Wintergreen is a group of plants. Wintergreen once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term evergreen is now more commonly used for this characteristic. Most species of the shrub genus Gaultheria demonstrate this characteristic and are called winter greens in North America, the most common generally being the Eastern Tea berry.

Wintergreen is an herb. Wintergreen oil is made by steam processing of warmed, water-soaked wintergreen leaves. The leaves and oil are used to make medicine. Wintergreen leaf is used for painful conditions including headache, nerve pain (particularly sciatica),  arthritis,  ovarian pain and menstrual cramps.

It is also used for digestion problems including stomachache and gas (flatulence);lung conditions including asthma and pleurisy; pain and swelling (inflammation); fever and kidney problems.

Some people use small doses of wintergreen oil to increase stomach juices and improve digestion. Wintergreen leaf is sometimes applied directly to the skin as a wash for achy joints (rheumatism), sore muscles, and lower back pain. Wintergreen oil is applied to the skin as a “counterirritant” to relieve muscle pain. Counterirritants work by causing irritation that reduces pain and swelling in the underlying tissue.

Wintergreen oil is also used to kill germs on the skin. In manufacturing, wintergreen is used as a flavoring agent in food, candies, teas, and in pharmaceutical products.

Wintergreen is also said to have some powerful emotional and spiritual use when used aromatically. It can assist us in letting go, surrendering control, and trusting the process of life. It's good for issues around control, arrogance, or lack of trust for others. It helps us to release pain, old habits or beliefs, and lean into our own spiritual understanding.

The oil of wintergreen is a world famous name, and it is extremely popular with the people suffering from rheumatism, arthritis, gout and pain in their bones and joints from any number of reasons. This oil can usually be found in every household because it has so many common applications. Wintergreen is a tree native to North America and it is believed to have been Native Americans who discovered the use of its oil to eliminate pain in the muscles and joints.

Benefit & Uses:Wintergreen is used medicinally. Native Americans brewed a tea from the leaves to alleviate rheumatic symptoms, headache, fever, sore throat and various aches and pains. During the American Revolution, wintergreen leaves were used as a substitute for tea, which was scarce.

Wintergreen is a common flavoring in American products ranging from chewing gum, mints and candies to smokeless tobacco such as dipping tobacco (American "dip" snuff) and suns. It is also a common flavoring for dental hygiene products such as mouthwash and toothpaste.

Wintergreen oil can also be used in fine art printing applications to transfer a color photocopy image or color laser print to a high-rag content art paper, such as a hot-press watercolor paper. The transfer method involves coating the source image with the wintergreen oil then placing it face-down on the target paper and pressing the pieces of paper together under pressure using a standard etching press.

This property means that an agent can eliminate pain and induce relaxation. Therefore, it is a combination of an analgesic and a relaxant. Wintergreen essential oil will eradicate pain and drive out stress and tension. This is a very pleasant way of getting a sound sleep at the end of the day for those who often lose sleep due to pain or stress.

The relaxing and stimulating effect of this oil reduces spasms in the respiratory, muscular, digestive and nervous systems, while providing relief from congestion in the chest, breathing trouble, asthma, spasmodic coughs, muscular cramps, digestive disorders, spasmodic diarrhea, convulsions and various nervous afflictions.

 

The high degree of toxicity of this oil can make it fatal to human beings, but that means that it is fatal to bacteria and other microbes such a virus, fungi and protozoa as well. This quality is utilized to fight infection that causes sepsis.