Herbal Medicine Tid-bits

RealityCheckBounced · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 27, 2005 Posts: 106

Just thought i'd mention that willow bark contains a natural asprin compound. So if there's a willow tree in your area theres no need to stock up on asprin. Smile

Milk thistle has been scienifically shown to regenerate liver tissue and i believe it is more a effective liver medicine than any pharmecuetical. Its been shown very benificial for treating hepatitis.

If anyone else happens to have any useful bits of info concerning natural remedies that are effective and can be grown easily please add them here so that i don't have to buy a book. Laughing

seahorse2 · Expert Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 1817

Vitamin C is found in all pine and spruce needles. Boil the green needles, drink the water. It kept the native indians from dying of scurvy, something that wiped out a lot of early colonist, even though the vitamin c was all around them, winter and summer

KiddieKorral · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:33 pm Post subject:

Juniper berries are a decent diuretic.
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Barbara · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:54 pm Post subject:

Bach flowers are very good for psychosomatic diseases. They are used also in our public health system, expecially for children (instead of Ritalin! Smile

)
Those 38 flowers are wild ones, very easy to find. To "process" them is very easy too, you just need water and... brandy. And 1/4 gallon of tincture lasts almost forever.
Through google, you can find whole manuals about Bach flowers and how to use them.
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uNkNowN ElEmEnt · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 5:34 pm Post subject:

Here are a couple of things I'm adding to my garden this year.

Pleurisy Root - Roots act specifically on the lungs as an expectorant and anti-inflammatory. Valuable for all chest complaints, including pleurisy.

Milkweed- Apt name as all parts exude a milky juice when cut. Root and rhizome are anodyne (pain killing). Used for asthma, painful cough and scrofula. Germination benefits from gibberellic acid treatment.

Camphor Tree - Source of camphor applied topically for inflammation, rheumatic pain, and sprains. Ingredient in Tiger Balm and other commercial ointments. Oil is used in costly perfumes. Leaves have refreshing scent. (If anyone has a source for this please let me know, mine had a crop failure this year)

Yarrow - good insect repellent

Yerba Mansa - (Swamp root) Infusion made from the aromatic, peppery roots used by Indians of the American Southwest as a general pain reliever and a treatment for stomach ulcers, chest congestion and colds

Ludi · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:07 pm Post subject:

I recommend the book The Green Pharmacy by Jim Duke.

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5103 Location: Oklahoma

Passion flower (Maypop) is a mild sedative. It is helpful for anxiety and insomnia. The vines are easy to grow and the flowers are gorgeous! The fruit is also edible.

http://www.ncarboretum.org/Superb_Herbs/passion_flower.html

Terran · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:13 pm Post subject:

There's Aloe vera, a great disinfectant. It's a pretty common house plant.

Ephedra sinica, also known as ephedrine, had nasal deconjestion properties, it clears up your nasal passages if you have a cold. It also functions as a mild stimulant.

Also Papaver somniferum, also known as the opium poppy, contains morphine, by 10% of its tar. It fuctions as a powerful pain medication, used to treat non-productive coughing, and diherria. Come post peak, pharmaceuticals such as vicodin, oxycodone, fantanyl, and other opiate based painkillers would be either too expensive or won't exist, because of the requirement of intensive amount of petrochemicals.

There's also cannabis, also known as marijuana, it serves as a pain releiver, anti-nausea medication, appetite stimulater, and other medical uses. The other ingredent hemp is also useful for fiber making.

Of course both of the plants cannabis, and poppies are illegal to cultivate depending on what country you live in, so think about that.
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RealityCheckBounced · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 27, 2005 Posts: 106

Good point about P sominiferum. Would be very useful for terminal cancer to ease the dying. But geez, the boredom of PO might cause one to get get carried away and end up with a big fat gorilla on their back. I can see it now: cough, cough, uhhh this cough is real bad. I think I need to take something for it. Laughing

I would just grow them for the seeds because i like poppy seed bagels. Rolling Eyes

I think i will look into green pharmacy. thanks.

Does anyone know if yerba mate tea can grow in the NE US? Not neccesarily medicinal but taste good with honey and caffine would be nice from time to time. I did see a website that sold chinese green tea plants and was considering purchasing one but they were like $25.

Oh yeah, Valerian is a good one for a sleep aid and anxiety. Its also a companion plant for all plants (according to how to grow more vegtables). This stuff is like super potent catnip for cats too.

Ludi · Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:23 am Post subject:

Lemon balm, chamomile, and lavendar all treat anxiety and depression, as well as helping sleep. I use these in a sleepy tea along with passionflower, to replace prescribed sleeping pills. It's not as strong, but also doesn't leave a hangover. Valerian is a more effective sedative for most people, but can leave a hangover.

Valerian also smells horrible....

RealityCheckBounced · Heavy Crude Joined: Jan 27, 2005 Posts: 106

Doly · Expert Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 4031

The ideal thing to do is get
1) A book to identify wild plants
2) Another good herbal book on herbal remedies in your area (area here may be fairly general, like "Europe" or "North America")

Learn to identify the wild plants in your area and learn their medicinal properties. I have done this myself, and I totally recommend it. The amount of knowledge that you get just by getting into the habit of collecting wild flowers when you go out and learning about them is amazing.

And this also works if you live in a city. Actually, most of the plants I know about grow in overgrown lawns and the like. I'm commited to the urban lifestyle, come what may.

oowolf · Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 1:57 pm Post subject:

A better sedative is Wild Lettuce (lactuca virosa). http://amazing-nature.com/info/1116.htm

Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5103 Location: Oklahoma

http://www.swsbm.com/homepage/

Free books and info on herbal medicine, in PDF format. Includes:

The Dispensatory of the USA, 20th Edition (1918)
Fenner's Complete Formulary and Handbook (1888)
Texts and Manuals by Michael Moore (not that Michael Moore)

and much more! Y'all gotta check this out.

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 462

Re: Yerba Mate, it grows great in the PNW, not sure about the rest of the country. Have a 6' bush that grows like a weed. Also planting tea trees, definitely need caffeine! Don't know if we can get coffee to grow in the Willamette Valley, but going to give it a try.

We're planting some elderberry bushes this spring, it's quite the medicinal medical chest. One main function is that it apparently has some excellent antiviral properties.