Homemade herbal remedies
(I was motivated to write this peice by a phone call conversation with one of the producers of the new TV program Health Freaks, he was keen to know about what home remedies I have used, here’s my list. I didn’t end up going on health freaks....)
using naturally occurring physical substances (plants, minerals, and animals) to treat ailments.
(disclaimer - I cannot guarantee that these remedies will work for you, neither do I hold responsibility for any actions taken by you from this information which prove to be detrimental to your health. I have tried to be as accurate with this info to my best ability.)
CONTENTS-
Story 1 - Swollen lymph glands... Page 2
Story 2 – Dealing with minor wounds... Page 4
Story 3 – Stings and burns – common ailments in the field… Page 6
Story 4 – Getting the digestion working... Page 7
Story 5 – Toothache and tooth cleaning... Page 10
Story 6 – General skin problems... Page 12
Story 7 - Fertility - aphrodisiacs... Page 14
Story 8 – Coughs... Page 15
Story 9 – Heartache... Page 16
Story 10 – Fighting off colds and flu... Page 17
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Story 1 - Swollen lymph glands...
I first got into plants and self-medicating when I was 18 years old. At the time I was suffering from swollen glands, and I had been to the GP a few times and each time it was the same response; there’s not much we can do, its quite common for people to experience this when growing up. Come back if its still bad in a few weeks… or something along those lines.
I put up with it for a year or more, until it was getting quite painful and I was finding walking difficult. I decided that this was something I had to treat myself. I decided to firstly get myself off smoking, which took a few years, but the real shift in my health (to cut to the point) happened when I got an allotment and started growing home grown organic food and eating it, and picking lots of wild foods and eating them. I could not say exactly what change it was that made my painful swollen glands go away, but within a year of getting the allotment and eating wild foods, the swollen glands had gone.
And that was that.
So, what were the foods that I had started adding to my diet?
The wild foods were the first because they are free and you can pick them straight away without having to cultivate.
I mostly picked -
Dandelion leaves – I ate them raw mostly.
Nettle tops – I cooked them and made tea.
Blackberries - eaten raw.
I picked some –
Goosegrass – I nibbled the shoots in spring and cooked with it and made tea with it.
Wild strawberries – eaten raw
Blackberry shoots – eaten raw and made tea
Cow parsley – nibbled raw, cooked with.
Acorns – nibbled them raw
Rose hips - nibbled them raw.
And I also nibbled on an assortment of other plants in the wild. (my inspiration was the famous book – Food for free)
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that year I grew on the allotment –
Lettuce
Broad beans
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Sweetcorn
Runner beans
French beans
Chilies
Pumpkins
Plus probably a few more things on the side.
I ate lots of raw food, and cut down on sugar, and processed foods like white flour, and refined oils.
Not only did the allotment provide fresh organic food with loads of flavor and minerals, but it also provided a space where I could connect to nature, - a place to relax, enjoy the seasons, get exercise and de-stress from school.
And my swollen glands, slowly, slowly, were gone.
To sum up this “remedy” (though I can’t say it will work for you) :
Eat lots of wild food and fresh locally grown organic food, get exercise in the outside and live a non-stressful lifestyle that is in harmony with the seasons.
Side effects from the remedy – general all round well being, better energy levels, more libido, clearer thinking, happier all round.
End of story 1.
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Story 2 – Dealing with minor wounds...
When I was exploring an abandoned allotment about 2007 I put my foot through a rusty nail sticking out of a plank of wood. It went right into my left foot about an inch, close to where the toes are, almost through to the other side. Ouch!
Having learnt something about wound healers, I immediately washed it when I got home from limping, and crushed up some fresh sage leaves and put them on. Sage is an antiseptic and antibiotic. I bandaged it up to stop the bleeding. I hobbled to an allotment and got comfrey root, took the bandage off and chewed up some of the root of comfrey (bocking 14 variety found on allotments everywhere) and put it over the wound, and put the bandage back on.
