The leaves also have medicinal properties.
Today we will consider information about, and specifically - what the leaves are used for, and discuss contraindications to the use of the remedy.
Chemical composition
Blueberry leaves are valued for high content inulin, flavonoids, anthocyanins.
There is also an increased content in the leaves:
- glycosides: neomyrtillin - up to 2% and myrtillin - up to 1%;
- phenolic compounds: arbutin, methylarbutin - 2%;
- triterpene saponins: ursolic and oleanic acids;
- β-amirin;
- alkaloids - myrtine;
- aliphatic hydrocarbons.
Benefits of blueberry leaves
Thanks to the use of the considered raw materials, it is possible to achieve:
- saturation of the body with antioxidants;
- protection from harmful external influences;
- help in the treatment of infections of the genitourinary system;
- beneficial effect on vision;
- relieve inflammation and irritation of the skin;
- benefits for the kidneys;
- help with intestinal diseases and;
- regulation of sugar and cholesterol levels in the blood;
- prevention of stressful events;
- calming effect;
- beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system;
When to collect and how to dry
Consider when it is better to collect blueberry leaves and how to properly raw materials for.
It is necessary to collect raw materials in order to continue to use them for medicinal purposes at the end of spring. 
The main condition for the collection - lack of berries on the bushes so that they are young, only in this case they will contain the maximum amount of useful substances and will have the desired effect.
Blueberries are very sensitive to environmental cleanliness and can absorb toxic substances. If you see white or brown spots, black blotches on a leafy plate, dried twigs, then it is not recommended to collect raw materials on such a bush.
Did you know? In Russian, the word "bilberry" (from the word "black") arose due to the ink effect that the berries of the plant give.
It is necessary to dry the raw materials on the street, but not in direct sunlight, but in a shaded place. To dry the plant, you can use a special fruit dryer: the temperature should be set to about 40 ° C. After complete drying, the drug does not change color and remains bright green. If you suddenly notice that some elements have darkened, you cannot use them - such raw materials are considered to be of poor quality. 
How to store at home
Linen or canvas bags are suitable for storing the resulting raw materials so that the contents are well ventilated.
During long-term storage, check for the presence of pests or mold that has formed. Shelf life is 2 years when stored in a dark, not damp, warm place.
How to make blueberry tea
Tea from blueberry leaves is very similar to a decoction of fresh berries: the only difference is that there is no sourness, which is characteristic of berries.
Consider how to properly brew blueberry leaves to get a healthy tea.
To brew delicious tea from blueberry raw materials for daily use, you must use liter of boiling water 4 teaspoons of chopped blueberries, and insist in a teapot for about half an hour. 
Blueberry Leaf Recipes
There are many recipes that allow you to use this drug to treat various diseases, as well as home cosmetic products, so let's take a closer look at their description and methods of use.
In folk medicine
The blueberry raw material for weight loss is used as hunger-reducing medication, allows you to speed up the metabolic processes in the body. To prepare the infusion, use 2 tsp. raw materials and 500 ml of boiling water. It is better to pour the mixture into a thermos and leave for about 4 hours. After that, strain and drink 100 ml each in the morning and evening, during the period of weight loss.
Blueberry leaves are good for diabetes, as well as people with pneumonia, inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract. It is necessary to prepare the medicine with one tablespoon of finely chopped blueberry raw materials and a glass of boiling water. It is advisable to close the container tightly and leave for 60 minutes. Next, the resulting product is filtered and cooled, used 200 ml four times a day.
The cure for hemorrhoids: to prepare the product, you will need 60 g of dry blueberry raw materials, which is poured into 1 liter of boiling water, then you should wait 1 hour, tightly closing the container with a lid. Strain the resulting mixture and heat it up to 36 ° C before each use. The resulting liquid is used for an enema, which is administered in the evening before bedtime. 
At skin damage: since the drug has a healing and antiseptic effect, well-crushed young blueberry leaves are applied to the wound, which are fixed with a bandage. When the wound is still fresh, the dressing should be changed every 3 hours, and when it heals a little, then every 8 hours.
