Cough and Cold ammunition!

Do you think that I might be taking winter coughs and colds seriously???

Wild Cherry Bark, Mullien and Sundew. Good cough herbs. I'll also make my own garlic and mullien oil for the ear..

Wild Cherry Bark is also good for asthma and whooping cough (which is going around in my city at present.)

I know my herbalist always put Sundew in my croupy son's croup mix, he was a bad case but due to the herbs, never had to go to hospital and only once on drugs. He has suffered it since birth through to the age of six, so that was good control considering...

Elecampane, Plantain and White Horehound.

Elecampane caught me eye after my herbalist told me how she treated an elderly patient for emphasma who was expected to die from it. He wasn't expecting a cure nor was my herbalist but within a few years of regular treatment with elecampane, he went back to the doctors for a re-evaluation only to be told he no longer had it anymore...

Plantain is a good cough herb so is White Horehound. Today I made a Horehound Cough Syrup and tomorrow I'm going to take a crack at making Horehound cough drops.

I'll come back again soon and share recipes once they have both been successfully made.

Marshmallow Root, Thyme Leaf, Sage, good winter herbs...

Thyme I'll use in my stocks along with Marigold flowers.

Gymnema is for my low blood sugar problems, my body doesn't like being without it.

Lastly Dill leaf, I LOVE the flavour of dill and want to use it for cooking.

We are loving our Elderberry tinctures!! It will be a winter must every year in our house for sitting on viruses!

Comfrey ROCKS!

Photo HT

It is no secret that I love comfrey. My love for one of God's special herbs developed through the reading of Isabell Shipard's book, How can I use HERBS in my Daily life? Isabell devotes 6 - 8 big pages to it's qualities and it's controversies. You see in Australia comfrey is on the TGA banned list for internal consumption and Isabell does not agree with that. Here is her online article on the herb where she talks about the TGA issue as well.

I believe Isabell's research is fair and balanced and so we eat comfrey in our home. Though I would encourage anyone else out there considering that, to read and make an informed decision on it first.

For external uses it is simply fantastic!

A few months ago my dh did his back in at work and he suffered it for two days before considering dropping his next shift in order to find a chiropractor that could relieve the pain. He had a shift on this afternoon and it was morning. I suggested that he try comfrey first. As he was about to go down for a sleep anyway (coming off a night shift) I would make a pack for his back/hip area. I picked three leaves from the garden, put it in the blender with maybe a Tbl of water, in order to make it a slurry, but not too runny. I packed it on the sore area, wrapped it in gladwrap plastic, placed a towel over the plastic and put a hot water bottle on the towel. Dh promptly feel asleep and didn't wake for another hour and a half. When he woke and removed the pack he didn't have the slightest bit of pain and it didn't come back.

THEN, I received the following email below...

My own personal comfrey patch.

I had shared some information about comfrey with a friend in the States and then not long after that I received this email with the email title of "Comfrey ROCKS!":

Dear Annie,

-I asked you for some advice a while back and you suggested comfrey. (do you remember me?)

I was able to get a box of several comfrey starts the other day when I was out picking up meat from our Amish butcher. That evening, my son was catching a double header (that's two baseball games in a row.)

-In case you don't know, the catcher wears a face mask and a heavy guard over his chest. Also, my boy is HUGE as 14 year old boys go. (can't convert it to metric- but he is just short of 6 feet tall and easily 200 lbs, solid as an ox.) They were losing sunlight and the visiblity was getting iffy. The umpire had just said that if the game didn't end in 10 minutes he would call it, because he couldnt see the ball well enough. Apparently, neither could my son, becasue he missed a pitch and it nailed him in the chest. It sounded like a car wreck. (this particular pitcher has had his fast ball clocked at 60 miles an hour!)

My son dropped (just like in cartoons when an anvil falls on the rabbit's head ;) My husband (who is an MD) jumped the fence. People were swarming. He was conscious, his heart hadn't stopped (thanks hubby, for that- THAT nightmare hadn't even occured to me!) When they peeled his chest gaurd off it was SHOCKING. About a hands width under his left collarbone was a dark purple turning black as we watched massive bruise- you could even see where the stitching of the baseball was.

It was decided that they didn't need to call an ambulance (NOT decided by me... I was rather panicky.) I ran to my van to get my cell phone (doc's # is in it) and grabbed the ice packs I keep there (the kind you bend to activate) I happened to see the basket of comfrey. I grabbed about 5 plants- leaves, stems, roots everything. I tucked them inside a tee shirt that was in my van (I do not know why a shirt was there, but I am in no mood to quibble...) I used a baseball bat to smash the shirt wrapped comfrey until the shirt was dripping with juice. I ran back to the dug out. My husband had snapped a pic of the wound with his phone (fyi- this is a good thing to do, swelling can obscure the initial wound- who knew???) I pressed the comfrey onto his chest and replaced the ice packs over it. My husband let me do it, although he is a surgeon and has little patience for such things. He was already on the phone to his colleagues, arranging an x ray and a MRI. Clearly anticipating some sort of surgery being necessary.....

Well. When we arrived at the hosptial (probably 20 minutes after the injury) No one would ever have believed how bad it initially looked, thankfully, we had a pic! There is a hairline fracture of two ribs. Almost NO swelling and remarkably little bruising. Amazing. Simply amazing.
thank you so much.

AND_ Last night at the library my husband actually checked out 3 books on natural cures and herbalism. I NEVER thought that would happen.

This friend emailed me again later and mentioned that her husband was a board certified surgeon with special training in trauma, and on staff at a tertiary level trauma center in the USA!

Just an incredible story and I am so grateful that this friend shared this with me.

Photo HT

I just had to add this photo in. No, it's not mine unfortunately, but I'd LOVE a patch like that!

