Christmas Trees Ain’t Just For Christmas Anymore: The Amazing Healing Powers of Pine!

Christmas pine is medicinal

♪♪ O’ Christmas tree, O’ Christmas tree!

How healing are thy branches!

I had a pain. It made me howl. Sprayed on some pine; I’m better now!

O’ Christmas tree, O’ Christmas tree!

How healing are thy branches! ♪♪

♪♪ Corona came. You made it shoo! And did the same thing for the flu!

O’ Christmas tree, O’ Christmas tree!

How Healing are thy branches!

My muscles shrank when I got old. You pumped them up with pollen gold.

O’ Christmas tree, O’ Christmas tree!

How Healing are thy branches! ♪♪

One of the things I love most about being an herbalist is the journey of wonderful learning that this pursuit has taken me on. I’ve been using herbs in clinical practice for many years and yet, scarcely a day goes by that I don’t learn some amazing new way that a common plant can change lives.

For the past few years I’ve been very interested in pine (Pinus spp.). The Good Lord made an awful lot of those big green trees… So, I figured they must be good for something besides 2X4s, firewood and beaver dams. So I started digging. The things I learned and continue to learn have changed my life. Let me share just a few of them with you.

Pine For Respiratory Infections

One of the amazing powers of pine is its ability to interfere with coronaviruses, influenza viruses and several other respiratory bugs. It actually inhibits the viruses from attaching to cells and also interferes with their replication and stimulates immunity. As a result, it’s one of my first grabs when I think I’ve been exposed to a respiratory bug that I don’t want to be friends with or when I’m fighting one I already have. The needle is the medicine for this. There are some remarkable research studies on both white pine (Pinus strobus) and red pine (Pinus resinosa). I have red pine growing all over on my property and we’ve become good friends during this little global pandemic we’ve all enjoyed of late.

Pine for Pain

A year ago I was in New York City with my wife. I was there to get some follow up medical treatment for a benign brain tumor I’d had removed earlier in the year. Our hotel was about a half hour walk from the hospital where they were doing the treatments. So every morning, my wife and I would pound the pavement to and from the facility. On about the third day, my wife had a terrible flare up of plantar fasciitis (a.k.a. REALLY sore feet). She could hardly bear weight on them and wasn’t going to be doing any more walking on those sore soles. I had brought some herbs with me and started rummaging through my bag looking for something to help my Sweetheart with this terrible pain.

I hadn’t brought anything for pain; just a lot of respiratory and immune stimulating herbs in case we got sick. As I was looking through my stash, I saw a bottle of pine needle tincture. I’d brought it for respiratory bugs, but as I stood there holding the bottle I felt a strong impression that this plant could help. Then I remembered that I’d read somewhere long ago, in some dusty old herb book that Native Americans used the sap or inner bark of pine topically for arthritis. I knew pine bark had some very different chemistry than the needles (for example, the sap should never be taken internally) and wondered if the needle would have any (or enough) of the pain killing properties to be of any use. I’d never heard or read anything indicating that they did. I started talking myself out of trying it when, again, I had the feeling that using pine was a really good idea. So I rubbed some pine needle tincture on her sore feet. Heck, worse case scenario would be that her toes would smell like Christmas right?

The results were amazing. Within only a few minutes, she was dancing around on those feet like a school girl and she walked back and forth to that hospital with me every morning for the rest of the week without any pain at all. Since then, I’ve used pine needle tincture topically on lots of other pain cases with very similar results. It just works.

Pine: The Ultimate Nutritive & Manly Tonic

Pine needles are also a wonderful source of vitamin C. Vitamin C has important functions in immunity, healing and the health and strength of muscles and cartilage. So, when the apocalypse comes and your teeth start getting loose and falling out from scurvy (caused by vitamin C deficiency). Don’t worry that there isn’t an orange tree by your cabin, just grab some pine needles.

As if the needles weren’t useful enough, pine has another amazing offering, the pollen.

Pine pollen is an amazing source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. A half teaspoon to a teaspoon a day of the pollen can give the body an amazing boost of nutritional resources to solve all sorts of deficiencies caused by our modern diet.