People who are sick anemia, it is recommended to prepare a medicine from blueberry leaves. To do this, you need to use 6 tbsp. l. dry blueberry raw materials, pour a liter of boiling water. Wait 3 hours, strain and drink four times a day, in the amount of 250 ml.
In home cosmetology
Blueberry leaves are highly valued in cosmetology, which are used as masks - they nourish, moisturize and tone the skin.
Important! Most women who actively use blueberries in home cosmetics know that blueberry leaves do not leave a dark pigment that is difficult to remove, unlike berries. Therefore, you can use the product from such raw materials without fear.
Crushed fresh or dry blueberry raw materials can be used to prepare a gruel, into which a spoonful of cream is added and mixed, after which the resulting mask is applied to the neck, face and left for 30 minutes. Wash off with warm water. 
Blueberry raw materials have antiseptic and wound healing properties that allow you to dry out rashes and remove the effects of acne. To do this, you can prepare a regular decoction of blueberry raw materials and treat your face with it.
How to dry blueberries Blueberries are considered one of the healthiest foods in the world. They are rich in vitamins and antioxidants, good for vision, lower cholesterol levels, and prevent urinary tract infections. Dried blueberries are added to pies and compotes, to cereals and snack mixes. You can get this tasty and healthy delicacy at home. You will need blueberries; pectin / lemon juice / boiling water and ice water; electric dryer / oven / screens for drying. Instruction 1 Put the blueberries in a sieve or colander and rinse under running water. Remove leaves and twigs. 2 Sort through the blueberries, discarding moldy (white-coated), stale, and wrinkled berries. 3 There are several ways to prepare blueberries for drying. All of them are effective so that the berries do not lose color. The berries treated with pectin look the most glossy. To get them, dissolve the pectin in warm water, according to the recipe, pour it over the berries and gently stir them with a spoon so that they are evenly coated. Place the berries in a sieve or colander to drain excess liquid. 4 The berries are also treated with lemon juice. To get the most liquid out of a lemon, microwave it for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the berries and mix well. 5 Another way that allows the berries to remain bright after drying is blanching. Prepare a large pot of boiling water and a bowl of cold water with ice. Dip the berries for 2-3 minutes in boiling water and immediately place them in a bowl with ice. Transfer the berries to a sieve or colander to drain the water. 6 If you have a special device for drying - an electric dryer, spread the blueberries in one layer in special trays. Dehydrate the berries following the instructions for 6 to 10 hours, depending on how dry you want them to be. Ready berries will shrivel and decrease in size. Turn off the dryer and let the blueberries cool. This will take 2-3 hours. 7 If you are going to dry the berries in the oven, then preheat it to 60-70 ° C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the blueberries in a single layer. Remove the baking sheet into the oven, leave the door ajar a few centimeters to allow air to circulate. Depending on the size of the berries, dry the blueberries for 4 to 12 hours. Ready berries are dry, but pliable. 8 If you live in a dry, hot climate, try drying your blueberries outdoors. In order to dry berries and fruits on the street, special screens are used, consisting of gauze stretched over wooden frames. The berries are placed between the frames and dried in the sun, putting them in a warm, dry place at night. This method takes several days. ***************************************** ALSO SEE THE BEST RECIPES SEE THE LINK *** ************************************ RECIPES FROM OUR GROUP: subscribe to our group's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh3yCLRgNaVrgSB6rCdQ
Dry preparations for the winter For many years I have been drying berries for the winter: these are vitamins all year round, and saving money, and most importantly - what could be tastier than a pie with real blueberries or tea with raspberries, and not with store chemicals? Instruction 1 How to dry berries Berries should be taken slightly unripe, whole, without damage. First, wash the berries (except for raspberries), put on a baking sheet with a layer of 2-3 cm and leave in the sun until they wilt a little. Then dry in the oven, gradually raising the temperature from 20 to 60 ° C for about 5 hours. When the berries stop giving juice and do not paint your hands, you can remove the baking sheet. Pour the berries into a wooden box with a lid to let air in. 2 How to use dried berries For the filling I take 100 g of dried raspberries, strawberries and mountain ash. Raspberries and strawberries pour 3 tbsp. l. water. I wash the rowan and pass it through a meat grinder. After I combine the berries, add 4 tbsp. l. honey and a handful of chopped walnuts. For puffs or bagels, I prepare blueberry filling. I pour 5 tbsp. l. berries 3-4 tbsp. l. cherry juice and cook for 5 minutes. on slow fire. Then I mix the mass (it should be like sour cream in consistency) with 2 tbsp. l. powdered sugar. 