I then went to accident and emergency with my dad. They said that all they could do was to give me antibiotics and that I needed to keep it clean. I didn’t want antibiotics because I know what they can do to the intestinal gut flora (wipe it out) and so they said that if it got worse i.e. septic, then I must go on a course of antibiotics.
Fair deal.
I went to visit the herbalist the next day. They said that the best way to treat it with herbal treatment was to make a poultice with myrrh tincture and marsh mallow root powder.
I was to wash it clean with the myrrh tincture, (very powerful antiseptic) and to mix the marsh mallow root power with the myrrh tincture and make a paste. I was to then to put the paste onto the wound and put a bandage over it to hold the paste in place. The paste dried and went hard, like dry clay. I repeated this process everyday.
The wound healed fine.
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The same thing happened about 2 years later, again on an allotment, again a rusty nail, again the same foot (about 1 cm from the other nail wound!)
I was with friends this time, and they were quite surprised at my cool when I said I would just treat it myself and not go to the hospital. (ok, I may be taking a risk, but hey, lets wait and see first if it goes septic…)
I got sage on it, cleaned it, got comfrey leaf on it this time to stop the bleeding, and bandaged it up. I still had some myrrh tincture and mallow root power and so I repeated the same process. It was pretty much healed in three days.
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I have treated since these experiences a number of wounds with comfrey in particular (both leaf and root), to stop bleeding –
- Cut fingers with a sharp axe
- Nose bleeds
- Cut hands with knife
- General cuts / scratches from plants, broken glass, hazardous sharp objects.
You can also use comfrey to heal bruising. It is very effective.
Comfrey can even help to heal bones and tendons, and other body tissues. I broke a toe once and got comfrey on it for a few days and it helped speed up the healing process.
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What if you can’t find comfrey?
There are 4 main types of comfrey in the UK –
Russian comfrey - Symphytum × uplandicum
creeping comfrey - Symphytum grandiflorum
wild comfrey - Symphytum officinale,
and a modern hybrid know as - Comfrey – bocking 14. All of them have wound healing properties, but the creeping one I have not tried for wound healing yet. My feeling is that the deep rooted ones are the best to use.
There is another plant in this family with wound healing properties – Green alkanet - Pentaglottis sempervirens, but I am not sure how effective it is compaired to the other comfrey varieties.
The other main wound healer that I know of is -
Yarrow is the one to use if you don’t have comfrey. (or comfrey is the one to use if you don’t have yarrow,- yarrow is very effective.) It’s a very powerful wound healer.
To sum up this remedy :
1- clean the wound if dirty. (Use antiseptics - myrrh, rosemary, rose petals, sage, etc. Weeing/pissing on wounds in the wild is better for cleaning than using dubious unsterile waters…)
2- chew up the part of the plant (leaf of comfrey or yarrow, or root of comfrey) and stick it on the wound when fully chewed up. Hold it there with a bandage or some plantain leaves or other plant leaves which are strong. (new Zealand flax)
The wound (even deep cuts) should have stopped bleeding within 5 mins. If it hasn’t you probably ought to go to the hospital!
(there are many other plants with wound healing properties in the UK, these are just 2 very effective, tried and tested ones.)
Side effects from this remedy – Non experienced.
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Story 3 – Stings and burns – common ailments in the field…
the key things that I have tried for –
1 -- dealing with nettle stings – everyone knows about using docks, but the real magic plant to get rid of them is ribwort plantain. I have also heard of vinegar being used – good cider vinegar, or better still kombucha vinegar. Also try using crushed up nettles themselves – their own juice can be effective.
No side effects.
2 - Dealing with Insect bites –
the first thing I tried was to keep the insects away – Try:
2.1. – elder leaves – crush them up and rub them all over your skin. Its smell is off-putting to most insects.
If you are badly bitten by bees and wasps -
Burdock for bee stings – chew up the leaves and put on the sting. If you can’t find any burdock, remember that wasp stings are acid, so any gentle alkalizing substance may help.
Vinegar for wasp stings – cider vinegar works great.
Ribwort plantain for midge bites.