And what about the manly tonic? Yup it does that too. Pine pollen contains all-natural, plant versions of testosterone. I was recently at a convention and ran into one of my students. I hadn’t seen him for several years. What I saw was unbelievable. The guy looked like a Marvel superhero. I mean…he was missing the tights and the cape but man he was ripped! I asked him what the heck had happened to him. He said he’d been feeling dumpy and tired all the time and was having some impotence issues so he went to the doctor. The doctor did a bunch of testing (doctors are really good at that by the way) and said his testosterone levels were really low. The doctor recommended that he take injections and meds to solve his problem (doctors are quite good at that too). But my student was an herbalist and he wasn’t interested in that route. So, what did he do instead? He took pine pollen and started working out. He said that his energy levels, optimism and libido were all vastly improved. The increased muscle mass and strength were just a nice side effect…though his wife did mention that him looking that much better had improved her libido. LOL

So, before the ladies ask… Don’t worry. Taking nutritive doses (1/2 – 1 tsp) of pine pollen won’t goof up your female hormones. If you want any significant, manly testosterone effects, you’d need to take a tablespoon or so.

Final Thoughts

These trees really are a blessing. Though we’ve talked about pine here (Pinus spp.) other evergreens like spruce, cedar and fir often share some similar properties and have been used by about every culture on the planet for millennia for a variety of health benefits.

And one last thing. Don’t use the Christmas tree you bought to make medicine. Those trees are usually treated with all kinds of chemicals to keep them green longer. Also be aware that any needles you pick or branches your remove from a pine will never grow back so be careful aesthetically with the nice looking tree in your front yard.

If you’ve enjoyed this information, you might really enjoy a more in-depth herbal education. If so, I know a nice fellow that can help with that.

Click Here for more information on the HomeGrown Herbalist School.

Enrolling in our program might be the best present you ever got yourself. :0)

If you’re pining for some pine, Click Here

61 thoughts on “Christmas Trees Ain’t Just For Christmas Anymore: The Amazing Healing Powers of Pine!

  1. M’Liss says:

    Do you know if pine is safe to take during pregnancy? I have a friend who has had multiple illnesses over the last year and every time the sickness drops to her lungs and gives her a horrible wet cough and shortness of breath. She’s in her first trimester right now (and sick again) and I was wondering if pine would help. I did just order her a Christmas gift, your Immunity Pregnancy Tincture, but I was wondering if a bit of pine would be helpful well.

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Pine is not safe internally during pregnancy or nursing. The Immunity Pregnant is an option. Mullein and gumweed are good expectorants and cough suppressants and are safe. Cramp bark is safe and can help with the cough too. Mullein has some antiviral properties for many of the respiratory bugs as well.

  2. Cassie says:

    Can the pine tincture be taken to help testosterone or is the pine pollen a better choice. Also do you know where pine pollen can be purchased. Is there a trustable brand out there that you are aware of other than something random on Amazon? I don’t believe I saw any on HGH website

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      It has to be the pollen for testosterone and the high nutrition boosting and sadly, we don’t carry it. Maybe I’ll get some harvested in the spring.

      • Deanne says:

        How do you harvest pine pollen? I live in the middle of the woods and there are lots of (white) pines on our property and around the area. I suppose the pine pollen may be the layer of yellow dust we see on everything every spring, but I have no idea how one would go about collecting it…. (?)

        • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

          Put a brown paper bag over the end of the branch and whack it. The bag will collect the powder. I have a video about pine pollen where I show you how to do it. I need to get it edited and posted.

  3. Emily Maxfield says:

    What great info! I’m also thoroughly enjoying your HomeGrown Herbalist class! Could you harvest the pine needles year round to benefit from them and to make a tincture from them? (Haven’t gotten that far in class if it’s covered there)

        • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

          I have one just about pine pollen and harvesting it. It’s in a pile of videos I’ve shot as I puttered around with plants. I’ll dig it out and put it on top of the pile in the spring when it’s time to harvest it. :0)

  4. Marjorie says:

    The late, great herbalist Stephen Buhner wrote a 65-page book about pine pollen called Pine Pollen: Ancient Medicine for a New Millenium. It’s still available from his website, but since he recently passed I don’t know how long the website will be carried on. It’s also available in print from surthrival.com . Don’t order it from Amazon; it’s ridiculously overpriced there.

