herbal medicine – Page 2 – Herbs of Grace Healing Arts

April 25, 2017April 25, 2017

What is Herbal Medicine? – Part 3

In past articles, we have talked about the history, myths and misconceptions of herbal medicine as well as the basics of getting started using herbs. In this post, I’d like to share with you some information on specific, common herbs and what properties they possess, as well as how you can use them as medicinal remedies.

When I teach people about herbal remedies, I love to give them skills they can use right away, wherever they live. So, I teach them about weeds first. They may not sound appealing or exciting, but they make some of the most potent and accessible healing remedies you can use!

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dandelions are a common weed that grows everywhere in temperate climates. It is the perfect herb to start off with! The entire plant is medicinal – flowers, leaves and root.

Learn more in my guest post at Hybrid Rasta Mama today.

Head over to read the rest of this post on Hybrid Rasta Mama.

Herbal Allies Found the World Over

Having recently moved to India, I have been excited to learn about a whole new batch of herbs to use as food and medicine. In the meantime however, I have been struck by the pervasiveness of a few old herbal friends from home:

Dandelion: Where would we be without dear old Dandelion? It was one of the first plants I recognized when I arrived here in India. A Euro-Asian native now naturalized throughout the world as a common weed in disturbed soils, there are not many places it won’t grow!

The leaves of Dandelion make an extremely nutritious spring potherb and salad green. They are also a dependable diuretic without depleting potassium. The roots are an excellent bitter, stimulating digestion, with a particular affinity to the kidneys and liver. One of the best liver herbs there is! And the flowers make a wonderful infused oil that is used for inflammation and sore muscles. They also make delicious pancakes and fritters!

Yellow Dock: I was so happy to see Yellow Dock here in India! An Old World native, Yellow Dock is now naturalized throughout the world as a common weed in disturbed, poor soils. And how fortunate we are that it is!

Externally, Yellow dock is used as an antiseptic. In fact, The Academy of Minsk recommends it to be used in a poultice against burns, ulcers and infected wounds that are slow to heal. It is also one of the best topical remedies for nettle stings. Internally, it is used extensively in western herbalism for the treatment of chronic skin conditions. Yellow Dock is another one of those herbs described through the ages as a “blood cleanser”, with an affinity for the liver and gallbladder. It also aids in the digestion of fatty foods.

Plantain: My old friend Plaintain! The variety here in India is ever so slightly different in appearance than what we have back in the Pacific Northwest. I think it may be Plantago erosa….. Can you see it nestled in next to Dandelion below?

Plantain is also one of those Old World natives that has now made it’s home all over the world and seen mainly as a “weed”. One of Plantain’s most stellar topical uses is as a drawing agent to pull out splinters, dirt, pus and infection from wounds. Internally, it is a gentle expectorant and simultaneously a demulcent to soothe inflamed membranes while helping to expel phlegm, making it useful for coughs and bronchitis. It’s astringency makes it ideal for mouth ulcers and gum disease as well.

Recognizing these familiar plants so far from home makes me realize that wherever you are in the world, you have a medicine chest at your doorstep!

What herbs can you see as you step out your front door?

June 27, 2012

5 Medicine Making Mediums

Oil – Oils like olive, almond and jojoba (which is not technically an oil, but a liquid wax) extract fat soluble constituents of medicinal herbs.

Alcohol – Various kinds of alcohol such as vodka and brandy are used to create high quality medicinal tinctures.

Vinegar – Vinegar also creates medicinal tinctures, especially suitable to herbs with high mineral content.

Honey – Raw honey makes marvelous herbal medicine, especially when using aromatic herbs.

Water – Teas are a very common way to create and take herbal medicine. Water is a wonderful way to extract many of the medicinal constituents of herbs.

August 8, 2011

A Rose is a Rose….

There is a long hedge of a wild rose variety called Rosa Rugosa along the back of my garden. I planted them there a few years ago, chosen because they supposedly have the biggest rose hips of all the roses. I have been collecting the luscious hips each fall since then, but this year I was inspired by a couple of herbalists I admire, namely Elise Krohn, Olympia community herbalist and Kiva Rose, traditional herbalist in the SW, to use other parts of this beautiful plant to make medicine.

Wild roses have been used in herbal medicine for centuries and have a wide range of uses and benefits. Here is a list of some of the major properties of wild rose:

Astringent
Anti-inflammatory
Relaxant Nervine
Aphrodisiac
Anti-microbial
Anti-Oxidant
Cooling
Mood elevator
Blood mover

The petals of wild rose are so deliciously aromatic, that I decided to collect them this summer to make several different remedies. The first one I made was a Rose Petal Elixir.

Here’s how I did it:

I gathered petals on a dry mid-morning after the dew had evaporated.

I filled a clean glass jar loosely with the petals.

I then poured vodka over the petals to fill the jar 3/4 of the way.

The next step is to fill the jar the rest of the way with raw local honey, leaving about 1/2 inch of headroom.

At this point I like to cover the top of the jar with a layer of plastic if the lid is metal, otherwise, rose has a tendency to react with it. Put the lid on tight. Let the jar sit in a cool, dark place for 4-6 weeks and shake it often. When it is done, the petals can be strained out (or not).

And that’s it! It’s that easy!

This simple elixir can be used topically for just about any type of wound, burn, rash or bite, as well as for sore muscles. Internally, it can be used in any situation where a calming influence is needed – trauma, mental shock, fear or stress.

Have you used wild rose petals for medicine? What is your favorite way to use them?