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3 - Dealing with sunburn –
again – preventative is the key – get gentle exposure in spring and autumn when the sun is not strong, evenings and morning sun is good. Gradually build up tolerance. This will prevent most sunburn, but for those of you who are very sensitive to sun burn, avoid combination of spending lots of time midsummer (may – july) mid day (10 – 3) times, getting your sun requirements (vit D) at more gentle times. Taking your self to your edge of tolerance to sun is important for absorbing plenty of vitamin D. You don’t get much vit D if any if you don’t spend good amounts of time in the sun.
If you have got badly sun burnt, here’s some remedies I have tried-
- 3.1 – ribwort plantain – chew up leaves, rub on.
- 3.2 – aloe vera – crush up, put fresh ‘gel’ from inner plant on the burn
- 3.3 – rubbing cut tomatoes on your sun burn can help .
Eating more green food, and fresh local organic produce seems to also help one to adapt to sun exposure.
4 – Skin burns - treat similar to sunburn.
4.1 – for minor burns ribwort plantain can generally help as well as aloe vera.
4.2 - egg white
Story 4 – Getting the digestion working...
Again, no real exciting stories here, but here’s a few points to remember –
1 – enzyme activity in the gut is the key to proper digestion and assimilation of food, - therefore- a certain amount of raw food in ones diet (especially raw fermented foods) helps enormously with all digestive problems. (A parallel is found in studying mycology – plants can only absorb nutrients if they have the right mycorrhizal associations in the soil around their roots which allow the plant to absorb nutrients.)
2
2.1 – digestive enzymes build up in the gut relative to what we are eating – put simply, our gut flora develops according to what we are eating. Therefore – we can’t change our diets immediately over night without suffering a bit! We need transition. We also need transition foods, which aid the transition of one diet to another. Seasonal eating (weekly and monthly variation, as opposed to daily variation created by access to non local or non season produce) works in harmony with the idea of gradual diet transition, and development of healthy gut flora, and consequently, proper assimilation of food.
(Rather than write a book about this huge subject area here’s a few magical plants and ingredients to try. Lets call them –
good enzyme rich foods – fermented foods which aid gut flora
1 – raw cider Vinegar – a teaspoon before meals, on salads, put in water and drunk. (other raw vinegars will help too).
2 – raw yogurts – bio active yogurts if you can’t get raw ones.
3 – kombucha tea
4 – kefir
5 - raw miso
6 – homemade alcohols (herbal beers, cider) without added sulphates – most shop bought alcohols have sulphates (preservatives) which negate most benefits of naturally fermented beverages.
7 – raw cheeses.
8 – Sauerkraut (anaerobically fermented cabbage )
9 – all raw and fermented foods – see book wild fermentation by Sandor Katz for more info.
A FEW HERBS THAT AID DIGESTION (there are thousands) –
Apiaceae family of plants – (many plants in this family have calming effects on the stomach)
1- Sweet cicely – flowers for tea, leaf- tea, salads or cook, inner stems – raw or cook/stir fry, roots – raw or cook. Unripe seeds- eat raw, or cook. effect – calming and soothing.
2- Wild Fennel (all fennels) – cicely – flowers for tea, leaf- tea, salads or cook, inner stems – raw or cook/stir fry, seeds- eat raw, or cook - effect – calming and soothing.
3- cow parsley - flowers for tea, leaf- tea, salads or cook, inner stems – raw or cook/stir fry, seeds- eat raw, or cook - effect – calming and soothing.
4- Parsley. Same as cow parsley.
5- Dill - same as cow parsley.
6- Coriander – leaf, flowers and seed. (seed traditionally fried in oil before cooking a meal)
7- Caraway – seeds, leaf, flowers.
8- Cumin . use leaf, seeds, flowers. - . (seed traditionally fried in oil before cooking a meal)
Other key herbs
Asteraceae family – these two below are often indicated for people with IBS - they are very calming and soothing- non aggressive ways of bringing fire back to digestion. Recommendation is to make tea with the flowers -
- chamomile – well known digestive aiding herb – aromatic, calming. Use flowers. (side effects, sleepiness.) (behind sweetness, bitter)
- Yarrow – like chamomile but more bitter and aromatic/pungent.