    I’m very surprised you wrote that the inner bark of pine should never be taken internally. I’ve read for decades that the inner bark is considered a survival food and can be cooked and eaten “like noodles”. I’ll have to dig deeper on that.

    • Deanne says:

      I have a couple of Stephen Harris Buhner books. I read the Lyme book and have the herbal antibiotics book as a reference. Although I was well aware of him, I haven’t followed him and didn’t know much about him.

      Due to your comment here, I just looked him up to verify the sad news. I then went to his website and read some things he has written. What I discovered is a real mix – some deeply insightful, some extremely troubling.

      The post I just discovered is his “thoughts on roe.” I will continue reading (as long as I can bear it) to see how distorted and twisted a view of God’s Word one can come to when one rejects the standards of right and wrong established by our Creator. So far, he has said nothing at all about the tiny life that is extinguished by a bigger person’s “choice.” Might makes right, so they say.

  5. Dr. Patrick Jones says:

    Pine is not safe internally during pregnancy or nursing. The Immunity Pregnant is an option. Mullein and gumweed are good expectorants and cough suppressants and are safe. Cramp bark is safe and can help with the cough too. Mullein has some antiviral properties for many of the respiratory bugs as well.

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      The way I use about any other herb. I personally use a tincture because I’m too lazy to make tea most days. Dosing for all of my products can be found on the Info & Dosing tab on each product page.

      If I’m fighting a bug, I usually take the herbs every four hours or so. If I’m just taking an herb for daily maintenance for some sort of long-term issue, I’d do 2-3 times a day.

  6. Amy Hepfner says:

    Hey Doc, would appreciate it if you would tell us in your blogs if we should use teas, tinctures or salves. I assume all three but some things (like you mentioned pine bark) you can’t take internally. Thanks for the great insight!!

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Hi Amy,

      As far as internal use, herbs don’t really care how they get into your body, tea, tincture, some powder in your smoothie…they’re happy to do their job regardless of how they get there.

      If I ever intend the use to be topical, I mention that. If ever I mention an herb that’s toxic internally, I make that clear too.

  7. Michele Nutter says:

    I have a strong affinity for pine….I’m not sure why–at least not yet. We used it during our fun fling with Covid last year. Our grandkids were kind enough to share Flu A with us over Thanksgiving this year and I never thought of using it for flu. I’m sure they’ll be a next time….our grandkids love sharing with us…and having us wipe their noses and be the target of their sneezes. lol
    In a few days my daughter (she’s a student in the school along with me!) and I are going to defrost some pine tips that we gathered from one of our pine trees last spring and we’re going to make pine shortbread cookies. Yum! It’ll be nice to say we’re eating lots of them for medicinal purposes. ; ) It’s the power of pine, baby!

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      I have a lot of cute little grandkids that like to share too. Whenever they come to see me and come piling onto my lap with their little runny noses, I feel like a man lying on a beach, watching a tsunami coming in. Sure, I could turn tail and run, but I’d never escape. Better to enjoy and adore the cute lil’ boogers and just remember to take my herbs later. LOL

  8. Amanda W. says:

    We live in AR and have a lot of pines on our property…. But I think they may be “loblolly pines”. I tried to read up when we were sick with a respiratory illness early this year – but I read mixed info on whether it was ok to use?

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) was used by native Americans for respiratory infections. i haven’t used it personally and don’t have any experience with it.

  9. Deanne says:

    1.) I’ve heard repeatedly that heat destroys the benefits of vitamin C, so I’m wondering if making pine needle tea for the vitamin C component obviates that purpose.

    2.) I have pine needle essential oil. Is that likely to have the vitamin C benefit or is that lost in that process?

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Heat is hard on vitamin C. The way I make a tea is to boil water, take it off the heat, and then throw the herbs in. Doing it that way will preserve much of the vitamin C. If you let the pine tea sit in the pot and boil, you won’t get much vitamin C.

