pain
Pine essential oil is considered an analgesic and is, therefore, a good remedy for people suffering from joint pain, arthritis, and rheumatic conditions. Besides being an analgesic, it is also an anti-inflammatory agent, meaning that it reduces inflammation and redness of the affected areas, simultaneously eliminating the pain.
Relieves Stress
The health benefits of pine oil also include some emotional benefits. It creates an energized feeling and is effective for removing mental stress from any number of sources. It is also used medicinally for removing adrenal fatigue and refreshing your spirits since it is an excellent mood elevator. Getting regularly massaged with pine essential oil can give you mental clarity, and it relieves anxiety and nervous tension. Finally, it has been shown to be quite useful for people suffering from weakened concentration and memory loss. Although additional research is needed in this area, it has been traditionally used for this purpose in many cultures.
Eye Care
The ability of pine essential oil to neutralize free radicals through its antioxidant capacity also represents a positive impact on eye health. Macular degeneration, cataracts, and a number of other vision-related conditions are due to the presence of free radicals in our system that cause degradation of our cells. Pine essential oil has been connected with improving eye health and protecting them from natural, age-related failure.
Reduces Infections
Pine oil is a natural remedy for various infections, including Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). This protective property is due once again to its antibacterial components.
Protects against Pathogen
There are natural antiseptic qualities in pine needle tea, so after brewing and steeping the needles, you can allow the tea to cool and then use it as a wash or mix it with carrier oils to apply to the skin, particularly on wounds to prevent infections or pathogens from entering the body. This ability also helps to eliminate pathogens and microbes within the body when the tea is consumed directly.
Treats Injuries
Pine essential oil is an antiseptic and is regularly used to treat boils, cuts, sports injuries, and Athletes’ Foot. This is not only due to its antiseptic properties, but also its anti-fungal characteristics. Fungal infections are some of the most dangerous and difficult conditions to treat, and if they become internal, they can even be fatal. Therefore, using pine essential oil to cleanse your system of any fungal infections is a very good idea.
Improves Circulation
The organic compounds in pine needle tea can help to kick your circulatory system into gear and increase your production of red blood cells, thereby increasing oxygenation to your body’s organ systems, boosting energy levels, and preventing anemia, which is a very common condition characterized by unexplained fatigue, muscle soreness, and cognitive impairment.
Maintains Respiratory Health and Cures Respiratory Problems
Pine essential oil is very helpful for curing respiratory problems and is commonly used as a remedy for cold and cough. One of the most common applications of pine needle tea (and bark consumption) is the prevention or treatment of respiratory conditions. This is due to its abilities as an expectorant, meaning that it loosens phlegm and mucus from the respiratory tracts and makes it easier to eliminate them.
By reducing the amount of deposition in your respiratory tracts, your body is able to fight the initial infection faster and reduce your recovery time.
Pine essential oil is great for reducing the inflammation of the gallbladder and the incidence of gallstones. Pine oil is also added to many household products due to its powerfully pleasant aroma. These include room sprays, volatile liquids, and room fresheners.
Word of Caution:
Internal consumption of pine essential oil can be dangerous because there is a possibility of kidney damage. It should also not be given to people who are suffering from kidney disorders. Furthermore, pine essential oil can cause irritation on the highly sensitive skin, so it must be used only in a diluted form. Children and elderly people should not be given pine essential oil as it may cause hypertension and irritation.
Normally, pine essential oil is obtained using steam distillation. Fresh twigs and needles are most often used for extracting the oil. Pine cones are also used by many manufacturers for obtaining the oil, and since pine trees are so abundant in nature, the oil is very cheap and widely available.
The potent mix of chemicals and active ingredients in pine can be dangerous for pregnant women, as it has been known in some situations to cause miscarriages. Furthermore, a few varieties can be toxic when consumed, so always get your pine needles and bark from a certified herbalist and avoid picking needles in the wild, as you can’t be sure what other environmental or atmospheric factors may have contaminated the needles or roots.
🌲 (Source organicfacts.net) 🌲
All photos are original content, taken by myself.
Images taken with Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and S8 Note
© 2018 Nina Haskin. All rights reserved
Posting for SundayScentExperience hosted by the amazing queen of scent and aromatherapy @dutchess,
BeautifulSunday sponsored by the incredible @ace108,
and Walkwithme hosted by the lovely @lyndsaybowes,
and for everyone who wants to learn
about natural cures, aromatherapy and essential oils!
Please read another post I did about trees here:
@ninahaskin/spiritual-power-of-trees-original-content-images-0b38435f64855