Just to finish, I'd like to share an Australian man's prespective on comfrey, Isabell shared his thoughts in response to comfrey being banned for internal use:

"Another Australian, who valued the HDRA research, was Foster Savage, who I mentioned earlier. I had the opportunity to know him, personally, when he settled in Nambour to farm (and later Cooroy); and, I knew you would guess, he grew lots of comfrey! Wilted comfrey was fed to his animals in large amounts. Why did he allow it to wilt? He told me that animals could eat much more, each day, when it was wilted! He often had groups and private people visit and he would, freely, share his knowledge of comfrey and how it benefited his land, animals and his family (note, he had 13 children). When legislation placed comfrey on the poisons schedule in Australia, and newspapers highlighted the ban, he wrote a letter to the Sunshine Coast Daily, in defense of comfrey, saying:

"I was perhaps responsible for 95% of the comfrey in Australia, having introduced the plant to this country in 1954, and having used the plant in great quantities, since then; I am, perhaps, competent to speak about it and to make a few comments on the …remarks about comfrey made by the CSIRO scientist …"To say that two leaves, eaten daily - over a couple of years - will cause serious disease, is simply not true. In our house, we have eaten 70 leaves, or thereabouts, daily, for 24 years: in the form of comfrey tea, liquidised in a vitamiser as a green drink, and in salads. I also fed comfrey to my farm animals. Knowing the power of comfrey to restore a worn out animal quickly, and make her milk again, I once bought an old cow at the Dandenong Market, when farming in Victoria. It had been discarded by some farmer, as worn out. I put her on comfrey, giving her 90 lbs of wilted comfrey (wilted to increase the cow’s intake of comfrey’s extraordinary nutrients), and 90 lbs made a pretty big heap, about 4 feet high. This poor, old, creature took to the comfrey, without hesitation … she was starving for minerals and her instincts gave her a craving for comfrey. When she began to eat, she would eat off the heap of leaves for a couple of hours, then sit down for an hour or so. Later, she would continue eating, until every leaf was gone. If Dr. Culvenor’s words were true, imagine the poison she would be taking into her body, with this quantity of comfrey daily. If comfrey attacked the liver, then this cow would have died, because she was in a worn out condition. Instead, she doubled her milk output, within a week, and in a fortnight, trebled it. The remarkable thing, was that the cream that settled overnight, was some 3/4 inch thick and the separation of cream from the milk was so perfect, that the cream could be lifted off, with none remaining. I fed comfrey to calves, as much as they could eat, again with only gratifying results. I fed pigs, entirely on comfrey and grain, as much comfrey as they could eat, and the quality of those pigs was legendary, in the district. The fame of comfrey spread far and wide, for my farm was visited by 6,000 farmers from around Australia and from overseas. Finally, I well remember the enthusiastic remarks of the butcher who regularly killed our comfrey-fed calves. He told us that he had never before, seen such healthy livers … that, mind you, after being reared on a herb that was supposed to cause liver diseases!"

Winter health initiatives part 2: Stocks

Image HT: Stocks by Sally Fallon

To build upon my last posting about my winter inititives, I'm sharing the recipes for my stocks, soups and casseroles. Though in this post I'll start with stocks only, there is alot to say about them!

I use to make a 14litre pot of lamb stock and chicken stock but I tend to make chicken only these days..I've sort of gotten into the habit of this for no particular reason. I'll share both recipes though, I have modified them from the Nourishing Traditions book.

Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions quotes this about broths:

"Good broth will resurrect the dead," says a South American proverb. Said Escoffier: "Indeed, stock is everything in cooking. Without it, nothing can be done."

A cure-all in traditional households and the magic ingredient in classic gourmet cuisine, stock or broth made from bones of chicken, fish and beef builds strong bones, assuages sore throats, nurtures the sick, puts vigor in the step and sparkle in love life--so say grandmothers, midwives and healers. For chefs, stock is the magic elixir for making soul-warming soups and matchless sauces.

In folk wisdom, rich chicken broth-the famous Jewish penicillin-is a valued remedy for the flu. The 12th-century physician Moses Maimonides prescribed chicken broth as a treatment for colds and asthma. Modern research has confirmed that broth helps prevent and mitigate infectious diseases. The wise food provider, who uses gelatin-rich broth on a daily or frequent basis, provides continuous protection from many health problems. "

Chicken Stock.

I start with my 6 chicken frames, organic and free range. I tend to believe that it is important to track down a supplier of at least free range frames but ones that have not been fed hormones and antibiotics, that would be a must for me, I don't want hormones and antibiotics that are most likely stored in the marrow, leaching out into my glorious, life-giving stock!

I put the 6 frames into my 14litre pot and I fill it will filtered water and pour about a cup of apple cider vinegar into the water and let stand for an hour. The vinegar helps the calcium to release from the bones more easily.

I then throw in the following ingredients, two or three carrots, I don't peel them or cut the ends, just all chopped up roughly. Two or three celery sticks including the leafy end, nothing wasted, all chopped. Two onions, peeled the roughly chopped. Then I add a bunch of fresh thyme. If you can get a bit of thyme growing in your garden that would be a continual cheap option..while you are at it, grow some parsley, because they are your two main stock herbs. Don't throw your parsley in yet though. Now I would also sometimes throw in some dried nettle and dried comfrey herbs - I particularly recommend the dried nettle if you can get some and be liberal with it, a handful. The herbalist Culpepper recommends you add calendula flowers to your broth:

"The flowers, either green or dried, are much used in possets, broths, and drink, as a comforter of the heart and spirits, and to expel any malignant or pestilential quality which might annoy them."

And then this quote:

"It has been cultivated in the kitchen garden for the flowers, which are dried for broth, and said to comfort the heart and spirits.

Fuller writes: The yellow leaves of the flowers are dried and kept throughout Dutchland against winter to put into broths, physicall potions and for divers other purposes, in such quantity that in some Grocers or Spicesellers are to be found barrels filled with them and retailed by the penny or less, insomuch that no broths are well made without dried Marigold.'

