Healing Herbs

History and Traditions in Herbal Healing

The use of medicinal herbs is probably as old as humankind. When humans first appeared on this earth, the planet was already covered by an infinite variety of plant life. It is natural to assume that plants were not only eaten for food but were also used as a source of medicine. Although written and pictorial records of herbalism cover no more than the past 5,000 to 6,000 years, archeological records clearly show that the knowledge and practice of herbal medicine was highly developed long before the earliest written accounts known to us were made. The most ancient records come from Asia where advanced cultures flourished early on.

Chinese Herbalism

The origins of Chinese medicine are obscured in mythology. It is said that about 3,000 years ago Emperor Shen Nong, the 'divine cultivator,' invented agriculture and left an oral or written account of 239 medicinal herbs.The real founding father of Chinese medicine is the Yellow Emperor. Although he is thought to have lived around 2500 BC, the Nei Jing, his famous herbal, is dated to only 1000 BC; the reason for this may be that the Emperor's original text was copied at a later date. The Nei Jing is still used and studied by practitioners today and although much has been added, very little has been removed. By the nineteenth century, Western missionary hospitals started to provide a strong alternative to the traditional practice of Chinese medicine. Traditional medicine endured, but did not become a national standard system until the 1960s when Mao Zedong opened five colleges of traditional Chinese medicine. In today's China, modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are practiced side by side. Western-trained and traditional physicians often examine the same patient, consult with each other and agree on a total course of treatment.

In Chinese medicine, illness implies that the balance within the whole system has been disturbed. Healing always means restoring balance and harmony to the body, allowing it to heal itself. Herbs are central to Chinese medicine, supported by acupuncture and massage.

Chinese medicines are classified and divided into three categories: superior, middle and inferior. Interestingly, inferior medicines are those that are considered most valuable in orthodox Western medicine: they are the drugs which affect a single complaint or disease. Western medicine is always looking for exactly this type of medicine, the 'magic bullet,' to cure singular conditions such as cancer, diabetes or arthritis. Middle medicines in Chinese practice are those that strengthen broad body systems and functions. Superior medicines, finally, are those that work for anything, strengthening all body systems and making them immune to assault. In contrast, Western medicine usually distrusts drugs with such universal applications and tends to relegate them as quackery.

One of the most basic principles in Chinese medicine is the idea of yin and yang, the philosophy of opposites and balance. According to this philosophy, everything in the universe is balanced by its own polar opposite. Yin is seen as female, dark and cold, while yang is male, light and hot. In Chinese practice, many illnesses can be explained by an imbalance of yin and yang, which are also related to different parts of the body.

Another fundamental concept is the philosophy of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, also called the Five Phase Theory. Each of the five elements is closely related to two (yin and yang) body organs. Yin organs are the more solid ones, like the kidneys, and yang organs are the hollow ones with substances merely passing through, like the bladder. Here is a list of the five elements and their relationship to body organs:

Fire: heart (yin) and small intestine (yang)

Earth: spleen (yin) and stomach (yang)

Metal: lungs (yin) and large intestine (yang)

Water: kidneys (yin) and bladder (yang)

Wood: liver (yin) and gall-bladder (yang)

Central to the Five Phase Theory is the idea that the five elements either help or hinder one another and that, accordingly, the organs also support or obstruct each other. Thus, wood encourages fire, fire resolves to earth, earth yields up metal, metal produces water (i.e., condensation on a cold metal surface) and water gives birth to wood (by encouraging plant growth). Chinese practitioners often look at related elements to determine the origins of an illness. Following the principle that water encourages wood, a weak liver (wood), for example, could be due to problems with the kidneys (water).

Besides the connection with body organs, each of the five elements has a whole range of additional associations, from emotions to colors, tastes, the seasons, body parts and, of course, herbs. Wood, for example is related to spring, the color green, a sour taste, angry emotions, the liver and gall-bladder, and the tendons and eyes. Sour herbs include Cornus officinalis (shan zhu yu) and Schisandra chinensis (wu wei zi). Similar associations apply to the other four elements.

Another basic principle is the idea that herbs are either hot or cold (heating or cooling). The five tastes associated with the five elements can be categorized as either hot or cold. Pungent and sweet tastes are heating, while sour, bitter and salty tastes are cooling. Some herbs combine all five tastes. Schisandra berries for example, translates as 'five-taste fruit.' Hot herbs affect the upper and exterior parts of the body, since heat rises or floats. Cool herbs are more effective for the lower parts and the interior of the body. To treat arthritis, for example, qiang huo, a hot herb, is added to the mixture if the pain is in the shoulders and arms, while the cold herb du huo is used when the pain affects the hips and knees. If the whole body is involved, both herbs are used together. When herbs are described in Chinese herbals, the description always includes taste, temperature and affected organs.

Qi (pronounced 'chee') is the vital energy in the body, the central healing life force. It is the foundation of all traditional Chinese treatments, including acupuncture. It is important for a person's health that Qi should flow freely through the body via the so-called meridians.

The meridians are pathways along the body's surface and through the internal organs. Each meridian is named after the organ it flows through: liver meridian, heart meridian and so on. If a meridian is blocked, illness may soon result, affecting the corresponding organ. Conversely, an organ can be treated by treating and unblocking its meridian. Proper flow of Qi is stimulated through the use of certain herbs and through acupuncture, massage and special exercises, such as Tai Chi. Restoring the free flow of energy is synonymous with restoring the body's balance and health. Meridians have been studied scientifically in the United States (US). When Richard Nixon returned from his trip to China, he asked the National Institute of Health (NIH) to fund some studies on Chinese medicine. A study on meridians was conducted by orthopedic surgeon and bio-medical electronics expert Robert Becker. Becker was surprised to find that all the meridian lines he looked at moved electrical current much more smoothly than other body pathways. Becker's results were published in the Journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the most prestigious journal of its kind.

When Chinese herbs are prescribed, they are usually given in standard combinations or formulas. Experienced herbalists can slightly adjust and individualize any of the thousands of traditional formulas. Formulas might include as few as two herbs or as many as twenty. As in traditional Western herbalism, the interaction between herbs is thought to be as important as their individual effect. Herbs are prescribed in the form of pills, powders or teas. There is also a type of herbal soup the patient cooks at home in a special earthenware pot. Herbs are sometimes cooked with rice to produce a therapeutic meal.

Western medicine has adopted the use of many medicinal plants from China, including rhubarb, camphor, ephedra, licorice and ginseng.

Egyptian Herbalism

Western medicine owes much to the ancient civilization of Egypt. In 1874, in the Valley of the Tombs near Luxor, the world's oldest surviving medical record was found. The sixty-five-page Ebers Papyrus (named after its discoverer, German Egyptologist Georg Ebers) dates from 1500 BC and records more than one thousand years of medical knowledge. The Papyrus lists 876 herbal remedies derived from over five hundred different plants. Of these plants, one-third are used in herbal medicine to this day. One of its recommendations was to bandage moldy bread over wounds to prevent infection. Modern antibiotics like penicillin are, of course, based on mould.

Two of the most frequently used plants in Egyptian medicine were onions and garlic. Egyptians believed that these plants prevented disease and strengthened the body's systems. Because of their liberal consumption of onions and garlic, Egyptians were called 'the stinking ones' by the Greek historian Herodotus. Garlic was deemed so important that cloves of it were buried with the kings inside the ancient tombs.

Around 500 BC, Egyptian herbalism reached its zenith. Egyptian medicine was so respected that the rulers of Rome and Babylon invited Egyptian healers to their courts. Aspiring healers from Greece and Rome, among them Galen, went to Egypt to study with the masters. Thus, Egyptian herbal healing exerted considerable influence on the traditions of Western medicine.

Greek Herbalism

Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine, represents the mystic side of healing, which is found in medical traditions all over the world. The divine healer is usually pictured as a bearded man, dressed in a coat, leaning on a staff with a snake curling around it. This staff is still used as a symbol in modern medicine and pharmacology. The worship of Aesculapius signifies that medicine is more than a science and that healing depends as much on belief and the mobilizing of inner powers as on the treatment being administered.

Hippocrates (460-377 BC) is known as the founding father of medicine. Graduating doctors at many medical schools today still take the Hippocratic oath. Hippocrates is revered for the way he combined scientific thinking, close observation, genuine caring for his patients and high ethical standards. He had a detailed knowledge of herbs, describing 236 of them, all of which he personally tested and found effective. He also gave precise instructions for herb collecting, pointing out the importance of growing area and weather. He categorized all foods and herbs by four basic qualities:

hot (including sweet grapes, mustard and watercress);

cold (including sour wine, vinegar and flax seed);

damp (including hemp);

dry (including sage).

The qualities were also related to the four body fluids of phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile. Good health was achieved by keeping the system in balance and by getting plenty of fresh air and exercise. Like Chinese practitioners, Hippocrates believed that the body will cure itself when balance is restored. Hippocrates' theories were later extensively developed by the Roman physician Galen.

Roman Herbalism

Greek medical theories reached Rome about 100 BC. Most Roman herbology is founded on ideas taken from Greece.

Around AD 70, Pedanius Dioscorides, who is thought to have been physician to Antony and Cleopatra, wrote his influential five-volume treatise De Materia Medica, which became a classic. Dioscorides was a Greek born in Turkey who chose to serve the Roman Empire, where he rose to considerable fame. Dioscorides' work retained its enormous influence for over 1,500 years; after the invention of the printing press, it was one of the first books printed. All medieval European herbology, in one way or another, goes back to Dioscorides. His writings described six hundred medicinal plants, grouping them by character, such as 'aromatic' or 'pungent,' and by appearance or part, such as 'roots' or 'herbs.' His instructions for collecting herbs were even more detailed than those of Hippocrates. He described in detail when to collect blossoms, leaves, stems and roots, and when to prepare herbal remedies, such as plant juices. Of the plants he discussed, ninety are still in use today.

Over time, Roman theories of healing became more mechanistic, viewing the body as a machine to be repaired rather than a balanced organism capable of healing itself. In Rome, medicine became a flourishing business with a lucrative system of complex and expensive remedies.

This practice was opposed by Galenus (AD 131-199), court physician to Marcus Aurelius. Galen reworked many of Hippocrates' theories and formalized the principle of humors. His writings soon became the standard for physicians, just as the writings of Dioscorides became the standard texts for pharmacists. Galen's theories survived more than a century, not only with Roman but also with Arab and medieval European physicians. Galen's teachings still survive in East Indian Unani medicine and Galenic pharmacy today. The expression 'galenic preparation,' meaning pure preparation, is derived from his name.

Galen wrote extensively about the relationship between the four elements (water, air, fire and earth); the four humors (phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile); Hippocrates' qualities of damp, dry, hot and cold; and the four temperaments or personalities (phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric and melancholic). All these theories had been touched upon by Hippocrates, but were systematized and made more accessible by Galen.

Of the elements, water is related to phlegm, a phlegmatic temperament, the winter season and the qualities of cold and damp. Typical illnesses include phlegm and chest problems. Warm, dry herbs such as thyme and hyssop are used to restore balance and clear up phlegm. The element of air is related to blood, a sanguine temperament, the spring season and the qualities of hot and damp. Galen thinks of the sanguine temperament as the ideal personality, good-humored and amusing. However, due to overindulgence, gout and diarrhea can be frequent illnesses. Cool dry herbs such as figwort and burdock are required to restore balance. The element of fire is related to yellow bile, a choleric temperament, the summer season and the qualities of hot and dry. The choleric temperament is associated with a bad temper and liver disorders. Cool, moist plants such as rhubarb, violets and dandelion are required to clear up yellow bile. The element of earth is related to black bile, a melancholic temperament, the fall season and the qualities of cold and dry. Typical complaints include constipation, depression and gloom. Hot, damp herbs such as senna and hellebore are used to clear the black bile and restore balance.

Islamic Herbalism

When Rome fell in the fifth century, the center of classical learning moved east, and Arab countries absorbed the massive body of Rome's accumulated knowledge. Learning was now centered in Persia and Constantinople. Galenic medicine was enthusiastically adopted and merged with both folk medicine and Egyptian traditions. This mixture of practices, interwoven with ideas of alchemistry, was then imported back into Europe by traders and invading armies. The most famous Arab physician was Ibn Sina, also called Avicenna (AD 980-1037). He was especially knowledgeable in tropical medicinal herbs. His influential work Kitah al-Qanun (Canon of Medicine) was firmly based on Galen's principles. By the twelfth century, the canon had been translated into Latin and brought back to the West, where it became one of the leading text books in the early medical schools.

East Indian Herbalism

India's herbal tradition is almost as old as that of China. India developed its own practice of medicine, called the Ayurveda (meaning science of life). This practice was developed from the Vedas, India's four books of ancient wisdom. The oldest book, the Rig Veda, dating back to around 2500 BC, contains amazingly detailed descriptions of amputations and eye surgery. There are also herbal formulas derived from sixty-seven different healing herbs, among them senna, ginger and cinnamon. One of the herbs described in the Rig Veda, snakeroot (Rauwolfia serpentina), contains an active ingredient, reserpine, which is still used in modern medicine to control high blood pressure.

Throughout the centuries, successive invaders added new herbal practices to Indian medicine. Major influences came from the Persians in 500 BC and from the Mongols in the fourteenth century. The latter carried with them the medical knowledge of Galen and Avicenna (which became known as Unani). In the nineteenth century, the British brought Western medicine to India with a vengeance, closing all Ayurvedic schools in 1833. Luckily, the ancient knowledge survived. Today, an estimated seventy percent of Indians and Pakistani still consult Ayurvedic physicians and use the healing herbs prescribed by them.

Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes that good health is the responsibility of each individual. As in Greek, Chinese and Galenic medicine, illness is believed to arise from an imbalance. Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes holistic treatment, combining appropriate remedies for the body, mind and spirit. This can include diet, herbs, light, fresh air, physical exercises, sensual pleasures and meditation.

As in Greek and Chinese medicine, the individual is linked to the cosmos. At the centre of Ayurvedic belief are three primal forces: prana, the breath of life; agni, the spirit of fire and light; and soma, the spirit of harmony and love. There are also five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether (a nebulous nothingness that fills all spaces. Ether was also known in ancient Greece).

The five elements are converted by agni, the digestive fire, into three waste products, or humors, which influence health and temperament. The first humor, vata (wind), is produced by air and ether. The second humor, pitta (bile), results from fire. The third and final humor, kapha (phlegm), is produced by earth and water. Humors also control the three temperaments. Vata resembles Galen's melancholic personality; pitta is close to the choleric temperament; and kapha matches the phlegmatic type.

Tastes are also extremely important. Foods can be categorized according to six tastes. These act on the body to increase or decrease the three humors. If food intake overemphasizes any of the three humors, the body will become imbalanced and illness may follow. A good diet should contain a mixture of all six tastes. In case of an illness, one or the other taste can temporarily be stressed to restore balance. The correct combination of tastes is considered so important for proper growth and development that herbal formulas or pills containing the six tastes are given to children on a regular basis.

A sweet taste (sweet potato, cashew nuts, rice) increases body fluids, especially milk and semen, and reduces toxins related to pitta. Sweet tastes should be avoided if there is an excess of kapha as in colds and certain rheumatic complaints. A sour taste (spinach, lemon, cranberry) reduces vata and increases kapha and pitta. Sour foods stimulate the digestion. Overemphasis results in muscle weakness and ailments related to excess pitta, such as ulcers and liver disorders. A salty taste (seaweed, mineral salts) increases pitta and kapha. Salty foods help retain fluids and clean the body's ducts, loosening toxins by attracting water. Salty foods are used as expectorants. Overemphasis can result in premature aging, impotence or skin problems. A pungent taste (basil, horseradish, cloves) increases vata and pitta and reduces kapha. Pungent foods are stimulating and warming, relieving colds, lethargy, depression and obesity. An excess can lead to burning sensations, thirst, and nervous exhaustion. A bitter taste (turmeric, artichoke, Belgian endive) increases vata, while reducing pitta and kapha. Bitter foods stimulate the digestion, absorb phlegm and cleanse digestive toxins; they are useful for fevers and skin disease. An astringent taste (dried strawberry leaves, sage, bilberries) increases vata and decreases pitta and kapha. Astringent foods are drying; they are used for heavy menstruation and diarrhea. An excess of astringent foods is overdrying, leading to constipation and stiff joints.

An example of Ayurvedic treatment could be a health problem associated with kapha, or excess phlegm (i.e., mucus, edema or water retention). It would be treated by taking foods that are considered warm, light and dry; by fasting; and by avoiding cold drinks. Herbal medicines for phlegm include hot spices, such as cayenne and cinnamon; pungent herbs, such as saffron; bitters, such as aloe and turmeric; and stimulating, astringent herbs, such as gotu kola and myrrh. All of these are believed to dry excess water or mucus. Phlegm is treated with pungent and bitter tastes, while sweet, salty and sour flavors are avoided. A complete treatment might also include a massage with warm herbal oil, such as eucalyptus, and the burning of pungent incense. The affected person is encouraged to wear bright colors of red and yellow.

In addition to elements and humors, Ayurvedic medicine stresses the importance of chakras (energy centers) in the body. The chakras follow a straight line down the center of the body from the crown of the head to the base of the torso. Ayurvedic practitioners link the chakras to various organs and glands. Chakras can be stimulated by using associated herbs externally or internally.

European Herbalism

Archeological digs of ancient European graves have yielded such finds as poppy seeds, flax seeds, juniper berries and fern, showing that these plants and herbs were held in high regard.

First records date from the court of Charlemagne (AD 742-814) whose Capitulare de Villis detailed seventy medicinal herbs he wished to have planted by his own gardeners, every monastery and, in fact, all his subjects 'for the benefit of the nation.' Around AD 820, at the St. Gallen monastery in Switzerland, sixteen beds of medicinal plants were prepared according to Charlemagne's instructions. Favorite herbs were summer savory, sweet clover, mint, lilies, roses, rosemary, fennel, caraway and sage, all known for their medicinal properties. Around the same time, Walafried Strabo (AD 809-849), abbot of the Reichenau monastery in Germany, wrote a gardening book Liber de cultura hortorum which included a description of twenty-three medicinal herbs.

Europe's oldest surviving book dedicated completely to herbs is the Anglo-Saxon The Leech Book of Bald, dating from the early tenth century and including remedies sent by the Patriarch of Jerusalem to King Alfred. The herbal contains a mixture of facts and myths. Many diseases, especially sudden wasting illnesses, are said to be caused by 'flying venom' or 'elfshot.' Favorite herbs, such as wood betony, vervain, mugwort, plantain and yarrow, were taken internally but were even more often worn as amulets to ward off the 'evil eye.'

Although medical schools spread throughout Europe (with the most famous one founded in Salerno, Italy, in the early part of the tenth century), healing and herbalism remained largely in the hands of the monasteries. Throughout the Middle Ages, monasteries cultivated ever-expanding herb gardens and considered tending to the sick to be a part of their Christian duty. Prayer was as much included in healing as the use of herbal medicine.

One of the greatest healers in early Europe was Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), abbess of the Benedictine convent in Bingen, Germany. She has been declared a saint by the Catholic church. The writings and music of this remarkable healer have recently become popular in North America. Von Bingen was a learned woman who left three major works, one of which was her De Causae et Curae (Causes and Cures), which includes descriptions of healing plants, combining her own experience as a healer with German herbal folklore. Von Bingen was unique in her day because she wrote her own herbal books when everyone else was content to simply copy from the masters. Her recommended treatments, mostly of plant origin, include sixty-two fever remedies, seventy-nine heart remedies and ninety-nine remedies for arthritis.

If von Bingen had practiced and taught between 1300 and 1650 instead of the twelfth century, she would probably have been burnt as a witch. Three hundred and fifty years of witch hunts in Europe and North America have been explained by some modern historians as the outcome of a power struggle. Medicine had emerged from the monasteries and had become secularized, with men dominating the field. Accusing women of witchcraft served to eliminate the competition of the 'wise women' whose knowledge of healing had given them positions of power. If this explanation sounds too much like twentieth century thinking, consider the power struggle of orthodox physicians at the time of Henry VIII who attempted to gain total control over medicine by pushing out all herbal practitioners.

Towards the fifteenth century, herbalism became increasingly popular through the advancement of scientific thought and the advent of new inventions and discoveries. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Master Ion Gardener of England wrote his practical text The Feate of Gardening, a set of instructions on the cultivation and grafting of herbs. His work went beyond folklore, providing a scientific base for the serious herb gardener.

The invention of the Gutenberg press in 1440 opened a floodgate of writings about medicinal herbs. Around 1500, German physician and ex-monk Otto Brunfels (circa 1484-1534) created the first pictorial herbal by adding life-sized woodcuts to his work of three volumes.

In 1543, Italian physician Petrus Andreas Mattioli (1501-1577) published the most successful herbal of his day. Written in the vernacular rather than in Latin, the work became vastly popular. It was translated into four languages and reissued sixty times. Like many less known contemporaries, Mattioli tried to restore medicine to its origins. Due to the Arabic influence with its alchemist component, many of the old texts had become distorted. Mattioli's book was a commentary on Dioscorides' Materia Medica. Mattioli removed all falsifications and brought the work up to date, adding rich detail from his own vast knowledge of healing herbs. He enlarged the Materia Medica by four hundred plants (mostly from the Alpine region) which had never been described before. Mattioli's work influenced medicine and botany for centuries and formed the foundation for many other herbals.

The leading medical personality at the threshold from the Middle Ages to modern times was the great Swiss physician Philippus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, who became famous under the name of Paracelsus (1493-1541). He revolutionized European attitudes toward healthcare, lecturing in German rather than in Latin. Paracelsus thought of most apothecaries and physicians as crooked quacks, intent on fleecing the public. He condemned the complex and often lethal purgatives and emetics commonly prescribed by contemporary doctors and advocated a return to simpler medicine. Paracelsus looked for the 'spirit and soul' in everything and saw healing in a holistic context, as part of a unified cosmos. He stressed the use of local herbs, believing that 'for every illness, there grows an herb.' Paracelsus is also known for his doctrine of signatures, which is part science, part mysticism. The doctrine teaches that the outward appearance of a plant provides clues to its medicinal usefulness. Thus, heart ailments are helped by plants with heart-shaped leaves, while jaundice and other liver ailments benefit from plants with yellow juices. Walnuts and nutmeg, shaped like tiny brains, are said to be useful for mental function. This doctrine was vastly popular with the common people because it seemed to reveal to them the healing secrets of nature. Even today, the doctrine may be encountered with some healers. While the theory is surprisingly accurate for some plants, modern pharmacology has never been able to substantiate others. On the whole, Paracelsus was a true reformer who tried to free medicine from fraudulent and dangerous practices and make its 'spirit' accessible again to the common people. (For more on Paracelsus see Section 2, History of Natural Health.)

In England, physician and herbalist William Turner was the first to follow in Paracelsus' footsteps and write in the English vernacular, so that 'apothecaries and old wives that gather herbs' could understand the Latin names in doctors' prescriptions and would not put 'many a good man by ignorance in jeopardy of his life.'