3 Aromatic tea is obtained if, when brewing, add 2 tbsp. l. raspberries and 2-3 mint leaves. Drying berries in a Russian oven, where there is no temperature regime, is more difficult. Therefore, it is important not to put the baking sheets in a too hot oven and constantly control the berries. And you can also make "ventilation" for the outflow of moist air. Put the baking sheets on 4 bricks, also lean the damper on the brick so that there is a gap for air to escape, move the valve in the pipe a little. ***************************************** ALSO SEE THE BEST RECIPES SEE THE LINK
A shrub with large branches of the lingonberry family is called blueberry. Its growth in a mature plant is about half a meter in height. And its roots extend in the soil in different directions for several meters, thus contributing to the formation of bushes of the same plant, but different in age. The stems of this plant themselves are straight and green in color, slightly grayer towards the base, sometimes cylindrical. Drying blueberry fruits and leaves, as well as flowers, is a great way to preserve the healing properties of this plant until the next harvest. The leaves have smooth, finely serrated edges, thin and oblong, falling off in winter. Flowers of light pink color grow in several pieces on small pedicels. A spherical berry, black in color, sweet and sour in taste, covered with a bluish coating, very much like wax, and there is a real blueberry. This plant blooms in May, sometimes a little later, in June, and the fruits ripen in about a couple of months. Blueberry leaves, like the fruits, have been dried since ancient times, used as a substitute for tea. Doctors have found that these leaves have a tonic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic properties, and blueberry leaves lower blood sugar levels and are used to treat diabetes, rheumatism, and gout. The best for good blueberry growth are damp oak forests, spruce forests and pine forests, so that there is a lot of light, not shade.
If you decide to stock up on blueberries for the winter, be sure to dry them. When collecting this berry, pay great attention to ensuring that the berry is only ripe. It is better to collect fruits recommended for drying in warm and sunny weather. And put them in special boxes or baskets, you can also use cans and cans that can hold about twenty kilograms. Before drying, blueberries should not be washed at all.
This raw material can be dried in several ways. One of them is, the second is drying in a microwave or oven. If you have chosen drying in an oven, i.e. artificial drying, then dry the blueberries in it at a temperature of about 40 ° C for about two to three hours, and then, when the berries are slightly dried, the drying temperature should be raised to 60 ° C. During the drying process itself, the berries must be mixed several times. Blueberries should never be overdried. Berries after drying should be a little sticky from fruit sugar. If you have chosen the natural outdoor drying method, then first select a place that will suit the drying conditions. Spread blueberries in a thin layer and dry for about three days, also stirring occasionally. To store dried blueberries, use special boxes lined with paper. You can also use cloth bags. In this case, storage in airtight jars is not recommended, since dry berries in them become moldy very quickly. It is advisable to store dried raw materials for up to two years, but no more, so then the berries lose all their medicinal qualities and properties.
As mentioned above, in addition to blueberries, its leaves and flowers are also dried. But collecting leaves for drying can negatively affect the yield of berries, since the collection of leaves is required only during the flowering of the plant. But if, nevertheless, you decide to do this, then carefully cut the leaves along with the flowers and shoots with scissors. Dry in a place where there is almost always shade and good ventilation. Dry for two days, and then put it in a dark, dry place for storage, observing all the conditions so that the leaves do not become damp and food moths do not start in them. Use the received raw materials until the next collection.
Ingredients:
- Fresh blueberries
How to dry blueberries in a dryer step by step instructions with photos:
Step 2
Inspect the berries, removing the dented ones. Remove debris and leaves. If necessary, rinse the blueberries gently under running water and shake off the moisture.