Once the hour is up I turn on the stove and get the stock cooking, within half and hour you will get alot of thickish, grey scum rising to the top, skim it off as it spoils the flavour of your stock.

Then you boil for a minimum of seven hours or as long as you like, I tend to boil anything from 10 to 24 hours. I will often have the stock boiling through the night, put it on in the evening, ready to take off in the morning. In that last 15 mins you throw in your sprig of parsley this will add additional mineral ions to the stock.

I then strain the fluid from the ingredients. Take from your ingredients all the lovely chicken meat and freeze it for a future recipe you would like to make with it. Or if you have an industrial blender (Vita Mix) like we have, you can stick the WHOLE LOT of the remaining stock ingredients into the blender in a few lots and blend it until it looks like a pate. I bag it in little cliplock bags and give it to my mother to feed her dog, if you have animals and you want to keep them well, can you think of anything better? Nothing is wasted then.

I stick my stock into the fridge or even the freezer, still in a pot or pots of some sort so as to skim the fat off the top as it rises and sets. When I say the freezer, not to let it freeze at this stage but to speed up the fat rising and setting to the top so I can skim it off. The fat can be popped into jars and kept in the fridge, making a great fat for cooking.

Once the stock is skimmed of fat and cool, I bag it into varying sized cliplock bags, cup sized bags when I need only a cup of stock for a recipe. Then bigger bags containing 4 cups of stock, I mark the bag 'casserole' that will be the base for one casserole. Then the biggest cliplock bags I fill with stock (I'm not sure of how many cups exactly but I'd say at least 10?) This bag is used for a big pot of soup (I use my 14litre pot for cooking it, though the soup might not come to the very top) and usually I'll get 2 to 3 soup meals for a family of 8 from that. I feel this is a fairly ordered system which is important if you are going to keep this up on a regular basis, efficiency and order, it keeps me sane and making it.

Here is my old recipe for making a lamb stock (or beef):

For a 14 litre pot I think I was popping in 2 to 3kgs or so of lamb necks (my favourite choice of bone) I'd get the butcher to par off as much meat as he could, knowing there would still be some on the necks, which is perfect.

I used exactly the same ingredients as the chicken stock above and the method of making it. The only difference being, I'd put all the neck bones on a tray and brown them in the oven first before adding it to the stock to draw with the apple cider vinegar. You would probably cook your lamb/beef stock for a bit longer than the chicken, considering the difference in size of bones. When I finish a chicken stock the bones will crumble completely when touched - that's what you want. The lamb or beef bones, if cooked long enough will look sort of hole-ridden. Alot of goodness has been leached out of those bones!

You know you have made a particularly FABULOUS pot of stock when it is been sitting in the fridge for some time or you look at it before it freezes completely and it is gelatinous, that's what you want!!! That gelatin is the life-force of your stock!

Sally Fallon once again writes about the benefits of gelatine:

"Dr. Francis Pottenger, author of the famous cat studies as well as articles on the benefits of gelatin in broth, taught that the stockpot was the most important piece of equipment to have in one's kitchen.

It was Dr. Pottenger who pointed out that stock is also of great value because it supplies hydrophilic colloids to the diet. Raw food compounds are colloidal and tend to be hydrophilic, meaning that they attract liquids. Thus when we eat a salad or some other raw food, the hydrophilic colloids attract digestive juices for rapid and effective digestion. Colloids that have been heated are generally hydrophobic-they repel liquids, making cooked foods harder to digest. However, the proteinaceous gelatin in meat broths has the unusual property of attracting liquids-it is hydrophilic-even after it has been heated. The same property by which gelatin attracts water to form desserts, like Jello, allows it to attract digestive juices to the surface of cooked food particles.

The public is generally unaware of the large amount of research on the beneficial effects of gelatin taken with food. Gelatin acts first and foremost as an aid to digestion and has been used successfully in the treatment of many intestinal disorders, including hyperacidity, colitis and Crohn's disease. Although gelatin is by no means a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, allowing the body to more fully utilize the complete proteins that are taken in. Thus, gelatin-rich broths are a must for those who cannot afford large amounts of meat in their diets. Gelatin also seems to be of use in the treatment of many chronic disorders, including anemia and other diseases of the blood, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and even cancer."

My health initiatives for winter

My pumpkin soup

Down under in Australia we are in the middle of autumn. Though it is not cold at all at present, we have had humid weather that is unseasonal and with it has come heavy, continuous rain.

This has been a real blessing because we are pulling slowly out of a long, protracted drought...Funny though, it's always been green living near the sea but it hadn't been raining over our dams, so that last year the dams had dropped to 16% which was dire.

So even though it is not cold I am determined to be more prepared for the winter season and the seasonal illnesses that can come with it. We had a sick year last year. We do not want to repeat that. So this is my focus:

1. Prayer. I believe it is vitally important to pray for good health. I will always resign myself to God's will but I will pray that He will guide me in making good choices for my family, to find me the best and most economical way to achieve this. I have seen the fruits of such prayers for which I am very grateful for.

2. Stocks. It is going to the BEDROCK of our diet. Here is why. I buy organic, free-range chicken frames and make up 14litre posts of stock using 6 frames per pot. This is so incredibly nourishing and it dramatically alters that flavour of everything you cook with it. I am planning that most of our lunches will be soups. Thick, hearty soups using chicken stock for any water content.

So far I have made pumpkin soup and pea and ham soup...but I want to build the repertoire but it must be soups that are not complicated and hard to make OR overly expensive, with too many ingredients.

With the lunchtime soup I usually have in our freezer a good supply of sour dough bread I buy as yesterday's bread at a quality sour dough bakery - this has been a blessing and kept the bread affordable and yesterday's sour dough bread is not like normal bread that is a day old, there is no real dramatic difference in it's texture etc.

