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Herbs for Health. With Linda Conroy www.moonwiseherbs.com. Introduction. Linda Conroy – Herbalist and Forager. Medicine.
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Herbs for Health With Linda Conroy www.moonwiseherbs.com
Introduction Linda Conroy – Herbalist and Forager
Medicine • Herbal medicine is the art and science of using herbs for promoting health and preventing and treating illness. Herbal medicine refers to using a plant's seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers. • The primary focus of the herbalist is to treat people as individuals irrespective of the disease or condition they have and to stimulate their innate healing power through the use of such interventions as herbs, diet and lifestyle. • Herbalism has a long tradition of use outside of conventional medicine.
History • Plants had been used for medicinal purposes long before recorded history. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings describe medicinal uses for plants as early as 3,000 BC. • Indigenous cultures (such as African and Native American) used herbs in their healing rituals, while others developed traditional medical systems (such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine) in which herbal therapies were used. • Researchers found that people in different parts of the world tended to use the same or similar plants for the same purposes.
Chemical Analysis • In the early 19th century, when chemical analysis first became available, scientists began to extract and modify the active ingredients from plants. • Later, chemists began making their own version of plant compounds and, over time, the use of herbal medicines declined in favor of drugs. • Almost one fourth of pharmaceutical drugs are derived from botanicals.
Primary Health Care • Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some part of their primary health care. • In Germany, about 600 - 700 plant based medicines are available and are prescribed by some 70% of German physicians. • In the past 20 years in the United States, public dissatisfaction with the cost of prescription medications, combined with an interest in returning to natural or organic remedies, has led to an increase in herbal medicine use.
How Herbs Work • In many cases, scientists aren' t sure what specific ingredient in a particular herb works to promote health and/or to treat a condition or illness. • Whole herbs contain many ingredients that work together to produce a beneficial effect. • Many factors determine how effective an herb will be. For example, the type of environment (climate, bugs, soil quality) in which a plant grew will affect it, as will how and when it was harvested and processed.
Herbal Categories • Nourishing herbs are nutritive plants such as kale, garlic, dandelion greens, rolled oats, plantain seeds, blueberries, and edible weeds -- the powerhouses of nutrition. Nourishing plants can be used in any quantity for any length of time. Nutritive herbs are rich in minerals and vitamins. One hundred grams of dandelion (about ½ cup of greens) has 14,000 IU of vitamin A precursors.
Tonifying • Tonifying herbs are like exercise; they include such plants as burdock, dandelion root, yellow dock, motherwort, ginseng, astragalus and chaste berry. • One of the benefits of exercise, of tonification, is that it helps us when we’re stressed. You’re not necessarily going to feel better if you exercise once for ten minutes. But, if you exercise for ten minutes every day, after several months, you will notice changes.
Stimulating/Sedating • Stimulating and sedating herbs do just that they provide stimulation or sedation to the body. • When ingesting a herbs that fit into this category you feel an effect. That effect only lasts while you are ingesting the herb. • Over the long run stimulation erodes health. Stimulating herbs are ingested for a specific purpose, for a specific period of time. Ginger and Cinnamon are examples of stimulating herbs.
Poisonous • The last category is potentially poisonous herbs, ones we only in extreme situations, to ward off death. • Herbalist Susun Weed includes goldenseal, poke root, cayenne, rue, sweet clover, and wormwood in this category.
Important Questions Whether you will harvest or purchase herbs these are important questions to ask. What plant? Identify the plant you will be working with. You want to learn the botanical name and if you are harvesting how to identify the plant. 2. What part? of the plant will be processed ie leaf, root, seed etc. How to prepare? How is the plant best prepared for the intended purpose?
Dried Herbs-Air Drying • Oregano, thyme, dill, sage, rosemary, & marjoram, lavender, nettle, oatstraw and many others. • Hang herbs in loosely tied bundles in a well ventilated room. • Spread the branches or leaves on a screen, basket, cheesecloth, or hardware cloth. • Dry naturally in a cool, dark room. • Let dry for a couple of weeks, until stems snap when bent or leaves crumble.
Dried Herbs – Air Dryingcontinued • Herbs with seeds – tie the herbs in small bundles & suspend inside a paper bag with holes punched in the sides. Suspend the bag in a dark area with good air circulation. • Collect the seeds when they are dry and store in a rigid light proof container
Storage • When herbs are thoroughly dry, place in an paper bag and store in a cool, dark location. • Do not crush the leaves, so that you retain as much of their essential oils as possible Use • Crush leaves before adding to dishes; dried herbs can be 3 to 5 times more potent than fresh herbs.