Most herbals written during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries contained less mysticism than the earlier ones and paid more attention to the botanical characteristics of plants. Within a period of about fifty years, three major herbals were published in England, by Gerard (1597), Parkinson (1640) and Culpeper (1652). Herbals were now profusely illustrated. Gerard, for example, described and pictured ten different types of medicinal calendula alone. Unfortunately, Gerard's Great Herbal or History of Plants had problems with accuracy, confusing the reader by misplacing illustrations. It was remarkable, however, that all these herbals were written in English, which made herbal knowledge accessible to the common people, while physicians were trying to take over the whole of medicine.

In 1629 and 1640 respectively, John Parkinson published a set of books that changed the entire face of herbalism. Paradisi Sole Paradisus Terrestris and Theatrum Botanicum are often considered the greatest English books on herbs ever written. The author describes more than three thousand plants. Unlike earlier texts, his works combine history, horticulture, botany and pharmacology all in one place. Parkinson is also the first writer to make a serious attempt at botanical classification, dividing plants into families and classes.

Although not as all-encompassing in his writings as John Parkinson, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) was the most popular English herbalist of all time. Culpeper was an aristocrat who had attended medical courses at Cambridge and had studied Greek and Latin. Annoyed by the snobbery of his former classmates, he translated the College of Physicians' Latin manual, the Pharmacopeia Londinensis, into English, incurring the wrath of that newly formed physician's society. The translation, called London Dispensatory and Physical Directory, allowed ordinary people who did not know Latin to read about herbal formulas and concoct their own instead of paying unreasonable apothecary bills. Culpeper later published his own herbal, the Compleat Herbal and English Physician, a revolutionary work because it ascribed as much importance to English country folk wisdom as to the old masters. First published in 1652, the book has never been out of print since. Only Shakespeare and the Bible have surpassed Culpeper in the number of editions. While Culpeper's historical influence cannot be overestimated, scientists today scoff at his adherence to astrological principles. The remedies promoted in his herbal have to be viewed with care because they are riddled with inaccuracies and exaggerations. Although his herbal is still available in book stores, it should be taken as an important historical document rather than a reference work.

Meanwhile, the newly formed College of Physicians was trying hard to put itself in sole charge of medicine, forcing out any other healers, including herbal practitioners. Fortunately, their attempt was thwarted by Henry VIII, an avid herbalist himself. The right of herbalists to practice healing with roots, barks, leaves, flowers and seeds of plants became enshrined in the Charter of Henry VIII. The Charter carries a codicil which prevents this right from ever being revoked by any other law 'in all the King's Dominions.' It is because of Henry VIII that herbal medicine has enjoyed an uninterrupted history in England and is still being used in hospitals today.

The sixteenth century ushered in dramatic changes in herbalism due to an almost daily expansion of supplies. Navigators and explorers of newly discovered territories brought back exotic seeds and roots along with instructions for application obtained from natives. The most significant influx of new herbs came from the Americas. Those new plants created great public interest. In Seville, Spain, the physician Nicola Monardes (1493-1578) opened a museum of medicines with special emphasis on the new North American plants. He also wrote an entirely new herbal, which was translated into English in 1577 under the title of Joyful Newes Out of the Newe Founde Worlde. This book catalogued and described a wealth of medicinal herbs from America.

Plants imported to England from all parts of the world included yucca, sarsaparilla, guava, nasturtium and nutmeg. Such plants were usually accompanied by imaginative medical claims and applications. Tea, for example, was considered a cure-all in the sixteenth century (a view that has almost been vindicated recently by the discovery that tea is a powerful antioxidant herb).

Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the battle between physicians, apothecaries and herbal practitioners continued. Plant study became ever more scientific, as the first botanic gardens, designed as places for research, opened in Padua, Italy in 1545 and in Oxford, England in 1621. These study centers for herbalism effectively took medicine out of the kitchen and monastery gardens and placed it under the control of academic physicians. Doctors began to lecture on herbs, emphasizing the botanical properties of plants rather than the system of humors, astrological influences and signatures.

While the scientific study of plants had positive results, medical practice often became restrictive and mechanistic. Dispensing, too, became strictly controlled by apothecaries. The emphasis was on expensive, complex and often dangerous nostrums, such as an oft-prescribed mixture of mercury and antimony.

It was during this budding scientific age that Swedish scientist Carl von Linne (1677-1778) introduced his nomenclature system for animals, minerals and plants, using double Latin names to denote genus and species, e.g., pansy (Viola tricolor). By facilitating reliable identification of plants, Linné laid the foundation for the practice of modern botany and herbology.

North American Herbalism

In North America, traditions brought by the European settlers were merged with newly acquired knowledge of native Indian healing. The first Europeans settling in North America brought with them familiar healing plants from home, altering the native landscape. Plantain, for example, was called 'white man's foot' by the Native Americans because it could be found wherever the Europeans had arrived. Settlers then adopted Native American traditions, tried new herbs, such as boneset, purple coneflower (echinacea), goldenseal and pleurisy root. The Europeans learned about the use of sweat lodges and were impressed by their effectiveness. They began publishing this new information as early as 1672.

In 1728, John Bartram founded North America's first botanic garden near Philadelphia. In 1765, he was commissioned 'Botanizer Royal for America' and began to travel widely to collect plants. He was accompanied by his son, an excellent botanical artist. It was through their work that Swedish scientist Carl von Linné became familiar with many North American plants, including them in his system of classification. John Bartram's botanic garden included long lists of plants from both Europe and the new world.

Healers, too, merged traditions, combining European herbs and treatments with herbs and methods learned from the Native Americans. This merging of traditions resulted in the founding of the Physiomedical and Eclectic schools, which were later exported to Britain, adding a lasting North American legacy to British herbal practices.

Similar to other great traditional systems, Native American healing practices see humans closely tied into the whole cosmos, and this belief is illustrated by the medicine wheel.

The medicine wheel comprises four cardinal directions from which healing guidance for a balanced life can be received. The wheel itself, the circle, symbolizes the connectedness of people with everything around them, which is the way the Creator made the world. The four directions are assigned animal totems, different personality types, colors and spiritual energies, a system reminiscent of Chinese, Greek and Ayurvedic teachings. Assigned symbols may vary among the different Native American nations, but the Assembly of First Nations authenticates the following designations:

East is represented by the medicine of the Eagle with his ability of flying high and looking far afield. The color representing the East is yellow, indicating the rising sun. The East is the place of new beginnings.

South is represented by the Beaver who is the friendliest of creatures, sharing his watery environment with anyone who comes to drink. The color representing the South is red. The South is the place of light-heartedness and playfulness, medicines that are often forgotten even though they are important for the balance of life.

West provides the medicine of the Turtle. It is a place of transformation and change. The color of the West is black, helping us to go inside, take a truthful look at ourselves and make the changes needed to achieve balance.

North provides the medicine of the Wolf and the color white, which bring wisdom and justice. At the end of our journey around the great medicine wheel, we will end up with this medicine.

The colors of the wheel also represent the colors of all the people on this earth. All of humanity is tied into this medicine wheel, giving us guidance for living in harmony with ourselves, each other and the planet.

Native American herbalism centers on a medicine man or shaman. Put into a trance-like state, the shaman would 'spirit travel' in the symbolic directions of the medicine wheel to seek the soul of the sick person and find spirit help and the right treatment for healing. The new North American practitioners learned the use of many new herbs from the the indigenous peoples, including echinacea, black cohosh, boneset, chaparral, goldenseal, lobelia, sassafrass, sumach and others.

One special traditional Native American practice that is still used is the sweat lodge, where people go to purify their bodies and minds.

Physiomedicalism

Before the Plains Indians were decimated defending their land in battles with the US army, early settlers and natives shared much of their herbal knowledge.

One of the most prominent adherents was Samuel Thomson (1769-1843), founder of the Physiomedical movement. (Physiomedicalists are also called Thomsonians.) As a child Thomson had learned about herbs from the Widow Benton, a 'root and herb doctor,' who combined the traditional knowledge of a 'herby wife' with Native American healing skills. Around 1800, Thomson's daughter became seriously ill and was declared incurable by physicians. Thomson then took things into his own hands and cured her with herbs and hot treatments inspired by sweat lodges. Another reason for Thomson's turning to herbal healing was that years earlier his mother had been 'galloped out of the world in nine weeks' due to harsh medical treatment administered by orthodox physicians. Physicians in those days relied heavily on bleeding, violent laxatives and potions laced with mercury.

Like Thomson's mother, George Washington was 'galloped out of life' by his doctors. In 1799, the elderly but still healthy statesman developed a sore throat with chills, which could probably have been treated quite easily with hot liquids, bed rest and herbal antibiotics, such as garlic. Instead, he was bled of four pints of blood, leaving him weakened and anemic, and then given laxatives and mercury. Washington died within twenty-four hours of this appalling treatment.

Thomson developed a healing system based on American and European herbs, sweat lodges and mineral baths. His favorite herb was lobelia, which causes vomiting when taken in large amounts. In 1809, physicians in New Hampshire had him arrested and tried for murder for administering a lethal dose of lobelia. Acquitted for lack of evidence, but prohibited to practice medicine in New Hampshire, Thomson went national. He patented 'Thomson's Improved System of Botanic Practice of Medicine,' a kit containing self-diagnostic handbooks and patent medicine, which took nineteenth century America by storm. By the end of the 1830s, Thomson had three million followers.

The central idea of Thomson's Physiomedicalism is that the vital force of the body can be strengthened by keeping tissues and nervous states in balance. The key to healing involves relaxing or stimulating the tissues, as needed, and then stimulating or sedating the nerves. Suitable herbs, classified as either stimulating or sedating, relaxing or astringent, were used to achieve balance. Irritable bowel syndrome, for example, would be treated with camomile to sedate the nervous system and relax the digestive tissues, followed by an astringent, such as agrimony, and a stimulant, such as ginger, to encourage the vital force to flow strongly again. Some herbs could be both sedating and stimulating, others could be stimulating first and then relaxing, or vice versa.

For his healing system, Thomson used many native American herbs, such as black root (a liver relaxant); Indian tobacco (a very important all-round relaxant); black cohosh (a stimulant and relaxant for the nervous system); blue cohosh (a stimulant and relaxant for the female reproductive organs); fringe tree bark (a relaxant and stimulant for the liver and gall bladder); cayenne (a general stimulant); and true unicorn root (a uterine stimulant).

Many experts in herbal medicine who have seriously studied Thomson's methods think of him as a gifted healer who, contrary to the accusations brought against him by orthodox physicians, used only gentle, balancing and toning remedies. By listening to nature and valuing the long traditions of the Native Americans, Samuel Thomson gained more recognition than perhaps any other person in the history of American medicine.

After Thomson's death in 1843, his system went into decline. Although it was continued by some herbalists and practitioners, it was replaced by the practice of Electicism.

Eclecticism

Although most nineteenth century remedies consisted of herbs (three-quarters of the treatments mentioned in the 1880 US Pharmacopeia were herbal), orthodox physicians aimed to dominate the field, employing some drastic, and sometimes dangerous, treatments.

In the 1820s, a group of practitioners made up of Thomsonians, herbalists trained by Native Americans and disillusioned physicians, founded the Reformed Medical Society to promote natural healing. In 1830, the society opened a Reformed Medical School near Columbus, Ohio, away from eastern cities, which were strongholds of orthodox physicians. The new society called itself 'Eclectic' because it combined all kinds of traditions, from European and Native American to the herbal traditions of American slaves. In 1845, the Eclectics moved their medical school to Cincinnati, where it became the nation's first medical center to admit women. Unfortunately, in 1877, yielding to public and professional prejudice, women were barred from training.

The Eclectics, with their leading figure of Dr. Wooster Beech, used herbs in a more scientific way than the Physiomedicalists. They developed methods of analyzing and diagnosing disease far superior to the self-diagnostic methods of the Thomsonian Physiomedicalists. Eclectic practitioners experimented with herbs, analyzing their chemical composition and making liquid extracts of their active ingredients. They also published papers in scientific journals. Eclectics generally figured prominently in the early development of the American pharmaceutical industry. At the peak of the movement, between 1880 and 1900, there were almost ten thousand Eclectic practitioners in the United States, giving orthodox physicians a run for their money. Eclecticism was going strong until 1907, but started to decline when philanthropists Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller decided to throw all their financial support behind orthodox medical schools. The Eclectic Institute in Cincinnati graduated its last students in 1939. Today, the Eclectic legacy lives on in the herbal medicine programs at America's two naturopathic medical schools, the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, and John Bastyr College in Seattle, Washington.

Early Twentieth Century Herbalism

In North America, the period from 1920 to the 1960s can be called the lost decades for herbal healing. Medical schools ignored herbs, while synthesized drugs replaced herbal treatments. Herbalism went underground, practiced mostly by women and a few men, who grew their own herbs and prescribed them according to the classic herbals. Even in this time of relative decline as compared to the vast herbal movements of the previous century, some healers and practitioners stand out.

In 1895, Dr. Benedict Lust, the father of modern naturopathy, came to the United States from Germany and opened the nation's first health food store patterned after such stores in Germany. He also opened sanatoriums in New Jersey and Florida which used healing baths and herbal medicines. His nephew, John Lust, wrote a new North American herbal, The Herb Book.

In 1939, Jethro Kloss, sanatorium manager and health food pioneer, published his book Back to Eden: A Story of the Health and Restoration to Be Found in Herb, Root, and Bark. The book became vastly popular and has never been out of print since.

The most flamboyant and controversial herbalist of the mid-twenties was Harry Hoxsey, who promoted an herbal formula handed down from his family as a cancer cure. He reported that his great-grandfather developed the herbal formula after seeing a horse stricken with cancer eat certain herbs and recover its health. In the 1930s, Hoxsey started to prescribe his formula, which consisted of his ancestor's ten healing herbs plus potassium iodide. By 1950, his clinic in Dallas had become the world's largest privately owned cancer center with branches in seventeen states. Besides taking the herbal formula, patients ate a restricted diet, prohibiting, among other things, pork, tomatoes and vinegar.

Hoxsey's methods outraged orthodox medical authorities in Texas. In the 1930s, he was arrested for fraud more than a hundred times by a Dallas prosecutor. Hoxsey was always acquitted because the prosecutor could not produce a single person who felt defrauded, while Hoxsey brought hundreds of witnesses who swore they had been cured. Eventually, the clinics were closed down by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for violating federal drug-labeling regulations, stemming from the fact that his herbal ingredients were not approved for treating cancer. Hoxsey's formula seemed to work for some cancers but not for all of them. Recent studies have proven that nine of Hoxsey's ten herbal ingredients have antitumor activity: bloodroot, burdock, poke, barberry, licorice, buckthorn, red clover, prickly ash and cascara sagrada.

From Herbal Medicine to Pharmaceuticals

The nineteenth century was a century of scientific discovery. During that century, chemistry advanced from alchemy to a science. Modern chemistry made it possible to isolate the active ingredients in medicinal herbs. These newly extracted substances showed unexpected characteristics that were quite different from the original herbs. Eventually, it became possible to go even a step further and artificially synthesize many of these active ingredients in the laboratory.

The first modern drug isolated from a plant was morphine. In 1803, the drug was identified by a twenty-year-old German apothecary's assistant, Adam Serturner (1783-1841). Serturner was fascinated with the effects of poppy opium and had set himself the goal of extracting its sleep-inducing factor. Experimenting in the back room of his workplace with ordinary apothecary equipment, he extracted the white crystals and demonstrated their narcotic effect on a mouse, four dogs and four young men, including himself. He named the new substance morphine, after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Serturner also discovered that morphine is an alkaloid, thus laying the cornerstone to alkaloidal chemistry which allows modern doctors to prescribe drugs in precise doses.

Soon, other chemists followed in Serturner's footsteps. In 1818, Josef Pelletier (1788-1842) of France, with his colleague Caventou, isolated strychnine from the seeds of the Strychnos nux vomica tree, as well as chlorophyll from green leaves. In 1820, Pelletier also isolated quinine from the cinchona bark. In 1819, Ferdinand Runge (1795-1867) of Germany, isolated caffeine. Other achievements were the isolation of aconitine from monkshood and atropine from deadly nightshade. All but one of these substances are alkaloids, extremely potent, addictive drugs. We recognize them by the suffix '-ine' which is added to the basic word: morphine, quinine, nicotine, etc. (Only caffeine is not a true alkaloid, its name notwithstanding.)

In 1852, there was another breakthrough: the world's first synthetic drug was created when salicin, one of the active ingredients in willow bark, was synthesized in the laboratories of the German Bayer company. In 1899, having been modified to cause less stomach irritation, acetylsalicylic acid was launched by the company under the name of Aspirin™.

From Pharmaceuticals Back to Herbal Medicine

While herbalism continued in Europe, and elsewhere in the world, its practice became almost forgotten in North America. After American academic medical schools received generous financial support to the exclusion of herbal colleges, 'scientific medicine' took over and 'natural healing' disappeared from public consciousness.

In England, herbal medicine had originally been protected in a decree by Henry VIII, so different British schools of herbal healing were able to form their own strong association, and are still influential today under the name of National Institute of Medical Herbalists. Herbalism is a recognized profession requiring extensive training. Herbalists are allowed to diagnose and treat patients, sending patients on to a physician only if necessary. They can also practice in hospitals.

In Germany and Switzerland, herbal traditions were kept alive by great naturopaths and healers who gained the respect of lay people and physicians alike. Thanks to these remarkable men and women, doctors in Germany and Switzerland still prescribe herbal remedies, and pharmacies carry both pharmaceutical drugs and herbal medicines.

Outstanding figures, whose influences span the continents of Europe and North America, include Alfred Vogel, a Swiss herbalist whose love for herbal healing led him all over the world in search of natural treatments. Traveling in North America during the thirties, he became a close friend of Black Eagle, Sioux Indian chief and medicine man, who taught Vogel about the healing powers of echinacea. Thanks to Alfred Vogel we now have access to this ancient Native American remedy and its potent immune-stimulatory properties. Vogel cultivated the herb in Switzerland and developed the whole plant extract, which is now one of the most widely used remedies for colds and flu.

Another great nineteenth century European healer and herbalist, Father Sebastian Kneipp, created a spa in Bad Wörishofen, Germany, where patients from around the world are still to this day given natural treatments. In his early years, Kneipp cured himself of tuberculosis by using hydrotherapy. He went on to experiment extensively, collecting more evidence, and from that created his 'Kneipp System.' He emphasized the need for an informed approach to medicinal plants, as they held great healing powers. The premise to Kneipp's philosophy was that herbal remedies, the healing stimulus of water and a simple, natural lifestyle, were the keys to good health. Today, popular herbal formulas have labels with Kneipp's picture and the endorsement of the Kneipp Society.

Johann KÜnzle, a Swiss clergyman, taught himself about natural treatments by reading widely, studying nature and observing animal behavior. He was able to save all but two of his parishioners from the catastrophic 1918 flu epidemic by employing his herbal treatments. KÜnzle gained considerable influence and world renown through his line of herbal remedies and his books on herbs. His small volume Chrut und Uchrut (Herbs and Weeds) is still the most widely distributed book in Switzerland today, second only to the Bible.

Maria Treben of Germany was another outstanding healer who helped keep natural treatments and herbal therapy alive. Self-taught and of simple origin like many of the great healers, she published her international bestseller Health Through God's Pharmacy after a lifetime of studying nature and applying its healing powers. Her simple, straightforward descriptions of plants and remedies and her expressions of deep faith continue to appeal to readers worldwide. She is best-known for rediscovering the formula for Swedish Bitters, an extract of more than ten bitter herbs believed by many to be a virtual cure-all. (For more information about pioneers in natural healing, see Section 2, The History of Natural Health.)

As the twentieth century is coming to a close, North America is now experiencing a renaissance in herbal medicine. The resurgence is literally and figuratively coming from the 'grassroots' and seems unstoppable in spite of some official resistance. The movement has been building since it was started by the hippies in the 1960s. While first shrugged off, the move to herbal medicine is now a huge business. In the US, imports of herbs have risen dramatically. As an example, the importation of fennel rose from five hundred thousand tons in 1959 to five million tons in 1986. Domestic production has also risen dramatically and sales of kitchen herbs, herbal teas, spices and herbal books are now a three-billion-dollar-a-year industry.

This dramatic upsurge can be explained by several interrelated factors. First, there is a growing disillusionment with the effectiveness of orthodox medicine. After many decades of being mesmerized by new 'wonder drugs' -as antibiotics surely were in their time - people are now looking back, contemplating whether medicine has really advanced all that much in the past forty or fifty years. The American mortality rate is increasing and now stands fiftieth in the world. Every fifty-five seconds, another North American dies of cancer. North Americans still have a better than fifty percent chance of dying from circulatory disease. Not only have we failed to eradicate diseases, we are being assaulted by new and frightening ones like AIDS, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, ebola, and by new forms of old ones, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis. Antibiotics, now proven to have harmful side-effects, which can actually weaken the body further, are losing their effectiveness and their luster. People are looking at natural forms of healing, including herbalism, as an answer to improve their health.

In addition to general health concerns, there is disillusionment with impersonal and mechanistic medical treatment. For a long time people were led to believe that the human body was like a car, best left to the doctor/mechanic to fix. Orthodox medicine has disempowered people, and now there is a backlash and a new belief in the powers of self-healing. People are turning to self-maintenance and prevention, adopting good nutrition, fitness and a drug-free life. Herbal remedies fit very well into this picture. Most popular alternative treatments, such as homeopathy, naturopathy, Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, employ herbs as an important part of therapy.

There is also a growing distrust of all the chemical-laden, manufactured and artificial foods in our stores, which are just the tip of the iceberg on top of a vast amount of chem cals in our general environment. Pill popping is growing out of favor, and herbs, again, provide welcome alternatives to synthetic substances.

Another reason herbs are gaining favor is our awareness of the destructiveness of drug addiction, which includes addiction to prescription drugs. Herbs provide a way of achieving results without exposing the body to even stronger chemicals and the possibility of dependency.

Herbs are also gaining attention due to concern with the rapid destruction of the environment. The disappearance of old-growth forests, especially in the Amazon, has focused our attention on the value of plant life in general and medicinal plants in particular. As forests are decimated, many irreplaceable herbal remedies may become lost forever. Interestingly, the drug industry, which seems an athema to the use of folk medicine, is scrambling to get hold of promising new herbs, relying not on double-blind studies but on folklore-tapping into the traditional wisdom of the local indigenous peoples.

Our interest in herbs has increased because of growing global consciousness. A 1974 World Health Organization (WHO) report concluded that eighty percent of the world's population still uses herbal medicine as their main source of treatment and that worldwide health care is not possible unless under-developed countries are encouraged to revive and/or preserve their traditions of herbal healing.

The Future of Herbal Healing

Although there may be a few ups and downs before herbal medicines are fully secure and accepted, the movement back to herbs has already infiltrated the scientific community and caused a surge of interest in research.

We are just now tapping into the wisdom of the Amazon people. Researchers have brought back some truly remarkable remedies. Among the healing plants and substances from the Amazon is a resin (Chlorphora tinctoria) which, when applied to cavities, leads to painless tooth extraction. The leaves of another plant, Sangro de grado, can stop internal bleeding. The leaves of the Yanamuko protect them from cavities. Amazon Indians also know a plant that prevents conception as long as desired and another one that reverses the effect. The Indians also know plants that prevent obesity, dissolve gallstones and increase contractions during labor. Pharmaceutical companies, as well as botanists and herbologists, are now focusing on the Amazon to learn as much as possible about its vanishing plant life.