Then our nighttime meals will consist mainly of casseroles. I cook all my fortnight's casseroles and bag them in large clip-lock bags. Then all I need to do is throw them in into the slow cooker each day. What HAS worked for me is when I buy my fortnight's supply of organic meat I braise the casserole meat, onions and liberal amounts of garlic together and clip-lock each meal lot together with the stock's I need for each casserole...sort of my casserole base, you would call it. Then each day I defrost a bag and when I cook that night I need only throw in my vegetables and maybe a can of diced tomatoes or sour cream depending on the desired flavour. This IS working! I usually use 4 cups of stock to a casserole.

Our breakfast we like to make sure is a protein breakfast in order to help with daily detoxification so we buy organic, free-range eggs. Once again we have been blessed. A community truck arrives in our area every week and sells food off the farm at a fraction of the normal price. I can buy 2 and half dozen eggs for less than what I'd pay for one dozen and these are stamped organic, free-range! This allows us to use the eggs a little more liberally and save quite a bit of money from our food budget.
We use blessed salt in our soups, casseroles and our salt grinder, for healing of both body and soul.

going......

3. Lime Water. My dear friend Elizabeth put me onto this one and for all the ladies entering summer in the northern hemisphere I highly recommend this. I buy limes (I hope to plant a tree this year) and I usually squeeze half a lime to a good sized jug of water, I also add some probiotic powder, a great way to get this important supplement into the children. This drink has an AMAZING effect on me.

Confession time: .....I can get addicted to soft drinks.....do I have to say that louder? it's embarrasing....I can find myself on the soft drink vicious circle, the more I drink the more my body craves it. It's embarrasing because I believe I am health conscience and this is a major obstacle in that goal, I know it.

It has been a BLESSING to discover that this simple, refreshing, unsweetened drink actually kills the addictive desire for a softdrink. So when I experience this inordinate desire (I did yesterday driving in the car) I had waited until I got home and made up a punchbowl full. On this occasion I threw in some crushed ice as well. I was satisfied and the children flocked around like birds, enjoying this cold, healthy, delightful drink. When I make a big punchbowl I use two limes, so it is quite economical. I even served this in a punchbowl on Easter Sunday to family and relatives, they all loved it! There were no softdrinks served that day and we did not miss it. I will continue to use this drink through winter.

gone.

4. Herbs. They are truly God's natural pharmacy gift to mankind. While there is always a time and a place for antibiotics in order to save lives, the less often they are used the better. Herbs are a daily health regime for us and antibiotics are our last resort for something serious.

In the last 6 months I have made a conscience decision to use the herbs on a daily basis without fail. No more, hot and cold with this important aspect of my family's healthcare and my own. I hope to post again soon to show you what my dear husband has done for me in the kitchen to make this a much easier task for me. This is important. That you are set up in a way that using the herbs is not a big imposition to your daily life. I have also found a online dried herbal site in Australia where I can buy them wholesale if I spend a minimum of $50, this has been a significant find for me.
I have in the last 4 months been making tinctures for the first time. The main tincture I have focused on is bottles of elderberry tincture, they are 'brewing' at present in preparation for the winter season. I have also started making herbal oils and we have been using this with good success already - comfrey oil and calendula oil. I've prepared a gotu kola oil and a horsetail oil. I'll post about them in depth in the future, why I've chosen those herbs and what I will use them for.

I brew up big pots of herbs, usually a mix of about five herbs. In regard to the children, I put dried herbs into all the soups and casseroles, usually stinging nettle and comfrey. I put the children in stinging nettle baths (they call 'the pond' bath, they feel like frogs!)

We use Swedish Bitters for everything, it is our number one cure-all in a cupboard! We also been greatly blessed to have a very experienced herbalist that we visit for all our general health complaints, I thank God the day she came into our lives.

5. Blueberries and Sheep's Yogurt. Who hasn't got a sweet tooth? I think most people have. This is also another 'Achilles' heel' for me. I suffer functional hypoglycemia and when you get on that 'sugar bandwagon' it is often not easy to get off. Until I discovered my blueberries and and sheep's yogurt. Firstly this is a very healthy food in itself:

Blueberries, the health benefits are innumerable, a powerful antioxidant.

Raw honey for a little sweetner, also with many health benefits.

Then the sheep's yogurt is better for you than cows and in my opinion the best tasting, not gamey like goat's, not heavy like cow's, it's just right! A good probiotic food for the body.

This one dish has stopped me many a time in recent months from getting back onto that awful food spiral, and of course for those enjoying spring in the northern hemisphere, it's prefect!

I use frozen blueberries, I do not let them thaw, it gives it that lovely icecream effect.
I pour a little honey but it is a dish that can do without it if need be.
A few tablespoons of the sheep's yogurt.
All stirred together to create a delightful sweet!
Now I know this may not seem like a winter dish, I do believe it will keep me on track when I'm tempted with some heavy, sugary treat.

6. Other miscellaneous health ideas. This will consist of the regular use of castor oil packs otherwise known as the Palma Christi, the Palm of Christ -for myself and other family members when needed. I hope to do a series of them on my liver and also for the abdomen area.

Also the need to be more sensible with clothing choices for the family. We can get caught out thinking we are in a warm, sub-tropical climate, that we can still walk around the house in the morning barefoot. Warmer clothes that we can always peel off if it becomes too warm (which is usually the case) is better than not wearing them at all. I really believe that these are just common sense approaches. We continue to use the terramin clay for our teeth brushing. We drink the clay as well and make good use of our "St Benedict's Well."

So this is my arsenal for this coming winter. Arsenal oh yeah, it's a war. I don't want a year like last year, it is a major stress and disruptor in our lives and I do believe deep down that a great deal of it is preventable.

