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HERB
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Magazine DescriptionHerbs for Health brims over with time-honored, scientifically tested advice regarding herbal remedies. Its editorial advisory board ensures reliability by including university professors, research foundation directors, and herb professionals. The most widely read consumer magazine in the field, the bimonthly offers friendly, helpful features for improving your lifestyle.
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THE
REVIVAL OF AN OLD HERB For a long
time, if you choose to treat an illness with an all natural medication you had to shop in
a health food store. Often, the health food stores here in Quebec only carried a limited
number of herbal remedies. Sometimes the only way you could obtain a particular herb was
to grow it yourself. Thankfully,
because of our increased interest in herbal medicine, you can now find a good assortment
of natural products in most pharmacies. Many of them are ready to take in either pill or
liquid form. The history
of using herbal medicine goes back more than 4,000 years. In 2,000 BC the Cretes first
introduced sage, henna and saffron as medicinal plants to the early Egyptians. Around 1550
BC the ancient Egyptians wrote on the famous Ebers papyrus how they used plants to
maintain good health, they listed about one-third the plants in the modern pharmacopeia. Garlic,
lily, fennel, linseed, juniper, thyme and poppy as well as many other plants we know and
use today were favored by the Egyptians. Around 1500
BC Egyptian travelers brought back medicines like myrrh gum, berries, sandelwood,
olibanium and black alder bark from Africa. As well as ginger, sweet flag, cinnamon and
calamus from China and India. Like ancient
Egypt, Greece, India and China, America has a rich legacy of herbal medicine. In Native
American tradition living at harmony with nature is called Good Medicine. Robust health
and healing were achieved by being one with the world. When plants
were gathered the healer looked at the plants for more than their chemical ability to
eliminate an illness, he saw them as part of the whole of Creation. Early Native
American herbalists had an extensive knowledge of indigenous medical plants such as wild
ginger, onion, oak, echinacea, corn, blackberry, poplar, ginseng. They also quickly
learned to incorporate the hundreds of plants brought over by early settlers. Some of
these were comfrey, alfalfa, dock, burdock, plantain and mullein. Over 25
percent of the common medicines we use today contain constituents derived from plants, but
for the last seventy-five years science has worked hard to manufacture chemical medicines
that can cure, often ignoring the more natural approach. The reason
for this is simple, there are millions of dollars to be made finding and patenting new
synthetic drugs. Few laboratories want to spend research dollars on cures that use plants
we can grow in our back yards. With the
increased popularity of herbal medicine, many herbal companies have brought new products
onto the market. On CBC’s Health Show we were warned that many natural herbal
medications are not required to pass government testing or inspection. When random testing
was done, some products were found to be contaminated with herbs other than the ones
listed on the label and they often found the dosage in some bottles to be far less than
what the consumer was paying for. The report
also stated there are potential dangers in taking some herbs if you are pregnant, suffer
from another health condition or if you mix herbal formulas with other medication. They
stressed the importance of using caution and informing your doctor when taking any
medication whether it is from a natural source or a synthetic drug. Whenever
using herbal medicine, I prefer either herbs I have grown myself or purchased from a
reputable supplier. There are
four ways that dried or fresh herbs can be prepared. They can be powdered and taken in
gelatin capsules or made into infusions, decoctions and tinctures. Infusions or tisanes are made from the more
delicate parts of plants, leaves and flowers. Start by warming a glass or stainless steel
teapot, place herbs in and add a little boiling water. Let set a few minutes, add more
boiling water and continue until teapot is full. I prefer slowly coaxing the herbs to give
up their healing properties by keeping the teapot hot on my wood stove for an hour or
longer. Then I
strain out the tea and keep the extra refrigerated until needed. Some herbalists
discourage reheating herbal tea in the micro wave because they believe it will destroy
some of its healing properties. Decoctions, are usually made from the heavier
parts of plants roots, berries, bark and branches. Decoctions are more like a soup than a
tea. Start by placing water in a glass or stainless steel saucepan, bring to boil, reduce
heat and add herbs. Keeping the pot just below the boiling point, simmer for about 30
minutes. Strain and refrigerate the unused portion. Tinctures, are made by placing 4 ounces of herb in
a glass container, cover with 500 ml. of 60% vodka and close the container tightly. Keep
in a warm place for about six months, shaking it daily. Strain through clean cheesecloth.
Place liquid into a dark bottle with a tight fitting top. Tinctures are taken in small
amounts, like a teaspoon at a time and being the strongest of these home remedies, should
not be prepared without the advise of a qualified herbalist. You have
probably noticed I have not stated any amounts to be used for the infusions and
decoctions. It is best to read up on the herb you want to use before making it yourself.
There are two books I highly recommend for anyone interested in herbal remedies. Growing and Using Herbs, by Gaea and Shandor
Weiss. Published by Rodale Press. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Chinese Medicine by Tom Williams Ph. D. Published by Element Books. Check out ; The Revival of an old herb
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