Research on herbs is being carried out on many other fronts. For example, several years ago the American National Cancer Agency started an ambitious project of testing plants for anticancer activity. It is unfortunate that the project is no longer funded because scientists at the agency investigated seventy thousand extracts from seventy-five hundred species and found seven hundred and fifty with antitumor properties. Still, of the estimated two hundred and fifty thousand plant species on earth, only fifteen percent have been screened for any medicinal use so far.

Research on anti-AIDS drugs continues. In 1986, Dr. Hin-wing Yeung, professor of herbal medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, brought trichosanthin, a protein found in the Chinese cucumber root, to the AIDS research center of the San Francisco General Hospital. When AIDS researcher Dr. Michael McGrath added the extract to HIV-infected cells, trichosanthin proceeded to kill only the infected cells, leaving the healthy ones intact. Trichosanthin, or Compound Q, has been tested in AIDS patients ever since. While it is not a miracle cure, it seems to have some clear benefits.

Another promising anti-AIDS drug is St. John's wort, a European plant used in traditional healing for many centuries. In fact, in Germany it is one of the herbal medicines most prescribed by doctors. In 1988, a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science described a chemical in the plant, hypericin, which inhibits the growth of a virus that causes one form of leukemia. Like HIV, the virus in question is a retrovirus, a fact that alerted scientists to the possibility of applying hypericin to AIDS. The herb was then given to 112 AIDS patients with the results published a year later in AIDS Treatment News. The survey showed that, like trichosanthin, hypericin is not a cure; however, most patients reported such benefits as improved immune function, reduced swelling of lymph nodes, lower temperature and better appetite, energy and mood. Clinical research is still being conducted on both trichosanthin and hypericin.

Healing Herbs Are Herbs Safe?

Most North American doctors, unfortunately, know only about the dangers of herbs. Medical articles on herbs are usually written as cautionary tales. Coltsfoot and comfrey are under suspicion for causing cancer and liver damage, and camomile, known to be a calming agent for centuries, is said to trigger potentially fatal allergic reactions. Herb advocates dismiss all these charges and talk about a conspiracy by the drug companies. The truth is, that herbs are neither completely safe nor generally toxic. Like other medicines, they have to be taken with care. If you take too little, nothing happens. If you take too much, you could run into trouble.

In The Healing Herbs, Michael Castleman cites the example of noomba, an imported drug. Noomba can cause insomnia, irritability, anemia, diarrhea, heartburn, stomach upset and muscle tension. It can also raise blood pressure and cholesterol and is considered dangerous during pregnancy. Taken in large amounts on a regular basis, noomba can double the risk of heart attack. The imported noomba drug is actually coffee. Should coffee be considered dangerous? In truth, coffee is safe when it is taken in moderate amounts.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), in 1985, no deaths from healing herbs were reported. Of nonfatal plant ingestions, eighty-six percent involved small children under the age of six who had eaten houseplants. In comparison, that same year the AAPCC reported 227 nonsuicide deaths from prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Many medical doctors in North America are beginning to include herbs in their practice, having witnessed both sides of healing, orthodox medicine and herbalism. When patients are put on a program of natural treatment that includes changes to diet, moderate exercise, stress reduction and a positive attitude, herbs are a natural and safe complement to that program. Indiscriminate use of herbs, based on a mistaken belief that all things natural-or that have been used for centuries-are safe, will result in inefficacy or harm, just as with the inappropriate use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Orthodox medicine commonly condemns herbs wholesale if a problem has arisen with a single one of them. People begin to dismiss all warnings as propaganda and overlook important information when it is made available, becoming victims of the old 'crying wolf' story.

The Commission E

In Germany today, hundreds of herbal remedies line pharmacy shelves, and mainstream physicians are as likely to prescribe valerian for sleep disorders or gingko for memory enhancement as they would pharmaceutical drugs.

German universities have been conducting extensive research into herbs, bringing them from folklore into the scientific age. Since most of the resulting studies were published in German, this vast body of research has not been very accessible to the North American community.

Most significant among the studies of herbs are those of the Commission E, appointed by the German Gesundheitsbehoerde, the equivalent of the Canadian Health Protection Branch or the American FDA. The commission brings together a panel of experts consisting of doctors, health practitioners, botanists, pharmacists and toxologists. Since 1978, the panel has been conducting laboratory studies, gathering case histories, and reviewing existing research to arrive at a comprehensive assessment of healing plants. During the two decades the commission has been at work, it has published one- or two-page monographs on four hundred healing plants. Varro Tyler, PhD, Lilly Distinguished Professor of Pharmacognosy at Purdue University and author of The Honest Herbal, calls these monographs 'probably the best information available today on herbs.' The monographs have now been translated into English by the American Botanical Council (ABC), a non-profit research organization based in Austin, Texas. The Commission E's scientific evidence has been incorporated into several herbals, making these books completely reliable without sacrificing their holistic approach.

The Value of Using Medicinal Plants

When Serturner isolated morphine from poppy opium, the medical world was pleased. Doctors believed that medicinal herbs, with their elaborate preparation methods, limited shelf-life and uneven effects, could now be superseded by pure and durable medications with measurable results. Serturner's method, indeed, yielded some highly effective substances for headaches, fever, tropical diseases and anaesthesia. Later, when the first synthesized version of a plant extract, Aspirin™, became available, plants seemed to have become altogether superfluous. Nature could now be imitated and improved upon in the laboratory.

Today, much of modern medicine is still operating from that very premise, but scientists have recently begun to turn their attention back to healing plants. They have realized, for one thing, that administering synthesized substances or even plant-derived isolates does not have the same effect as using the whole herb.

This fact was first brought home to scientists through the history of digitalis, an essential plant for modern heart therapy. Digitalis became first known through a herby wife who gave her recipe to Dr. William Withering (1785) for whom she was collecting plants. Digitalis corrects irregular heartbeat and can actually increase the strength of the heart muscle. The supreme usefulness of digitalis in heart therapy became widely recognized, and, as science progressed, the herb's glycosides, its main active constituents, were isolated and used instead of the whole plant. However, it soon became obvious that isolation changed the nature of the remedy. It turned out that the efficacy of digitalis did not rest with one active ingredient alone but with the whole plant. Seemingly unimportant mucilaginous substances in the leaves, for example, allowed the system to properly absorb the active ingredients. Other minor ingredients, the saponins, actually made the administration of the medication safer because they induced vomiting before severe side-effects could set in.

In his book Health and Healing, Andrew Weil, MD compares the therapeutic ratio of the digitalis plant with the therapeutic ratio of one of its modern derivatives, the glycoside digitoxin. A therapeutic ratio is the ratio of the minimum dose producing toxic effects compared to the minimum dose producing desired effects. It turns out that compared to the plant, which has a therapeutic ratio of 1:10, digitoxin has a very small ratio of only 1:2. Obviously, the plant allows quite a bit of room for adjustment while the pharmaceutical drug has virtually no tolerance for error because its effective dose is almost the same as its toxic dose. The low ratio is even more uncomfortable because an overdose can actually be fatal within minutes. When the whole plant was still used, the error margin was significantly wider and vomiting, induced by saponins, was a tell-tale symptom to prevent an overdose.

This example illustrates the importance of using whole herbs versus isolated drugs: the whole plant offers its healing substances synergistically, providing balance and gentler action and, depending on the plant, even warning of toxicity

Plant Substances and Their Healing Properties

What makes a plant a medicinal plant? Healing plants contain measurable amounts of medicinally useful substances. If those substances are isolated they can produce severe side-effects where the whole plant had proved benign. Because of their potency, isolated active ingredients are useful when quick medical intervention is needed. Whole herbs, on the other hand, are normally slow-acting and are uniquely suited for prevention, long-term healing of chronic conditions and maintaining general health.

Below is a catalogue of the most common active ingredients in herbs: these are the ingredients which turn ordinary plants into medicinal plants. As mentioned before, within medicinal plants these substances do not act in isolation but work in synergy to produce the herb's total healing effect.

Alkaloids

These are by far the most potent plant constituents. Many pharmaceutical drugs are derived from plant alkaloids, and pharmacologists tend to like them and look for them in new plants. Alkaloids are usually addictive. They can be recognized by their names ending in the suffix -ine: atropine, morphine, nicotine (caffeine is not an alkaloid in spite of its suffix). Plants containing significant amounts of alkaloids are red poppy, belladonna and tobacco. Alkaloids can be deadly poisons when used at certain levels, but small amounts of these substances are also contained in many safe and gentle herbs, such as valerian and violets. In such plants, the alkaloids do not become active on their own but support the general effectiveness of the whole plant. Plants containing alkaloids as their main ingredient are not suitable for tea preparations.

Anthraquinones

Anthraquinones are a significant sub-group of bitter principles; they are strong laxatives. Herbs included in this group are aloe (Aloe vera), rhubarb root (Rheum palmatum), senna (Cassia) and yellow dock (Rumex crispus). Commonly occurring anthraquinones include aloe-emodin, emodin and rhein. Their effect stems from an indirect stimulation of the bowels and from their bitter taste, which stimulates the liver. Herbalists usually prefer to administer gentler bitters, such as dandelion, for constipation. However, occasionally anthraquinones seem indicated. When they are, they should always be combined with a warming carminative, such as ginger.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics kill bacteria. Many plants contain antibiotics in such minute quantities that their extraction is impractical. The fungal acids in lichens have been effective in the treatment of tuberculosis. Watercress and nasturtiums contain a certain amount of antibiotics. You can help prevent colds and strengthen the body's immune function by incorporating watercress and nasturtiums as salads or juices into your diet. To release the antibiotic, the plants should be finely chopped and soaked in warm water for ten minutes.

Black mustard has an antibiotic effect due to the activity of its sulphur derivatives. Black mustard seeds, when ground and mixed with lukewarm water, can be applied as a poultice to the chest to help cure colds.

Bitter Principles

The bitter taste of certain herbs is due to a whole variety of ingredients, including bitter alkaloids, sesqueterpenes and iridoids. The one thing these substances have in common is their bitter taste, even in extreme dilution. Bitter principles stimulate liver function and stomach activity, thereby enhancing digestion and appetite and improving absorption of nutrients. Plants with bitter principles (e.g., gentian, wormwood and dandelion) are usually included in traditional digestive wines (stomach bitters). The alcohol in these wines actually enhances the effect of the bitters when taken half an hour before meals. Bitter principles also seem to work well for incidents of weakness as in reconvalescence, nervous exhaustion and anemia. The Austrian healer Maria Treben became well-known through her promotion of 'Swedish Bitters,' a universal tonic and cure-all. Many bitter herbs, such as valerian and hops, are also known for their sedative properties. Some herbs have even been noted for antitumor activity. We usually distinguish between the pure bitters and the bitters occurring in combination with essential oils (as in wormwood and kalmus). The essential oils do not change the effectiveness of the bitters but widen their applicability. Because essential oils are antiseptic in nature, bitters that occur in combination with them have a mildly antibacterial and antiparasitic effect. Some bitters also include pungent substances. Ginger is an example of a pungent bitter. Research has shown that pungent plants like ginger not only aid digestion but also stimulate circulation during strenuous digestive processes.

Enzymes

These organic catalysts (pepsin, pancreatin, rennin, papain and bromelain) are produced by living organisms. For example, papain comes from papaya and bromelain comes from pineapple.

Enzymes are necessary for every biochemical function of the body. They are soluble in water, and destroyed by heat and alcohol. Raw fruits and vegetables are the best sources of enzymes.

Essential Oils

Essential oils, also known as volatile oils, have a strong and generally pleasant smell. They taste pungent and are considered warming. Essential oils are common, and most plants contain at least small traces of them. However, when medicinal herbs are grouped for their oils, only plants with a relatively high level (one to ten percent) are included. Members of the labiate and umbelliferae families generally belong here. The oil is carried in special oil cells, ducts or glands. The latter are often found with the hair of hairy plants. Essential oils consist of many different substances and can contain as many as fifty single ingredients. One use of these oils is in aromatherapy, which uses such oils as terpenes (e.g., camphor and borneol), terpene alcohols (e.g., menthol and thymol), and aromatic acids (e.g., cinnamic acid). Essential oils are also known for their antiseptic, antifungal and anti-inflammatory activity. A good example for the latter is the effect of camomile (Matricaria recutita/Chamomilla recutita) and Roman camomile (Anthemis nobile) on wound healing. Plants containing essential oils also have the ability to stimulate the immune system. Thyme, calendula and lavender are good examples. Most volatile oils are also carminative; that is, they warm the digestion, clear flatulence and stop intestinal cramping. Important carminatives are the herbs and spices used in cooking as well as mint and camomile. Essential oils are best used in combination with the whole plant by preparing teas. Pure essential oils (extracts) should not be used internally except with the guidance of a knowledgeable practitioner. In nature, essential oils are usually found at concentrations of five percent or lower. Therefore, any strong extracts should be diluted. In general, the whole plant works much better than the isolated oil. The sage plant, for example, contains tannins in addition to the essential oil. Tannins are known to greatly enhance the action of volatile oils.

Flavonoids

Flavonoid glycosides are plant colorings with differing chemical properties. Roughly related to tannins, flavonoids taste sweet and a little bitter at the same time. They all have a strengthening effect on capillaries and general circulation and are known to be antispasmodic in the digestive tract. They are usually found in preparations for nose bleed, high blood pressure, stroke, memory loss and varicose veins. Rutin is the best known example of a flavonoid. It is found in such plants as citrus fruits (mainly in the white inside layer of the peel), yarrow, hawthorn and ginkgo biloba. In Germany, ginkgo is the remedy most prescribed for age-related memory loss, brain circulation and other blood vessel problems. Rutin also enhances the action of vitamin C. In addition, flavonoids are used to promote sweating in case of fever, and urine flow in case of water retention. Flavonoids are gentle substances, well-suited for treating children. Elder flowers (Sambucus nigra) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium) are good examples of flavonoid-containing plants used as gentle diuretics (promotes urination) and diaphoretics (sweat inducers).

Glucosilinates

Glucosilinates are strongly warming and are found in such plants as horseradish (Cochlearia armoracia); radishes (Raphanus); and shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). They are used in liniments for rheumatic ailments and taken internally as remedies for excess mucus.

Glycosides

Many different glycosides with many different effects make it difficult to discuss their properties as a group. However, the word glycoside has become a standard word in the literature on plant medicine, so some explanation seems warranted. The one thing all glycosides have in common is that they are molecules with one part sugar (glucose) attached to one side. The non-sugar part of the molecule contains the active ingredient, which can have any number of uses or effects. Common to all glycosides is the fact that the sugar facilitates transport and absorption of the active ingredient, making the compound more effective. Glycosides carry the suffix -in in their names. A good example for a glycoside is digitoxin, found in digitalis.

Minerals (Inorganic Compounds) and Trace Elements

Minerals and trace elements are also found in herbs. These elements can change the mineral composition of the body, replacing minerals that have been lost through metabolic functions.

Calcium salts, silica, potassium and iodine are inorganic compounds found in varying amounts in many plants. Variances in soil conditions, altitude or season will produce differences in the amount of minerals found in a plant.

Calcium salts are essential components of bone and strengthen resistance to infection. They also regulate the function of the nerves and the heart. Potassium has diuretic action and helps eliminate waste material accumulated by poor blood circulation. Small quantities of iodine are sometimes found in coastal plants. Iodine increases the activity of the thyroid gland and is responsible for the metabolism of sugars, fats and proteins. Iodine can have a wasting effect if it is used with laxatives, such as kelp and senna taken together.

Mucilage

Mucilages and gums are polysaccharides. They contain carbohydrates which swell up when water is added, forming a viscous (glutinous) liquid. They are used in herbal remedies for their demulcent (soothing, relaxant and cooling) effect. Mucilages coat mucous membranes and protect them from irritation. Inflammations have a chance to heal more quickly under this protective coating. Mucilages work well for dry, unproductive cough and for inflamed, irritated mucous membranes in mouth, throat, stomach, bowels, bladder and kidneys. Mucilageous remedies, such as flax seed, psyllium and Icelandic moss, are also mildly laxative because they not only enlarge and soften bowel content but also make it more slippery. Mucilages also form parts of creams and ointments used for healing and drawing out abscesses. Another property of mucilages is the ability to soften and sweeten sour tastes. For example, raspberries contain less sugar and more acid than red currants, but they taste sweeter because they are richer in mucilage. Examples of mucilaginous plants are slippery elm bark (Ulmus fulva), marsh mallow root and leaf (Althea officinalis) and flax seed (Linum usitatissimum).

Organic Acids

Organic acids are found in combination with other compounds such as alkaloids, essential oils, mucilages, pectins, sugars and tannins. They can be divided into ascorbic acid (vitamin C), tartaric acid, gallic acid, malic acid, citric acid, salicylic acid and oxalic acid.

Gallic acid (produced from tannin) and malic acid (found in apples) are astringent. Salicylate acid is analgesic and its salts form salicylates. Oxalic acid occurs in various fruits and vegetables and is a metabolic product of ascorbic acid.

Citric and tartaric acids increase the flow of saliva, cleanse the mouth and reduce the number of bacteria which cause infections and dental decay. They are gently laxative and diuretic. These acids are also recommended for relief of hemorrhoids, or after surgery when lower abdomen muscle activity needs to be reduced.

Salicylates

Salicylates are chemicals related to Aspirin(™). They are analgesic (pain relieving), antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. In traditional folk medicine, they are bitter and cooling. Salicylates are used in many remedies for arthritis. Unlike Aspirin™, plants containing salicylates do not irritate the stomach because they contain other soothing ingredients. Examples of plants or plant parts used internally and containing salicylates are willow bark (Salix alba), birch bark and birch leaves (Betula) and meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria). Wintergreen oil (Gaultheria) is used externally in liniments for arthritis. Wintergreen is not taken internally because it contains a strong irritant, methyl salicylate.

Saponins

These substances which belong to the glycosides, taste sweet to bitter-sweet. They have their own medicinal properties and, being glycosides, also enhance the action of others. Saponins are named for their soap-like action although, chemically, they are not related to soap. They can foam when used in water and, like soap, can emulsify (disperse) oil in water. Overdosing on saponin can irritate the bowels and induce nausea and vomiting. For the same reason, some saponins are used as emetics (inducing vomiting). Their softening action also makes them useful for internal and external treatment of skin problems. Chickweed (Stellaria media) and pansy (Viola tricolor) are good examples for saponin-containing plants used in skin preparations. Because of their powerful emulsifying effects, some saponins are blood poisons, exhibiting hemolytic action, that is, dissolving the red color of the blood. Arnica (Arnica montana) is a good example of a saponin-rich plant that should not be taken internally. Externally, arnica's blood-dissolving properties make it an ideal remedy for bruising. The chemical structure of saponins is very close to that of steroid hormones, including the sex hormones. Therefore, saponins can have hormone-like effects on the body. Wild yam (Dioscorea), for example, was used to manufacture the first contraceptive pill, while sarsaparilla (Smilax) is known as a remedy for a low sperm count. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) has a cortisone-like, anti-inflammatory effect. The terms steroidal saponins, steroidal glycosides, sterols and phytosterols are all used to describe plant substances with hormone-like action.

Sesquiterpenes

These are another group of bitters. They are usually found in essential oils, whose effects they enhance. The best known sesquiterpene is azulene, which is found in both the true camomile (Chamomilla recutita/Matricaria chamomilla) and the Roman camomile (Anthemis nobilis). Azulene is a strong anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately, it is sensitive to steam. Therefore, when camomile tea is prepared, the cup or teapot should always be covered. Some sesquiterpenes have antitumor properties, for example the ones found in various wormwoods (Artemesia), and in various magnolias (Liriodendron).

Silica

Plants belonging to the horsetail (Equisetaceen), borage (Boraginaceen) and grass (Gramineen) families absorb a lot of silica from the ground and deposit it in their cells and cell walls. Silica is a necessary substance in the human organism, essential for building bones, tissues, skin, hair and nails. Horsetail is a much-utilized plant for silica deficiencies. It is used internally in teas and a water-soluble extract is available in capsule form. Externally, it is added to baths.

Tannins

Tannins used to be employed in preserving animal skins (tanning leather) because of their ability to bind proteins in skin and mucous membranes and deprive bacteria of their nutrient base. Tannins consist of various phenol compounds. They are considered drying in traditional herbal medicine. Besides being antibacterial, they are also astringent and are therefore ideal gargles for sore throats and inflamed gum tissues. Tannin-enriched sitz-baths for hemorrhoids and foot and leg baths for chilblains are also effective because of their astringent action. Both the antibacterial and astringent properties make tannins good remedies for diarrhea. Because of these same properties, tannins are also found in remedies for wounds, burns, cuts, stings, internal bleeding and intestinal inflammation, such as colitis. Examples of plants with tannins as their main ingredient are bloodroot, oak bark and bilberry. Practitioners often tend to prefer the gentler herbs such as raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus), cranesbill (Geranium maculatum), agrimony (Agrimonia) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum). These gentler herbs contain mild, condensed tannins which give plants a red color. Strong tannins such as witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) are the main ingredient in astringent facial lotions and are best used externally. (Using a bottle of generic witch hazel from your pharmacy is just as effective as using expensive name-brand astringents.) If the tannin in a certain herb is not wanted, it is best to make cold infusions (cold teas) which allow only a small part of the tannins to be released.

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential constituents of any diet; without them we cannot remain healthy. Vitamins are extracted from herbs when added to the boiling water used to make tea, and greatly influence the healing action of herbs.

The main active substance in rose hips and buckthorn is vitamin C. Beta-carotene, the water-soluble form of vitamin A, can be found in parsley, spinach and carrots. It is necessary for normal growth and is recommended especially for the eyes. Green leafy vegetables contain vitamin E, which is good for the skin, and folic acid, required for building healthy blood cells. (For more information, see Section 6, Nutritional Supplements.)

A Reliable List of Safe and Effective Medicinal Plants

Clinical studies have confirmed the benefits and healing properties of herbs. Most significant among these studies are those done by the Commission E. The commission has studied over three hundred herbs so far, and of these, about one-third have been rejected as either not effective, unsafe or both. The list provided below is a selection from the two hundred approved, safe and effective herbs. (For a more detailed list of medicinal plants, see Appendix 2.)

What the Commission E has really done for 'honest herbalists' is to verify the value of their work, give them a secure basis to start from, and then enable them to use their own intuition and their own experience to build on the original foundations. The commission itself states that it has not studied every claim made about an herb in folk medicine. Thus, additional healing benefits not mentioned by the Commission E may also be present in an herb, unless explicitly invalidated by their research.

The following is a list, in alphabetical order, of over thirty herbs you can trust.

Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)

Typically, used internally as a tea for relief of mild, non-specific acute diarrhea, for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. Taken externally for mild, superficial skin inflammation. Daily poultices with a 10% decoction can have an astringent effect.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Heals ulcers and is good for colon disorders, anemia, hemorrhaging and arthritis. Alkalizes and detoxifies the body.

Aloe (Aloe vera)

Used as first aid for burned skin, soothes and heals damaged tissue. Purgative, strong laxative for acute constipation (for short-term use only). Anthelmintic.

