Your,Own,Herbal,Expert,Ancient health Be Your Own Herbal Expert - Pt 8

If the vagina is not offering the firm grip to your male partner, he expresses displeasure in lovemaking. You need to tighten the orifice and regain lost elasticity. You can make use of herbal remedies for loose vagina treatment naturally. H The technology behind listening devices has improved dramatically in recent years, giving new hope to those with impairment. While still far from a perfect replacement for the natural ability to hear, these devices give those with a disabili

Ancientmemories arise in you when you begin to use herbal medicine. These lessons aredesigned to nourish and activate those memories and your inner herbalist so youcan be your own herbal expert. In our firstlesson, we learned how to "listen" to the plants by focusing on howthey taste. In lesson two, we explored simples and water-based herbal remedies.In the third lesson, we learned how to tell safe (nourishing and tonifying)herbs from more dangerous (stimulating and sedating) herbs. Our fourth lessondealt with poisons; we learned how to make a tincture and we put together ourHerbal Medicine Chest. The fifth lesson found us making herbal vinegars, andthe sixth, making herbal oils.  In our lastlesson together, we looked at our thoughts about healing; we discussed theScientific goal of fixing the broken machine, the Heroic intention to cleansethe toxins from our polluted bodies, and the Wise Woman desire to nourish thewholeness of the unique individual.  In this, theeighth lesson, we return to the herbal pharmacy, to make healing sweets: herbalhoneys, syrups, and cough drops.  In our nextlesson, the ninth and last of this series, we will continue our exploration ofthe ideas behind healing with a tour of the Seven Medicines.  HONEY Honey hasbeen regarded as a healing substance for thousands of years. Greek healersrelied on honey water, vinegar water, and honey/vinegar water as their primarycures. An Egyptian medical text dated to about 2600 BCE mentions honey 500times in 900 remedies. What makes honey so special? First, honeyis antibacterial. It counters infections on the skin, in the intestines, in therespiratory system, or throughout the body.  Second,honey is hydroscopic, a long word meaning "water loving". Honey holdsmoisture in the place where it is put; it can even draw moisture out of theair. A honey facial leaves skin smooth and deliciously moist. These twoqualities - anti-infective and hydroscopic - make honey an ideal healer ofwounds of all kinds, including burns, bruises and decubita (skin ulcers), anamazing soother for sore throats, a powerful ally against bacterial diarrhea,and a counter to asthma.  Third, honeymay be as high as 35 percent protein. This, along with the readily-availablecarbohydrate (sugar) content, provides a substantial surge of energy and acounter to depression. Some sources claim that honey is equal, or superior, toginseng in restoring vitality. Honey's proteins also promote healing, bothinternally and externally.  And honey isa source of vitamins B, C, D and E, as well as some minerals. It appears tostrengthen the immune system and help prevent (some authors claim to cure)cancer. Honey isgathered from flowers, and individual honeys from specific flowers may be morebeneficial than a blended honey. Tupelo honey, from tupelo treeblossoms, is high in levulose, which slows the digestion of the honey making itmore appropriate for diabetics. Manuka honey, from New Zealand, is certified asantibacterial. My "house brand" is a rich, black, locally-producedautumn honey gathered by the bees from golden rod, buckwheat, chicory, andother wild flowers. Raw honey alsocontains pollen and propolis, bee and flower products that have special healingpowers.  Bee pollen, likehoney, is a concentrated source of protein and vitamins; unlike honey, it is agood source of minerals, hormonal precursors, and fatty acids. Bee pollen has areputation for relieving, and with consistent use, curing allergies and asthma.The pollens that cause allergic reactions are from plants that arewind-pollinated, not bee-pollinated, so any bee pollen, or any honey containingpollen, ought to be helpful. One researcher found an 84 percent reduction insymptoms among allergy sufferers who consumed a spoonful of honey a day duringthe spring, summer, and fall plus three times a week in the winter.  