Maria Treben, a Catholic herbalist

Maria Treben is one of Europe's most famous 20th century herbalists.

She wrote the book, Health Through God's Pharmacy which was hughly successful. It was translated into 20 different languages and sold over 10million copies.

When I read Maria's book, I see that it is simple, consise and it gives laypeople the confidence to use the 'natural pharmacy' - herbs, that God has given to us. Her second book, Cures is full of testimonies and simple, herbal recipes.

What forges a person's path in life, where their life becomes an example and inspiration to many?

Usually it is their own personal experiences that effect them profoundly.

In Maria's case she states that as a child her mother was an enthusiastic follower of the Catholic priest herbalist, Kneipp. Maria's mother set the example in raising and forming her children in the natural way. Maria also cites two experiences she witnessed as a child, that impressed upon her deeply. The healing of two mothers with leukaemia through the use of herbs.

As an adult Maria herself, had a serious brush with ill health after being imprisoned in a refugee camp in WWII. She had suffered typhoid fever and was left with serious intestinal problems. It was through this health crisis that she was given an ancient elixir called Swedish Bitters, that she would be forever connected to:

"It sounds almost like a fairy tale, but it is true. As a refugee from the German speaking area of Czechoslovakia, I became ill with typhoid fever in a camp in Bavaria, caused by contaminated meat and, through it, came jaundice and an obstruction in the intestines. I spent more than 6 months in hospital and when my husband got my mother, my mother-in-law, our child and myself to Austria, I was a young but sick woman. At night I was hit by terrible pain that shot through my body like a sword. In these moments I could neither sit nor stand, walk nor lie down; at the same time I vomited and had diarrhea. I was a helpless bundle of misery. These were afterpains of the typhoid fever which sometimes can go on for years, as the doctor said. One day a woman brought me a small bottle containing a dark brown, strong smelling liquid. She had heard of my illness and wanted to help. The Swedish Bitters had relieved her of a serious complaint. Accompanying it was a transcript of an "old manuscript" in which was explained, in 46 points, how these drops heal every illness. The recipe came from the writings of a well know Swedish physician. As stated, all members of his family had reached an unusually old age. These drops according to point 43 heal "plague boils and swellings even if already in the throat". I put the bottle in the medicine chest. I just did not believe that these modest drops could give me back my health, since the doctor could not even help me. Soon I changed my mind. As I sat in front of a large basket of ripe pears which needed to be used up straight away, I had another attack. As I had been told that these Swedish drops could be used externally as well, I did not hesitate for long and applied them as a compress on the abdomen, put a small plastic bag over the compress and then my girdle and continued my work. A wonderful warm feeling spread through my body. Suddenly, it felt as if with one movement of the hand, everything morbid in my body was pulled out. I assure you that with this single compress which I had on the whole day, all complaints of the preceding months disappeared, never to return." -Maria Treben.

From that point on, Maria devoted her life to the study of herbs and their health-giving properties. There is also a religious connection to her story as well. Maria believed that Our Lady, to whom she had great devotion, was in someway guiding her in her herbal knowledge, through her motherly intercession:

"In 1961 my dear mother died and since then I have the distinct feeling of being pushed into herbalism. Gradually I acquired knowledge and experience. It was as if I was guided by a higher power. The Virgin Mary, especially, helper of the sick, was showing me the way. My trust in Her, prayers said before an old wonderful painting of Her, which I acquired in a strange way, have always helped, when I was in doubt."

In my home I have been guided by Maria's advice and knowledge. I use many of the herbs that she loved. Swedish Bitters is a essential product in our medicine cabinet. We use it for cuts, wounds, abcesses, insect bites and stings and much, MUCH more. My husband is now devoted to it, he has experienced many positive results. We use it externally and internally.

Maria's books are a great place to start if you have never used herbs before, her main book is Health Through God's Pharmacy is well worn here. I think Maria sums things well in her preface for this book when she says:

"So I endeavour to not only show you the herbs and their medicinal properties, but above all the omnipotence of a Creator in whose hands we exist. In sickness, we look for His help and comfort and use the humble herbs He has provided; it is He who guides us, so we may live according to His will."

Herbs for life!

HT: Wayne Pratt Photo

There is a famous herb saying that I'm always quoting badly, due to having a very sketchy memory. I can never remember who said it and of course, I never do justice to the eloquence of any fabulous quote and I reckon if you can't quote it well, you might as well not quote it at all! I can never remember where I read them either...very frustrating.

I was floating around in a bath of stinging nettle and horsetail this evening, reading from my favourite herb book, How Can I Use Herbs In My Daily Life? I was enjoying reading about Gotu Kola and towards the end I found my favourite herb quote again. Not only that, it was quoted by a famous Catholic priest who was also a herbalist, Father Johann Sebastian Kneipp!

"For every illness on earth, there is a herb. Many people died, while the herbs that could have saved them, grew on their graves."

~ Johann Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897)

Cleaning teeth with Terramin Clay

Lately, the discussion of teeth and tooth care has come up at 4Real and I had mentioned that in our family we have finally all switched over to using Terramin Clay for brushing our teeth daily instead of toothpaste.

Terramin Clay, due to it's remineralization and detoxification benefits, aids in strengthening teeth (remineralization) and healing gum disease (removal of toxic wastes, namely, bacteria.) Unfortunately, we were using it spasmodicly due to storage issues in the bathroom, so we kept abandoning it.

Well, finally in the last few weeks we have it sorted. I had some lovely, small sized Tupperware containers that fitted perfectly between our new toothbrush holders, as you can see in the photo above. I have one container for the children and one for my husband and I. You need to make sure that the brushes have been cleaned under running water before dipping them lightly into the clay, it only needs to be a little clay on the brush. When the children have finished brushing, I get them to spit once, but not to rinse their mouths with water, so that the clay residue stays in the mouth and continues working on the teeth, particularly in the nighttime brush, so there is still some clay in the mouth overnight.