Hot herbs that activate (bring ‘fire’ to digestion) and get digestion moving -
brassicaceae family of plants – - many brassicas aid digestion, especially the seeds of the cabbage type plants (cabbage, mustard, kale, turnip etc)
Mustard – leaf and seed.
- Horseradish – leaf and root.
- Radish - root and leaf and seed.
Others
- Chili – (cayenne)
no side effects - all these herbs are safe to use regularly ( as special “foods”). (maybe chili could be the exception to this)
Dealing with intestinal parasites - an overview of vermifuges
I have a few times in the last 10 years had to do parasite cleanses. Put simply, I have seen little wriggly worms in my shit, and I need to get rid of them. Most people will get a case of worms once or twice in their life. As a kid its quite common.
Its actually a lot more pleasant and loads easier to just go to the chemists and buy a couple of pills, and take one one week and another in a week or so. But if you do wish to treat them herbally, these are the ones that I have used.
VERMIFUGES -
Tansy, The artemisia family- - Wormwood - southernwood - mugwort
cloves
other helpful ingredients - STRONG FLAVOURS - Raw garlic, Raw onion, Chili, Salt, horseradish, pepperwort,
and finally - Raw carrots
Method -
Eat strong flavoured foods (raw garlic, chili, salty things etc) that the worms won’t like, intermixed with gentle herb teas and grated carrot for a few days, and then drink a really strong cup of wormwood, may need to repeat dosage. - aim is to drink it strong enough to kill the worms off, then drink a strong cup the next morning of senna tea - Senna is a powerful laxative, and will flush out your guts in a few hours. this will clear any left over eggs, and worms that won’t have been killed by the tea. Keep consuming a few strong flavoured foods and the odd vermifuge tea to make sure they are fully gone. Inspect shit regularly over next week to make sure they have not come back.
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A brief overview of digestive treatments -
- stomach ache - IBS - calming herbs- aromatics (and bitters)- , camomile, yarrow, fenel, mint,
- Weak digestion - Strong bitters, - calamus root, dandelion, elecampane root, astringents - blackberry leaf, rose leaf and flower, and hot - brassicas- horseradish - - depending on the body type, and the sensitivity, and season - mint,
- Diarrhea - astringents (astringents are drying), usually combined with some other plant which will either be used to kick start digestion, or rebuild enzyme activity, or both - oak (tannins) - all parts, (depending on the season - acorns autmn, leaf in spring, bark in winter ) - blackberry leaf, nettle, sweet chestnuts - pith of seed, self heal, apple, lemon .. then bitters, or spices, and/or yoghurt, cider vinegar (astringent and sour), meadowsweet, agrimony,. Red wine. herbal beers.
- constipation - nettle, blackberry - the fruit - fruits in general, exercise. yoghurt. avoid drying foods. sour foods. Mild laxatives -dandelion- leaf and root, Rhubarb, chic weed, sorrel, dock, yogurt. Strong laxatives - senna
Story 5 – Toothache and tooth cleaning...
Having spent a few years with sensitive teeth (when I was on a raw food diet) I decided to look into how to look after my teeth better from a preventative perspective. Having spoke to a number of dentists about how to look after my teeth by looking at what I ate, I became convinced that most tooth problems stem from what we eat, and not weather we brush them or not.
I cured my sensitive teeth by –
1- cutting down on acidic foods –sour citrus, sour apples, sour fruits in general (kiwis, berries etc).
2- cutting down on sugars – both refined sugars and fruit sugars,
3- cutting down on processed food – refined foods – white flour, refined oils,
4- eating a mineral rich diet – plenty of organic local vegetables , cooked and raw. Especially greens.
5- Increasing the amount of animal products – dairy- cheese and yogurt, meats – fish and other meats.
6- Remembering to clean my mouth/ remove acidity of foods after eating meals.