Angelica root (Angelica archangelica)

Effective for stimulating appetite, and for alleviating digestive complaints such as stomach cramps, bloatedness and flatulence. Can cause photo-sensitivite reactions: while taking this herb, avoid prolonged exposure to the sun's UV rays, which can cause sunburn-like skin inflammation. Unless otherwise prescribed, 4.5 g of the herb; 1.5-3 g of the extract (1:1); 1.5 ml of the tincture (1:5); 5-10 drops of essential oil can have spasmolytic, cholagogic, stomachic effects.

Arnica flower (Arnica montana)

For external use only. Effective for the treatment of injury and accident-caused conditions, such as hematoma, dislocations, sprains, bruises, edema in conjunction with fractures, rheumatic joint and muscle pains, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, boils, inflammation due to insect bites and surface phlebitis. Side-effects are rare if used as directed. Prolonged treatment of damaged skin, such as leg ulcers, often causes a rash with small, pus-filled pimples. Can also lead to the onset of eczema. Used in too high concentrations, there can be toxic skin reactions with blisters and even necrosis. For antiphlogistic, analgesic and antiseptic effects, use for poultices (dilute the tincture [1:5, 90% alcohol] three to ten times with water), as a mouth rinse (dilute tincture ten times or use an infusion of 2 g of herb to 100 ml water, steeped ten minutes), as an ointment (made with maximum 20-25% of the tincture or 15% arnica oil) or as arnica oil (from 1 part herb and 5 parts vegetable oil).

Artichoke (Cynara scolymus)

Stimulates liver cell regeneration. Also used as a liver detoxifier, diuretic and cholagogue (leaves and roots).

Black cohosh root (Cimicifuga racemosa)

Because of its estrogen-like action, black cohosh is used to alleviate premenstrual syndrome and pain during menstruation. Can be used by menopausal women instead of estrogen replacement. Can cause stomach upset in certain people. Used as a tincture ([1:5, made with 40-60% alcohol] to equal 40 mg of the herb), can provide estrogenic effects.

Black walnut (Juglans nigra)

Expels and kills tapeworms and parasites and their larvae.

Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus)

Helps anorexia and sluggish digestion. Also for fever or inflammation of digestive tract. Bitter with astringent and diaphoretic properties.

Borage (Borago officinalis)

Borage soothes respiratory ailments and stimulates milk production in mothers. As an emollient, it is used in poutices for sore and inflamed skin. The leaves are diuretic, and the flowers promote sweating. Take 10 ml of tincture as a tonic for stress or following steroid therapy. For relief of depression, anxiety or grief, drink 10 ml of freshly squeezed juice, three times a day.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

Also known as marigold, it is a common ingredient in natural skin medications. Use internally for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat and externally for wounds, especially difficult ones, such as leg ulcers. Take as a tincture (2-4 ml in 1/4-1/2 l of water), as an ointment (2-5 g of drug in 100 g of ointment), or as a tea (150 ml of boiling water is poured over 1-2 g of the herb, covered, and steeped for five to ten minutes).

Camomile (Chamomilla recutita)

Used externally in poultices and rinses (3-10% infusion) or in baths (50 g of flowers), for inflammation of the skin and the mucous membranes; for bacterial infection of the skin, mouth and gums; as an inhalant for inflammation and irritation of the respiratory system. Used internally to soothe gastro-intestinal distress, such as a feeling of fullness, mild cramping and flatulence as well as inflammations of the gastrointestinal tract. Use as a tea (pour one cup [150 ml] of boiling water on one tablespoon [2-3 g] of dried flowers; cover and steep for ten minutes) between meals, three to four times a day, or as a rinse or gargle for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. Provides anti-inflammatory, and carminative effects.

Chaparral (Larrea tridentata)

Protects from harmful effects of radiation and sun exposure and against formation of tumors and cancer cells. Traditionally used by Native Americans and Mexicans to treat and prevent immune disorders such as cancer and skin infections. Clears uric acid from the blood and acts as a powerful antioxidant. Wards off infections and fights parasites. Works as an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic.

Chasteberry (Vitex agnus castus)

A tonic for the reproductive organs. Stimulates and normalizes functions of the pituitary gland, especially its progesterone function.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)

Used as a cooking herb, cinnamon enhances appetite, settles upset stomachs and alleviates indigestion, flatulence and bloating. Provides stomachic and carminative effects. Do not use during pregnancy or if allergic to cinnamon or Peruvian balsam. Take 2-4 g per day. The essential oil is highly concentrated and should be used sparingly (from 0.05-0.2 g). May cause allergic reactions of skin, mouth and respiratory system.

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

Combats colds and liquefies phlegm; eases persistent cough; soothes dry and irritated bronchial tubes, stomach and intestines.

Comfrey root (Symphytum officinale)

For external use only. Uses are for contusions, sprains and dislocations. Ointments or other preparations for external use should contain 5-20% of the drug and can be applied to skin wounds, insect bites, chafing or other irritations. Comfrey should not be used beyond four to six weeks in a year. For a poultice, a paste can be made from the fresh root or with a 1:10 decoction. Use as an anti-inflammatory, to promote callus formation or as an anti-mitotic.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Stimulates bile flow and metabolism; increases stomach juice secretion; soothes chronic skin and joint inflammation; helps gallstone and biliary problems. Good for anemia, gout, rheumatism, abscesses, fluid retention, constipation and breast tumors. Acts as a digestant, hepatic tonic, chalogogue, laxative and diuretic. Use in leaf form to optimize potassium intake. May cause obstruction of the bile tract. If gallstones are present, use only after consulting a physician. Use 4-10 g of drug three times daily or 4-10 ml of liquid extract 1:1 in 25% alcohol.

Devil's Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens)

Use as a remedy for lack of appetite and indigestion, and as supportive therapy for degenerative disorders of the locomotive system. Can be taken as a drug for loss of appetite or as a tea (300 ml of boiling water is poured over 4.5 g of the powdered or finely chopped drug and steeped for eight hours). The tea is strained and taken in 3 portions throughout the day. Effects are appetite stimulating, choleretic, anti-inflammatory, mildly antiphlogistic and anti-arthritic, mildly analgesic. Do not use if suffering from gastric or duodenal ulcers; consult a physician first in case of gallstones.

Dong quai (Angelica sinensis)

Regulates menstrual disorders and menopausal symptoms; eases fleeting muscle and joint pains, especially when worsened by damp conditions; increases the effect of ovarian and testicular hormones; antispasmodic; alternative.

Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia)

Used internally for mild to moderately severe colds and flu and infectious conditions of the nose and throat. Used externally for inflamed skin and badly healing wounds. Do not use internally if suffering from a progressive disease, such as leucosis, collagnosis, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS, and other autoimmune diseases. For antibacterial, antiviral and immuno-stimulatory effects, use 6-9 ml of pressed juice or equivalent preparations. Drug should not be taken more than eight weeks at a time. Wait at least one week before starting it again. Tea can be made from 1 g of the coarsely powdered root to 150 ml of boiling water and drunk as warm as possible several times a day.

Elder flower (Sambucus nigra)

Large amounts of tea from elder flowers are drunk as hot as possible to alleviate feverish chills and catarrh. Promotes therapeutic sweating. One or two cups of tea prepared from 150 ml boiling water poured over 3-4 g of elder flowers and steeped for 5 minutes, are drunk as hot as possible several times a day, especially late afternoon and night. A maximum daily dosage of 10-15 g of flowers acts as a diaphoretic and increases bronchial secretions.

Ephedra (Ephedra sinica)

Used as a decongestant, ephedra relieves asthma, hay fever, and nasal and chest congestion. It is more powerful than caffeine, and as a central nervous system stimulant, ephedra curbs the appetite and burns calories faster, making it effective for weight loss.

Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis)

Taken internally and externally to heal the eyes; good for discomfort from eye strain or minor irritation. Acts as an anti-inflammatory, astringent and anti-catarrhal.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

For mild cramp-like conditions of the gastro-intestinal tract, feelings of fullness and flatulence and catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. Use daily 5-7 g of fennel seed in tea, fennel syrup or tincture. For tea, 2.5-5 g of seed are crushed just before use, pour in 150 ml of boiling water, cover and steep for ten to fifteen minutes. Do not take for more than a week without consulting your physician. Use caution during pregnancy; only the amount specified for tea should be taken. In rare cases causes allergies in skin and respiratory tract.

Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium)

For migraine, indigestion, fever and muscle tension; stimulates uterine contractions and promotes menstrual flow; expels worms.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

For relief of dyspeptic complaints and travel sickness, take 2 g of the root internally, or add 100 g to a full bath. Preparing tea is not usual, but boiling water can be poured over 0.5-1 g of the coarsely powdered root, covered and steeped for five minutes. Acts as an anti-emetic, promotes salivary and gastric secretions, cholagogic, increases the tone of the intestinal muscle. Consult a physician first if suffering from gallstones.

Ginseng (Panax ginseng)

Panax (Korean ginseng) is used as a tonic and energizer for recovery from illness and for combating fatigue, lack of energy and inability to concentrate. Unless otherwise prescribed, take 1-2 g of ginseng root or equivalent preparations. For tea, pour 150 ml of boiling water on 3 g of the finely chopped root; cover and let steep for five to ten minutes. Take up to three cups a day for three to four weeks. The root can also simply be chewed.

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)

Improves circulation, enhances memory and brain function, increases blood flow to the brain and the central nervous system. Powerful antioxidant for the brain and the central nervous system, protects cells of the central nervous system, relieves sinus congestion.

Hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata)

For relief of cardiac insufficiency, a feeling of pressure or tightness in the heart area, the heart in older patients who do not require digitalis and mild bradyarrhythmia. Hawthorn is prepared in several standard preparations in Germany, some of which are available in North America. Follow the package directions on standard German-prepared hawthorn remedies. (A minimum dosage would have 5 mg flavones or 1 mg flavonoids.) Do not take for more than six weeks.

Hops (Humulus lupulus)

Promotes sleep, eases restlessness and decreases desire for alcohol. Acts as a bitter digestive tonic, local antiseptic, antibacterial and sedative.

Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastum)

Firms and tones slack and dilated veins. Also a capillary astringent, antihemorrhagic, anti-inflammatory and diuretic.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Rejuvenates hair, nails and dry skin, rebuilds connective tissue, restores damaged pulmonary tissue, increases calcium absorption, stimulates the kidneys. Acts as a strong diuretic and astringent. Use only horsetail extracted by the water-evaporation method. Take aqueous horsetail extract or tea of the fresh or dried herb only.

Kava (Piper methysticum)

Used to treat insomnia, depression, reduce anxiety and symptoms related to menopause. Kava is sedative, so it eases muscle tension, but it does not reduce clarity of thought or impair mental function. In fact, it is often recommended to improve memory.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

For restlessness, sleeping disturbances, nervous stomach and nervous intestinal disorders. Use 20-100 g per 20 L of water as a bath additive to support circulation or in pillows to promote restful sleep. For tea, 150 ml of boiling water is poured over 1.5 mg of the drug, covered and steeped for five to ten minutes. Lavender is also useful in combination with other herbal sedatives and/or carminatives.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

Generally used as a 'nervine' for nervous conditions, nervous gastro-intestinal disorders and migraines. Drink a cup of freshly prepared tea (150 ml of boiling water over 1-3 teaspoons of balm leaves; cover and steep for 10 minutes) several times a day.

Linden flowers (Tilia cordata)

Used as a diaphoretic for chills, colds, and related coughs. Take daily 2-4 g as a tea (pour boiling water on 2 g of the herb; cover and steep for five to ten minutes. Herb can also be put into cold water and briefly brought to the boil).

Marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis)

Leaves and roots are useful for the alleviation of irritated mucous membranes and associated dry cough. Root also alleviates mild inflammation of the stomach. With both the root and the leaf, the absorption of other drugs taken simultaneously may be delayed. Take a maximum of 5 g of the leaf, 6 g of the root, or equivalent preparations; or one single 10 g dose of marsh mallow syrup daily. Prepare tea as a maceration (add 2 g of the finely chopped leaves or 3-10 g of the finely cut root to 150 ml cool water. Let steep at room temperature for one to two hours [leaves] or thirty minutes [roots], stirring frequently) for antitussive, demulcent, expectorant (leaves only) effects.

Maté (Ilex paraguariensis)

Used as a tonic for physical and mental fatigue. In folk use it is known as the ideal weight loss remedy, because it has properties of breaking down fat and glycogen into energy and calming hunger pangs. For analeptic, diuretic, positively inotropic and chronotropic, glycogenolytic and lipolytic effects, use 3 g daily. Prepare as a tea (150 ml of water that has just stopped boiling is poured over 2 g of maté, covered and steeped for five to ten minutes). As with regular black tea, the stimulating effect of maté is stronger and the taste is more pleasant when the steeping time is shorter, since caffeine dissolves more quickly than tannins.

Mexican wild yam (Dioscorea)

Assists the adrenal glands in their production of hormones and is used to balance the hormones for menopausal symptoms and PMS. Stimulates the gall-bladder to promote bile flow. Effective where there is excess bloating and distension of the abdomen. Contains a precursor to the synthesis of progesterone.

Mistletoe (European) (Viscum album)

Lowers blood pressure from nervous tension. Provides anticarcinogenic, hypotensive, relaxant and diuretic effects.

Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha)

Helps inflammations in the mouth and upper respiratory conditions. Use externally for wounds and fungal infections. As an expectorant, diaphoretic, antiseptic, astringent, myrrh stimulates the production of white blood corpuscles.

Parsley (Petroselinum sativum)

Stimulates the uterine muscle and has estrogenic properties. Inhibits tumor-cell growth and is good for anemic conditions. Provides carminative, digestive tonic, galactogogue, diuretic and antispasmodic effects.

Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata)

For relief from nervous restlessness, mild sleeping difficulties and gastro-intestinal complaints of nervous origin. Take two to three cups of tea (pour 150 ml of boiling water over 2 g of the herb, cover and steep for five to ten minutes) throughout the day or one or two cups before bedtime to promote sleeping. Maximum 4-8 g of drug per day.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

To relieve cramp-like conditions in the gastro-intestinal tract, the biliary tract and the gall-bladder, take internally 3-6 g of leaves or 5-15 g of tincture. Follow the package instructions for essential oil. For tea, pour boiling water over 1.5 g of the leaves, cover and steep for ten minutes. Drink 1 cup of warm tea three or four times a day between meals to act as a spasmolytic on the smooth muscle of the gastro-intestinal tract, or for carminative, choloretic effects, or to increase the amount of bile. In case of gallstones, consult a physician first.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense)

The flower heads of red clover are used in treating skin conditions, normally in combination with other purifying herbs like burdock or yellow dock. Its expectorant properties make it useful in cases of bronchitis or whooping cough, to alleviate spasmodic coughing. Red clover is taken internally as a tincture to treat psoriasis and eczema, and is used externally as an ointment for lymphatic swelling.

Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

Take internally for irritation in case of catarrh of the upper respiratory tract and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, or externally for inflamed skin. For soothing, astringent and antibacterial effects, use 3-6 g of the cut-up herb or equivalent preparations to prepare tea (2-4 g of the herb in 150 ml of water) or as a juice or a cold maceration (heat destroys thebacteria-killing property, but not the soothing action for catarrh which is due to mucilages and tannins).

Rose flower (Rosa gallica)

For mild cases of sore throat take rose flower daily as a tea (pour 150 ml of boiling water over 1-2 g of rose flowers). Although rose hip is widely used in folk medicine for a variety of ailments from vitamin C deficiency to flu to kidney complaints, no therapeutic effect was found by the Commission E.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Use internally for dyspeptic complaints and as supportive therapy for rheumatic complaints, or externally for circulatory disorders. To use for baths, briefly boil 50 g of herb in 1 l of water; cover and steep for fifteen to thirty minutes. Add strained liquid to bath water. For rosemary wine, add 20 g of rosemary herb to 1 l of wine. Steep for five days, shaking daily. For tea, pour 150 ml of boiling water over 2 g of the finely chopped herb. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Use a maximum of 4-6 g of the herb or 10-20 drops of essential oil or equivalent preparations daily for spasmolytic effects on the bile duct and small intestine, to increase coronary blood supply, and when used externally to increase blood circulation.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Internally for relief of dyspeptic complaints and excessive perspiration or externally to reduce inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat. Observe recommended daily doses and avoid the essential oil and alcoholic extracts. Prolonged use of the essential oil or alcoholic extract may cause epileptic-type convulsions. Internally, use 4-6 g of herb, 0.1-0.3 g of essential oil, 2.5-7.5 g of tincture, or 1.5-3 g of fluid extract per day.

Externally, as a gargle or rinse, use 2.5 g of the herb prepared as a tea or 2-3 drops of essential oil in 100 ml water, or 5 g alcoholic extract to 100 ml water. To prepare tea as a gargle, pour 150 ml boiling water on 3 g chopped herb; cover and steep for ten minutes. For night sweats, prepare tea as above, but cool down before drinking. For gastro-intestinal complaints, pour 150 ml of boiling water on 1.5-2 g of the finely chopped herb; cover and steep for five minutes.

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, S. serrulata)

For urinary problems associated with benign conditions of enlarged prostate, such as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), a condition affecting half of the male population over fifty. Use 1-2 g of the berry or 320 mg of the extract, or equivalent preparation daily. May cause stomach problems in rare cases.

Senna husk (Cassia)

A short-term purgative, only for occasional constipation; strong laxative.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)

Internally and externally as supportive treatment for rheumatic complaints, internally only for irrigation in inflammation of the urinary tract or for prevention and treatment of kidney gravel. Take 8-12 g of the herb daily as tea (put 1.5 g of the finely chopped herb in 150 ml of cold water and boil briefly; cover and steep for ten minutes) or as a diuretic (a cupful is taken several times a day).

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Effective for whooping cough, bronchitis and catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. Use as a tea (pour 150 ml of boiling water on 1-2 g of herb; cover and let steep for five to ten minutes; drink a cup of tea several times a day) or as a poultice (prepare 5% infusion). Take 1-2 g fluid extract.

Uva ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)

For inflammatory disorders of the lower urinary tract. Make sure urine is alkaline before using. Do not use uva ursi in combination with medications that produce acidic urine. Patients with delicate stomachs and children may experience nausea and vomiting. Use 10 g of chopped or powdered herb as a tea or cold maceration daily. To prepare tea, pour 150 ml of boiling water on 2.5 g of the finely chopped or coarsely powdered herb; cover and steep for fifteen minutes. For cold-water maceration, steep an equivalent amount of herb in cool water for six to twelve hours.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

For relief from restlessness, nervous sleep disturbance, nervous tension and nervous, cramp-like conditions of the intestinal tract. Use as a tea (2-3 g of finely chopped root per 150 ml cup of tea, covered and steeped ten to fifteen minutes, several times a day), tincture (1-3 ml one or several times a day), extract (equivalent of 2-3 g of root several times a day), or externally (100 g for a full bath). There are numerous commercial products containing valerian.

White willow bark (Salix alba)

Relieves arthritic pain. Acts as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and astringent.

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

For relief of mild skin damage, local skin inflammation, inflammation of the mucous membranes and gums, hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Stomach upsets may ensue from preparations of the leaves; the leaves contain tannins which in rare cases may cause liver damage. Use witch hazel water undiluted, or diluted with water 1:2 externally. For poultices a 20-30% semi-solid preparation is used. Extracts correspond to 5-10 % of the herb. Use a decoction of 5-10 g to 250 ml of water for poultices and mouth washes. Internally, use 2-6 g of the finely chopped herb daily. For tea, 150 ml boiling water is poured over 1-2 g of herb, covered and steeped for ten minutes. For mild diarrhea, a cup is taken two or three times a day for a limited time. The tea can also be used as a gargle and mouth rinse for inflamed mucous membranes.

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Cure-all household remedy. Stimulates digestion and bile production, relieves gall bladder problems. Acts as an aperitif, antiparasitic and clears uric acid.

Yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea)

Strong bitters stimulate the appetite, increase saliva secretion and stomach juice production. Use for anorexia and convalescence, and as an antimalarial and anti-inflammatory.

Power Herbs

A number of herbs have been attracting attention because of their outstanding healing powers. Some of these have been used in Western medicine for a long time but have been studied more extensively in recent years. Others have come to us from the herbal treasury of other cultures such as China or the Amazon. These herbal medicines have amazed researchers with their ability to heal a wide variety of conditions with virtually no side effects.

Cat's Claw (Uncaria tomentosa)-

In 1994 cat's claw, a vine of the South American rainforest, was officially recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a medicinal plant. The natives of the Peruvian rainforest had been using cat's claw (UÑa de Gato) for many centuries to treat tumors, inflammation, rheumatism, urinary tract infection, gastric ulcers and menstrual irregularities. It was also used for contraception. It had to be taken during the menstrual cycle and was said to retain its effect for three years.

Various modern studies have suggested that the herb may be valuable in the treatment of AIDS, allergies, arthritis, asthma, bursitis, cancer, candidiasis, chronic fatigue, diabetes, environmental poisoning, genital herpes, herpes simplex (cold sores), herpes zoster (shingles), intestinal disorders, lupus, menstrual irregularities, PMS and skin disorders. The plant is named after its spikes, which resemble cat's claws. The vine clings to trees, climbing upwards and reaching considerable length and thickness. The roots and the inner bark are the parts used for healing.

The herb was brought to the attention of the Western world in the seventies when an Austrian researcher took the herb to the University of Innsbruck for analysis and study. Austrian research established that toxicity of the herb is low even in large doses. It was found that cat's claw contains a whole list of powerful alkaloids and that at least two of its glycosides had never before been observed in nature.

Four of the alkaloids were identified as potent immuno-stimulants. In people who consumed tea made of the roots, active monocytes (a type of immune cells) increased from thirty-five to fifty percent in a single week. Phagocytosis, the destruction of foreign organisms by white blood cells and macrophages (the 'Pacman'-like scavenger cells of the immune system), were also significantly enhanced. In addition, the research established that red blood cells were much less apt to break down in people who had been given a standardized extract of cat's claw. ManyEuropeans take the standardized extract, called claw thorn (Krallendorn), in the fall as a preventive immune system stimulant.

European research also established that the anti-tumor activity of cat's claw, first noticed by the native people, is due to its strengthening effect on the immune system. In Austria andGermany, Krallendorn is now being used in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including cancer and AIDS. Cancer patients who took cat's claw tea recovered more rapidly or were able to tolerate radiation treatment better than others. There are numerous anecdotal reports of people being miraculously healed from cancer by cat's claw. AIDS patients being treated with Krallendorn showed remission of symptoms and remained symptom-free for five and more years. Studies also established a reduction in the side-effects of AZT.

The herb has also been employed in the treatment of allergies and neurobronchitis. Patients with serious allergic asthma who took the herb for a year were symptom-free and had no recurrences for over three years.

Patients with gastritis who took the alkaloid-rich root tea were symptom-free after only three to eight days. Equal results were observed with duodenal ulcers. However, to achieve profound and lasting healing, patients had to take the tea for at least three months. Some doctors believe that cat's claw can clear up other deep-seated, hidden and chronic infections, including those that can cause severe adhesions capable of distorting organs such as the uterus, prostate, bowel or liver.

Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, the herb also alleviates rheumatism and arthritis without side-effects.