Ran Knishnisky wrote in The Clay Cure, "the clay is absorbent, so it will not be abrasive, and it helps harden teeth enamel while it aids in gum tissue repair. Furthermore, if used regularly, it helps to prevent gum recession." The reason gum disease develops is the bacteria build up around the teeth. When brushing with Terrmain Clay it binds the bacteria to the clay particles and is removed.

Terramin Clay and it's ability to heal or prevent gum disease is well known. I have known of two cases personally where this has worked. Firstly my mother - she is someone who will not eat unless she can brush her teeth within 15mins afterwards. So if she goes on a long trip and forgets her toothbrush, she will not eat until she returns home. She has been like that since she was 18, no one can accuse her of not doing the very best with her teeth!

A few years back in one of her 6 monthly dental checkups she was horrified when informed the early beginnings of gum disease was present. This was the same diagnosis at the following 6monthly checkup. Three months before her third checkup, she started on the clay, not to brush her teeth with but drinking it in water, twice a day, a tsp each time. When she went for her next checkup the dentist informed her that her gums were fine again. My mother knew it was the clay that was the only different thing in her life.

The second case is a lady who had mentioned a relative had serious gum disease and had been told that all his teeth had to be removed because of it. She was looking for any possible product that might help in a last minute effort to stop the loss of teeth. I mentioned the clay and it's benefits with teeth. The lady bought the clay off me (as I was at the time, an Australian distributor) and said she would get her relative to try it. I didn't hear from her until a year later when I received an email from her. She said that she was wanting to buy more and that a friend was also interested - the reason? - the clay had completely reversed her relative's gum disease, as advanced as it was, and the teeth were saved.

I have at present a friend who is trying it, she wears a plate in her mouth and where the wires are rubbing against a tooth, she has a badly recessed gumline. She has used it only for a few weeks and already it has closed in by half, she has high hopes it will completely resolve in time.

So you would think with all those personal stories I would have used it faithfully with the family all these years...the trouble is, the practial issues of storage and how to use it in a sanitary manner are all important in a big, busy family and so life can pass by and you realise you are not using it daily.

Our family have had alot of dental work in the last few weeks, it is a big wake up call to us. One child has particularly chalky teeth which need to be seen by the dentist 3 monthly from now on. So we have become faithful to the use of the clay now that we have the practical issues sorted, I will definately update again if we find that our teeth have improved with our new regime.

I just had to add one of the funniest dentists skits I know, Tim Conway (a practising Catholic BTW) is brilliant, so have a good laugh!

St Hildegard von Bingen and women's herbs

Here is an excellent article written by J Jamison Starbuck ND, who is a naturopathic physician in family practice and a lecturer at the University of Montana, both in Missoula. She is past president of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and a contributing editor to The Alternative Advisor: The Complete Guide to Natural Therapies and Alternative Treatments.

7 Herbs for Women

"Like billowing clouds, Like the incessant gurgle of the brook The longing of the spirit can never be stilled."

- Hildegard von Bingen

In an unfortunate reversal of historic convention, most modern women are now starved for trustworthy healthcare information, and for recapturing an active role in their families', and their own, health.

Prior to the mid-20th century, women, throughout time, have tended to the health needs of families, children, other women, and whole villages. In their roles as the keepers of medical wisdom, women have relied on science, natural history, observation, experience, and tradition.

The role of healer was naturally assumed by women; such healers included biological mothers, neighborhood "grandmothers," village elders, and renowned physicians and herbalists. The role of medical "expert" served to empower women, to bestow self-esteem, and to grant an automatic place of authority in family and culture.

One of my favorite women healers is Hildegard von Bingen, a multi-faceted woman who lived during the 12th century. Born in Germany in 1098, the lOth child of a noble family, Hildegard was tithed, as per medieval custom, to the church at birth. At age 8, she was sent to a Benedictine nunnery where she spent her days in a tiny room, studying under the tutelage of a female ascetic named Jetta. When Hildegard was 38, Jetta died, leaving Hildegard to become the head of the convent that had grown up around Jetta.

At 42, Hildegard began to have visions, described as "a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowing through her brain." The then-Pope, Eugenius, encouraged Hildegard to transcribe these visions and to distribute her writings. In the highly religious Europe of the Middle Ages, Hildegard became a famous woman.

Hildegard was also a composer of music, a playwright, and the author of several books, among them Liber Subtilatum, "The Book of Subtleties of the Diverse Nature of Things." Hildegard studied plants, trees, animals, birds, and human behavior. Liber Subtilatum was a treatise on natural history and the therapeutic powers of natural substances.

Hildegard's views stemmed from the Greek four-element theory, a concept which is based on: fire, air, water, and earth. These elements correspond to four respective qualities: heat, dryness, moisture, and cold, and to four respective humors: choler (choleric), blood (sanguine), phlegm (phlegmatic), and black bile (melancholy).

As with other medical practitioners of her time, Hildegard believed that illness stemmed from an imbalance in humors and elements; prescribing the plant, animal, or natural substance which would correct the imbalance was the way to restore health.

Centuries later, Maude Grieve added her version of female wisdom to herbal history with a book entitled A Modern Herbal. For anyone interested in plant medicine and cultural history, this book is a great read.

Grieve clearly loves and respects the plant world; her book, published in England, in 1910, is more than a perfunctory listing of botanical names and their medicinal values. Through funny stories, poetry, Shakespeare, and history, Grieve relates information on over 100 botanical species: their history, cultivation, and culinary and medicinal uses.

Modern-day "representations" of Hildegard von Bingen and Maude Grieve came into my life during my four years of medical school. During the 1980s, Cascade Anderson Geller and Selena Heron taught botanical medicine at each of the two naturopathic medical schools I attended. Since work as a licensed naturopathic physician requires a comfortable familiarity with plants, "herb walks" with either Cascade or Selena were a prerequisite to graduation.