Propolis is made bythe bees from resinous tree saps and is a powerful antimicrobial substance.Propolis can be tinctured in pure grain alcohol (resins do not dissolve well in100 proof vodka, my first choice for tinctures) and used to counter infectionssuch as bronchitis, sinusitis, colds, flus, gum disease, and tooth decay. WARNING: All honey,but especially raw honey, contains the spores of botulinus. While this is not a problem for adults, children underthe age of one year may not have enough stomach acid to prevent these sporesfrom developing into botulism, a deadly poison.HERBAL HONEYSHerbalhoneys are made by pouring honey over fresh herbs and allowing them to mergeover a period of several days to several months. When herbs are infused intohoney, the water-loving honey absorbs all the water-soluble components of theherb, and all the volatile oils too, most of which are anti-infective. Herbalhoneys are medicinal and they taste great. When I look at my shelf of herbalhoneys I feel like the richest person in the world.  Using Your Herbal Honeys Place atablespoonful of your herbal honey (include herb as well as honey) into a mug;add boiling water; stir and drink. Or, eat herbal honeys by the spoonful rightfrom the jar to soothe and heal sore, infected throats and tonsils. Smear thehoney (no herb please) onto wounds and burns.  Make an Herbal Honey   Coarselychop the fresh herb of your choice (leave garlic whole).Put choppedherb into a wide-mouthed jar, filling almost to the top.Pour honeyinto the jar, working it into the herb with a chopstick if needed.Add a littlemore honey to fill the jar to the very top.Covertightly. Label. Your herbalhoney is ready to use in as little as a day or two, but will be more medicinalif allowed to sit for six weeks.  Herbalhoneys made from aromatic herbs make wonderful gifts.  Make a Russian Cold Remedy  Fill a smalljar with unpeeled cloves of garlic. If desired,add one very small onion, cut in quarters, but not peeled. Fill the jarwith honey. Label andcover. This remedyis ready to use the next day. It is taken by the spoonful to ward off bothcolds and flus. It is sovereign against sore throats, too. And it tastes yummy! (Garlic mayalso carry botulinus spores, but noadult has ever gotten botulism from this remedy. A local restaurant poisonedpatrons by keeping garlic in olive oil near a hot stove for months before usingit, though.) Make an Egyptian Wound Salve "Ithought at first this would be dreadful stuff to put on an open wound . . .Instead, the bacteria in the fat disappeared and when pathogenic bacteria wereadded . . . they were killed just as fast," commented scientists whotested this formula found in the ancient Smith Papyrus.  Mix onetablespoonful of honey with two tablespoonsful of organic animal fat.Put in asmall jar and label. Increase thewound-healing ability of this salve by using an herbally-infused fat. Make a Remedy to Counter Diarrhea Fill oneglass with eight ounces of orange juice.Add a pinchof salt and a teaspoonful of honey. Fill anotherglass with eight ounces of distilled water.Add ¼ teaspoonfulof baking soda.Drinkalternately from both glasses until empty. Make Dr. Christopher's Burn Healer Herecommends this for burns covering large areas. Keep the burn constantly wetwith this healer for best results. Placechopped fresh comfrey leaves in a blender. Add aloevera gel to half cover. Add honey tocover. Blend andapply. Best to makeonly as much as you can use in a day; store extra in refrigerator. Fresh Plants That I Use to Make Herbal Honeys Anise hyssop(Agastache foeniculum)Comfrey leaf(Symphytum off.)Cronewort/mugwort(Artemisia vulgaris)Fennel seeds(Foeniculum vulgare)Garlic (Alliumsativum)Ginger root(Zingiber officinalis)Horseradish(Armoracia rusticana)Lavender (Lavendulaoff.)Lemon Balm (Melissaoff.)Lemon verbena(Aloysia triphylla)Marjoram (Origanummajorana)Oregano (Origanumvulgare)Osha root (Ligusticumporterii)Peppermint (Menthapipperata)Rose petals(Rosa canina and others)Rose hips (Rosa)Rosemary (Rosmarinusoff.)Sage (Salviaoff.)Shiso (Perillafrutescens)Spearmint (Menthaspicata)Thyme (Thymusspecies)Yarrowblossoms (Achillea millefolium) HERBALSYRUPSHerbalsyrups are sweetened, condensed herbal infusions. Cough drops are concentratedsyrups. Alcohol is frequently added to syrups to help prevent fermentation andstabilize the remedy. Cough drops and lozenges, having less water, keep wellwithout the addition of alcohol. Bitterherbs, especially when effective in a fairly small dose, are often made intosyrups: horehound, yellow dock, dandelion, chicory, and motherwort spring tomind in this regard. Herbs thatare especially effective in relieving throat infections and breathing problemsare also frequently made into syrups, especially when honey is used as thesweetener: coltsfoot flowers (not leaves), comfrey leaves (not roots),horehound, elder berries, mullein, osha root, pine, sage, and wild cherry barkare favorites for "cough" syrups.  