Nourishing Herbal Infusion Creating nourishing herbal infusions is easy and fun!! For certain herbs we are looking for the nutritive qualities of the plant ie vitamins and minerals. These nutrients “live” behind the cell wall of the plant and release themselves only after steeping dried (drying makes the cell wall more fragile) plant material for 4-8 hours. • -Flowers can be steeped for 4 hours. • -Leaves, roots and seeds for 8 hours. • Ratio: 1 ounce of herb for each quart of water
Favorite Infusion Herbs My favorite infusions herbal infusions are Stinging Nettle (Urticadioca), Oatstraw (Avena sativa), Red Clover (Trifoliumpratense), rosehips (Rosa sp) and and Comfrey (Symphytumofficinale)
Preparing an Infusion 1 ounce of herb=1 quart of water A french press, a jar or a teapot all work well.
Making Tea The essential or volatile oils as well as vitamin C are on the outside of the cell wall. These are readily made available in water after 5-15 minutes. Tea can be made with fresh plant material. For example chamomile, pineapple weed and mint tea will only be steeped for 5-10 minutes.
Favorite Tea Herbs • Mint • Fennel • Lemon Balm • Chamomile *These are all plants high in volatile oils. Downy Wood Mint (Blephiliaciliata)
Making a Decoction Decoction is a method of extraction, by which you boil stems, roots, bark and rhizomes. A decoction is also the name for the resulting fluid. Decoctions differ from teas and infusions, in that they are boiled. Herbs we might decoct include: burdock root, milk thistle seeds, dandelion root and many other seeds, roots and barks. Fun Fact: The word decoction derives from Latin decoquere (meaning to boil down), de "from" + coquere "to cook".
Roots • Chicory Root • Dandelion Root • Burdock Root • Licorice Root (contraindicated for people with high blood pressure) *these can be roasted and/or dried before decocting Common Burdock (Articum Minus)
Other Applications Tea, Infusions and Decoctions can be transformed into many other medicines. They are the foundation of many other preparations. For example: Lotions, Jelly, Body and Foot Baths, Washes for Wounds, Bug Spray, First Aid Spray.
Applying herbs topically is one of the safest and effective ways to bring herbs into our lives. Making creams and lotions is fun and it is a practical way to apply herbs for nourishing and healing the largest, often unappreciated organ: the skin.
Infused Oil An infused oil is made by chopping fresh plant material and placing it in a jar. Once you place the plant material in a jar you pour a base oil (I prefer olive oil) over the plant until it is covered and leave it sit to macerate or soak for 6 weeks.
Different Approaches You will find different approaches to making an infused oil. I prefer the cold steep method as it offers the best extraction. In a pinch you can use dry plant material and warm it for a short period of time. I find that heating the oil compromises the integrity of the oil and it will spoil more easily.
Salve and Lotion Making • Measure and MeltMeasure out the oils and beeswax. Add them to a glass measuring cup. Using a makeshift double boiler method, place the measuring cup in a pot. Melt oils and beeswax over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Pour and Cool Pour your salve or lotion into a jar or tin. Let it cool and it will set up and be ready to use. Creams and/or Lotions combine oil, wax and water or tincture. Salves or lip balms are made with beeswax and oils
Compresses, Fomentations and Poultices Poultice: Pulverized Plant Material applied either directly or on a cloth. Compress: A Strong Tea or Infusions. Soak a cloth and apply topically Fomentation: warm moist compress
Tinctures • Tinctures Act Fast • Tinctures are alcohol-based plant medicines. • Alcohol extracts and concentrates many properties from plants, including their poisons. • Alcohol does not extract significant amounts of nutrients, so tinctures are used when we want to stimulate, sedate, or make use of a poison. (*Remember that nourishing herbs are best used in water bases such as infusions and vinegars.)
Methods for Tincture Making • Simplers Method: Fill a jar with fresh plant material and pour your menstruum (in this case alcohol over the plant material to cover. • If using dried plant material you will use less plant material. Each plant will have a different ratio of plant material to liquid. • 40-50% alcohol is ideal for most plant material.
Vinegar • Infusing herbs in vinegar is a wonderful way to extract vitamins, minerals and prebiotic substances i.e. inulin. You can either incorporate these into your diet i.e. salad dressings or you can put a little in water and drink. One of my favorite vinegars is made with dandelion root. This is a wonderful prebiotic, mineral tonic that supports the liver.