These strolls through the woods and mountains of the Pacific Northwest were unlike any hike I had ever before experienced. Rain or shine (and, in the Northwest, mostly rain) we would set out, tiny plastic bags and small knives in hand. Like contemporary Hildegards, these women would point out, sniff, nibble on, and tell stories about almost every plant we encountered.

We rubbed up against nettles to experience the sting, then chewed plantain leaves and rubbed them onto the rash to observe a cure. We sampled dandelion root, split open juniper berries, touched mullein leaves, and pressed St. John's wort flowers between our fingers to see them stain red. With these women, I learned the "magic" of plant medicine, and, through them, the healing powers of the natural world became real.

Unfortunately, for most women, the past 50 years has been a steady robbing of the traditional role of woman as healer. Modern medicine, pharmaceuticals, surgery, and highly technological procedures have convinced many that the solutions to illness lie outside of ourselves or are beyond the ken of the women we know.

Today, when a baby is due, few parents call a neighborhood midwife; when a child is sick, mothers rarely open kitchen cabinets to brew up the indicated medicine; when menopause begins, only a smattering of women look inward, or to one another, for solutions to hot flashes, depression, or a declining libido.

The pattern, instead, has been to search for answers in a surgical procedure or in eradicating symptoms with a pill - most notably, for women, with estrogen. This drug, derived quite often from the urine of pregnant, often illkept, horses, has been prescribed by physicians with astonishing frequency to treat women with everything from adolescent uterine pain to menopausal hot flashes in the middle-age years to heart disease in the elderly.

In the past months, estrogen, as a medicinal solution, has found itself on shaky ground. To start with, studies have linked the drug with an increased incidence of cancer. In August 1998, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study concluding that estrogen was not helpful in reducing heart attacks, angina, strokes, and cardiovascular and other vascular-related diseases in menopausal women. In fact, in this study of 2,763 women who had pre-existing heart disease, those who took estrogen/progestin replacement had a higher rate of blood-clotting episodes and gallbladder disease than did those taking a placebo.

Women are rejecting the faulty model which holds the various stages of menopause to be "a disease," which needs to be "treated." Women recognize that there are natural changes which occur, some of which are more tolerable than others. The less-tolerable symptoms can be gently reduced by herbal and dietary approaches.

No more `pharmaceutical shock-treatment.'

More than at any previous time, women are, rightfully, desperate for natural alternatives to what BN's editor, James Gormley, calls the "pharmaceutical shock-treatment of choice": hormone replacement therapy/estrogen replacement therapy.

The `hormone therapy' shock-treatment predisposes women to:

1) increased incidence of breast cancer;
2) increased incidence of ovarian cancer;
3) increased incidence of thromboembolic episodes, like stroke and heart attacks;
4) increased incidence of uterine fibroids;
5) irregular bleeding;
6) PMS-like symptoms;
7) increased incidence of migraine headaches.

With such a stalwart agent of women's healthcare now suspect, women are forced to make alternate choices. In realizing that pharmaceuticals do not hold all the answers, women may decide to reclaim their inherent wisdom about the body and about healing.

While no one advocates a return to "primitive" medical practices, many women recognize that the natural world does, in fact, offer safe and effective methods for achieving health. One of these methods is herbal medicine.

Herbs of choice for women's health needs

1. Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) was first used in the United States in the mid-1800s, introduced by John King, an Eclectic physician and author. Extracts made from the dried root of this herb were used to treat the cramps and rheumatic back pain common to the first few days of menstruation. Recent research has found that black cohosh acts as a phytoestrogen (botanical with estrogen-like properties), which has proved effective in relieving hot flashes and vaginal dryness, and potentially blocking the entry of undesirable estrogens into sensitive cell membranes. In some menopausal women, black cohosh also has the very nice effect of livening up a waning libido.

2. Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is rich in phytoestrogens, including formononetin and coumestrol, which is among the most powerful of the plant estrogens. Red clover has been shown to relieve hot flashes and menstrual cramps, and to alleviate ovarian cysts. Like black cohosh, red clover has been reported to improve libido in some menopausal women. According to a September 2nd, 1998, conversation with James Duke, Ph.D., since this herb's plant estrogens are so concentrated, women should take care with dosage, and pregnant/lactating women should completely avoid it.

3. Dong quai (Angelica sinensis) is an Asian herb, long popular in Traditional Chinese Medicine for use in the treatment of hot flashes, fatigue, insomnia, and headache commonly associated with menopause. Dong quai is viewed by some as a blood nourisher; studies show the herb inhibits platelet aggregation (clumping), making it useful in pre-menopausal women with scant menstrual flow, cramping, or vaginal pain. For this same reason, though, dong quai should not be used by women with heavy menstruation or fibroids, or by those who have circulatory disorders.
4. Chaste tree berry ( Vitex agnus-castus) has what some herbalists refer to as an adaptogenic, or "normalizing," effect on the female menstrual cycle. Literature indicates that chaste tree berry increases luteinizing hormone and decreases follicle-stimulating hormone, a shift which indirectly results in greater progesterone production. Vitex can, therefore, be helpful in progesterone deficiency symptoms such as pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual acne, herpes, and water-retention.

5. Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) is a plant which cannot be left out of any discussion of botanicals for women's health Though not strictly a female herb, hawthorn is invaluable in the treatment of heart disease, a condition which afflicts millions of women, and is the number-one killer, above breast cancer, among women. Hawthorn acts by dilating coronary blood flow, resulting in greater tone in the heart muscle, and a decrease in heart abnormalities, such as arrhythmia and angina. Many menopausal women experience heart palpitations; long-term use of tonifying amounts of hawthorn extract can reduce these worrisome symptoms.

