It is said that in the kitchen of a good housewife there is always a bay leaf. This overseas spice, which is home to the subtropics, is so popular in the world that we can rightfully call it our own as it provides wide array of health benefits. In India it is known as Tej Patta and used in many foods recopies. It is also added to pickles and marinades for distinct flavour and aroma.
The amazing thing for many will be the fact that the bay leaf is not only a valuable spice but also a unique gift of nature that humanity has used from time immemorial for the treatment of various diseases and ailments.
Bay leaves are actively used to improve digestion and increase appetite, used as a diuretic, a natural medicine against stomach and joint ailments, rheumatism, paralysis, and colds.
Valuable composition of Bay Leaves
it is an evergreen tree, which is a symbol of the Mediterranean, lives up to 1000 years! To explain such a phenomenon is possible, perhaps, with the unique composition of this plant. Scientists have found in the leaves valuable fatty acids, including acetic and valerian, many essential oils and tannins. Moreover, the bay leaf is a valuable source of vitamins A, C, B vitamins, as well as minerals necessary for all living beings, including manganese and iron, zinc, selenium, copper, potassium and many other substances.
But more importantly, the leaves of the Bay laurel tree are a storehouse of phytoncides – biologically active substances that are distinguished by the ability to kill pathogenic bacteria and suppress the growth of pathogenic microflora. It is these substances that provide the healing effect of the laurel to the most diverse organs and systems of our body.
Benefits & Uses of Bay Leaf
First of all, let’s say that to treat this wonderful seasoning you need to choose quality raw materials, olive-colored and exuding a strong flavor. The laurel leaf, which has been stored for more than six months, is not suitable for these purposes because in the course of time it loses its fragrance and becomes bitter. Here are some of the amazing uses of bay leaf.
1. Bay Leaves For Digestion
In case of such a problem, you need to drink 4-5 drops of juice from a fresh bay leaf and drink it with a glass of water. Literally, in a few minutes, the stomach will start working and all the unpleasant symptoms of indigestion will immediately go away.
2. Flatulence
If your stomach reminds you all day of gas formation and rumbling in your stomach, pour four bay leaves of 100 ml of slightly cooled boiled water and leave for twenty minutes. Take this herbal mixture in the morning and evening until the problem disappears.
3. Bee Sting Relief
If you are bitten by a bee, wasp or any other insect, you can cope with the irritation that appears on the skin with the help of an ordinary leaf. Just open the bay leaf, attach the green mass to the bite and fix it with a bandage or band-aid. Unpleasant itching and redness in the place of bite in this case quickly go away.
4. Fights Oral Cavity
People who struggle with gingivitis, stomatitis, and periodontitis, or those who smell badly from the mouth, can chew this spice between meals. Literally a week later you will notice how the inflammation of the gums gradually passes.
5. Treats Insomnia
Many will be surprised, but the aroma of bay leaves perfectly calms the nerves and causes drowsiness. If you are suffering from insomnia, just sew on the pillow leaves of the bay tree. You will see, literally, from the first night you will quickly fall asleep and sleep until morning with a strong, serene sleep. By the way, such an aromatic pillow is suitable not only for adults but also for children.
6. Eliminates Cough
If you are suffering from a cough, chop a couple of bay leaves to a powder, mix a pinch of this remedy with a teaspoon of thick honey and keep the finished pill under the tongue until it melts. In a day, take 3-5 of these pills and your cough soon disappears.
7. Soothes Toothache
With an unbearable toothache, you can fight not only with the help of analgesics harmful to the body but also with the leaf of the laurel tree. Simply grind the “laurel” in a coffee grinder to the state of powder, pour 2 tsp. such raw material with a glass of water, bring the mixture to a boil and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes. The cooled down remedy should be rinsed every 15 minutes until the pain subsides.
8. Bay leaves For Spastic Pain
With spasmodic pains, you also can not do without a leaf of the laurel tree. It is enough to grind 5 oblong leaflets, pour them 300 ml of boiling water and hold in a closed thermos for 3 hours to get a natural and effective analgesic. Drink strained liquid in small sips for 12 hours and after two days from the pain will be only memories.
9. Against Deposition of Salts
In the case of agonizing pains in the joints caused by the deposition of salts (growth of osteophytes), the first folk medicine comes to the aid of the laurel leaf. For this, the next broth is prepared: 5 laurel leaves are poured 500 ml of boiling water and sent to the fire, where they boil for 10 minutes on low heat. In the filtered broth add 1 tsp.honey and juice of half a lemon. The prepared mixture should be drunk, in small sips, in order to use the whole medicine within a day. The course of treatment lasts 14 days, as much is allocated for a break, after which the therapy is repeated.
10. Fungus of the Legs
The appearance of fungus on the legs, which is accompanied by the defeat of the nail plates and the emergence of an unpleasant odor, can be treated with a bay leaf. For this purpose, it is necessary to put ten leaves in a bath, pour in 500 ml of boiling water and let the water cool down a little. Baths with ready infusion are taken for 20 minutes three times a week, preferably before going to bed, until the fungus stops.