Since active ingredients vary vastly from plant to plant and even in the same plant, finding a reliable source for the herb or taking the standardized extract is advised. The recommended dose is three to six grams a day, and up to twenty grams a day for severe conditions.

Cayenne (Capsicum frutescens or C. annum or C. minimum)-

Capsicum's effectiveness and versatility derives from the fact that it supports circulation from the heart to the finest capillaries without speeding up the pulse.

There are three forms of capsicum, differentiated by their British Thermal Unit (BTU), which measures the amount of heat produced. The mildest form, with a rating of one BTU or less, is paprika. Next, with a rating between one and twenty-five, is red pepper. The hottest form, with a rating of over twenty-five BTU, is cayenne, the capsicum most effective in healing. Its active ingredient is capsaicin. The herb should be taken as a dried powder. Consuming it in foods that have been cooked for extended periods of time or eating the raw peppers does not have the desired medicinal effect. The herb is available from health food stores in the form of capsules, a powder or a main ingredient in topical creams. For acute ailments, take one capsule a day. To prepare a tea, pour one cup of hot water over one teaspoon of cayenne, cover and steep for ten minutes. Do not strain. Sip slowly. For chronic conditions, take one-third of a teaspoon three times a day, increasing to the recommended dosage of one teaspoon three times a day over several months. The herb is available in a tincture. This is not recommended for internal use. The following are some of cayenne's many health-promoting uses:

Most significant is cayenne's effect on the heart and circulatory system. Taken daily, the herb stimulates circulation and prevents heart attacks, strokes, depression and headaches of all kinds, including migraine. People slowed down with shortness of breath experience remarkable improvement in vitality, activity level and endurance. The herb also helps overcome non-specific lack of energy, fatigue and sluggishness.

As a warming stimulant, cayenne breaks down obstructions and gets the blood flow and metabolism working smoothly again. Because of its regulatory influence on blood flow, the herb returns either high or low blood pressure to normal and exerts a healing effect on varicose veins and hemorrhoids.

Cayenne is also effective in stopping internal or external hemorrhaging. It can be used in first aid on profusely bleeding cuts. It is also able to stop the bleeding of stomach ulcers and heal the stomach lining. Similarly, it alleviates the bleeding in Crohn's disease. Start with a low dosage and increase over time. Novice users find it difficult to believe that this extremely hot herb will actually heal a bleeding stomach and intestinal tract.

Cayenne is an excellent remedy for colds and flu. As a diaphoretic (perspiration inducer) it helps to remove toxins from the body and to lower fevers naturally. As an anticatarrhal (mucus eliminator) it helps to clear sinuses and breathing passages.

Used in a liniment, plaster or poultice, cayenne increases circulation to the surface of the skin and draws out deep-seated congestion or inflammation. It is useful for boils, sprains, bursitis, psoriasis, toothache, swelling, the joint pain of arthritis, muscle aches and sore throat (used in a gargle and as a poultice around the neck). In Back to Eden, Jethro Kloss recommends the following liniment: Gently simmer one tablespoon of cayenne in one pint (two cups) of apple cider vinegar for ten minutes. The liniment is rubbed directly on the affected area. For poultices or plasters, simply mix cayenne with water or honey, apply to the affected area and cover securely with a flannel cloth. Mixed with fresh mashed leaves of plantain, cayenne has the ability to draw splinters and other foreign objects from the body.

Garlic (Allium sativum)-

potent herb for the major diseases of our times

Garlic is a healing herb that was highly prized in ancient Greece, Egypt and China. Historically, it has been used all over the world to treat coughs, toothaches, earaches and poor circulation. Before the advent of antibiotics, garlic was widely used to combat infections. In both wars it was employed in hospitals and on the battleground to treat infected wounds and prevent gangrene.

Today, garlic has come to public attention for its amazing ability to combat more than half a dozen major health problems of the modern age: cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, immune-deficiency diseases, infectious diseases, free-radical damage and toxic metal poisoning. Garlic is now available as a supplement that preserves or enhances the potency of the herb.

Volumes of scientific research testify to the versatility and potency of this herb.

Antibiotic action

The antibiotic effect, demonstrated in the two wars, has been reaffirmed many times but has attracted new interest as more and more drug-resistant bacteria are emerging. In 1994, the San Francisco University Hospital conducted a study testing all the bacteria collected on the premises. Researchers were amazed to find that garlic killed all of the bacteria, including the drug-resistant ones. The antibiotic action is due to the allicin content of garlic.

Antifungal effect

Fungal infections are often difficult to treat because conventional drugs can be highly toxic if given in sufficient doses. In the laboratory, a group of mice treated with garlic had a blood stream free of candida (the fungus causing yeast infection) only forty-eight hours after treatment started, while a control group had no reduction. Garlic is also effective against microsporum and trichophyton.

Antiparasitic and antiprotozoal action

Garlic has been used successfully to treat tapeworm and hookworm infestation in humans and animals. Successful treatment of protozoa has been known since Albert Schweitzer used garlic to cure amoebic dysentery in his African clinics. Protozoal infection causes many of the illnesses in AIDS patients and current drugs are extremely toxic, further damaging the immune system.

Antiviral action

Neurologists from the Second MedicalUniversity of Shanghai reported that they had treated viral encephalitis with garlic. Test-tube studies have shown that garlic is effective against the influenza B virus and herpes simplex 1 and 2.

Anti-cancer properties

Recent Chinese population studies have shown that the more garlic is consumed in a given area the less cancer occurs among the population. In human experiments, garlic inhibited powerful cancer-causing nitrosamines, which are by-products of digestive processes.

Radiation protection

Patients with colon cancer often suffer chronic injury to the colon from radiation therapy. In an experiment at the University of Texas, mice fed diallyl sulfide (a component of garlic) three hours before radiation treatment had 'significantly inhibited' radiation damage. The more of the sulfide they ingested, the better they were protected from damage. In another study, rats highly susceptible to a type of esophageal cancer had no tumor formation when they received diallyl sulfide before exposure. At Pennsylvania State University, garlic as a food supplement prevented breast cancer in laboratory animals. Fresh garlic was not effective. Researchers believe that the organic sulphur compounds of garlic prevent carcinogens from reaching cell DNA.

Free-radical protection

Garlic protects against free-radical damage. The protection comes from the amino acids found in garlic.

Protection from environmental poisons and toxic metals

The liver normally eliminates toxins from the body. However, with the growing onslaught of environmental poisons, the liver can become overstressed and even damaged. In several studies, garlic has been shown to enhance the activity of the liver and protect it from damage even when it is exposed to highly toxic substances. Researchers believe that the antioxidant selenium in garlic as well as its main antioxidant sulfur compounds including the enzymes S-allyl cysteine and S-allyl mercaptocysteine are responsible for the protective effect. Garlic also has a direct effect on toxins in our body because its sulfhydral compounds bind with heavy metals and make them harmless.

Cardiovascular protection

Garlic works in a number of ways to protect the body from cardiovascular disease. First, garlic inhibits the production of excess cholesterol and, in addition, lowers existing cholesterol levels. In a six-month study, garlic was given to sixteen people with high cholesterol, while sixteen similar subjects received a placebo. No changes were observed until the end of the third month, which almost led to the suspension of the study. However, by the end of the six-month study, cholesterol had dropped to normal in sixty-five percent of the garlic group, with no change in the placebo group. Another benefit seen in the study was the fact that the 'good' cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) kept rising while the 'bad' cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) declined. The study also points to the fact that herbal medicine therapy requires patience when there are no immediate results. Second, garlic can lower high blood pressure. In Japan, garlic is widely prescribed to control hypertension. Studies have shown that oral ingestion of garlic lowers blood pressure for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. People with low blood pressure (hypotension) also benefit from garlic, since the herb seems to normalize blood pressure rather than simply lower it. Third, garlic promotes blood flow and dissolves blood clots. Clots are formed by an interaction of platelets and fibrin, which trap red blood cells.

Fourth and finally, garlic also benefits people with existing heart disease. In a three-year study at India's Tagore Medical School, 432 heart patients at risk for a second heart attack were divided into garlic and non-garlic groups. Results were significant among the garlic group: second heart attacks dropped by thirty percent in the second year and by sixty percent in the third year. Mortality rate dropped fifty percent in the second year and sixty-six percent in the third year. It seems that taking garlic continuously reverses atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) over the years.

As if the above healing properties were not sufficient, studies have shown garlic to be effective in these areas: balancing insulin need; healing ileitis (inflammation of the lower portion of the small intestine); alleviating lupus symptoms; alleviating depression; curing ear infection and helping to eliminate poisons in pets. Garlic has shown to be helpful for the following conditions and more: conjunctivitis, eye infections, ear infections, sinus infections, flu, vaginal yeast infections, pimples and acne.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)-

The ginkgo tree was widely distributed over the temperate regions of the world at the time of the dinosaurs. Individual trees can probably survive for two to four thousand years. Ginkgo is Japanese for 'silver apricot.' Biloba means 'two lobes' and describes the shape of the leaf, the medicinal part of the plant. The leaf cannot simply be harvested and used in a tea. Ginkgo is only effective in concentrated form as a standardized extract of twenty-four percent flavonoids and six percent terpene lactones. The recommended dosage is forty milligrams of the standardized extract three times a day. Ginkgo biloba has been proven safe and effective in over three hundred clinical studies. As with all herbs, ginkgo works synergistically. Using the complete extract is more effective than employing any of its isolated components.

The herb is best known for its ability to increase circulation to the brain. In Germany, it is the most prescribed medicine for Alzheimer's patients. Ginkgo seems to be beneficial in all types of dementia, increasing alertness and memory. Due to its positive influence on mood, it can also alleviate the depression associated with Alzheimer's and increase sociability. It appears that for people who are just starting to experience a decline of mental functions, ginkgo may delay further deterioration, allowing these patients to maintain a normal lifestyle for many more years. For people in more advanced stages of Alzheimer's, ginkgo is still capable of bringing improvement of mood and alertness.

Many of the positive effects of ginkgo are due to its flavonoids, which strengthen capillaries and allow more blood to reach the brain. The other active ingredients, the terpene lactones, inhibit platelet aggregation and the formation of blood clots, preventing strokes. Unlike pharmaceutical drugs, which increase peripheral blood flow at the expense of cerebral blood flow, ginkgo achieves increased peripheral and cerebral blood flow all at the same time.

Ginkgo also has a major effect on the sympathetic (involuntary) nervous system, which includes brain cell functioning. It seems to be able to reactivate the cerebral cortex, preventing memory loss and increasing alertness. This effect was also observed in healthy individuals, who improved significantly on a memory test after taking six hundred milligrams of ginkgo.

As a powerful antioxidant, ginkgo protects the blood vessels, heart, brain and myelin sheath (the protective cover of nerves) from the destructive activity of free radicals. The protection of the myelin sheath has led to the successful use of ginkgo in multiple sclerosis.

Ginkgo also stimulates the synthesis of several neurotransmitters, among them dopamine, which carries messages from the brain to muscles, organs, glands and other body structures. Ginkgo also activates the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine, which are involved in the proper functioning of the major networks of the body, involving every important function of the organism.

Due to increased circulation, common conditions of the inner ear improve as well. In one study, ginkgo was taken by patients suffering from age-related hearing loss, vertigo (dizziness) and tinnitus (ringing of the ear). Most patients with tinnitus experienced significant improvement within twenty days, and the vertigo disappeared completely. Forty percent also experienced improved hearing. If there was recent deafness from head injury or noise damage, good results were achieved in sixty percent of the patients and ringing of the ear improved in seventy-four percent of the patients, even in severe cases.

Ginkgo has also been studied for its effect on vision. The studies showed that the herb increases blood flow to the retina and prevents or improves macular degeneration.

In studies of migraine headache sufferers, significant improvement or complete remission was seen in eighty percent of the cases.

Because of its terpenes, ginkgo is also helpful for allergies. The terpenes, which are unique to ginkgo, prevent platelet aggregation by inhibiting the platelet activating factor (PAF), a factor that is also involved in asthma and inflammation. Studies have shown that ginkgo can prevent allergic flare-ups. A double-blind study of asthma patients showed that after three days of taking 120 milligrams of ginkgo extract, the subjects were able to withstand an allergic challenge with no side-effects. Another study showed that due to the PAF antagonists in ginkgo, asthma patients experienced decreased broncho-constriction, fewer hospitalizations and decreased need for cortisone.

Ginkgo has also achieved positive results in cases of impotence. Sixty patients took sixty milligrams of ginkgo for twelve to eighteen months, with fifty percent experiencing reversal of the condition and forty-five percent experiencing some improvement.

Further double-blind studies showed the following results for patients treated with ginkgo versus a placebo group: improvement of peripheral pain: sixty-six vs. thirteen percent; intermittent claudication (painful legs due to poor circulation): sixty-four versus nineteen percent; warmth to lower limbs: sixty-four versus nineteen percent; badly healing ulcerous lesions: one hundred versus zero percent; painful attacks of Raynaud's disease: thirty-three versus zero percent.

Ginseng (Panax ginseng)-

Ginseng has been used in China for over four thousand years. Today, the world's largest ginseng production farm is in British Columbia, Canada, with about ninety percent of the crop going to Asian buyers. In China, ginseng is considered a 'superior' medicine, meaning that it does not target a single condition but balances the whole system and activates Qi, the life force and foundation of health. In the West we are just discovering 'adaptogens,' broadly balancing remedies, that help the body adjust to often opposing challenges. German scientist C.A. Meyer, who named the herb in 1842, hinted at its broad application by naming it panax, the Greek word for cure-all (panacea).

Studying ginseng is somewhat confusing because there are so many different types, including the Siberian ginseng, which is not a true ginseng.

There are three different kinds of ginseng: Asian white ginseng (Chinese and Korean), red ginseng (mostly Korean but also used as the standard in Japan) and Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng). The names red and white ginseng do not describe different subspecies but refer to different preparation methods: For white ginseng, the root is peeled and then dried. For red ginseng, the root is not peeled but treated with scalding steam for one and a half to four hours and then dried.

In traditional Chinese medicine, red ginseng is considered the hottest, that is, most stimulating of the ginsengs. It is used for people over forty years old, whose hormonal systems are slowing down and who may need some fire to restore balance. It is also used in revitalizing and even reviving patients. The Pharmacopeia of the People's Republic of China gives the following indications: 'Prostration with impending collapse, marked by cold limbs and faint pulse, to benefit the spleen and the lung, to preserve the production of body fluid and to calm the nerves.' Other medical uses are for mental exhaustion, impotence, asthma, immune function in cancer, and for digestive disturbances to support the whole system, especially in the elderly.

White ginseng is thought to be cool and is used for younger people whose system may need an extra boost. It is also given to very weak people to strengthen them enough for treatment with stronger medication.

American ginseng is the coolest of the three, even considered cold. It is prized in China because it has a more cooling and therefore a more balancing effect than white ginseng, which is still mildly stimulating in comparison. American ginseng has the ability to cool down an overheated system, restoring its balance. (Heated means that the adrenals and thyroid are working too hard). At the same time, it strengthens the adrenals and the digestive system to impart vitality. Herbalist Christopher Hobbs thinks that American ginseng is ideally suited for the overheated systems of Americans, who live a fast-paced, stressful life, and habitually ingest stimulants such as coffee, cola and white sugar.

Finally, there is Siberian ginseng or eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus). This is not a true ginseng species, but comes from the same general family (Araliaceae). Twenty years of concentrated research have shown Siberian ginseng to have amazing adaptogenic properties, meaning that it normalizes the body and helps it adapt to challenges. It is very effective for strenuous sports activities and physical or mental crises. It also helps people in general who are run-down and depleted.

Scientific research of panax ginseng has shown a number of effective applications:

A three-year study conducted at the University of Munich showed that ingestion of a standardized extract (four percent ginsenosides) had a positive effect on the performance of athletes. A later study by the same researchers showed that athletes training ten hours a week and taking ginseng extract two times daily increased their oxygen absorption as compared to a placebo group. The ginseng group also recovered faster and had less serum lactate, which is an indicator of muscle fatigue. A 1991 double-blind, crossover study with male sports teachers showed that the ginseng group had lower oxygen consumption, lower carbon dioxide production and lower lactate levels, indicating that they were expending less energy to achieve the same results as the placebo group. Other studies show enhanced mental performance in attention, mental processing, reaction time and visual/motor coordination.

Healing Herbs Common Herbal Preparations

Tea

Teas are the best-known and most widely used herbal remedies. They can be prepared from a single herb or from a mixture of herbs. Tea mixtures have the advantage of acting synergistically, attacking a complaint from several different angles and treating whole body systems rather than isolated symptoms. For example, a tea mixture for the circulatory system could contain teas that invigorate the heart, soothe the nerves and enhance circulation.

When preparing a tea mixture, it is important to chop up all the ingredients into a uniform size. If one part of the mixture is finer than the rest, it might settle at the bottom and not mix properly with the other herbs. This may be hard to notice when spoonfuls of tea are taken from the package to be used.

When making up your own herbal mixtures you should include the following four basic types of ingredients:

1. Main ingredients: First choose the dominant herb(s) that will determine the main effect of the tea. For example, you might want your tea mixture to affect the respiratory system, the urinary system or the circulatory system.

2. Supportive ingredients: Use additional herb(s) that will support the main thrust of the treatment but will add advantages such as being diuretic, antibacterial, calming or whatever additional effects would be of help.

3. Aromatic ingredients: Add herbs that will improve the taste of the tea. If possible, these ingredients should also be related to the direction of the treatment. A good example of an herb that can lend a pleasant taste to most mixtures is peppermint.

4. Fillers: Use fillers to increase the bulk of your tea; herbal fillers should ideally have some relationship to the main treatment or be generally toning. Most often, fillers are selected to add visual appeal by including parts of colorful flowers. A typical filler herb that is rarely used on its own is larkspur (Consolidae regalis flos) with its beautiful azure-blue or bluish-violet flowers. Another filler herb, which is also useful as a digestive remedy, is the helichrysum flower (Helichrysi flos), which is a beautiful bright yellow color.

How to Prepare Herbal Teas

Tea should always be prepared in china or glass pots. Simmering should be done in mirror-finish stainless steel pots. (A lot of the cheaper and even some of the more expensive stainless steel pots have a mirror finish on the outside but not on the inside. When these pots come in contact with acids, they stain and give off black residue.) Imported pottery should be avoided unless the glaze is guaranteed to be lead-free. During simmering or steeping, the pot should be tightly covered to guard the precious ingredients, especially the volatile oils.

Four basic preparation methods exist for herbal tea. The first three can be used with single herbs or herb mixtures.

Infusion

An infusion is just another name for a common cup of tea. Many herbals come with instructions for each herb, but a general rule is to use one teaspoon of the cut-up, dried herb per cup of water. Seeds, such as anise or fennel should be slightly crushed just before being used for tea. If herbs are fresh, use three times the dried amount. Boiling water is poured over the herbs, and the tea is steeped for about ten minutes. Keep the teapot or cup tightly covered. After ten minutes, strain and discard herbs.

It is advisable to fill a thermos with tea to have quantities on hand throughout the day. As a general rule, three to four cups of herbal tea are taken per day. Read the instructions for each tea or tea formula because certain teas, especially kidney tea, have to be taken in much smaller quantities and discontinued after about three weeks. Tea is generally most beneficial for the system when it is warm. It should be taken in small sips and kept in the mouth for a while to enhance absorption. To sweeten your tea, use a little honey or maple syrup. (Note: Sometimes the word 'infusion' is also used to refer to making herbal oils.)

Decoction

This method of simmering herbs in water is the preferred method for roots and bark, and for herbs and seeds with very tough cell membranes. Simmering ensures that the hard-to-get-at medicinal substances are dissolved. In a decoction, one teaspoon of dried, or three teaspoons of fresh, herb is used for each cup. The herb is put in cold water in a stainless steel pot, brought to a boil, and then simmered for five to ten minutes. If plant materials are extremely hard, they might have to be simmered for up to thirty minutes. It is important to cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Alternatively, pour boiling water over the herbs, and simmer for the required length of time.

Maceration

This cold method is the preferred method for tough herbs that are rich in mucilages, such as marsh mallow root and Irish moss. In a maceration, one cup of cold water is used per teaspoon of herbs. Pour water over the herbs and steep for six to eight hours (twelve to twenty-four hours for very tough plant materials). The cold method has to be used with caution because cold preparations can contain very high bacterial counts; infusions made with boiling water can render a tea contaminated by microbes harmless. Brewing a tea will reduce the amount of bacteria to one-tenth of their original count. A finished maceration should be quickly brought to boil before storage.

Combination Methods

Combination methods are necessary if a tea mixture includes ingredients that need different methods of preparation. For example, in one tea mixture some of the ingredients might need to be processed by maceration and others by infusion or decoction. Similarly, in another mixture, some herbs might need to be done by infusion and others by decoction. Here are the details of how the combination methods work:

To prepare herbs by part-maceration and part-infusion or part-decoction:

First prepare a maceration with an amount of herb sufficient for two cups (two teaspoons dry mixture or four teaspoons fresh).

Steep herbs in the cold water for twelve to twenty-four hours, depending on the toughness of the material.

Strain and reserve the strained herbal matter for the next step.

Use an additional cup of water to make either an infusion or a decoction, depending on what is required.

Discard the herbs.

Quickly boil the cold maceration to be on the safe side, and then combine the two liquids into a single tea.

To prepare a part-infusion and part-decoction:

First prepare a two-cup infusion, reserving the strained herb mixture.

Simmer the strained mixture in an additional cup of water to make a decoction.

Strain and combine the two liquids into a single tea.

To combine all three methods, use the above instructions in the following sequence:

maceration (remember to boil the cold liquid);

infusion;

decoction.

Tea Recipes

The varying content and actions of medicinal plants make them useful for many different conditions. This is true for single plants, such as camomile, and for herbal tea formulas made from several different medicinal plants. (Due to the variation of weights of herbs, measurements have been left in imperial.)

Baby Colic Formula

3 tbsp. Camomile

2 tbsp. Lemon balm

1 tbsp. Fennel

1 tbsp. Licorice root

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1/2 tsp. of dried mixture. Give baby 1/2 cup of diluted tea daily. The breast-feeding mother can drink the rest.

Bladder Formula

3 tbsp. Horsetail

2 tbsp. Stinging nettle leaves

1 tbsp. Rose hips

2 tsp. Rosemary

2 tsp. Sandalwood

2 tsp. Mistletoe

1 tsp. Bearberry

Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1-2 tsp. of the mixture, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and drink 1-2 cups daily.

Bladder-Strengthening Tea

6 tbsp. Stinging nettle leaves

3 tbsp. Dandelion roots and leaves

3 tbsp. Horsetail

2 tbsp. Uva ursi

Pour 1 cup of cold water over 2 tsp. of mixture, bring to boil, steep for five minutes; strain and drink 3 cups daily for four weeks.

Blood Cleansing Formula I

5 tbsp. Birch leaves

5 tbsp. Calendula flowers

5 tbsp. Stinging nettle leaves

2 tbsp. Rose hip seeds

2 tbsp. Goldenrod tops

2 tbsp. Dandelion roots and tops

1 tbsp. Peppermint leaves

Mix well and pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of mixture, steep for ten minutes; strain and drink 1 cup two to five times daily for four weeks.