Yet brushing is still important …
Things I have used to brush my teeth with (as opposed to plastic tooth brushes) –
1- mizwak – still my favourite by a long way.
2- Liquorish sticks
3- small/thin sticks from these trees – apple, alder, hawthorn, oak, willow.
Side effects - if using tree sticks from the trees, watch for overdoing tannins - potential off oak, alder, in particular.
Things I have used to clean my teeth with (breath fresheners, things which help mouth and gum hygiene and make your mouth feel clean) -
1- Salt. This has to be the number one tooth cleaner.
2- Charcoal.
3- Sage leaf – All varieties (makes your mouth feel clean)
4- Cinnamon stick (chew them)
5- Fenel leaf and seed and stem
6- Tarragon leaf
7- Winter and summer savory
8- Tansy
9- Southern wood
10- Hyssop
11- Mint (all varieties – esp the peppermints )
Side effects - all safe other than - if using tansy or southern wood these are powerful vermifuges, so don’t take too much.
Recipe for making your own toothpowder
1 – powder up sea salt to as fine a powder as you can –pestle and mortar.
2– get some charcoal from the fire, from a non toxic wood, like apple, oak, willow, etc. and powder this up too, to as fine a charcoal powder as you can. (the finer the better. If its not a powder it wont work nearly as well)
3- mix these two together in equal parts.
That’s it.
You can add ground up fenel seeds to a powder as well, or powdered sage leaf, or powdered cinnamon,. These are the potential added ingredients. You could experiment.
USE – rub it on to your teeth with your finger or tooth brush/brush stick, and brush it/ rub it around. It will make your teeth feel really clean. Wash it out with water. Spit it out.
Weak gums - Treating bleeding gums –
- I have yet to find a good herbal way to treat this problem, the best thing I have found is simply regular brushing and most of all flossing. If people know any plants that have a strong effect on strengthening gums I’d love to know.
Toothache. (can be partly dealt with on story of painkillers)
Try using analgesics –
1 – cloves – chew on in place where ache is, or Clove oil, dab on place where pain is. Has numbing effect
2 – raw garlic – chew on where it hurts.
3 – meadow sweet ,
4 – willow leaves or willow bark
side effects - mild from willow bark - see link.
Story 6 – general skin problems...
I have treated my self for spots and fungal skin infections successfully. These conditions are prone to returning so I often have to retreat myself.
Key points about skin –
My skin condition is very affected by what I eat.
I find that if I eat too much man made trans fats, and hydrogenated fats, my skin immediately suffers with spots – sometimes within hours. So, my first point is to cut out man made trans fats and hydrogenated fats. these man-made fats are produced when liquid vegetable oils are turned into solid fats through a process of hydrogenation. Food manufacturers have been using them for over 100 years to give their baked products a longer shelf life. They can also result from the re-use of vegetable oils for frying. Most trans fats in people's diets come from processed foods such as biscuits, cereals, cakes, pastries, chips, potato products and savoury snacks, but also margarine and cheap mass produced oils.
Its important to get clean, unrefined, cold pressed oils into your diet to have a good skin. These are – olive oil, sunflower oil, flax oil, hemp oil, sesame oil, walnut, etc.
Animal fats are ok, and don’t have a bad effect on my skin, provided I don’t heat them too much. (baked cheese and fried cheese is not so good but raw cheese is fine.) I can eat plenty of butter and ghee and cheese without these effects. Fats from meats (for me) are ok as well, provided that they are not reheated ones. (lard).
Treating fungal skin infections - candida related infections-
I have been treating fungal related infections in my groin area for years. It can recur easily if I don’t pay attention to these key points
1 – diet- keep low on sugar (including fruit sugars), and refined foods.
2- plenty of aeration and sunlight – nakedness/direct exposure to sunlight is good. (funguses like damp dark places)
3- Eating antifungal and antibacterial plants regularly can help over a long period of time.
3.1 – allium family – onions, garlic, leeks, wild onions, chives , etc.
