The health benefits of juniper essential oil can be attributed to its possible properties as a potentially antiseptic, sudorific, antirheumatic, depurative, antispasmodic, stimulating, stomachic, astringent, carminative, diuretic, rubefacient, vulnerary, and a tonic substance.
The essential oil of juniper is obtained through steam distillation of the needles, wood, and powdered fruits of juniper, bearing the scientific name Juniperus communis. Its main components are alpha-pinene, camphene, beta-pinene, sabinene, myrcene, alpha-phellandrene, alpha-terpinene, gamma-terpinene, cineole, beta phellandrene, para-cymene, terpineol, bornyl acetate, and caryophyllene. It also has trace amounts of limonene, camphor, linalool, linalyl acetate, borneol, and nerol.
It is used in many industries, as well as to flavor alcoholic beverages like gin. Juniper is an evergreen shrub that is very common in Europe. Smelling nice is great, but there is far more to juniper and its essential oil in terms of impressive health benefits, and that is where our interest lies. Let’s explore some of the impressive qualities and benefits that juniper essential oil can add to your body.
Health Benefits of Juniper Essential Oil
Juniper essential oil has many health benefits, which include the following.
May Help Prevent Sepsis
Juniper essential oil has been a well-known antibacterial in the past and people wounded or injured in wars or athletics were treated with it. It was even used in injuries sustained by both the mother and child during difficult labors. It efficiently protects wounds from becoming septic. [1]
Juniper has antimicrobial properties that build a strong immunity. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
May Help Fights Arthritis
Juniper essential oil promotes and improves blood circulation. It may also help in the removal of toxins like uric acid from the body. Both of these properties help fight conditions like rheumatism, arthritis, gout, and renal calculi, all of which are related to improper circulation and the accumulation of toxins in the body. This essential oil also relieves swelling. [2]
May Relieves Cramps
Juniper essential oil is also effective in nearly all forms of cramps, whether it be muscular, intestinal, respiratory, or in any other area. It may relax muscle cramps. Being an antispasmodic, it may help cure many other problems related to cramps or spasms.
May Act as an Astringent
Being a possibly astringent agent, juniper essential oil may help cure toothaches, stops hair loss, strengthens the grip of gums on your teeth, and may protect them from loosening or falling out. It also tightens loose muscles and gives a feeling of firmness, fitness, and youth. This property can also be used to cure diarrhea as well. The most important benefit of this property is in the fact that as an astringent, juniper essential oil can cause blood vessels to contract and thus, reduce the chances of hemorrhaging.
Possibly Carminative Agent
Carminative agents, perhaps like juniper, may help in the reduction of intestinal gas. Flatulence or excess gas in the body can cause chest pain, indigestion, and uneasiness, raise blood pressure, threaten your heart health, and give acute stomach aches. Juniper oil is also very good for those who are suffering from chronic gas troubles. [3]
May Help Purify Blood
The essential oil of juniper cleans the blood of toxins and thus acts as a detoxifier or blood purifier. This property is also known as depurative, meaning ‘one which purifies’. It may helps remove the common toxins like uric acid, heavy metals, pollutants, and certain compounds and hormones produced by the body itself. It empties the blood of these common toxins as well as other foreign toxins which get into the blood accidentally.
May Promote Urination
Juniper oil is a diuretic in nature, meaning that it promotes urination. It increases both the frequency and volume of urination. Therefore, it is very beneficial for people who are suffering from an accumulation of water in the body, or swelling due to minor or chronic renal failure. It relieves these patients by removing extra water from the body through urine. It also helps people lose weight because each time you urinate, some fats are lost from the body. This reduces blood pressure and removes extra salts and dangerous toxins like uric acid from the body. [4]
Possibly Rubefacient
As the name goes, rubefacient means an agent that makes your face look red. However, this is not limited to the face, but also to the rest of the body. Such an agent, when applied to the skin, increases blood circulation just below the skin to such an extent that it begins to look red in color. This may also cause irritation on the skin if applied in excess. Again, increased blood circulation below the skin certainly benefits it and keeps it healthy and well-oxygenated.
May Promote Sweating
A sudorific substance is an agent which can bring about heavy sweating or perspiration. This is nothing to get annoyed at. The occasional perspiration makes you feel lighter and healthier and helps in the removal of toxins, excess salt, and water through sweat. This cleans the skin pores and openings of sweat and sebum glands, which prevents acne and other skin diseases. Juniper oil has powerful sudorific properties. [5]
May Act as a Stimulant
Some of the properties of juniper oil like its possible abilities as an emmenagogue, galactagogue, and diuretic substance result from a single property of this oil as a stimulant. This stimulating effect helps overcome fatigue, and dizziness. It increases the activity of the brain and neurons, digestive system, excretory system, nervous system, secretions from the endocrine and exocrine glands, which include secretion of milk, sebum, sweat, tears, urine, and discharges during menses.
May Treat Stomach Issues
Juniper oil is a possible stomachic, that is, it keeps the stomach in order and keeps it functioning well. It also helps cure stomach disorders and ulcers and ensures the proper flow of bile, gastric juices, and acids into the stomach for digestion. Sometimes, the inner lining of the stomach is injured due to prolonged acidity and ultimately results in the formation of ulcers. Juniper oil can help you avoid this situation since it maintains secretions of bile in the stomach. Bile is basic in nature and neutralizes the acids.
May Act As a Tonic
Have you ever heard of health tonics? Have you had any? Juniper oil is also considered a tonic, because it tones up everything, including the muscles, tissues, skin, and various other systems inside the body. This includes the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, digestive, and excretory systems. This tonic effect helps retain youth for a long time and maintains proper health for all your years.
May Speed Up Healing Process
If a diluted solution of this oil is applied to wounds or blended with a skin cream and applied, it helps your wounds heal faster and keeps them protected from infections. This oil is equally beneficial in healing internal wounds, cuts, and ulcers. [6]
Other Benefits
It disinfects the air and helps treat kidney stones, inflammation, urinary tract infections, acne, eczema, other skin diseases, dandruff, and enlargement of the prostate gland.
Word of Caution: It should be avoided during pregnancy and by those who have kidney problems, and it should always be used in low concentrations.
Blending: Juniper essential oil blends well with the essential oils of Bergamot, Cedar Wood, Cypress, Grapefruit, Geranium, Lavandin, Lavender, Lavandin, Lime, Lemon, Lemongrass, and Vetiver.