Blood Cleansing Formula II

2 tbsp. Chicory root

2 tbsp. Dandelion root

Crush the roots and mix 1 tsp. of mixture in 1 cup of cold water, heat to boiling point and simmer for twenty minutes; strain and drink 1-2 cups daily.

Circulation-Enhancing Tea

(Use herbs or tinctures)

6 tbsp. Ginkgo biloba leaves

3 tbsp. Rosemary flowering branches

2 tbsp. Siberian ginseng

1 tbsp. Ginger roots

1 tbsp. Stinging nettle

1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mixture, steep for ten minutes; strain and drink 1 cup two to four times daily. For tinctures, blend and take 20-40 drops in water, two to four times daily. Drink first thing in the morning and between meals. To warm the body in cold weather, mix with a glass of hot apple juice.

Circulation-Promoting Formula 2 tbsp.(or 1 tbsp. juice) Dandelion

2 tbsp. (or 1 tbsp. juice) Hawthorn

2 tbsp. (or 1 tbsp. juice) Yarrow

May also be prepared using dandelion juice and yarrow juice only. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of mixture, steep for ten minutes and drink one to three times daily. (Dilute juices in a glass of water and take one to three times daily.) Optional: add a 1/2 cup of carrot juice every other day.

Cold Formula

3 tbsp. Blackberry leaves

3 tbsp. Camomile flowers

3 tbsp. Elderflowers

3 tbsp. Lindenflowers

3 tbsp. Sage leaves

1 tbsp. Rose hips, whole seeds

1 tbsp. Willow bark

1 tbsp. Hibiscus flowers

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 3 tsp. of this mix, steep for five minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. honey and drink 3 cups daily.

Cold-Prevention Tea

6 tbsp. Rosehip halves

5 tbsp. Lindenflowers

2 tbsp. Echinacea

2 tbsp. Thyme flowers

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mix, steep for five minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. of honey and drink 1 cup at bedtime or when feeling chilled.

Alternate version:

3 tbsp. Lemon balm leaves

2 tbsp. Camomile flowers

2 tbsp. Hibiscus flowers

2 tbsp. Lindenflowers

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mix; steep for five minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. of honey and drink 3 cups daily.

Dandelion Tea

Pour 1 cup of cold water over 2 tsp. of dandelion roots and tops, bring to a boil, steep for ten minutes; strain and drink 2 cups daily, 1 cup with breakfast and 1 cup at bedtime, for six weeks.

Female Tonic Formula

2 tbsp. Horsetail tops

2 tbsp. Lady's mantle, tops

2 tbsp. Lemon balm leaves

2 tbsp. St. John's wort tops

2 tbsp. White dead-nettle flowers

2 tbsp. Yarrow tops

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of mixture, steep for fifteen minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. of honey and drink 1-2 cups of tea daily for four weeks.

Formula to Reduce Weight

and Increase Metabolism

2 tbsp. Horsetail

2 tbsp. Rosemary

2 tbsp. Sage

2 tbsp. Wormwood

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of mixture, steep for five minutes; strain and drink 3 cups daily.

Kidney Tea

5 tbsp. Birch leaves

5 tbsp. Camomile flowers

5 tbsp. Stinging nettle leaves

2 tbsp. Dandelion roots and tops

2 tbsp. Rose hips

Pour 1 cup boiling water over 2 tsp. of the mixed herbs, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and drink 4-8 cups throughout the day for three weeks. Repeat therapy after one week.

Kneipp's Cough Remedy

5 tbsp. Elderflowers

5 tbsp. Ribwort plantain leaves

2 tbsp. Cornflower

2 tbsp. Marsh mallow flowers

1 tbsp. Fennel

1 tbsp. Fenugreek seeds

1 tbsp. Licorice root

Extract by soaking in cold water. Drink 3 cups daily.

Laxative Tea I

3 tbsp. Senna leaves

2 tbsp. Elder flowers

1 tbsp. Fennel seeds

1/2 tsp. Anise

Pour 1 cup of boiling over 1 tsp. of mix, steep for five minutes; strain and drink.

Laxative Tea II

5 tbsp. Camomile

2 tbsp. Buckthorn bark (aged at least one year)

2 tbsp. Caraway or fennel seeds

2 tbsp. Senna

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mixture, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and drink tea warm.

Liver and Gall-bladder Formula

5 tbsp. Birch leaves

5 tbsp. Stinging nettle leaves

4 tbsp. Milk thistle fruit, crushed

2 tbsp. Dandelion roots and tops

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of this mixture, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and sip warm tea between meals. Every two weeks alternate with dandelion tea.

Liver Tea

5 tbsp. Milk thistle fruit, crushed

2 tbsp. Dandelion roots, with tops

1 tbsp. Peppermint leaves

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of this mixture, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and sip warm tea between meals.

Nerve Tea

3 tbsp. Lemon balm leaves

3 tbsp. St. John's wort, tops

1 tbsp. Hawthorn leaves and flowers

1 tbsp. Lavender flowers

1 tbsp. Peppermint leaves

1 tbsp. Passion flower leaves and blossoms

1 tbsp. Raspberry leaves

2 tsp. Valerian roots

1 tsp. Hop cones

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mix, steep for five minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. of honey, and drink 1 cup an hour before going to bed. Drink 2-3 cups daily for four weeks to stabilize the nerves. Rest for two weeks and continue treatment if needed, but not for more than four weeks at a time.

Rheumatic and Gout Formula

4 tbsp. Stinging nettle leaves

2 tbsp. Birch leaves

2 tbsp. Dandelion roots and tops 2 tbsp. Hibiscus flowers

2 tbsp. Raspberry leaves

1 tbsp. Willow bark

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of this mix, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and sip warm tea between meals every day for at least three weeks.

Sensitive Stomach Formula

3 tbsp. Camomile flowers

2 tbsp. Lemon balm leaves

1 tbsp. Iceland moss

1 tbsp. Bitter orange peel

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of this mixture, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and sip warm tea between meals.

Stomach Tea

(relieves cramps and pain)

3 tbsp. Camomile flowers

1 tbsp. Lemon balm leaves

1 tbsp. Peppermint leaves

1 tbsp. Wormwood

1 tbsp. Yarrow

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 tsp. of this mix, steep covered for ten minutes; strain and sip warm tea between meals.

Sweat-Promoting Tea

2 tbsp. Elderflowers

2 tbsp. Lindenflowers

2 tbsp. Mullein flowers

2 tbsp. Peppermint

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mixture, steep for five minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. honey, and drink hot.

Tea for Breathing Problems

2 tbsp. Iceland moss

2 tbsp. Violets

1 tbsp. Licorice

1 tbsp. Marsh mallow root

Place 2 tsp. of mixture into 1 cup of cold water. Let stand overnight, strain and warm before drinking.

Tea for Insomnia

3 tbsp. Lemon balm

3 tbsp. Peppermint

2 tbsp. Hops

1 tbsp. Valerian

2 tsp. Camomile

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mixture, steep for five minutes; strain and drink 1 cup at bedtime.

Tea for Menopausal Symptoms

6 tbsp. Camomile flowers

6 tbsp. Lemon balm leaves

6 tbsp. St. John's wort, tops

3 tbsp. Lavender flowers

2 tbsp. Orange flowers

2 tbsp. Rose hips, skin only

1 tbsp. Valerian roots

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 3 tsp. of this blend, steep for five minutes; strain and drink 2-3 cups daily for four weeks.

Tea to Calm Nervous Conditions

4 tbsp. Lemon balm

1 tbsp. Mistletoe

1 tbsp. Silverweed

1 tbsp. Valerian

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp. of this mixture, steep for five minutes; strain, sweeten with 1 tsp. of honey, and drink 3 cups daily.

Fresh Juice

Only fresh plant juice captures the whole synergistic complex of healing ingredients locked in the living plant. The therapeutic effect of plant juices is not attributed to any single substance, but to the complex effects of the various elements contained only in the fresh plant. Plant juices provide a multitude of nutrients, especially the badly needed enzymes required to boost the immune system. In the long run, investing in a juicer that juices wheat grass and leafy green herbs is more efficient and money-saving than purchasing the green powders.

Be certain to get freshly gathered plants, since they quickly deteriorate in storage. The plants must be grown in organically pure soil, free from chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Roots of radishes or celery can be juiced as they are. If you want to make juice out of woody herbal stalks or tough roots and leaves, you should cut them into small pieces, cover with water and let soak for a few minutes before putting them into a juicer.

Juices should always be used immediately. If they need to be kept for a little while, store in a glass or ceramic container in the fridge, or keep fresh juice in the fridge and let settle for one day, filter and store in tightly sealed container in the fridge for not more than a week. Juice can also be frozen in small compartment plastic bags. Transfer the frozen cubes to non-toxic containers for storage.

Quality bottled commercial juices (such as Schoenenberger plant juices found at your natural health store) are prepared and bottled under optimal conditions and are recommended if fresh, organically-grown medicinal plants are not available for home juicing. Bottled juices are suitable for short-term treatments of a week or two, since potency and freshness are lost shortly after the bottles are opened.

Capsules and Tablets

For capsules, herbs are pulverized and put inside gelatin capsules (available in some health food stores). While capsules can also be prepared at home, tablets are usually store-bought (although Chinese medicine commonly gives instructions on how to manufacture herbal pills). Capsules and tablets have become very popular because they save preparation time and hide any unpleasant taste an herb may have. In spite of their popularity, taking herbs in these preparations is probably the least beneficial way of ingesting them. Many medicinal ingredients in herbs can simply not be used by the body without extracting them first by one of the methods previously described.

Extracts

Extracts are herbal liquids prepared with either water or alcohol. To prepare an herbal extract, the powdery herb is stirred into either one of these liquids and treated as a maceration. After the steeping period, the strained liquid is simmered in an open pot until it is reduced to a desired potency. (In Germany, extracts are precisely formulated so that one gram of the extract is the exact equivalent of one gram of the herb.) Many herbs are now available in standardized extracts to assure their medicinal potency (see 'Standardized Extracts' next page). In North America, the words 'extract' and 'tincture' are often used interchangeably. For the lay person, it probably makes more sense to prepare tinctures rather than extracts.

Tinctures

Many people are surprised to find how easy it is to prepare homemade tinctures. Tinctures are advantageous because they deliver highly concentrated herbal substances in small packages. A few drops are usually sufficient for one dose. Preparing your own tinctures, such as the famous Swedish Bitters or echinacea, is very cost-effective. Remember, however, that most herbs, including echinacea, should not be collected in the wild but purchased in an herb store. Echinacea is a good example of an herb whose recent popularity has turned a once abundant North American plant into a threatened species. The echinacea herb you buy in stores has been farm-cultivated for medicinal use.

You can prepare tinctures from fresh or dried herbs (never both) in a base of eighty proof to 140 proof alcohol. (Proof is double the percentage of alcohol-alcohol that is eighty proof is equivalent to forty percent alcohol). For home preparation, a neutral-tasting alcohol such as vodka (or possibly gin) is best. Using alcohol in a natural remedy may seem strange, but alcohol not only acts as a good solvent for extracting most active constituents but also serves as a stabilizer, preserving tinctures almost indefinitely. Actual exposure to alcohol is minimal since the typical treatment asks for fifteen to thirty drops taken in water three times a day. It has been proven that alcohol makes the walls of the stomach more permeable and facilitates absorption of even very small quantities of herbal substances.

If you do not want to consume alcohol-based tinctures or if you need a remedy suitable for children, there is a new way of preparing herbs in a base of glycerine. The best commercial glycerites are made from herbs that have first been alcohol-extracted for maximum potency, then de-alcoholized in a special process, and then preserved as a glycerine-based tincture. Another good base to use in tinctures is vinegar.

When you prepare any tincture, it is best not to mix herbal ingredients but to use one herb per preparation. If you want to combine several herbs into a single tincture, results are more accurate if single-herb tinctures are prepared first and combined afterwards. However, health food stores do offer some premixed dry herb formulas, notably the one for making Swedish Bitters.

Recipe for alcohol-based tinctures:

Use 1 liter of neutral-tasting alcohol for 200-250 grams of dried herbs or two to three times that amount for fresh herbs. Fresh herbs should be partially dried or well-wilted before use, otherwise the tincture will be diluted by too much water from the fresh herbs. Make sure herbs are wilted in a warm, dry environment to avoid moldiness. St. John's wort, which is dotted with many tiny pockets of hypericin, its dominant active constituent, should always be used in a wilted, rather than completely dry, form. Fresh wilted herbs are cut into small pieces while dried herbs are finely chopped. Herbs are packed loosely into a jar and covered with alcohol. The jar is tightly closed and kept in a warm place (room temperature is fine) for at least ten days, and possibly for two to three weeks. During that time, the jar is vigorously shaken once a day. When properly aged, the tincture is filtered twice and then put into a dark bottle. The tincture can be used at once. However, to improve its taste, it can first be stored in a dark, cool place for an additional one to two weeks.

Recipe for glycerine-based tinctures:

Next to alcohol, glycerine is the best preservative base for tinctures; its preservative properties are just about equal to those of alcohol and its ability to extract active constituents from herbs is also acceptable. Glycerine actually surpasses alcohol in its ability to extract essential oils but falls short for resins and gums. For glycerites, use 200-250 grams dry, finely chopped herbs in 1 liter of liquid base. The following method in preparing glycerites can be used for children: Prepare a mixture of sixty percent glycerine and forty percent water. In a tightly closed pan, slowly simmer the herbal matter in the liquid for about fifteen minutes. There is also the following non-cook method: Prepare 1 liter of fifty percent glycerine and fifty percent water. Put liquid and 200-250 grams of dried ground herbs in a tightly closed container. Let it sit for two weeks, shaking the container daily. After two weeks, strain and press the mixture, or wring through a cloth. If fresh wilted herbs are used, reduce the water content of the base liquid to twenty-five percent water and seventy-five percent glycerine.

Recipe for vinegar-based tinctures:

Vinegar contains acetic acid, which is both a good solvent and a preservative. Organic apple cider vinegar is best because it has many excellent medicinal properties of its own. Vinegar tinctures are prepared by the same method as alcohol tinctures. You may also use them for cooking. In addition, you can prepare vinegars meant for kitchen use from the recipes below.

Kitchen Vinegars

The vinegars described can be used in cooking and also in hair rinses and baths. Again, because of its own medicinal properties, organic apple cider vinegar is probably the best base. You can use either dried or freshly harvested herbs. Dried herbs are used at the rate of one to two teaspoons per cup of vinegar. Fresh herbs are used in whole sprigs to look pretty inside a bottle. Herb sprigs are lightly squashed before use. About three to six sprigs are put into each liter-sized bottle. Bottles are tightly closed and stored for two to three weeks. They have to be shaken daily.

Vinegars can be made with just one herb or a combination. Good herbs to use are basil, summer savory, dill, garlic, marjoram, parsley, peppermint, sage and thyme. If you have a bottle of essential oils from a corresponding herb, you can add a few drops to the completed vinegar to give it extra flavor. The vinegar should be shaken well before use, since the essential oils do not mix with the vinegar. Freshly prepared vinegars with sprigs of herbs still inside the bottle make pretty presents although herbs should be removed soon after the steeping process is completed.

Wines

Herbal wines have a long tradition in Europe, where they can be bought in stores ready-made. You need ten to twenty grams of herbs for one bottle (three-quarters to one liter) of wine. For herbs that affect the digestive tract, red wine is used because of its tannin, which enhances the effectiveness of the herbs. Digestive wines made with bitter herbs such as wormwood are the most common ones among the herbal wines. Use less, rather than more, of the bitter herbs to prepare the wine.

If you want to make herb wines with other than digestive herbs, white wine is preferable. One simple herbal wine is rosemary wine. A handful of crushed rosemary leaves are steeped in a bottle of white wine. This wine is mildly relaxing and soothes the digestive tract. Herbs in all types of wine are steeped for eight to ten days. The wine is then filtered and can be used immediately. You can experiment with such flavors as ginger wine (settles the stomach) or aniseed wine (good for cramping and flatulence).

Healing Herbal Oils

Herbal oils, also called herb-infused oils, can easily be prepared at home. They basically consist of a vegetable carrier oil in which herbs have been allowed to steep. Herbal oils are best used externally for massage and for skin care. While internal use is possible, essential oils are much better suited for that purpose. The most popular herbs used in herbal oils are high in essential oils, such as St. John's wort, calendula (Calendula officinalis), lavender, rose, peppermint and rosemary. Calendula is one of the most useful skin care herbs. Since it is antibacterial, the oil can be used for many forms of skin infections. St. John's wort oil, which is deep red from its high content of hypericin, is excellent for bruises and inflammations. It is also a soothing treatment for backache when the warm oil is rubbed into the spine. St. John's wort oil is made with the dotted leaves and the whole flowering tops of the plant.

Any vegetable oil that is used as a base for herbal oils should be quite stable, that is, it should not go rancid in storage. One general rule is that the more saturated an oil, the thicker its consistency and the longer its shelf-life. Extra-virgin olive oil, a polyunsaturated oil, is very stable, but because of its strong smell and thick consistency, some people do not like it for skin care. It is used as a base for massage oils, instead. Except for extra-virgin olive oil, oils in supermarkets should be avoided because they owe their long shelf-life to the fact that they have been heat-treated, solvent-extracted, and/or chemically deodorized.

Another rule is that oils rich in vitamin E are more stable than others because vitamin E is an antioxidant, preventing fats from going rancid. You can add extra vitamin E to an herbal oil to increase its stability as well as its benefits to the skin. Use about one 200 International Unit (IU) capsule of vitamin E for every 2 ounce of oil. Since vitamin E does not stay fresh indefinitely, oils should not be prepared in too large quantities and should be stored in the refrigerator after preparation.

While thick, polyunsaturated oils, such as extra-virgin olive oil, make good massage oils, monounsaturated oils are better suited for skin care because they penetrate the skin better than polyunsaturates. They also feel lighter, because they seem to evaporate into the skin. Almond oil and apricot kernel oil are especially well suited for skin care because, in addition to being monounsaturated, they are rich in vitamin E and have a very pleasant smell.

There are several ways of preparing herbal oils.

Preparing herbal oils with fresh herbs:

Fresh herbs should be partially dried or well wilted. They should be cut into small pieces before use. Do not use succulent herbs or other herbs high in water content for this method. Herbs are packed loosely into a jar with enough room for shaking and are covered with oil. Use about three parts of wilted herbs to five parts of oil. The jar is tightly closed and stored for one to four weeks in a dark place, away from heat. (Oil is sensitive to air, light and heat. Room temperature is fine during the steeping process.) The jar is shaken vigorously once a day.

At the end of the steeping period, the oil is strained. Hang the strained herbs in a muslin bag, allowing any residual oil to drip into a bowl (to retrieve as much of it as possible). Do not squeeze the herbs. Let the herbal oil sit so that any water will settle on the bottom. The oil can then be poured off and the water discarded. The oil is stored in a dark, air-tight bottle and kept in the refrigerator.

Preparing herbal oils with dried herbs:

Dried herbs should be finely chopped. Use one part dried herbs to five parts oil. You might have to check later and add a little extra oil. Follow the process described above, although there will be no concern with water content. After the steeping period, dried herbs can be squeezed and wrung out to retrieve as much oil as possible. Make an extra-strong infusion by adding another batch of dried herbs to the finished oil and repeating the steeping process. This is known as a double oil infusion.

Preparing herbal oils on the stove top:

Prolonged heat treatment is never a preferred method, but it might have to be done when there is no time to wait for the steeping process. Tough chopped-up plant materials such as roots and bark are best suited for this process. Herbs used in this method should be low in volatile oils. Use one part of dried herbs to five parts of oil. Gently simmer the herbal oil mixture on top of the stove without covering the pot. Cook for about six hours, stirring occasionally. Make sure not to overheat the oil.

Preparing herbal oils with essential oils:

In this method, drops of essential oil are added to a carrier oil in a two to ten percent dilution, that is, two to ten drops of essential oil are added to 100 drops of carrier oil. For example, ten drops of lavender oil are used for each 100 drops of olive oil to make a pleasant massage oil or a base for an ointment. The same ratio is used to prepare a skin care oil from 100 drops of almond oil and two to ten drops essential lavender oil.

Essential Oils

Producing essential oils at home would require costly and elaborate equipment, so it is best to purchase them in health food stores or aromatherapy stores. The oils are distilled from various parts of medicinal plants, including leaves, flowers and roots. Citrus oils are usually pressed directly from the peel. Resins found in plants such as pine trees are actually oxidized essential oils. As a general rule, essential oils are so strong that they should not be used undiluted. Some of the few oils that do not irritate the skin and can be used directly are tea tree oil, lavender and eucalyptus. Although essential oils are predominantly used in aromatherapy, another popular use of essential oils is as flavoring agents in cooking, especially baking. Common essential oils used in the kitchen are almond oil and citrus oil. The art of healing with essential oils is called aromatherapy. (For more information, see Section 11, Other Natural Healing Methods.)

Inhalation

Steam inhalations are excellent for respiratory problems, and to stop a cold at the onset. Facial steaming is also used for skin problems, to open pores and heal the skin. For example, camomile benefits the skin and disinfects and heals the lungs. Put a handful of herbs into half a liter of water, bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Put your face over the steam with a towel over the head and around the container to avoid steam escaping. Inhale the healing essential oils in the steam through mouth and nose until no more steam rises (about ten to fifteen minutes).

The most natural and effective inhalation therapy for bronchitis and asthma sufferes is breathing fresh ocean air. This invisible remedy contains important mineral salts and trace elements of the ocean water at exactly the same composition as they occur in the human blood.

Salves

Salves, or ointments, have had a long history in home treatment. Herbs such as calendula and camomile, which are antibacterial and soothing, make effective ingredients in salves. Other common ingredients for ointments are aloe vera, St. John's wort, comfrey and gotu kola.

There are several ways of preparing salves.

Using lard:

Traditionally, lard was used as a base for ointments, but these days people are usually repelled by the thought of putting animal fat on their skin. In reality, lard makes an excellent ointment base because its fatty structure is similar to that of the human skin. This allows lard to penetrate the skin much better than most other carrier substances. If you decide not to use lard in your ointments, use the method described next, substituting lard for oil with beeswax.

Using vegetable oil and beeswax:

Many modern healers use oil with added beeswax as a base for ointments. Use a quarter cup of beeswax for each cup of oil. Use dried herbs at a ratio of about one ounce per cup of oil. Extra-virgin olive oil is a very good, stable oil to use as a base for salves.

Another very stable base is coconut butter. Make sure to buy organic, unhydrogenated and untreated coconut butter available in health food stores. Coconut butter turns into a thick liquid at room temperature but gets very hard in the refrigerator. Since coconut butter is very stable, salves prepared with it do not have to be stored in the refrigerator (where they would get too hard) but can be kept at room temperature. Wax can be added to give this base the desired consistency at room temperature. Cocoa butter is also an option for a stable base. Unfortunately, it is sometimes hard to find in stores.

If you want to use more than one herb in an ointment, use equal quantities of each herb to add up to approximately one ounce per cup of oil. You can mix herbal matters such as leaves, flowers and/or powdered herbs. Stir herbs into oil. Gently heat oil on the stove top as described previously. Make sure to use very low heat. Never allow the oil to come to a boil. Oil is ready in about six hours when it has taken on a rich, dark color and is strongly scented. Strain oil through a cheese cloth, squeeze dry and discard herbs. Return oil to the pot, and melt in a quarter cup of shaved beeswax.