11. For Ear Inflammation
The appearance of inflammation in the ear is a serious problem with which it is necessary to contact the doctors. Nevertheless, after consulting with an expert, you can fight with purulent inflammation with the help of a bay leaf. You just need to dig in the sick ear 2 drops of bay leaf broth or apply compresses with this remedy. Such a decoction is prepared simply: 10 sheets of laurel are poured into 200 ml of hot water, placed in a thermos bottle and allowed to brew for 5 hours.
12. In Renal Failure
For kidney problems, you can boil bay leaf for 10 minutes. After this, the mixture should be allowed to brew for two hours, and you can take it for 1 tablespoon twice a day. The course of treatment with such a herb should be agreed with the attending physician.
13. Bay Leaf For Diabetes Mellitus
With a high level of sugar in the blood, take five leaves of this seasoning with a glass of boiling water, send the mixture into a thermos and let it brew for 1 day. Take this remedy three times a day, ½ cup before meals. Duration of treatment with such a drug is usually 3 weeks, but after consulting with a doctor, after a month you can conduct a repeat therapy. By the way, this recipe will help both “diabetics”, and people who would like to normalize carbohydrate metabolism.
14. Bay Leaves For Losing Weight
The normalization of the metabolism of carbohydrates for many people helps in losing weight. That’s why if you want to get rid of extra pounds, pay attention to the following recipe. In the evening, chop 5-7 leaves of laurel and, filling them with a glass of cool water, leave to infuse until the morning. The next day, boil this mixture literally fifteen minutes and let it brew under the lid for another half hour. Strain the broth, you can take half the glass before each meal, but no more than 4 times a day. You need to drink this remedy within 7 days, after which you need a two-week break and a second course. According to doctors, four such courses are allowed per year. By the way, to give a pleasant taste to the broth can be the addition of various spices, ranging from cinnamon and cardamom, and ending with walnut and honey.
15. Bay Leaf for Skin Diseases
The bay laurel leaf is an excellent remedy against skin diseases, especially if pathogenic microbes cause the lesions. For treatment, simply grind several laurel leaves into dust with a coffee grinder, then pour in 1.5 teaspoons. such a powder with a glass of olive oil and allow the agent to infuse for 7 days in the refrigerator. The resulting laurel oil can be applied to the affected skin twice a day until the problem is eliminated. By the way, this drug will come to the rescue with allergic rashes, skin irritation and even pressure sores.
16. Improved Skin Condition
In addition to treating skin diseases, the bay leaf can improve the condition of your epidermis, restore the skin softness and silky smoothness, and even whiten it a little. Achieve this is not difficult, just once a week, take a bath in a laurel broth. It is prepared simply, it is enough just to brew 8 leaves of laurel 0.5 liters of boiling water and let the agent infuse, and before taking a bath pour the ready-made broth into the water.
17. Hypertension
It is possible to fight high blood pressure not only with medicines but with home remedies, in particular, with a leaflet of “laurel”. For this purpose, 4 sheets are poured into a glass of boiling water and insisted for 24 hours. You need to use the finished product in the morning and in the evening for half a glass for two weeks. Following the course of treatment, a break in a month is required, after which it is possible to conduct repeated therapy. By the way, this recipe is suitable only for those who do not rise above 160 x 90 mm Hg. Those who suffer from higher pressure, experts recommend adding a pinch of dried dill to the laurel broth.
18. Inflammation of the Lungs
In the case of bronchitis, inflammation or pulmonary tuberculosis, the following prescription will help you. In the enameled container of 15 laurel leaves pour 400 ml of water, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Then the hot solution is poured into a porcelain teapot, covered with a head with a towel and breathe through the tip of the kettle with warm vapors of essential oils of bay leaves. By the way, such a tool perfectly helps with genyantritis. Inhalation of hot air, in this case, follows the nose, alternately one and the other nostrils.
19. Eye Barley
Appearing on the eye, barley can be cured just a day, if you apply the next treatment. Choose three large bay leaves, fill them with a glass of boiling water in a teapot and after 10 minutes start drinking a hot drink, like tea. Take this remedy every hour, continually brewing new leaves. For a day you need to drink 6-8 such cups and at night the barley will ripen, and by morning it will completely disappear.
20. Eliminates Room Bacteria
If your home is a patient with an infectious disease, you can not doubt that the air in the room is simply teeming with pathogens. To eliminate them and get rid of contamination of other family members, boil 12-15 laurel leaves in water and leave a container with such a solution in the room. Soon around the house will spread a pleasant aroma, which will provide essential oils, and all bacteria will disappear.
Some Precautions
With all the benefits of this spice for human health, it is worth noting that the funds based on bay leaves are not suitable for everyone. For example, pregnant women, people suffering from stomach ulcers or duodenal ulcers, as well as patients with severe diabetes mellitus should not be treated with laurel leaves. Remember that the effect of this seasoning on the body is quite strong, and therefore before using the funds on its basis, it is not superfluous to get a specialist consultation.
