Fancy eating some berries? out of so many berries out there, be sure to try thimbleberries. Nowadays, there are so many berries which are marketed as mixed berries, usually for practical purposes as well as to complete the nutritional compositions.
However, some people don’t like their berries got mixed up. If you happen to be one of them, that might be a good thing. Even better if you’re the type who like their berries freshly picked. Having the soft textures, thimbleberries are generally quite fragile and thus rarely packed and marketed commercially. Which is why thimbleberries are usually found in the area where the cultication of the berries flourish and at times in the form of thimbleberries jam or jellies.
The thimbleberries plants themselves are grown mostly from the late spring to the end of mid-summer. Although the season in which the plants grow their fruits generally happens in July. Has the shapes of dense shrubs, the plants are native to Western and Northern parts of North America, even spread to Canada, Alaska, Michigan and even more northward to Mexico and Baja California.
The plants are quite unique in which they can grow flowers next to some berries which can be both still ripening and already ripe. Thimbleberries gained their name due to their sizes which makes them easy to hold between the end of fingers.
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Nutrients of Thimbleberries
The fruit of the very thimbleberries plants themselves are quite light in nutrients, the 100 milligrams of the fruits are estimated to contain 10 mg of carbohydrates, 0.33 mg of fat, 1 mg of proteins and 47 calories. Besides the macronutrients, thimbleberries also contains few vitamins and minerals. As for vitamins, they contain vitamins A and C in minor amount, while for minerals they contain few potassium, iron and calcium.
Besides being pretty good to eat, the whole plants of thimbleberries are apparently quite healthy. It is even said that Native Americans have been using many parts of the thimbleberries plants for various medical purposes. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, we will discuss the health benefits of thimbleberries.
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- Rich in Vitamin and Minerals
The next time you feel like making some jams for your sandwiches, try thimbleberries for the ingredients. In the region when their plants grow in abundant, thimbleberries jams are marketed and sold mostly as jams and jellies. The reasons that we’d recommend the fruits to you is that because the fruits of thimbleberries plants are light and versatile for various purposes. They contains so little calories while quite packed with vitamins and minerals for 100mgs of them.
Using thimbleberries for your daily consumptions can be quite a useful addition for your overall nutritions. The vitamins A and C can help strengthening your immunity systems and help keeps your vision healthy, while the potassium, iron and calcium can work hand in hand keeping your metabolism processes on their tracks and can also help in maintaining the health of bones and nervous systems.
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- Alleviates the Symptoms of Digestive Problems
The Native Americans have been using some shrubs and bushes for various medical purposes. One of them is to cure many digestive problems, including diarrhea, nausea and upset stomachs. There are newsletter called The Raw Family published in August/September 2007 which recommended drying the roots of the thimbleberries plants to make ingredients for tea. The newsletter suggested that drinking the said tea can help clearing up diarrhea and possibly other digestive problems.
Unfortunately, there is no scientific findings whatsoever to support this claim. If there’s any connection to draw, the curative effects toward some of the digestive problems might be related to the fibrous nature of the plants’ barks and roots. Still, while the plant is considerably safe enough to consume, please do consult more experienced practitioners before deciding to consume any parts of thimbleberry plant.
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- Heals Wounds and Prevent Scarring
Thimbleberries plants are also used in some regions as herbal remedies for treating wounds. Not only that, there are some properties contained in the leaves and barks of the plants which are believed to be able to speed up healing and even prevent the wounds from leaving scars.
Unfortunately, so little researches and evidences to back up this claim. In the meantime, you can resort to conventional methods to treat wounds until the true benefits of thimbleberries plants are brought into light. However, it also doesn’t hurt to try the plants out if you happen to get minor wounds somewhere.
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- Might Relieves Toothaches
Traditionally, thimbleberry plants are also used as painkiller, mainly for toothaches treatments. Again, there is so little scientific evidences to support this kind of usages, so always take some cautions. For informational purposes, thimbleberries plants can be an useful alternative to treat toothaches. Meanwhile, you can use conventional methods as well as other alternatives which are available in quite large amounts in the nature.
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- Used as Treatments for Anemia
The fruits of thimbleberry plants contain minor amounts of irons. While the iron contents don’t really amount much to the overall iron needs for your bodies, incorporating thimbleberries jams in your diets might help in treating anemia, in tandem with some iron-heavier alternatives. However, we can also conclude that if the fruits contain some amounts of irons, the whole plants might also contains some more.
The presence of irons in our bodies is essential for the distributions of oxygen throughout our bodies. Irons are also essential materials for our bodies to generate red blood cells, which are paramount for the functioning of our whole bodies. Adding thimbleberry jams in your diet, therefore, can help supllying the much needed minerals for daily basis.
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- Might Treats Some Skin Diseases
Among other herbal remedies, the leaves of thimbleberries plants are said to be able to treat some skin disorders. For instances, acne and swelling. The leaves can be crushed and used as salves to be applied on skin. Not only that, apparently the roots can also be made into decoction to treat acne as well. There’s still no explanation as to how the plants are able to achieve the feats, but it’s still worth trying considering how much people already swore by it.
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- Good For Skin Cleanser
The leaves of thimbleberries plants are generally soft, thus made them suitable for face wipes and some even said that it can be used as skin cleanser. The health benefits of the thimbleberries leaves including curing and removing blackheads as well as pimples. The leaves are also have certain properties which make them suitable for oily skins, in which they can help controlling the grease secretions in the face areas.
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- Treatment for Women in Their Periods
For women who are worried about their irregular menstruation cycles, some herbal medicine practitioners might prescribe thimbleberry leaves as infusions to drink. That is because the leaves and possibly other parts of the plants are considered to be a strong emenagogue, therefore, consuming the infusion of thimbleberries leaves can help regulate the menstrual periods.
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- Helps in Gaining Weight
The roots of thimbleberries plants also serves as natural appetizers. Which means, using thimbleberries roots as herbal remedies can help boosting appetites and particularly useful for those who are planning to gain some weight.
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So those are the health benefits of thimbleberries. Actually, not just the fruits of the plants, almost every parts of the plant can be used as herbal remedy as well as treatments for many health problems. While some of the substances in the thimblebberries plants aren’t completely identified, the plants themselves have been used as herbal remedies for long, and as long as it is considered safe enough to use, it wouldn’t hurt to try using this plants. Unlike many other berries plants, the plants of thimbleberries can be used for skin treatment as well as used internally.
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Cautions of Thimbleberries
However, some cautions should be taken before using this plant. Due to its relatively unknown properties, it’s easy for us to risk ourselves to some harmful effects from consuming thimbleberries. The main precaution which should be taken is to take care of the leaves’ conditions.
Always make sure to use the freshest leaves available whenever possible, as it is reported that the slightly wilted leaves are toxic in nature, and might lead to some adverse consequences. Additionally, as the plant is quite a stong emmenagogue herb, which literally means a herb that stimulates menstruation and manipulates uterus, the consumptions of thimbleberries plants are strongly advised against pregnant women.
Finally, thimbleberries are themselves quite robust plants with surprisingly delicate fruits. Their short lives means that they are to be used immediately upon harvest. As the plants are relatively safe to consume fresh, we daresay that you should at least try to use this plant for your particular medicinal/health purposes. We thank you for reading, hopefully reading this article can broaden your perspectives about some plants around us. Stay healthy and keep learning.
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