Test a small quantity of this mixture by putting it in the refrigerator long enough to cool to room temperature. If the salve is too hard, add more oil to the mixture; if it is too soft, melt in more wax. Put ointment into relatively small jars. Keep any jar you are currently using away from too much heat. Store extra jars in the refrigerator.

Using herbal oil and beeswax:

If you have already made your own herbal oil, you can use it as a base for ointment. Gently warm the herbal oil in a double boiler, melting a quarter cup of beeswax for each cup of herbal oil. Do not cover the pot. Proceed as described in the previous method. An easy method that is gentle on the essential oils is to slowly melt the wax into the oil base. The mixture is cooled down a little but has to stay liquid enough for mixing. Finally, two to five drops of essential oil are added per 100 drops of carrier oil. Start with an experimental mix of two percent, testing its strength and your skin's reaction to it. Gradually increase the amount of essential oil to obtain a mixture that works well for you.

Poultice

A poultice is a thick, warm, herbal paste applied to the skin for pain, swelling or muscle spasm. It should be applied to one area at a time in order to concentrate the healing. Poultices are commonly made with dried powdered herbs to which hot water is added. Some herbs, especially plantain, work well in a fresh poultice. Fresh herbs are whirled in a food processor with enough hot water to make a thick paste. The paste is applied as hot as possible to the affected area, and covered with a hot, moist towel. A dry towel is put over everything and the poultice is left on until cool. The process is repeated if needed. Valerian, catnip and lobelia work well for muscle spasm and pain. Plantain treats swellings and draws out toxins. Poultices can be left on overnight, but need to be well covered.

Plaster

A plaster is like a poultice, except that the herbal paste is not directly applied to the skin but put between two layers of cloth. This method is used when the herbs are potentially irritating to the skin.

Compresses and Wraps

Compresses or wraps are applied hot for pain relief and cool for inflammation and like a poultice, should only be applied to one area at a time.

A hot compress is called a fomentation. A towel is soaked in hot herbal tea, wrung out and applied to the affected area as hot as possible. A dry towel or muffler is tightly wrapped over it. When the compress has cooled down, the whole process is repeated. Fomentations are used for swelling, pain, colds and flu.

In the cold method, a towel is soaked in cold tea, wrung out and applied to the affected area. A towel or muffler is used on top to keep the area warm. Cold compresses work amazingly well on a sore throat and other inflammatory conditions. The cool towel soon draws the heat from the body, getting very warm in the process. When the towel is warm, it is removed and a new cold compress applied. The method only works if the cold compress is warmly covered. Compresses can also be as simple as a cool towel on the forehead for a headache, or cold tea bags on the eyelids for tired eyes.

Swedish Bitters are not only good internally for liver and gall-bladder problems, but can also be used externally for massaging or as a compress for stomach problems, joint and muscle pains. Rub some calendula salve on the affected area to prevent dehydration from the alcohol, then moisten cotton wool with Swedish bitters and spread it to cover the whole area. For warmth, place dry cotton wool on top of it, and then a plastic sheet to prevent staining. To hold the compress in place, wrap a large towel over the compress and leave on for four hours.

To make a wrap, dip a piece of cotton gauze or cotton wool in the herbal infusion. Place between two pieces of flannel, and then on the affected area. Or, dip a small cotton towel in the hot infusion and wring over the prepared cotton gauze. Cover with a dry gauze strip and hold in place with a long cotton scarf to allow for fresh air circulation. Do not cover with plastic. When dry, apply a few more drops of the infusion on the gauze, without removing it from the area. A wrap is usually left on for a few hours or until dry. Rest in bed for one hour afterwards. Some wraps are left on overnight for increased action.

Packs

Packs are commonly used to stimulate, irritate or soften the skin and promote healing. Cold packs are generally used to calm an acute stage of inflammation or pain. Hot packs serve two purposes: to soften and ripen abscesses and for heat therapy-so they should be applied as hot as can be tolerated, and to one area at a time.

Sew a small pouch (double the size of the area to be treated) of cotton cloth or gauze. For better heat retention, mix herb with slippery elm bark, psyllium seeds or fenugreek seeds. Fill the pouch with the herbal mix, close end with a string and place pouch into boiling water for about five to ten minutes. Remove from the water, gently squeeze out excess liquid between two boards, let cool to a tolerable temperature (ideally about 107?F (42?C)) and place on affected area. The pack should lay flat without wrinkles. Use another cloth to hold it in place and retain heat. Apply for about thirty to forty-five minutes. Rest for half an hour afterwards.

Packs can also be prepared by steaming which eliminates the need to squeeze water out. Place a rack inside a pot with a little bit of water. Put the hayseed or other herbal pack on the rack and steam for ten minutes. The pack is ready to use. When cold, remove or reheat pack to apply again if required. Or, place a hotwater bottle on the pack to keep it hot.

Oils contained in mustard seeds improve circulation of the skin and mucous membranes, stimulate mucous secretion and combat bacteria and fungus. The mustard wrap can be applied as a neck, foot, arm, calf or chest wrap. It helps pleurisy, chronic bronchitis, sinusitis and chronic ailments of the liver and kidneys.

Prepare a mustard pack by mixing two or three tablespoons of mustard flour with a quart of cold water. After ten minutes, add hot water to activate the healing properties of the mustard until the mixture reaches 107?F (42?C). (The hot water is essential to activate the healing substance of the mustard.) Dip a cotton cloth in this mixture, wring out and immediately place on chest. Cover with a cotton towel, then finish with a wool blanket, closely wrapped around the chest. Remove wrap after five to ten minutes, or when skin turns red, to avoid skin burn. With a moist cloth dab off any remaining mustard. Cover with warm blankets and stay in bed.

Bolus

A herbal vaginal bolus helps draw out toxins from the reproductive organs and is helpful in healing local tissue. Take warm cocoa butter or coconut oil and mix in the appropriate herb powder to form a thick paste. Let cool in the fridge, then form into small finger-sized cylinders and store in a covered glass jar in the fridge. Insert into vagina only when needed. Close vagina with a cottonball to which a string has been attached for easy removal. (Do not use commercial tampons, as they could cause an allergic reation or release toxins into the vagina.) Protect underwear with a sanitary napkin and leave bolus in overnight. The body will absorb the herbs' healing properties. In the morning remove the cottonball, discard the bolus and douche with a herbal infusion. Repeat if needed.

A herbal bolus may also be used as a suppository to soothe and heal hemorrhoids.

Douche

Herbal vaginal douches can be very helpful to soothe and heal inflammations, to help control candida and for general infections. Goldenseal, yarrow, camomile, horsetail and sage are commonly used for vaginal douches.

Herbal vaginal douches should be used only when needed, as the natural vaginal acid/alkaline balance is easily disturbed. It is best to let the body rebuild the natural moisturizing mucus to coat and protect the vagina.

Enema

Used periodically, herbal enemas help maintain the health of the bowels by preventing a build-up of toxins. A colon cleanse can rebuild the body in no time and speed healing.

With mineral depletion, which occurs after excessive vomitting, food poisoning or blood loss, an enema can also be used to supply the body with vital nutrients. Dextrose solution can be supplied in this way. The patient does not need to be hooked up to an intravenous drip, and the already irritated stomach can recuperate.

Take enemas when fasting, with fever, constipation, parasites, candidiasis (fungal infection), arthritis, rheumatism, for irritability, poor digestion, excessive skin impurities, and when liver and kidneys are weakened.

The enema helps cleanse the colon, so nutrients can be absorbed properly and in this way help to keep diseases from taking hold of the body. Almost any ailment can be helped by cleansing the colon.

Sometimes a single enema brings not only relief, but also a turn toward recuperation when someone is feeling very ill. During a fever, an enema can quickly remove toxins from the body and relieve symptoms. Enemas are especially good for children when they are ill and have constipation.

Use a good quality rubber enema balloon with a soft tube for the easiest application. Fill the balloon with lukewarm camomile, oat, rice or horsetail infusion. Lubricate the end of the tube with vitamin E oil for easier insertion. The patient should lie on the left side with knees pulled up toward the chin and with buttocks relaxed. Gently insert the tube end of the enema, and slowly let the liquid enter the colon. Try to keep the solution in for about twenty minutes, if possible. After voiding, return to bed and keep warm for at least half an hour.

With a little practice, you can use the irrigation method yourself at home.

Sometimes the colon is first flushed with a solution of warm purified or boiled water and one tablespoon of salt. Slowly allow the water to enter the colon. When it feels full, close the tube and wait for the liquid to be absorbed. Repeat until about half a liter has been absorbed. Lie on your left side and gently massage the left lower abdomen. Leave the solution in for twenty minutes if possible, then void. Now repeat the procedure with the lukewarm herbal infusion.

Roll-over method:

The enema bag should not be placed higher than eighteen inches above the body, to prevent liquid running into the colon too fast. Use vitamin E to lubricate the insertion tube. Lie on your left side letting in about one cup of solution. Massage gently on the left side of the abdomen, down toward the rectum. Then massage the right side. Turn over on the back and stay in this position for about twenty minutes or until you feel the urge to expel. Remove the colon tube and lie on the left side for five more minutes before voiding.

For preventive health maintenance do an enema once a month. With a cold or fever, repeat enema daily until the condition improves.

Wash

A wash is used to cleanse wounds or skin conditions. Dip a clean soft cotton cloth in lukewarm herbal infusion and wash area with light, circular motions. The herb acts on the diseased skin and the light rubbing increases blood flow to the area.

To soften dry scales and crusts, press a cloth that has been dipped in a hot infusion (as hot as can be tolerated) and press on crusted area for about ten minutes before starting the cleansing. When crusts have softened, they should be easily washed away with a little time and patience.

Eyewash

Eyewashes are used to clean and heal the eyes. The infusion or preparation is usually placed in the eye with a dropper or diluted with purified or boiled water used with a glass eyecup. Infusions for eye applications should be strained a couple of times through a very tightly woven cotton cloth to filter out any impurities and sediments.

Herbal Bath

An herbal bath is an excellent cleansing, disinfecting and relaxing therapy and can relieve many conditions, including stiff muscles and insomnia. Make a tea with these herbs, fresh or dried, and add to bath water. Or add five drops of essential oil to running water. (For more information on baths, see Hydrotherapy in Section 10, External Healing Methods.)

Healing Herbs for Baths

Angelica

Eases cramps, colic, rheumatic arthritis, backaches and soothes the stomach.

Birch bark

Stimulates kidneys and breathing of the skin. Birch leaf baths are good for arthritis.

Blackberry leaves

Smoothes the skin and cleanses pores.

Camomile

For wound healing and skin inflammations; relieves itches and cramps, chronic eczema, hemorrhoids and anal fissures; a disinfectant.

Chaparral

Detoxifies, helps clear uric acid, heals dermatitis.

Comfrey

Soothes inflamed skin and is especially good for sunburned skin.

Elderflower

Heals and cleanses skin.

Eucalyptus oil

Combats colds, respiratory problems and poor circulation.

Fir needle

Acts against restlessness and nervousness; refreshes the whole body when fatigued; relieves nervous disorders, neuralgias and arthritis.

Young fir shoots

For bronchitis, autonomic nervous system, circulation problems, muscle atrophy, nervous exhaustion and rheumatic disease.

Hayseed

Stimulates blood circulation, alleviates pain; calms and relaxes cramped muscles; improves the elasticity of connective tissue and is especially recommended for rheumatic conditions. Hayseed is also recommended for restlessness during menopause and flu-like infections accompanied by fever.

Hops

For mild insomnia, nervous disorders, general exhaustion, metabolic disorders.

Horse chestnut

Tones the veins, relieves venous congestions, hemorrhoids and leg ulcers.

Horsetail

Recommended for bladder and kidneys; stimulates skin, relieves pain associated with arthritis, gout, neuralgia, neurodermatitis, chronic eczema, weak bladder, slow-healing wounds, digestive problems, burns, leg ulcers, bed sores and flat feet.

Juniper berries

Helps rheumatic diseases, muscle spasms; promotes circulation.

Pine needle extract

Strengthens and promotes breathing.

Lavender

Calming, guarantees a good night's rest; relieves menopausal symptoms, frostbite, itching, nervous disorders, rheumatic diseases, the autonomic nervous system; strengthens the heart, promotes circulation, tones nerves, general stimulant.

Lemon balm

Calming and relaxing; relieves stress, nervousness, insomnia and cramps.

Lindenflower

Calming; counteracts sleep disturbances and colds.

Lovage

Refreshing, deodorizing, skin-cleansing.

Oak bark

Relieves chronic and acute weeping eczema, abscesses, hemorrhoids, acute contact dermatitis, stomach and intestinal problems; stimulates the respiratory system and works against swollen glands and frostbite; oak bark is a pure astringent and does not contain essential oils and is therefore indicated for people with sensitive skin.

Oat straw

Calming; locally stimulating to skin; relieves rheumatoid arthritis, neuralgias, chronic eczema and blood circulation problems.

Peppermint

Refreshes in summer, stimulate skin circulation and gland functions.

Rosemary

Combats colds, stimulates circulation and nervous system; increases peripheral circulation; relieves varicose veins, arthritis, bruises, menstrual cramps, bloating and muscle pain.

Sage

Acts against colds, calms the stomach and nerves.

Stinging nettle

Refreshes, stimulates blood circulation.

Thyme

Helps the body fight off infection and cramps; eases bronchitis, emphysema, whooping cough.

Valerian root

Calming; good for nerves, stomach, flatulence, insomnia and lower abdominal cramps; calming and sleep-promoting.

Wheat bran

Calming to the skin; relieves acute skin diseases, skin allergies, hives, bed sores.

Yarrow

Relieves female problems, especially cramps in the pelvic area, calms the stomach, combats skin inflammation.

Growing Your Own Herb Garden

North American pioneers planted herb gardens for many purposes. They used herbs for seasoning, healing, freshening of linen closets and dyeing of homespun fabrics.

Botanically, herbs are plants that do not produce woody stems and that die down to their roots every year. Both annual and perennial varieties exist. (Annual plants have to be replanted or reseeded every year; perennial plants can live for many years.) If herbs are grown in a garden, it is best to plant these two varieties in different areas or to put perennials in the garden and annuals in containers. Most common herbs need similar growing conditions.

Gardening Basics

Light

With a few exceptions, herbs love a location with plenty of light. Only in herbs that receive six to eight hours of full sunlight a day can precious essential oils fully develop (count the hours on the days that the sun actually comes out). Essential oils enhance both the flavor and the medicinal properties of the plants. While herbs can survive in light shade, their growth and quality will be adversely affected.

Wind

Like most sun-loving plants, herbs are susceptible to drafts and high winds. They should not be grown on balconies of highrise buildings unless they are kept close to protective walls. In your garden, plant them in sheltered areas close to a wall, a fence or some shrubs.

Pollution

Herbs should not be grown (or collected) close to busy traffic because they absorb toxins, making them unfit for use, internally or externally.

Soil

Herbs do not need particularly fertile soil to grow. In fact, if the soil is too rich, excess leaves will develop, spoiling the flavor. Herbaceous plants grow best when organic matter (compost) is added to the soil. Even plants that prefer poor soil will do well with compost. Make sure that the soil is neither too acidic nor too alkaline. The pH balance should be between 6.5 and 7.0. To prepare the garden site for the first time, cultivate the soil to a depth of twelve to eighteen inches (18-27 cm). If there is only a shallow layer of topsoil, remove it before breaking up the subsoil. Add peat moss and compost to the subsoil, and then put back the topsoil, which should also be mixed with organic matter. If drainage is poor, a drainage layer should be laid under the subsoil.

Drainage

When growing herbs, providing good drainage is important because these plants hate to get 'wet feet' even though a few herbs, such as angelica, lovage and mint, like a fairly moist environment. To prepare herb beds, the soil should be mixed well with peat moss for retention of moisture. If the soil is not naturally well-drained, or if herbs are grown in raised beds and containers, a drainage layer of sand, pebbles and/or broken shards should first be laid down. If you want to go into major herb production, laying down underground drain tiles would be advantageous. Existing herb beds with poor drainage can be helped by digging a small drainage trench around plants.

Propagation

Seeds

Many herbs can be grown from seeds. The smaller the seeds, the longer they take to develop. The earliest seeds should be sown in indoor flats in February. They should be very lightly covered with soil to a depth of twice their diameter. Flats should be put in a sunny window and kept at a cool temperature for good development. When plants have grown a second set of leaves, transplant them into individual pots so they develop good root systems. After the danger of frost has passed, transplant potted herbs into the garden or outside containers. A few plants, such as anise, coriander, dill and fennel, do not transplant well and should be sown directly into the garden after the earth is starting to warm up and all danger of frost has passed. Seeds sown in the garden should be kept moist at all times. The seeded area is best covered with a piece of glass for a hothouse effect. The glass is removed when the seeds start to germinate. To protect young growth from birds and snails, the ground can be covered with small branches until plants have developed two sets of leaves. Plants can then be moved to other garden spots.

Cuttings

Herbs can also be propagated from cuttings. At any time from late spring well into summer, cuttings can be taken from well-established, healthy herbs. It is best to take the fresh growth from plant tips. Cut just below a node to a length of three to five inches (4.5-7.5 cm). Dip the cut ends in rooting hormone and put cuttings in well-drained rooting mix. Most herbs will root in two to four weeks. Plants should not be planted in the garden that same year, but should be kept indoors all winter, either in a cold frame or in pots on a sunny window sill. Plants are then put in the garden the following spring after the end of the frosty season.

Layering

This is the easiest and most successful method of growing more perennial herbs. The idea of layering is to leave the potential new plant attached to the mother plant until a firm root system has developed. Layering can be done at any time from spring to late summer. Select plants with flexible stems, such as bay, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, thyme or winter savory. Choose a healthy branch growing close to the ground. The branch is bent down to touch the soil in one spot and is then bent up again to form a small six to eight inch (9 to 12 cm) upright plant. Where the stem touches the soil, its underside can be lightly scraped. That part is then buried to a depth of three to four inches and held in place with a hairpin. The upright part is supported by a stake. Water very well. The layered shoot is kept with the mother plant until the following spring. Then it can be cut from the parent and transplanted to any appropriate spot in the garden.

Division

Division should only be attempted with plants that are at least two years old. Dividing can be done with herbs that grow in clumps, such as chives, mints and tarragon. The best time for dividing is early spring before the plant starts growing. Dig up the old plant, pull it apart into sections and then replant the sections, watering them regularly until they are well established.

Caring for Mature Plants

Once young plants are well established, they are relatively easy to care for. However, some rules should be followed:

Container plants should be watered every two days.

Established garden plants can be watered less frequently.

Do not use any insecticides on your herbs.

Do not use manure to fertilize plants.

Cultivate soil in spring and fall with a little compost and peat moss.

For extra strength add a little bone meal to the soil.

Pest Control

No pest control sprays should ever be used on edible herbs. Herbs are not generally targets of garden pests, although aphids will attack anise, caraway, dill and fennel, and spider mites may damage some herbs in dry, hot weather. Certain caterpillars and grasshoppers may also attack herbs. Mints are sometimes damaged by rust. In general, steps to control pests and diseases should only be taken when a problem develops. If insects are attacking plants, cut plants back to about seven inches (10 cm), allowing them to grow new shoots. Aphids can be controlled by purchasing lady bugs for your garden. An antifungal spray effective in the prevention and treatment of mildew and rust can be prepared in the following way: Slowly boil four ounces of dried horsetail in one gallon of water. After twenty minutes of boiling, cool, strain and fill into a spray bottle. There is no danger of overusing this spray.

Winter Protection

Since herbs have shallow roots, they could suffer damage in a heavy frost. Mulching will protect herbs throughout the winter. The easiest materials for mulching are leaves raked up in the fall, or evergreen boughs laid on top of your herb beds. Layers should be up to four inches (6 cm) deep, depending on the severity of the climate. Mulch should not be put down until after the ground is frozen in early winter and should not be removed until signs of first spring growth are seen. Mulch that has compacted during the winter months should be fluffed up and loosened before spring growth starts.

Growing a Native Garden

Good ecological reasons exist for growing a native garden with local plants. First of all, native plants serve as food and shelter for local wildlife. For example, birds love to visit gardens where indigenous plants are grown. In addition, native plants have adapted well to local conditions, such as temperature and amount of rainfall. After they become established, they may not need extra cultivation or irrigation and most of them can ward off common local insect attacks and plant diseases. Conversely, plants imported from other parts of the country or foreign countries may disturb the local plant population by introducing diseases or by invading whole areas and wiping out indigenous plants.

When starting a native garden, it is best to get your plants from a nursery. While you could go out in the woods and fields and dig your own, there are sound reasons against this practice.

Some wild plants simply do not transplant well. In addition, digging plants in certain areas may disturb wildlife habitat. Finally, plants may be rare or protected species, or could be rare in the area you are taking them from. Even if you get your plants from nurseries, you should ask if they are nursery-raised because you do not want to support the commercial removal of plants from the wilderness.

Healing Herbs Collecting Wild Herbs

Ethical Considerations

The first and most important rule about herb collection is: when in doubt, do not pick it. Unless you know that an herb is abundant, not just in North America but in your local area, leave it where it is. If we want to partake in the gifts of nature and enjoy her healing powers, we also have to respect nature and be caretakers.

In Canada, no official standards for the collection of wild resources have been established. Even where there are governmental lists of endangered species, these are often so backlogged that species have actually become extinct before finding their way onto the list. In lieu of official standards, there are self-regulatory resolutions and rules set by wildcrafters themselves. Wildcrafters are people who go into the wilderness to collect plant materials such as herbs, mushrooms, roots, bark, cones and berries.

In 1989 alone, wildcrafting industries in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia earned a combined $128.5 million and employed 4,500 harvesters and 4,900 processors. Five items alone had a harvested value of over $35 million: salal and salal tips ($13 million); beargrass ($11.5 million); noble fir ($6.7 million); and baby's breath ($5 million). The temptation to harvest ruthlessly is growing.

Wildcrafting associations on both sides of the border have been working on formulating and following self-imposed standards of ethical plant collection. As with the forestry and fisheries industries, wildcrafters-aside from a generally more reverent attitude toward nature-have a great interest in sustaining wild herbs and other products as a renewable resource. The results of greedy exploitation have already been sadly demonstrated by the depletion of fish stocks and clear-cut forests. Pockets of wild areas are beginning to preclude any type of collection because of massive and irresponsible harvesting of herbs that were once found in abundance.

Wildcrafters' Rules

A herb garden is the most environmentally sound solution for the herbalist, but if you want to collect your own, there are several things to consider.

First, familiarize yourself with the herbs growing in your area and make sure you can generally distinguish the very common ones from those that are rare. Local field guides, botanical gardens or the botany department of a local university can supply you with this basic knowledge. The Internet may also be able to provide some answers.

Knowing your local plant life will serve as your general guide, but nothing in nature is absolute. A plant that is abundant further south could be much rarer in your region. Wildcrafters watch for signs of foraging wildlife because harvesting should be much more restrained in areas where wild animals feed from stands of wild herbs. Watch for local insects that might be dependent on a certain stand of plants. The insects may not just be important for local pollination, but may also support a nearby nest of birds. Even a big stand of herbs may be very vulnerable. A stand of plants with rhizomes, for example, may look large, but may have developed from just one or two original rhizomes. If a harvester damages the parent rhizome, the whole stand of plants may disappear by the next season.

