4th Dec 2024
Are You Tired of the Over The Counter Medications that are Sold for Colds and Flus?
JANUARY 15, 2024
Today, we’re exploring the various methods employed in the timeless art of extraction and ways to ensure that you retain as many of the valuable healing properties that herbs possess.
You’re in the right place if you’re looking for natural ways to alleviate your symptoms while boosting your immune function.
Understanding that there is not one way to extract plant compounds, is just as important as learning plants’ preferences. This knowledge is required in understanding specific methods for each different plant part, as the delicate extraction process of flowers’ properties differ from roots and barks.
Extracting the beneficial compounds from a few different herbs in a couple different ways is an excellent way for you to see how easy it is to make your own medicine and how powerful it can be in regaining your strength and ability to feel well and enjoy your life.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what we want right, is to feel good. And to be able to do the things that we want to do and enjoy doing them, not have everything feel like a chore because we just don’t feel good.
And synthetic molecules can make you feel like that. If you google ‘research that Nyquil doesn’t actually speed recovery from a cold,’ a number of articles will come up proving this fact.
The active ingredient in over the counter cold medicines is Phenylephrine. According to the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina doctor who they interviewed for this article (article below) I’m referring to, says that studies from the 1960s and 70s suggested it did work, but the FDA reviewed them and found they didn’t hold up to modern scientific standards.
The article is all about how the advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration said an ingredient found in a lot of oral cold and allergy medications doesn’t work.
She also went on to say that Phenylephrine wasn’t dangerous, but when I googled it, I found this list of side effects:
Dizziness
Fast heartbeat
Headache
Nausea
Nervousness
Blurred vision
Insomnia
Difficult or labored breathing
Sweating
Itching
Slow heartbeat
Stomach pain
Unusual tiredness
Dry mouth
Heartburn
Pounding in the ears
Restlessness
Shaking
Tingling in the arms or legs
Now I don’t know about you but I do think some of those are dangerous especially the first one… real quick, my mom’s husband died from a fall in which he hit his head on tile and ultimately died.
He literally walked into the kitchen from the living room to give the dog a treat because he was such a good boy. My mom heard a thud and you know the rest.
Later, when packing up her house to bring her to move in with us, I threw a number of prescription medications away that her husband was taking that said ‘may cause dizziness’ ok? I’m just going to leave that right here and now let’s learn about Herbal Cold Remedies!
Infusing Nettles and Ginger in a tea, as well as an infusion is a great immune boosting, symptom alleviating remedy. Nettles, being a very nutritious plant providing necessary nutrients while drying mucus.
Ginger is a great decongestant, expectorant and immune booster, as well. These 2 synergistically blend together well for a cold remedy that’s sure to relieve!
Using larger quantities of herbs and water turns this tea into an infusion that’s power packed medicine.
And then making a decoction with some Astragalus is a great immune booster!
The utensils used are equally as important as the purity of the herbs that you are extracting. The ones that I use are stainless steel and glass.
Teflon or aluminum, really have no place in medicine making.
I would never heat medicine in a microwave, right? That’s like a class for another time, ‘the detrimental effects of microwaves…’
So some herbs need to be covered because you don’t want to lose the volatile oils.
Tea:1 tbs. herbs
1 cup almost boiling water (you don’t want it boiling or it can destroy the beneficial compounds)
Fill cup with herbs
Pour water over the top of the herbs
Cover depending on volatile oil content of plant
Let steep for 5-15 minutes
Infusion:
4-6 tbs. herbs (6-8 if herbs are fresh)
1 quart almost boiling water
Fill mason jar with herbs
Pour water over the top of the herbs
Let steep 15 min- 4 hours, the longer the steep the stronger the medicine
Cover depending on volatile oil content of plant
Strain, label
Keep in a cool, dark place.
Some highly aromatic roots such as Goldenseal, Ginger and Valerian are often infused instead of decocted.
Dose:
3 times a day for a period of weeks until signs of improvement or stabilization are reached.
Decoction:
Mostly for roots and barks:
4-6 tbs. herbs (6-8 if herbs are fresh)
1 quart cold water
Begin simmer on low heat, cover
Let simmer at this temperature for 30 to 40 minutes
Steep for hours or overnight for stronger remedy.
Strain, pour into sterilized jar, and label.
Discover The Essence Of Plant Medicine ~