      I’ve never seen any data, put I’d guess that the distillation process would be devastating to vitamin C. Add to that, that I don’e think essential oils internally are a good idea and I’m gonna go for a grapefruit instead of any EO if I want some vitamin C.

      • Deanne says:

        For some time, I have been using essential oils instead of flavorings. They are stronger, so I can use less, and they are also pure rather than diluted in glycerin or whatever other substances they add to flavorings. (I avoid alcohol-based flavorings.)

        Now I’m wondering… do you think this use of essential oils is inappropriate as well? The peppermint, ginger, and wintergreen are sure delicious. 🙂

        Any links or leads to more information on this topic would be welcome too.

        • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

          I don’t care much for essential oils personally. Most of them make me blister if I touch them or send me into respiratory grief if I inhale them.
          As a result, I’m probably not the best source of information on their use. I do know some of them can be quite dangerous to small dogs and cats topically and any dog or cat if used in a diffuser.

  10. Karli says:

    On that note, is there a way to benefit from pine needle EO in regard to fighting viruses?

    We have a lot of Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, in brushy areas, but no Pinus resinosa. Do you think it would be worthwhile to collect some ‘needles’ and make a tincture from the Red Cedar to use the same way you use Red Pine tincture?

    In “Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie” by Kelly Kindscher, he lists many uses of junipers by Native Americans, and says this about Red Cedar:

    “The Dakotas boiled the fruits and leaves of the red cedar to make a tea that was drunk for coughs. For a cold, they would sit underneath a blanket and breathe the smoke and fumes from burning twigs… A Blackfeet remedy for arthritis and rheumatism was to boil Rocky Mountain juniper leaves in water, and one-half teaspoon of turpentine, and when cooled, rub the mixture on affected parts.”

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Native Americans used lots of species of pine, spruce and fir for respiratory issues.

      Cedars and junipers are medicinal too but are different critters. I haven’t used the Eastern Red. But I do use our local (Western) junipers for urinary tract issues and our cedar berries for blood sugar control.

  11. Josephine says:

    Dr. Jones, thank you for all your teachings. Do you think that pine needle tincture could ease the pain of arthritis in feet and hands?

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      I’ve used pine needle tincture topically a lot for pain in the feet and hands. Works great. Hops tincture is great too.

  12. Josephine says:

    Sorry, Dr. Jones, I can see now where you’ve written that Native Americans used the inner bark in such a way, so I’m sure the needle tincture would be well worth a try.

  13. Ann says:

    Does the species of pine matter? Where I live Austrian Pine (Pinus Nigra) and Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa) are common. You talked about white pine and red pine, but I thought I would ask if other species would work as well. Thanks for an excellent article.

  14. Karli says:

    Hey Doc,
    How would you use pine needle EO?
    You mentioned in a comment above that you don’t recommend taking the EO internally. Is there any way to use EOs to fight viruses? Thanks!

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Essential oils are only one element of a plant that contains dozens or hundreds of beneficial chemicals. I prefer the whole package of the entire herb. I don’t see as much value in distilling out only the volatile oils into a form that’s so concentrated that I have to be careful how I use it when the plant itself does what I need to do.

  15. Trina Romeo says:

    Thank you Doc for your courage to share your faith in Our Saviour Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation. In these times there is such a drive to remove Jesus and God from everything you are a shining beacon that his children believe and have faith and want to share who he is and what he has done. Have a joyous and blessed Christ’s Birth.

  16. Rachel says:

    About a month ago I put some pine needles in my freezer to save for when we needed them again. Do you think I can take them out and make a tincture out of them now after being frozen?

  17. gail says:

    The Master Herbalist in our area says on Eastern White Pine needles can only be used for making the pine tinctures. That doesn’t seem to be accurate according to the success you have had with other varieties on pine needles. Do you agree?

  18. Linda says:

    Thank you for all the information. I don’t have much pine around me, but I do have some small redwood trees on my property. Would those work to make a tincture with? My son has been getting foot cramps a lot lately and I’m looking for a way to help him.

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