Using Herbal Syrups A dose ofmost herbal syrup is 1-3 teaspoonfuls, taken as needed. Take a spoonful ofbitter syrup just before meals for best results. Take cough syrups as often asevery hour. Make an Herbal Syrup To make anherbal syrup you will need the following supplies: One ounce ofdried herb (weight, not volume)A clean dryquart/liter jar with a tight lidBoilingwaterMeasuringcupAheavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan2 cups sugaror 1½ cups honeyA sterilizedjar with a small neck and a good lid (a cork stopper is ideal)A littlevodka (optional)A label andpen  Place thefull ounce of dried herb into the quart jar and fill it to the top with boilingwater. Cap tightly. After 4-10 hours, decant your infusion, saving the liquidand squeezing the herb to get the last of the goodness out of it.  Measure theamount of liquid you have (usually about 3½ cups). Pour this into the saucepanand bring to a boil. Reduce the heat until the infusion is just barelysimmering. Continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by half (pour it outof the pan and into the measuring cup now and then to check). This step cantake several hours; the decoction is not spoiled if it is reduced to less thanhalf, but it is ruined if it boils hard or if it burns. Keep a close eye on it. When youhave reduced the infusion to less then two cups, add the sugar or honey (orsweetener of your choice) and bring to a rolling boil. Pour, boiling hot, intoyour jar. (Sterilize the jar by boiling it in plain water for a few minutesjust before filling it.) If desired, add some vodka to preserve the syrup. Allow thebottle of syrup to come to room temperature. Label it. Store it in therefrigerator or keep it in a cool place.  Make Herbal Cough Drops You mustmake a syrup with sugar, not honey to make cough drops, but you can use rawsugar or brown sugar instead of white sugar and it will work just as well.  Instead ofpouring your boiling hot syrup into a bottle, keep boiling it. Every minute orso, drop a bit into cold water. When it forms a hard ball in the cold water,immediately turn off the fire. Pour your very thick syrup into a buttered flatdish. Cool, then cut into small squares.  A dusting ofpowdered sugar will keep them from sticking. Store airtight in a cool place. Make Throat-Soothing Lozenges  Put an ounceof marshmallow root powder or slippery elm bark powder in a bowl.Slowly addhoney, stirring constantly, until you have a thick pasteRoll yourslippery elm paste into small ballsRoll theballs in more slippery elm powder Store in atightly-closed tin. These will keep for up to ten years.  Plants That I Use to Make Herbal Syrups  Comfreyleaves (Symphytum uplandica x) Chicoryroots (Cichorium intybus) Dandelionflowers or roots (Taraxacum off.) Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) Horehoundleaves and stems (Marrubium vulgare) Motherwort leaves(Leonurus cardiaca) pick before floweringPlantainleaves or roots (Plantago majus)Osha root (Ligusticumporterii)Pine needlesor inner bark (Pinus)Sage (Salviaoff.)Wild cherrybark (Prunus serotina)Yellow dockroots (Rumex crispus) Coming upIn our lastlesson of this series, we will examine the Seven Medicines: Serenity Medicine,Story Medicine, Energy Medicine, LifeStyle Medicine, Herbal and AlternativeMedicine, Pharmaceutical Medicine, and Hi-Tech Medicine. ExperimentNumber OneMake asimple syrup, using only one plant. Make it once with honey, once with whitesugar, and once with a sweetener of your choice, such as barley malt, agavesyrup, molasses, sorghum syrup, or maple syrup. (See list for suggestions ofplants to use.) ExperimentNumber TwoMake a syrupwith three or more plants. Choose plants that are local to your area, or onesthat you can most easily buy. ExperimentNumber Three Make threeor more simple herbal honeys using different parts of plants, such as flowers,leaves, roots, or seeds. (See list for suggestions of plants to use.)  ExperimentNumber Four Make anherbal honey with a plant rich in essential oils (such as sage, rosemary,lavender, or mint). Try it as a wound treatment. Try it on minor burns. Try itas a facial masque. Record your observations. ExperimentNumber FiveMake one ormore of the recipes in this lesson.Furtherstudy1.      Make a yellow dock iron tonic syrup following therecipe in my book Wise Woman Herbal for  the Childbearing Year. 2.       Make "Peel Power" following the recipe in mybook New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way.AdvancedworkCompare theeffects of honey from the supermarket, organic honey, raw honey, and herbalhoney by using each one to treat the same problems and carefully recording yourobservations.   Susun WeedPO Box 64Woodstock, NY 12498Fax:  1-845-246-8081