15 Astounding Usnea Benefits and Uses You Never Knew About

Folks have been utilizing usnea for 1000’s of years. 

This lichen can serve many purposes due to its distinctive, multifaceted chemical composition. It’s a typical purposeful ingredient in cosmetics, cleaners, medicines, and extra. 

So, what precisely are you able to do with it? Learn on to find 15 science-backed usnea advantages and discover ways to harness its energy to enhance your own home and well being. 

Usnea Makes use of and Advantages

Usnea is a real unicorn on the planet of pure treatments. 

All species include the namesake usnic acid, a much-studied substance that provides this lichen spectacular antiseptic talents. Nonetheless, usnea is far more than a pure germ-fighter. 

Due to its various polyphenols and acidic profile, it wears an array of extra well being and wellness hats that improve its worth tenfold. 

1. Antibiotic

One in every of usnea’s oldest purposes is as an antibiotic. Fashionable clinical research helps this historic use, with usnic acid being significantly efficient towards gram-positive micro organism, comparable to strep and staph.

Usnea and its derivative drugs have proven promise in treating even antibiotic-resistant strains of those micro organism. 

The easiest way to make use of usnea as an antibiotic is determined by the an infection’s location. A tincture is best for internal infections (assume urinary tract, kidneys, and so forth.), whereas an ointment or salve will deal with exterior pores and skin infections.  

Usnea can also be identified to assist clear lung infections, making a superb addition to do-it-yourself cough syrup or fireplace cider. 

2. Anti-Inflammatory

It looks as if every part is infected nowadays, however usnea may also help by targeting inflammation from a large number of underlying causes. 

From intestinal discomfort to muscle ache and joint swelling, this lichen has you lined.  

It’s greatest to make use of a wide range of preparations, together with tinctures, salves, oil extracts, and usnea powders, to deal with irritation relying on the place it’s and what’s inflicting it. 

3. Analgesic

Usnea is a potent analgesic, with one study demonstrating pain-relieving results just like the once-common NSAID drug noraminophenazone.

Inner software may also help soothe sore throats and ulcers and could also be higher than different meds contemplating usnea’s highly effective results towards irritation. 

It’s additionally the right ingredient for exterior ache remedies, comparable to DIY muscle balms and joint salves. 

4. Wound Therapeutic

Usnea has lengthy been utilized in wilderness first assist as a topical to deal with scrapes, bites, and different wounds. 

Not solely does usnic acid forestall and deal with an infection, however research shows it additionally hurries up therapeutic when utilized as a powder or poultice.

The usnic acid really promotes vascular regeneration and pores and skin keratinization, enhancing the formation of wholesome new collagen tissue on the web site of wounds. 

5. Promotes Pores and skin Well being

Usnic acid is a pores and skin savior. Its antimicrobial and antiseptic properties assist cleanse the pores and skin and eradicate micro organism, whereas anti-inflammatory and antioxidant results scale back stress to fight wrinkles and spots. 

Usnea has additionally been proven to protect against UV rays and exhibits explicit promise as a sunscreen and in different beauty purposes. 

Utilizing an usnea oil extract to make salves or balms is one of the best ways to get these results.   

6. Fights Most cancers

Usnic acid is a proven cytotoxin that may combat sure sorts of most cancers cells. 

Analysis trials on people with mouth most cancers confirmed usnea extract elevated oxidative stress and blocked DNA synthesis in CLS-354 most cancers cells, leading to a big anticancer impact. 

Animal research studies point out effectiveness towards melanoma and glioma. 

Apparently, the analysis demonstrates usnea’s capability to differentiate and assault most cancers cells whereas defending wholesome tissue. 

Tinctures made with twin extractions of water and alcohol will yield the best content material of polyphenols and usnic acid, that are each thought to contribute to this impact. 

7. Aids Weight Loss

I’m as skeptical as the following gal relating to miracle weight reduction medicine. And whereas usnea definitely isn’t a magic treatment, there may be compelling evidence exhibiting usnic acid could assist enhance lipid metabolism.

In animal trials, it has been proven to sluggish weight achieve on a hypercaloric weight loss plan, scale back triglycerides, and enhance levels of cholesterol. 

Including a modest routine of dual-extracted usnea tincture to your weight loss plan might make the weight-loss grind a bit of simpler!

8. Protects Coronary heart Well being

Usnea’s capability to control ldl cholesterol and triglycerides already makes it a potent coronary heart well being weapon in your arsenal. 

It has additionally been confirmed to reduce atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, particularly across the coronary heart’s aorta. 