Second, if you plan to collect plants year after year, it is important to bring a notebook and fill in precise records. Records should include the date of harvest, a description of the stand of plants and a description of the area where the plant was found. The presence of deer droppings, of insects and of birds and their nests in the area should also be noted. Record how much was taken and how much was left. Detailed records will help monitor your impact on the site and make sure that the plants are returning unharmed to the area in consecutive years.

Third, certain reasonable rules of harvesting have to be followed, no matter how big a given stand of wild herbs seems to be. Wildcrafters have established the general rule of 'take three, leave seven,' but this rule should be observed with the caveats mentioned above, and the harvest should be diminished or omitted altogether if the stand seems vulnerable in any way. Another rule established by wildcrafters is reseeding the area, that is, at the right time actually digging up the soil and properly planting the seeds of herbs that were harvested. If plants are taken before seeds are ready to plant, it may be necessary to return later to do some reseeding.

The most problematic harvest is that of plant roots because when the root is taken, the plant itself is gone and has no more chance of propagation. Wildcrafters routinely put the seeds of the plant into the hole from which the roots were taken, thus providing some chance of regeneration. In such cases, a well-kept notebook is especially important to check in future years if reseeding has been successful or if it merely served to appease the harvester's conscience. As far as roots go, responsible wildcrafters usually do not take more than one root from even large stands of plants. Any harvesting should be done around the edges of a stand to avoid trampling plants or unnecessarily compacting the ground while harvesting.

Harvesting Wild Medicinal Herbs

When harvesting wild plants, there are other things to consider aside from the possible rarity of the species. Plants should not be taken if there is pollution from nearby traffic or possible contamination from spraying by farmers, government agencies or private owners. Signs of other wildcrafters having harvested from a certain area should also be of concern.

The following is a list of wild plants which are so abundant that they can be harvested in good conscience. Together, these plants alone may be all you will ever need in a home herbal pharmacy. Treatments cover everything from digestive disorders and skin irritations to depression.

Ten Very Common Wild Medicinal Herbs

Burdock (Arctium lappa)

Habitat: Burdock likes to grow in disturbed areas such as woodland clearings, roadsides, ditches and landslides. It generally likes sunny locations, heavy soil and moisture, but can adapt to many different environments.

Characteristics: As the name tells us, burdock carries burrs. The burrs, which cling tenaciously to one's clothes, are actually the lower part of the purple burdock flower. It is important not to confuse burdock with cockleburr (Xanthium strumarium). In cockleburr, the burrs grow alongside the stem while in burdock, they grow on the tips of the stems.

Parts Used: Roots (sometimes the seeds) are used in tinctures. Roots can be eaten as vegetables.

Harvesting: Be prepared to get covered in burrs. Make sure to remove the burrs from your clothes so as not to introduce them into pristine areas. Roots are usable at any time of year. Fall is best to find developed first-year plants. Young plants are preferable because mature plants can have incredibly long and tenacious tap roots.

Medicinal Use: Burdock is a diuretic; choleretic (stimulates bile); and diaphoretic (causes perspiration). Roots can be used fresh. If roots are dried, they should be cut lengthwise and then crosswise into small pieces. They should be dried with a heat source (for example, in the sun) and with plenty of ventilation.

Tincture from fresh roots: 1:2 ratio (1 part plant material to 2 parts alcohol), 50% alcohol.

Tincture from dry root: 1:5, 50% alcohol.

Seed tincture: 1:5, 50% alcohol.

Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Habitat: Like burdock, chickweed is a weed in disturbed areas, especially in cultivated soil. It is very common everywhere, but is especially prolific at roadsides, around dwellings, in lawns and moist meadows. It likes moisture, semi-shaded conditions and rich loamy ground. The plant crawls continuously along the ground, putting down roots, flowering and producing seeds. For this reason, it can be harvested almost year-round. Chickweed can be grown in decorative planters in the herb garden (seeds are available from nurseries). Chickweed will not take over the garden because it does not compete with other plants; it can simply be controlled by harvesting.

Characteristics: Chick-weed looks pretty with its tiny white flowers, spring-green, tender stems and tiny leaves. In mild climates, chickweed flowers all year, from January to December.

Parts Used: The whole flowering plant. The plant is delicious as a salad or a spinach-type dish. It can be used in tinctures and salves.

Harvesting: Almost any month of the year while plants flower. Carry herbs home in airy containers (such as a basket). Chickweed found in wet areas can carry micro-organisms, so wash well before using.

Medicinal Use: Some herbalists consider chickweed a cure-all, having found almost twenty uses for it. The plant is rich in saponins and works as an effective demulcent (a soothing, mucilagenous ointment).

Tincture from fresh herbs: 1:2 ratio with 95% alcohol.

Oil: Tightly fill a jar with the cut-up and wilted herb. Completely cover with oil. Tightly seal the jar and let steep in a warm place (out of the sun) for about a month.

Tincture and oil are used externally for itching and swelling. Fresh herbs are used internally as a diuretic and for a variety of ailments mentioned in your herbals.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Habitat: Very common everywhere, especially at low altitudes.

Parts Used: Whole plant before flowering. Can be used in extracts, tinctures and infusions. The fresh leaves can be used in a salad. They contain 7,000 units of vitamin A per ounce in addition to vitamins B and C. (In comparison, carrots contain 1,275 units of Vitamin A per ounce.) The tea is made from the whole plant, including the root, dried and finely chopped.

Harvesting: If the plant is to be used as a herb, the whole plant, including the root, is harvested before the flowering season. Plants are best taken after a rainy spell when the ground is soft and the stubborn tap root is easier to take out. Since dandelion is such a useful herb, you might consider buying a dandelion digger. Leaves for salads also taste best and least bitter when the plants are young and there are no flowers. However, leaves for salads can be picked and eaten at any other time. Optimal collecting time for the herb is March to May for leaves, and April as well as September to October for roots. Since dandelions are considered a noxious weed, do not gather them from roadsides or near cultivated fields to avoid possible herbicide contamination.

Medicinal Use: Like chickweed, dandelion is considered a universal herb by some healers. It is considered especially useful for liver ailments, and for treating gallstones, jaundice and early symptoms of cirrhosis. It is also used for rheumatism, as a stomach bitter and as a deputerative (blood purifier). Dandelion is an ideal diuretic because it contains enough potassium to replace what is lost during the diuretic process.

Roots are cut into small pieces and dried on a screen or linen cloth with the aid of a heat source, (e.g., the sun). Leaves are dried away from the sun, cut up and added to chopped roots for an effective tea mixture.

Fresh root tincture: 1:2 ratio, with 45% alcohol.

Dried root tincture: 1:5 ratio, with 45% alcohol.

German research has discovered several new bitters in dandelion which have never been identified in any other plant. (These bitters were called taraxacin in older literature.) The plant also contains flavonoids, mucilages and high potassium, but none of the lactupicrine described in earlier herbals.

Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Habitat: There are more than 100 species of this herb all over the continent and in other parts of the world. Two North American species are medicinally valuable: Solidago canadensis (Canadian goldenrod) and Solidago gigantea (early goldenrod). Other species have not yet been scientifically confirmed. These North American species occur in low woodlands, especially along rivers. The Canadian goldenrod also occurs in disturbed habitats such as waste places and around cut wood areas. These plants, although native wild flowers of North America, are now cultivated as garden plants in Europe.

Characteristics: The Canadian Agricultural Department describes the Canadian goldenrod as a weed which is not competitive and not very invasive. Both the Canadian and early goldenrod have strong upright stems with deep vertical grooves. Numerous tiny bright yellow flower heads are arranged in a feathery shape (terminal panicled racime). Leaves are green on top and grey-green underneath. The flowering plant has a nice aroma and a pleasant taste. The early goldenrod grows quite tall, to about five feet. The plants bloom in summer and fall.

Parts Used: The whole plant, including the stem, dried and chopped into small pieces. Active ingredients are flavonoids, saponin, essential oils and more.

Harvesting: Plants are best harvested during full bloom (August to September) by clipping off the top six to twelve inches (4-8 cm). Follow the rules of careful harvesting, even if plants seem plentiful.

Medicinal Use: The European variety (Solidago virgaurea) has been documented since the Middle Ages as a bladder and kidney treatment. This is similar to the use now scientifically confirmed for the two recognized North American species.

Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)

Habitat: Horehound is a common sight in disturbed areas such as roadsides, vacant lots, dry, sandy or gravelly fields, and waste grounds.

Characteristics: Horehound is a member of the mint family, but has the taste and properties of bitters. The whole plant is about one to two feet tall and is covered with white, downy hair from which it gained its name (originally hoarhound). Stems are upright with opposite hairy leaves. A ring of tiny white blossoms exists above each set of leaves in the upper sections of the plant. Each tiny blossom has two lips.

Parts Used: Whole plant, dried and cut into fine pieces, or juiced fresh.

Harvesting: Clip the whole plant during flowering season (June to September). Leave plenty of flowers for reseeding. The plant transplants well and makes a good garden herb.

Medicinal Use: As a bitter and choleretic (bile stimulator) in stomach and gall-bladder complaints. Also for a lack of appetite; dyspeptic complaints (indigestion), such as bloating and flatulence; catarrh of the respiratory tract. In folk medicine it is used externally for skin lesions, sores and wounds.

Fresh plant tincture: 1:2 ratio with 50% alcohol.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Habitat: Cultivated ground, stony ground, dry places, roadsides; but also moist places and river banks.

Characteristics: The plant seems like a cross between asparagus and bamboo. In spring there are fertile, brown, leafless stalks that look, and can be eaten, like asparagus stalks. These die down and are followed in summer by infertile green plants with thin branches arranged in whorls. These green plants are the ones used in herbal medicine. Horsetail has characteristic bamboo-like sections which can be snapped apart. The whorly branches resemble horse hair. They also give the impression of scouring brushes and were in fact used as pot scrubbers by the early pioneers. The gritty properties are due to the abundance of silicon the plant absorbs from the ground.

Parts Used: The whole plant, dried and cut into small pieces. An extra heat source for drying is recommended. Drying enhances solubility of the silicon.

Harvesting: Harvest mid-spring to summer when the horse hair-like branches are still standing upright without drooping. Older plants can still be useful, but in older plants the precious silicon is less soluble. Harvest from dense healthy stands and take care to stay at the edges so as not to damage any of the remaining stand. Do not gather from pastures, which are often treated with herbicides. Close to farmland, there may also be traces of herbicides or pesticides.

Medicinal Use: Two-thirds of the inorganic ingredients are silicic acid, of which 10% is water-soluble. There are also significant amounts of potassium salts. Other ingredients are flavonoids and minute traces of alkaloids, including nicotine. Horsetail has diuretic properties and does not wash out body chemicals but maintains the electrolyte balance. Can be taken internally for relief from post-traumatic and static edema to flush the system in bacterial and inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract and in cases of kidney gravel. Some herbalists recommend a maceration where the tea herb is steeped in cold water for 10-12 hours. A decoction to dissolve the plants medicinal substances may be preferable. Can be used externally as an aid in the treatment of poorly healing wounds. Do not use for flushing if the edema are a result of impaired heart or kidney function.

Plantain (Plantago major)

Habitat: Very common in disturbed and cultivated areas such as roadsides, waste areas and embankments. Like dandelion, plantain is also a common lawn weed. Several other species of plantain in North Americam exist, but Plantago major is the most common. Plantain does not make a good garden herb because it is extremely invasive.

Characteristics: Plantain has fibrous leaves arranged in a ground-hugging rosette. In the Plantago major, the smooth leaves are broadly ovate with distinctive parallel veins running the length of the leaves. Flower spikes are four to five inches (10-13 cm) long, upright and stiff. The color of the flower stalk is greenish-white because of the color of the tiny flowers.

Parts Used: The leaves are carefully dried, away from sunlight, and with the help of extra heat, such as a warm room, an oven, or a dehydrator. The dry plant material is chopped small and used in cold macerations and other cold extracts. The leaves can also be used fresh. For insect bites and minor burns, leaves can simply be chewed and the green paste applied to the affected area. Leaves are quite tasty when cooked like spinach. Fresh leaves can be juiced, or they can be puréed for poultices.

Harvesting: The plant can be gathered any time during green, healthy growth and flowering time, April to September. Plants are harvested by grasping them at ground level and pulling. In dry ground, the roots, which are not needed, usually stay behind.

Medicinal Use: Plantain is rich in mucilages, tannins and flavonoids, as well as zinc and potassium. Uses are similar to those of coltsfoot. Research has shown the plant to be antibacterial. Because of the rich mucilages, the plant is useful for respiratory catarrhs and inflammation of the mucous membranes. Externally, it alleviates skin inflammation. The plant is effective as a tea but loses its antibacterial powers in hot water. Cold extracts or juice retain the antibacterial effect.

Dosage and Directions: A 1/2 cup (150 ml) of hot water is poured over two teaspoons (3 g) of plantain. Steep for 10 minutes and strain. Unless otherwise prescribed, a cup of freshly prepared tea is taken several times a day.

St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Habitat: St. John's wort is often considered a troublesome weed; it tends to invade corn and wheat fields and can be found in open woodlands and in disturbed areas, such as waste grounds and roadsides. There are at least four North American species, with Hypericum perforatum the most widespread. St. John's wort is very competitive and should be planted in containers if used in an herb garden. However, seeds are tiny and easily dispersed, so unless you have a great need for this herb, you might want to keep it out of your garden.

Characteristics: St. John's wort is a perennial that reaches a height of one to two feet (thirty to sixty cm). Flowers are about three-quarter inches (2 cm) in diameter, bright yellow, five-petaled and occur in multiple clusters (inflorescences) along the top of the plant. Leaves and flower petals have translucent black dots which contain the active ingredient, hypericin. If you rub a leaf between your fingers, you will notice a red color. The perforated appearance of the dotted leaves gives the name 'perforatum' to this most common species.

Parts Used: The flowering tops of the plant, including some stems and leaves.

Harvesting: Gathering time is the beginning of bloom (late June to August). Clip the upper six to twelve inches off the top of a mature plant (one with multiple branches). Wear gloves when harvesting this plant to prevent staining of hands. Hypericin can cause photosensitivity, especially in fair-skinned people, so during harvest its absorption through the skin should be kept to a minimum.

Medicinal Uses: St. John's wort is one of Germany's most prescribed herbs, available in every pharmacy. It has a calming, antidepressant and sleep-inducing effect. Active ingredients are hypericin, flavonoids, tannins, essential oils and small amounts of antibiotic substances. In recent North American studies, the herb has proven effective in the treatment of leukemia and in alleviating the symptoms of AIDS. Because of high tannin content, it has also proved helpful for diarrhea. This herb has also proven successful in relieving nervous conditions and for children who are bedwetters and/or afraid of the dark.

Tea: 2-4 g drug (tea herb), or 0.2-1.0 mg total hypericin in other preparations.

Oils and Ointments: Use chopped or powered in liquid or solid preparations for oral use. Use liquid or semi-liquid preparations for external use. Preparations with fixed oils can be used internally or externally. Chop the wilted herb as small as possible and cover with oil, adding an extra half inch (1 cm) of oil after plant material is covered. Steep in a warm place away from sunlight for at least one month. Strain through a linen cloth and store in the refrigerator.

Tincture from fresh whole plant: 1:2 ratio, 50% alcohol.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Habitat: Yarrow is common and widespread in North America. It can be found in dry meadows, on hillsides, in gardens and other cultivated land, in empty lots, at roadsides and by garbage dumps. Traditionally, yarrow was grown in every herb garden, where it thrived in a sunny location.

Characteristics: Yarrow is an erect plant, which can grow as tall as two feet (60 cm). It is a rhizomatous perennial with finely divided leaves which have gained it the name 'millefolium,' meaning a 'thousand leaves.' The flower heads are white or pinkish in a false umbel (a flat umbrella-shape). Once you can spot this plant, you will also learn to recognize it by its very characteristic odor.

Parts Used: The whole above-ground flowering plant.

Harvesting: Flowering season is May up to October in milder climates. The only part not used is the lowest hardened part of the stem. Cut yarrow about two inches (five cm) above ground. Cover bunches with paper bags open at the bottom and hang upside-down in an airy place to dry. Finely chop the whole dry plant.

Medicinal Use: This is another plant with broad application. The herb contains essential oils and bitters which are useful for the following applications: gastrointestinal and gall-bladder disturbances, lack of appetite and digestive complaints. Use in folk medicine includes the treatment of nervousness and sleep disorders. In addition, the herb is used in preparations to alleviate symptoms of menopause. In ancient Greece, the herb was used externally for wound treatment. The name Achillea comes from the legend that the centaur Chiron taught Achilles to heal battle wounds with yarrow.

Fresh herb tincture: 1:2 ratio, 50% alcohol.

Dried herb tincture: 1:5 ratio, 50% alcohol.

Other plants may be harvested in the wild, depending on circumstances: angelica (Angelica), catnip (Nepeta cataria), cow parsnip (Heracleum spondylium), fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and mullein (Verbascum thapsiforme). These herbs are not quite as invasive or prolific as the ten selected above, but depending on the area may still grow in abundance. Use your own good judgement when harvesting, take notes, and revisit the area to find out how plants are doing over the years.

Healing Herbs Harvesting, Drying and Storing Herbs

As seen in the descriptions of the wild species above, one or more parts of an herb may be of medicinal value. Most commonly, leaves are taken, but depending on the herb, flowers, seeds, bulbs or roots may also be useful. Information on which parts of the plant have medicinal benefits can be found in herbals. Below are the points to consider when harvesting. These rules apply to harvesting in the wild as well as the herb garden.

Harvest Season

As a general rule, herbs are best harvested when they have developed maximum amounts of essential oils. For many herbs, that is the time when the flower buds are just starting to open. However, mint is richest in essential oils when its flowers are in full bloom. During the harvest season, wait for a day that is neither too hot nor too cold. Skies should be blue. After a period of rain let at least one sunny day go by.

Time of Day

Plant parts growing above ground have the most juice in the morning. Therefore, harvest leaves and flowers in the late morning, after the dew has dried off. Roots are juiciest at night and should be harvested in the evening before night moisture develops.

Amount of Harvest

Do not take more than ten percent of each plant if you want to keep it healthy and productive throughout the season. This rule is true for garden or wild herbs. Taking more can be a severe shock to a plant. Conversely, the pruning effect of careful harvesting can strengthen a plant and make it grow sturdier. Never harvest more than can be used or dried at one time. At the end of the season, garden perennials can be cut to about half their height, while annuals can be cut down to the ground.

Handling

During their harvest, plants should not be put into bags but kept in airy containers, such as baskets, for good circulation. Crushing or breaking should be avoided because it diminishes the value of the plant by destroying some of its essential oils. Once inside, herbs should quickly be washed in cool water, spread on towels and gently patted with a towel until all moisture is gone.

Plant Parts

For leaves, only the young growth of the parent plant should be taken. Leaves that are damaged by insects or otherwise imperfect should be discarded. Herb flowers such as camomile, calendula, borage and chives should be picked when they are fully opened. However, lavender should be taken when it is just starting to open. Do not take flowers that are old or damaged in any way. Bulbs, such as onions or garlic, should be harvested when their leaves are starting to die, usually in late summer or early fall.

Seeds have to be closely watched for proper harvesting. No trace of green should be left on seeds. If there are seed pods, they should be very dry. To avoid losing too many seeds while harvesting from certain plants, put a paper bag over the seed head, cut the stalk gently and then immediately turn it upside-down to let any seeds fall inside the bag. Seed heads should be kept inside the paper bag and put in a very warm, airy place for a few days until thoroughly dry. Bags can then be shaken until all seeds have come loose. Seeds should be kept in dark, airtight containers, preferably glass and never metal. Seeds to be planted in the following year should be kept cool or even frozen.

Drying

Drying, the removal of moisture from plants, will prevent the growth of fungi and bacteria. Bacteria grow well on plants with a water content of forty to forty-five percent while fungi need fifteen to twenty percent moisture. Although thorough drying is necessary, plants are not supposed to lose every last trace of moisture during the drying process. Herbs would become brittle and crumble into dust if all their moisture were removed. Properly dried medicinal herbs will have a moisture content of about ten percent. Some herbs and plant parts are so high in moisture, that they have to be dried with a heat source. This is true for most seeds and all roots, stems, bark, fruit, berries and for all water-retaining plants, such as mullein (Verbascum thrapsus), camomile flowers (Matricaria chamomilla) and dead nettle (Lamium). If extra heat were not present, the herbs would be attacked by bacteria or fungi before having a chance to dry properly. During or after drying, plants should not be handled any more. Dried herbs should never be mixed with fresh ones.

The best method of producing dried herbs is to keep plants in an airy room, away from sunlight at temperatures between 70°-600°F (20°-320°C). Herbs containing essential oils should be dried below 570°F (300°C) to preserve their volatile oils. Herbs to be dried are sorted and cleaned well. All damaged parts are discarded. Strongly aromatic herbs are dried separately. Flowers, such as camomile, arnica and poppy, have to be dried quickly and kept away from light. Leaves or flowers are spread on linen cloths or non-wire mesh frames to allow for air circulation. Drying whole green plants takes about a week; the crisp leaves are then removed from their stems and put into airtight containers. If the whole plant is of medicinal value, it is chopped into very small pieces and then stored in airtight containers.

Containers should be opened after one or two days of storage to check whether herbs are really dry. If there is any condensation, take herbs from the container and spread them out to dry some more. If this is not done, herbs will spoil. If there is enough room for storage, whole plants should be stored without cutting them up. Similar to the practice of grinding only small amounts of coffee beans at a time, whole herbs are best when chopped as needed. Unlike green plants and flowers which must be kept away from sunlight, roots and bark can be dried in the sun. They are cleaned of any soil, washed quickly, cut lengthwise and then chopped into fine pieces. They can be spread out on linen cloths or on non-wire mesh frames.

Drying Herbs in Bunches

Non-succulent plants can be dried hanging upside-down in bunches. This method may look romantic, but it has its problems. First of all, when done in a kitchen, too much moisture may spoil the herbs. In addition, drying in bunches will take longer than individual drying so that dust could settle on the herbs. If drying in bunches is attempted, it should be done in a dry, airy room without direct sunlight. Windows should be closed at night and during early morning hours to prevent moisture from entering the room. Herbs cannot be dried in rooms with a cement floor. To prevent dust from settling and to keep out light, herb bunches can becovered with wide paper bags that are open at the bottom.

Herbs can also be dried on cookie sheets in an oven set to between 230-265°F (110°-130°C).

Herbs can also be dried in a day or two with the aid of a food dehydrator. The latter method is preferable to oven drying since it seems to retain more of the herbs' color and flavor.

Storage

After herbs are dried, they should be put in dry, dark, airtight containers, preferably opaque glass jars. Metal containers should never be used. Herbs should be clearly labeled with their names and the dates of harvest. Do not store herbs in moist places such as the kitchen or a bathroom. Herbs should not be kept for more than one season. As new herbs replace old ones each year, any leftovers can be used in herbal baths. You can also use some of your herbs in sachets and potpourris.