Vinegar continued For example-dandelion adds its mild laxative nature to vinegar's natural antiseptic qualities. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect on the intestines. This is an old fold remedy for ailments of the pancreas and liver, said to ease jaundice and cirrhosis. Dandelion is also a diuretic and rich in potassium. The entire plant can be steeped in vinegar for 6 weeks and then strained. The Vinegar can be added to food i.e. salad dressings and or added to a glass of water and drunk
Honey Honey provides a wonderful medium for storing and preserving herbs. It has been considered a healing substance for thousands of years. The best honey is local raw unheated honey. Honey itself contains as much as 35% protein. Honey is antibacterial and when applied topically holds moisture where it is placed. It is a source of vitamin B,C,D,E and some minerals.
Adding Herbs Enhances the Healing Qualities of Honey For example the roseship infused honey pictured below will suspend the vitamin C that is easily extracted from outside the cell wall of the fruit. *Note: all honey, but especially raw honey, contains the spores of botulism. While this is not a problem for adults, children under the age of one year not have enough stomach acid to prevent these spores from developing into botulism.
The Plants Meeting the plants is one of the most connecting and gratifying aspects of working with plants. There are many plants and many ways to prepare them. The following are just a few of the most common plants that you will find in the herbal world.
Yarrow (Achilleamillefolium) Yarrow is a wonderful example of an herb that stops bleeding. It is sometimes called the nosebleed plant. And rightly so, if you place a few leaves of the plant in a nose that is bleeding it will stop it almost immediately. Yarrow is astringing or drying and it contains salicylic acid, which is one of the acids in willow, which the original aspirin was derived from. Thus it is pain relieving as well.
St Johns/Joanswort Hypericumperforatum . • This is one of the best herbs for topical application. It reduces inflammation, eases nerve pain and has viral fighting qualities.
Calendula officinalis Calendula is one of my favorite herbs to infused in oil and thus transform into a cream. It is often added to skin and body care products. It is soothing to the skin, healing to burns, helps to fade scarring and is antifungal. It is often added to baby care products and used to heal diaper rash. It is also healing to eczema and psoriasis. Some herbs I choose to wilt before placing them in oil. Calendula is one of those herbs.
Elderflowers Sambucus sp Edlerflowers make a wonderful infused oil that can be applied to the skin for healing dry cracked skin. The oil can be applied directly or transformed into a wonderful skin cream or lotion. It is softening to the skin and healing to eczema, psoriasis and any other dry skin condition.
Viola odorata A tea of the flowers makes a wonderful base for a syrup or jelly.
Nettle (Urtica sp.) Nettle leaf can be used fresh for a decoction and dried as an infusion Dog Nettle (UrticaUrens) Stinging Nettle (UrticaDioica)
Plantain (Plantain sp) Plantain is one of my favorite herbs for adding to a salve as well as a healing lotion. It is often called the Band aid plant: it heals cuts, scrapes, has a drawing action, so helps to remove splinters, glass and stingers from a bee or wasp. I have even used plantain to extract a baby tooth. This is truly an important plant to have in salve form in any first aid kit.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) Chickweed in my opinion is one of the most underused herbs for topical application. This herb is cooling and is healing to any hot, dry skin condition. It is the best herb for healing eczema and is wonderful when combined with Calendula . Chickweed is very moist and so when infused in oil needs to be wilted as previously mentioned. It is a herb that many gardeners pull out and are surprised to learn of it’s healing qualities and edibility.
Blue VerveinVerbena hastata When I see this plant I think of the Nervous System. This plant has been shown to relieve nervous disorders, anxiety, stress, and sleeplessness. It is particularly effective when sleep is disrupted by a change in hormones. A cup of blue vervain tea or a tincture can calm the nerves and re-balance hormone levels, ensuring that our body can rest. It is the flowering top part of the plant as pictured that you want to employ for medicine making, drying it or steeping it in alcohol to make a tincture.
Celendine Poppy Stylophorum diphyllum Greater celandine has been used externally to speed up healing of minor wounds, cuts and scrapes and as a relief for skin problems such as eczema. The yellow milk sap from the plant is a strong corrosive substance that can dissolve warts and corns due to the action of protein splitting enzymes. The herb has also antimicrobial effect and may be helpful as a external treatment for fungal infections.
