Health – Pine Stimulates Healing

love the smell of pine as I am sure many of you do also. Did you know that pine and evergreen trees have many healing qualities? Let’s read about some of those healing qualities.

“… Pine and other evergreen trees, as it turns out, are loaded with compounds that have a variety of positive effects on the human body.

“An extract for what ails you
Native Canadians knew all about those benefits. According to a nearly 500-year-old legend, French explorer Jacques Cartier’s ship got stuck in the ice near Quebec. He and his crew faced certain death from scurvy (a vitamin C deficiency) until a tribal chieftain named Donacona brewed the sailors pine tea. It saved their lives and their explorations continued. Later, in the 1940s, a French researcher named Jacques Masquelier discovered that pine bark and needles contain vitamin C.

“That researcher went on to test French coastal pine trees (Pinus maritima) and learned that they’re loaded with beneficial antioxidant compounds called flavonols and bioflavonoids. He extracted the compounds with hot water and patented his discovery as Pycnogenol. Now marketed as a dietary supplement, Pycnogenol—which has been used as a jet lag remedy—has also been studied for its ability to ease circulatory problems, knee pain, and menstrual cramps; it may even improve memory in the elderly.

“A scent for stress relief
In Japan, going for a therapeutic walk in the woods is known as shinrin-yoku, which means ‘taking in the atmosphere of the forest.’ This practice has recently been studied for its ability to ease stress.

“In one study, researchers at Japan’s Kyoto University sent 498 healthy volunteers on two 15-minute forest strolls one day, compared to a control day when they didn’t walk. Volunteers rated their mood on a standard psychological scale. Their hostility and depression scores decreased significantly after walking. What’s more, the more stressed-out the volunteers were to begin with, the greater the relaxation they experienced.

“While most of us don’t have access to ancient Japanese pine forests, we can fake the same emotional effects by taking a stroll through a local Christmas tree farm—or by using essential oils such as balsam or silver fir, spruce, pine, or Scotch pine. Traditional aromatherapy recommends these foresty evergreen oils for soothing bumpy emotions and easing stress. Simply shake a few drops on your pillow or even onto a tissue. Breathe in deeply and slowly, relax … .

“Oils for bronchitis or chest coughs
Pine’s ability to heal isn’t confined to your emotions. It also provides gentle relief for colds and congested sinuses. Add three drops of pine essential oil to a bowl of hot tap water, cover your head with a towel, and inhale the steam through your nose and mouth.

“A massage for sore muscles
Add five drops of pine oil (P. pinaster) to two tablespoons of vegetable oil and use it to massage away muscle aches and pains. (Caution: Do not use Scotch pine oil—P. sylvestris—on the skin, as it may be irritating.) …” 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/12/04/healing-power-pine/

Live pine trees with their wonderful scents are very healthy to be around. Ellen White also talks about pine as being a health benefit:

“In a certain place, preparations were being made to clear the land for the erection of a sanitarium. Light was given that there is health in the fragrance of the pine, the cedar, and the fir. And there are several other kinds of trees that have medicinal properties that are health promoting. Let not such trees be ruthlessly cut down. … Let them live.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 301.  

“How grateful to the invalids weary of city life, the glare of many lights, and the noise of the streets, are the quiet and freedom of the country! How eagerly do they turn to the scenes of nature! How glad would they be to sit in the open air, rejoice in the sunshine, and breathe the fragrance of tree and flower! There are life-giving properties in the balsam of the pine, in the fragrance of the cedar and the fir, and other trees also have properties that are health restoring.” The Ministry of Healing, 264. 

It is time to get out and smell the pine! God’s creation is always comforting and healing.