We will need:
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
Ingredients:
- Fresh blueberries
How to dry blueberries at home
Blueberries are one of the healthiest and most delicious berries. Housewives know many recipes using blueberries: they bake pies and pies, rolls and sweet casseroles with it. Jams, marmalade and marshmallow are prepared from it. It is added in the preparation of compotes, jelly and mousses.
Raw blueberries are rubbed with sugar. It is worth remembering that blueberries are not only tasty, but also very healthy. It is thanks to the substances that it contains that blueberries have a positive effect on the entire body. Blueberries improve vision, have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract, have anti-inflammatory properties, lower blood sugar levels, and improve skin condition.
Therefore, housewives try to prepare blueberries in different ways: they freeze them, grind them raw with sugar, and make jam. I suggest trying one of the ways to harvest blueberries for the winter - dry them. Such blueberries can be added to tea, pastries, and simply enjoy dry berries in winter as natural sweets.
How to dry blueberries in the oven step by step instructions with photos:
Step 2
Sort blueberries, removing leaves and damaged berries. If there is such a need, then pre-wash the blueberries and dry them. Arrange the blueberries in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Blueberries are considered to be one of the healthiest vegetable fruits in the world. Containing many essential vitamins and antioxidants, they are very good for vision, as well as lowering blood cholesterol and preventing urinary tract infections.
In dried form, blueberries are used as a filling for pies, added to compotes and cereals. How to dry blueberries at home in order to preserve the berries for the winter will be described later.
How to dry blueberries for the winter
To do this, you will need, in addition to blueberries, lemon juice or pectin (another option, which will also be discussed below: water with ice and water brought to a boil) and, of course, an oven or a special electric dryer. Drying time is several hours. Berries should be stored in a dark place in paper or linen bags.
Preparatory stage
1. Place blueberries in a colander or strainer, rinse under cold running water. During flushing, remove all leaves and twigs.
2. After washing, you need to sort out the whole berry, throwing out overripe, wrinkled and moldy fruits (having a white coating).
3. Next, proceed to drying. There are several recipes for preparing blueberries for the winter. All methods perfectly help to preserve the color of the berry. But the best color is present in those blueberries that have been treated with pectin at the preparatory stage. How to prepare: First, dissolve the pectin in warm water, pour it over the blueberries and then gently stir the berries with a spoon to coat them evenly. Then drain the liquid by placing the blueberries in a sieve (colander).
4. Treatment of blueberries with lemon juice. First of all, put the lemon in the microwave for just a couple of minutes - this way we get the maximum lemon liquid. Next, sprinkle blueberries with lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
5. The option using ice and boiling water is called blanching. This recipe will allow the berries to retain their brightness and saturation after drying. To do this, prepare a large pot in which you need to boil water, as well as a deep bowl with ice and cold water.
The secret of cooking is that first you dip the berries in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, and then transfer them to a bowl of water and ice, after collecting the blueberries from the pan in a sieve (so that the glass is hot water).
Drying in an electric dryer
You must first lay out the berries in a single layer in special dryer trays. Then proceed to the dehydration of the fruits (drying within 6-9 hours). The drying time will depend on how dry you want the blueberries to be. Ready berries will wrinkle and will be reduced in size.
After checking the readiness of the product, turn off the electric dryer and let the blueberries cool. The cooling time will take two to three hours. Drying in the oven Preheat the oven to 60-70 degrees, and then place a baking sheet in it, which must first be covered with a sheet of baking paper and put the berries in one layer. It is best to keep the oven door slightly ajar to allow air to circulate. It is desirable to dry from 4 to 10-12 hours.
How to prepare dried blueberry leaves for the winter
Blueberry leaves contain vitamin C, essential oils and useful organic acids, so the infusion of them is a good antiseptic. The collection of blueberry leaves and drying is carried out as follows: only the cleanest leaves are collected, then they are laid out on paper in a dark, ventilated place. Dry for about 7-9 days. You can store both in paper bags and in jars for tea or coffee.