3.2 – Aromatics – sage, rosemary, thyme,
3.3 – wild mushrooms (all mushrooms have some antifungal qualities - this is partly how they survive in completion with other mushrooms for growing media. (decaying organic matter))
3.4 – propolis – (propolis - bee ‘glue’ - has powerful anti fungal, anti bacterial qualities.)
3.5 – resins- myrrh, frankincense, plus many more, have antifungal properties.
3.6 – cider vinegar added to diet daily helps. (3 tablespoons min every day.). Vinegars in general help. (antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial)
4 – washing in antifungal substances- minerals, plants, resins, etc.
4.1 – – Salt. – bathing in Epsom salts regularly helps a lot. (adding vinegar to the bath can help too.)
4.2 – grapefruit seed extract (citricidal), is a powerful anti fungal. Put in baths.
4.3 – lavender (The Romans called it lavender which may have come from the Latin verb “lavare” which means “to wash” or from the word “livendulo” which means “livid or bluish”.) has powerful antifungal properties. Washing in this, putting in baths (essential oil).
4.4 – tea tree oil
5 - Urine
Urine has a very good effect on the skin. –
Taken from - http://health.amuchbetterway.com/urine-therapy-benefits-and-uses/
Urine consists of urea, which is an antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral agent. Urea is produced when the body tries to balance the ratio of sodium chloride with water. Because of its ability to kill bacteria and limit inflammation, urea is often used in ointments and lotions.
For external application, new or old urine can be used. Since older urine has a higher concentration of ammonia, it is more effective against skin diseases and rashes. To make the urine old, it should be stored in a dark bottle and closed tightly and kept away from the sun for 3-4 days. A small amount of the solution is applied directly on the skin. It can also be sprayed on the skin or added to skin lotions, cream or moisturizers. Doctors advise against the use of soap immediately after applying urine on the skin.
5 – Aloe vera has a beneficial use for the skin. Crush up the leaves and put them on the skin.
Story 7 - fertility - aphrodisiacs...
As a guy I can only speak for my own experience. Having never suffered from impotence (yet!) I can’t claim to have healed this illness, but from having tried many herbs and plants, I am fairly convinced that some plants have definite effects on increasing (and decreasing) my libido.
Here are my main discoveries -
There are two basic approaches to increasing sexual energy from a physical perspective: nutrition; improving general diet, and herbal medicine; specific tonics and herbal aphrodisiacs.
basic Nutrition - practices that seem to increase sexual energy (in my experience as a guy) –
2=
1.1 – try to eat only ‘organic’ food (organic needs defining here as a relative and not absolute term)
1.2 - vitamin E consumption is closely related to semen production. Vitamin E is found in many seeds and fatty foods - raw unrefined oils and all nuts and seeds, animal foods and whole grains. Olive oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, butter, ghee, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, etc, fish (oily fish best), meats , cheeses, dairy products.
1.3 - increase fiber in ones diet. This basically means – eat whole grains, and plenty of fruit and vegetables.
1.4 – regular exercise and routine.
Basic Herbs - the Special herbs and foods that seem to increase sexual energy (in my experience as a guy) –
2.0 - Honey and Mead - traditional food and drink to consume on honey moons (a months worth of mead was given to drink on honeymoons to ensure conception - hence why they are called honey moons)
2.1 – allium family – garlic, onions, leeks etc.
2.2 – many naturally fermented foods – miso, sauerkraut, herbal beers, cheese
2.3 - roots- ginseng, ashwaganda, maca, dandelion
2.4 – flowers – cannabis. All flowers that contain pollen and nectar – high nutritional properties. Sympathetic magic – flowers are the sexual organs of the plants.
2.5 - leaves – spicy leaves, (mustards), ginkgo biloba (circulatory herb), nettles, cannabis, yarrow, fennel, sweet cicely, (many of the apiaceae family), bitter flavours.
2.6 - seeds - cacao (chocolate),
Story 8 – coughs...
Most coughs are caused by viral infections. So it is vital to try and boost the immune system, in order to deal with them. Still, here is a home remedy that will ease a throaty dry cough.