Usnea may even prevent blood clots that result in coronary heart assaults, strokes, and different dire cardiovascular occasions. If you’re at present in danger, ask your physician about supplementing with usnea till you get the difficulty underneath management. 

9. Anti-Fungal

Usnea is an effective treatment towards many species of yeast and fungi, rendering it a potent assist for candida infections and lots of sorts of ringworm. 

Apply usnea oil topically to deal with ringworm or fungus within the nails, cuticles, or hair. Ingest tincture or oil to deal with mouth fungi, and put together a soaking bathtub for yeast an infection. 

In case you have a bacterial an infection and are at present taking prescribed antibiotics, beginning a further usnea tincture routine could also be smart. 

Antibiotics don’t discriminate and sometimes kill useful micro organism that maintain our intestine in verify. This causes fungal overgrowth and might result in extra infections, however usnea might be able to forestall these nasty unwanted side effects by killing the additional fungus. 

10. Survival Meals

Usnea is edible and incorporates a powerful quantity of vitamin C. Nonetheless, talking from expertise, it isn’t significantly tasty when eaten alone. 

Overeating usnea might probably trigger liver issues. Due to the contraindications, it’s greatest to not eat usnea straight-up except you’re in a survival state of affairs. 

11. Antipyretic

Usnea has lengthy been used as an antipyretic, and research have proven that it might probably decrease body temperature in fever-induced rats. 

This makes it good for a chilly drugs routine, particularly when used together with different medicinal plants like elderberry and echinacea. 

12. Litholytic

Many species of usnea include barbatic acid, a substance that exhibits promising litholytic efficacy. Meaning it might probably break down mineral deposits from magnesium and calcium — two nasty parts of kidney stones. 

In case you have kidney stones, taking an usnea tincture could assist break them up. 

13. Diuretic

Usnea’s barbatic acid has demonstrated a diuretic ability to flush out extra fluid from the physique. That is useful in the course of the dissolution of kidney stones, nevertheless it additionally helps in numerous different conditions. 

Folks retain fluid for all types of causes. A high-salt meal, an intense exercise, or a traumatic week can all trigger you to carry water. 

Taking usnea tincture helps launch that water, lowering bloating and puffiness and growing general consolation and performance. 

14. Antiviral

Usnea exhibits some restricted potential as an antiviral. One research demonstrated efficacy towards COVID-19, whereas others have proven tentative efficacy towards HPV.

Extra analysis is required to verify these results and uncover the underlying mechanism of motion. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t harm so as to add usnea tincture to your routine when sick with a viral an infection.  

15. Pure Dye

Usnea was a comparatively frequent pure dye again within the day, nevertheless it has fallen out of favor for environmental causes. Nonetheless, these with ample fallen usnea on their properties don’t have any cause to not use it. 

Usnea is straightforward to dye with, even for learners. It imparts fiber with a wealthy brown shade, with hues various between species.

Usnea Contraindications

It’s vital to notice that usnea is a therapy, not a complement for on a regular basis use. Every of the purposes talked about above is for the quick time period. 

I don’t suggest utilizing usnea day by day due to its potential downsides. 

What are these, precisely?

The medicinal usnic acid present in usnea has been linked to liver toxicity in each people and mice. 

Toxicity in people was reported after taking usnic acid within the type of a dietary complement for weight reduction. Most individuals recovered with out situation, however a number of needed to bear liver transplants. 

That is severe stuff. Does it imply it is best to keep away from usnea in any respect prices? Not likely. As a substitute, you have to study the difficulty in context. 

Not solely did that exact complement include different compounds that would have contributed to liver harm, however the usnic acid was in pure type at doses of over 300 milligrams per day. 

How a lot usnea would you have to take to achieve that threshold? Usnic acid content material varies considerably by usnea species kind however could represent as much as three percent of the lichen’s whole dry weight. 

It’s extremely unlikely that do-it-yourself tinctures, teas, or oil infusions can extract all the usnic acid out there in a lichen. Even when they did, you’d must ingest rather a lot. Usnea oil and tinctures are supposed to be taken just a few drops at a time. Usnea salves and balms are supposed to be utilized to the pores and skin, and there’s no identified toxicity threat with exterior use. 

As with most substances, the dose makes the poison. For those who take usnea sparingly as a short-term therapy, your probabilities of any adversarial response are slim. 

You may get all these unbelievable usnea advantages with numerous attention-grabbing preparation methods. Whether or not you propose to make a tincture or a brand-new line of lichen-based cosmetics, the world is your oyster!