Tinctures are amazing little gems for maintaining a healthy robust body (both chronic and acute situations), and they’re easy to make. Think of tinctures as basically herbal tea on steroids. You get a strong dose of the healing powers of plants in a tiny (convenient) amount (some say that two droppersful of tincture equals an 8 ounce cup of herbal tea). Tinctures are highly assimilable especially if you can stand to put them, straight, under your tongue for a few moments. Tinctures made using alcohol preserve active plant constituents. Another big selling point is that alcohol based tinctures last for years (pretty much indefinitely so long as they’re stored in a cool dark place. No refrigeration is necessary for alcohol based tinctures).
DIGESTIVE: comfrey, marshmallow, mint(s), ginger, basil, fennel, dill, catnip, chamomile, cardamom, yellow dock, meadowsweet, orange peel, rosemary, calendula, cayenne, lemon balm, licorice root.
ENERGY: mint(s), rosemary, ashwaganda, rhodiola, licorice root, nettles, oats, yellow dock.
CALM / SLEEP: California poppy, catnip, chamomile, betony, hawthorn, hops, cowslip, lavender, lemon balm, lime blossoms, kava kava, passion flower, skullcap, valerian.
JOINTS / INFLAMMATION: ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne, red clover, celery seed, nettle, oats.
PREGNANCY / LABOR: raspberry leaf, squaw vine, cramp bark, false unicorn, blue cohosh. Seek the help from your midwife for proper usage, if at all, of these herbs. Some might be appropriate during certain trimesters.
ADRENALS: licorice root, lingstrum, borage, dandelion, nettle.
SKIN: comfrey, dandelion, calendula, aloe, burdock, echinacea, chickweed, goldenseal, schizandra, honeysuckle.
PARASITES: oregano, pumpkin seeds, wormwood (not for use during pregnancy), cucumber seeds
LONGEVITY: rhodiola, bilberry, damiana, ginkgo biloba, gotu kola, ashwaganda, astragalus root, nettle, schizandra.
LYMPH: cleavers, echinacea, poke root.
KIDS: California poppy, catnip, chamomile, lemon balm, mint(s). Many more are fine for kids, I’m simply listing some popular ones.
FEVER: catnip, yarrow, boneset.
EXTERNAL TRAUMA (see also “skin” above): comfrey, yarrow, calendula.
COLDS / VIRUSES / IMMUNITY: cinnamon, hibiscus, ashwaganda, astragalus root, rose hips, myrrh, lemon balm, garlic, oregano, thyme, mint(s), echinacea, elder, lingstrum, red clover, self heal, boneset, yarrow (good for fever), mullein, turmeric, licorice root.
COUGH: elecampane root, comfrey, coltsfoot, white horehound (comfrey + coltsfoot + white horehound particularly good for bronchial issues), red clover, fennel, thyme, licorice root, cowslip, bittersweet, squill, mullein, marshmallow, wild cherry bark, balm of Gilead, black cohosh, and the following are helpful for whooping cough: mouse ear + mullein + white horehound + wild cherry bark + coltsfoot.
FEMALE (SEX, HORMONES, REPRODUCTION): vitex (turns out this isn’t a fit for me), ashwaganda, nettle, red clover, raspberry leaf, rosemary, hops (increases milk production), damiana, schizandra, yellow dock, licorice root, yarrow, ginger, dong quay, black cohosh.
MEN HORMONE HEALTH: saw palmetto, ginseng(s), damiana
HEADACHE: skullcap, basil, horseradish (sinus headaches), lavender, mint(s), cowslip (sinuses).
BRAIN: ashwaganda, rosemary, rhodiola, ginkgo biloba, gotu kola, bilberry.
CIRCULATORY / HEART: cayenne, hawthorn, ginger, rosemary, cinnamon, garlic, ginkgo biloba, dandelion, burdock
ACUTE PAIN: valerian, turmeric
Another way to see this list is by the various ways even one herb can help. See which herbs give you the biggest bang for your buck.
COMFREY: digestion, skin, cough
MINT(S): digestion, energy, headaches, kids
GINGER: digestion, inflammation, circulatory
ASHWAGANDA: brain, longevity, hormones, colds / immunity, energy
SKULLCAP: headaches, sleep
LICORICE ROOT: female hormones, cough, digestive, energy, adrenals
RED CLOVER: inflammation, immunity, cough, female hormones
Rosemary Gladstar’s good tincture taking advice is the following, and I will repeat that I am not a medical professional… please do your own research or speak with a professional:
- Acute health problems: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of tincture taken every hour for a maximum of 6 teaspoons daily. Reminder that this dosage is for acute problems and short term.
- Chronic health problems: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tincture taken 2-3 times daily for a maximum of 3 teaspoons daily. This recommendation also comes with a note to cycle the usage. Perhaps 5 days on and 2 days off or 2 to 3 weeks on and 1 week off. You’ll have to experiment yourself and seek professional guidance as needed.
- Treating children: if the dose for an adult is one teaspoon of tincture, then a child of less than one year old (2 to 5 drops), a child of 1 to 2 years (5 to 8 drops), child of 2 to 6 years (10-15 drops), and a child of 6 to 12 years (15 to 30 drops).
source http://kristensraw.com/
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