MAKING COUGH SYRUP
I made some cough syrup using ribwort plantain leaves. heres what i did.
I chopped up lots of leaves with a knife
Got a clean jar
Put a layer of plantain leaves at the bottom of the jar and sprinkled with sugar
Put another layer of plantain leaves at the bottom of the jar and sprinkled with sugar
Keep putting layers of plantain leaves in the jar and keep sprinkling with sugar...and keep going until the jar is full, cramming the leaves in, pushing them down firm and making sure there is no air in. (similar process to making sauerkraut with salt - osmosis process draws water out of the leaves and into the sugar)
(i used rapidura sugar- its a very unrefined sugar, mineral rich, and good healthy sugar.)
In a few days all the moisture had come out of the leaves and into the jar. It was sweet plantain tasting syrup. I used this to help sooth the cough.
This process could be repeated with many different herbs I feel.
Leave this for at few hours minimum, before using. It will keep for up to 4/5 weeks. It will start to ferment if left for a long time.
Side effects - non.
Other useful herbs in dealing with coughs-
meadow sweet (mild analgesic – pain killer)
sage
Salt,
coltsfoot,
mullein,
self heal,
cleavers,
wild garlic, (allium),
Story 9 – Heartache...
In 2008/9 I began to feel a tightness in my heart area. I ignored it for many months, thinking that It would cure itself if I just looked after myself, but it didn’t go away, and began to feel more painful. So I decided to go and see a specialist and get some external help.
I went to visit a herbalist called Robyn James (NIMH) and after an hour consultation, (and a visit to my GP on her recommendation) she prescribed to me two herbs – Motherwort and Lime flowers. Robyn also recommended growing motherwort, as growing the plant can help with healing processes.
Motherwort is a heart herb. It is very bitter. It has a calming effect on the heart, body and mind. It is quite subtle, but also seems to work on an emotional level. (It is called motherwort because of its traditional use post pregnancy but I cannot talk about that experience). My experience of motherwort is that it can help increase one's sensitivity to one's feelings and emotions. It helped to put me in touch with my feelings, and so I was able to change and work with the roots of where these feelings were coming from.
Lime flowers also have a calming effect and help the emotions to flow.
I would not recommend this as a ‘simple remedy’ for all heart problems, as it was a specific medicine perscribed for me, and me as a whole person. Serious heart conditions should always be checked out by a GP. If there is however a strong emotional context for an illness in the heart, like a heart ache, the combination of motherwort and lime flowers may be a helpful tonic to such a condition. I would recommend going to see professional experienced herbalists for unusual problems that GP’s and other medical practitioners find difficult to treat.
Story 10 – Fighting off colds and flu...
Sometimes we need to get ill. We can’t always avoid it. At seasonal changes people often get ill, with colds and flus in response to the changing environmental conditions. Spring and Autumn are common times to get ill with viral infections. Our bodies get over them, but its still a pain and frustration while we’ve got them. And some people recover quicker than others. Here’s a few steps in the direction to give you some tips as to how to speed up recovery times, and lessen the blow of these seasonal illnesses from a herbal perspective.
Its worth knowing a few natural antibiotics and have them in your home remedy box.
I was at my parents this spring when I came down with the worst flu I had had in about 10 years. I was completely knocked out, unable to get out of bed other than to go to the toilet, no appetite, headache, cough, unable to sleep, aching all over. It was bad.
I didn’t have much access to my usual medical pharmacopoeia, but I did have lots of dried sage. I made very strong decoctions of dried sage and drank it regularly every day. This really helped me.
– natural antibiotics -
The Top 15 Antibiotic Herbs - taken from Herbal Antibiotics - Stephen Harrod Buhner
Acacia
Aloe
Cryptolepsis
Echinacea
Eucalyptus
Garlic
Ginger
Goldenseal
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Honey
Juniper Licorice
Sage
Usnea Wormwood
Cannabis -
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5787866&page=1#.Ua_Gdev1s8I