Eastern White Cedar - Thuja occidentalis

Eastern white cedar, Thuja occidentalis, arborvitae, or northern white cedar is a medium size evergreen, coniferous tree native to the Northeastern United States and Canada. It is widely grown as an ornamental, windbreak, and privacy screen. There are several on my chemical-free property that I harvest from.

Cedar has a nutritious inner bark that can be ground into flour and has also been used for saunas. Cedar leaf is used traditionally for fevers, rheumatic symptoms, chest colds and the flu, headache, sprains, and coughs. The leaves are high in vitamin C and many other phytochemicals such as alpha-pinene, alpha-fenchene, camphene, sabinene, beta-myrcene, limonene, alpha-fenchone, alpha-thujone, beta-thujone, camphor and bornyl acetate. These substances have antiviral, antiseptic, antibiotic, and antifungal properties.

If you cover your cedar tea while it steeps the pleasant aromatic oils will not escape. It should not be used by pregnant and breastfeeding women but otherwise it’s fine for everyone. Use one teaspoon per 6 oz teacup.

The following citation is a paper you can search for that goes into great detail about the chemical composition and medicinal properties of Eastern white cedar. ¹

¹ Caruntu, Sonia, Alina Ciceu, Neli Kinga Olah, Ioan Don, Anca Hermenean, and Coralia Cotoraci. 2020. "Thuja occidentalis L. (Cupressaceae): Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Biological Activity" Molecules 25, no. 22: 5416. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25225416

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose or treat any illness. I am not a medical professional and cannot diagnose or treat any illness.