6. Lady's mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) has a history of use for excessive menstrual bleeding. Rich in astringent tannins -- plant constituents known for their ability to reduce blood flow Lady's mantle is best used during the second half of the menstrual cycle.

7. Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) is also useful in staunching excessive menstrual blood flow, especially in cases of uterine fibroids. While Capsella will not reduce the size of a fibroid, it can be effectively used acutely, during the menstrual period, to decrease the flow of blood. Note: in general, all herbs, particularly the herbs mentioned above, should be completely avoided by pregnant women, and, in most cases, by lactating women.

Hildegard's legacy.

Hildegard von Bingen died in 1179 at the age of 81. This year, 1998, marked her 900th birthday, and a time of celebration of this extraordinary woman in world history. Her music is available on compact disc; concerts commemorating her birth have been performed in various places, including Lincoln Center, in New York City; and a barrage of books, and even a film about Hildegard, have become available in the past decade.

Perhaps Hildegard's remarkable popularity heralds yet another change in the course of history; as women the world over honor the 900th birthday of this early female herbalist, they will again come to trust the healing wisdom of the natural world.

Elderberry Syrup and Tincture

HT: Morguefile.com

Time to creative with health...this time, elderberries.

HT: Respect your Elderberries

I never knew what elderberries were until a few months ago. Truly. It would seem that the revered elderberry is far more widely known and used in the States than Australia. What a shame for us down under.

It was thanks to a few threads over at 4Real and one in particular, that brought this berry and it's health-giving properties to light for me. Firstly I searched the Australian net to see what was for sale..there were a couple of bottles of syrup but not much else.

So I decided I'd make it myself. I've made a bottle of syrup and a bottle of tincture, well in advance of our flu season but that is a good thing..the tincture in particular, needs time to develop it's potency, I have it marked out on my wall calendar in fact, end of April before I sift out the elderberry pips/pulp from my tincture.

HT: Bulk Herb Store

I bought my berries dry. I am in the process of equiring an elderberry plant but it will be a few years off before anything can be harvested so I will continue to buy dried berries in the meantime.

This is the recipe I chose to use to cook up the syrup, from Herbology in Australia. It is a recipe that is very natural - no sugar - just berries, water, honey and lemon juice. I soaked the dried berries in the boiling water overnight and then continued on with the recipe the next morning.

Here is a step by step tutorial with pictures!

Here is the syrup, ready to be strained (actually I poured this as is into my bottle first, tasted it and thought, 'this is too crunchy/pippy!" asked over at 4Real about it and was told...strain it!)

So that is what I'm doing here..straining it.

I couldn't bring myself to throw out the pips...and so I pose the question...what can you do with elderberry pips?

I cleaned up a 1.5litre wine bottle for the syrup. It is ready now to be stored in the fridge, ready for use.

I also made a tincture, about 150grams of dried elderberries place into a 750ml bottle of 40 proof vodka. I cleaned up a used apple cider vinegar bottle and sterlized it. I poured in the vodka and berries together.

I need to give it a good shake each day, for at least a month.

The apple cider vinegar bottles make great tincture bottles when empty.

The bottle is not the ideal, dark coloured glass, so I've put a bag over the top of it to keep out the light.

When I go looking for this elixir, I'll be giving it out in 1 tsp doses, 3 times daily.

You can strain the pips out or you can leave them, straining only what you go to drink, leaving the pips in the bottle...I think I'll probably leave them in.

We had a very sick season last year, there was alot of persistant illnesses around so we really hope to go into bat against these viruses with a bit more ammunition this time!

Elderberries with it's great anti-viral properties, makes it a good choice in a world where viruses cannot be stopped by much else.

Blessed salt and herb ginder

We have always bought 'herbal salt' instead of having a traditional salt and pepper shaker. The herbal salts contain finely ground seasoning herbs and sea salt. It is not cheap, usually $4 - 7 dollars depending on the brand bought, we would usually go through a bottle every two weeks.

A few days ago I made up my own mix of herbal salt. I bought the Himalayan crystal salt in bulk. I then took it to Father to have blessed. Blessed salt is a sacramental and can then be used for my salutary purposes including adding it to meals:

"A few grains in drinking water or used in cooking or as food seasoning often bring astonishing spiritual and physical benefits"

"As with the use of Sacraments, much depends on the faith and devotion of the person using salt or any sacramental. This faith must be Jesus-centered, as was the faith of the blind man in John 9; he had faith in Jesus, not in the mud and spittle used by Jesus to heal him."

I remember listening to Father Corapi, when he said he knew a friend who ran a drug rehabilitation center and added blessed salt to the food for all the recovering addicts - she knew well this was a battle against the devil at that point and this was the perfect use for this powerful church sacramental.

I keep this blessed salt and the grinder separate from all the normal pantry items, so that I am the only one (or dh) who uses it at meal times, seasoning each plate, rather than children helping themselves, willy-nilly.


I didn't buy an empty grinder, I bought one that already had seasoning in it, but I wasn't 100% happy with the indgredients since it contained chilli..and chilli tends to be a stomach irritant, whereas cayenne would be my choice of chilli-hot seasoning..

So I emptied the grinder and started to mix my own bowl of seasoning as you can see on the left, I used the following ingredients:

chunks of blessed salt
dried horsetail
dried stinging nettle
dried comfrey
dried hawthorn berries '

Actually, many of these herbs are blessed too, here is my post about the special feast day for it here.

You can make up any mix you like, using your favourite herbs, you can add other things as well, like dried pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, kelp (for iodine), sesame seeds, peppercorns if you like a bit of normal pepper (though it can be a stomach irritant as well)

Here is my herbal salt on our breakfast, eggs on sourdough toast, it was enjoyed by everyone!

This is certainly a great way to get good herbs into the family, in small but daily doses and save money on commercial preparations.