NaturalMedications

 Making your own herbal remedies is far easier than usually thought.

Collecting and Gathering

To start making your own herbal recipes you need to collect and gather correctly. When collecting herbage, the upper part of plant, and or berries, these need to be collected in the late morning, after the dew is gone but before the sun is fully on it to dry up the oils in the plant. Energy from the plant rises up in the morning so this is when the upper parts will be the strongest in medicine. Herbs can be cut when collecting or dried and then cut. Some herbs like Motherwort are difficult to deal with when they dry so try to cut them while they are fresh. Late fall or early spring is the best time for roots, before the energy of the plant is transfered into leaf production. Roots are dug in very early morning before the energy start to rise up to the stems. Herb should be cut at an anlgle so that you are exposing as many cells as possible. All herbs, berries or roots must be dried in the dark. Easiest methods of drying your herb is to tie the stems together and hang in a paper bag or place the leaves and roots on screens. Provide a warm well ventilated place for them to dry, to prevent mold or fungus. Be sure the herb is completely dry before storing. Storage needs to be in glass, dark if possible and placed in a cool area till you use.

Decoctions

 A decoction is herbs that have been simmered in water.  It is the best method for drawing the healing elements from tough plant parts such as bark roots, stems and heavy leaves. To make a decoction, use 1ounce of dried herbs to 1 pint of water that has been brought to a boil. Keep water just below boiling for about 20 to 30 minutes and let herbs simmer. Simmering may take up to 1 hour, depending on plant used. A higher heat than infusions is necessary because of the toughness of the plant parts.  Decoctions should always be strained while hot, so that the matter that separates on cooling may be mixed again with the fluid by shaking when the remedy is used.  Use glass, ceramic or earthenware pots, or clean, unbroken enameled cast iron. Do not use plain cast iron with astringent plants.

Sample Herbal decoction

Add 1 to 3 tablespoons (15ml) of fresh or dried herbs to 2 to 4 cups of distilled or purified water.

Allow to steep in cool water for a few minutes.

Bring to a slow boil and simmer on very low heat for 10 to 30 minutes.

Strain and pour directly into a sterile glass bottle (if you are planning to use this decoction as is), or into a suitable sterile container if you are using the tea for a more complex application.

Herbal decoctions will keep up to 3 days if kept refrigerated. If you wish to add herbal teas to your skin care applications, you might need to add appropriate preservatives and/or anti-oxidants.

Electuary

 When powders are mixed with syrup, honey, brown sugar, or glycerin to produce a more pleasant taste for the purposes of oral consumption, they are called electuarys. These are rarely prepared in advance, but are done when needed. Different substances need different proportions of syrup. Light vegetable powders usually require twice their weight, gum resins 2/3 their weight, mineral substances about half their weight.  If an electuary is made up in advance and it hardens, add more syrup. If it swells up and emits gas, merely beat it in a mortar.

Extracts

Extracts are solid substances resulting from the evaporation of the solution of vegetable principles. The extract is obtained in three ways: by expressing the juice of fresh plants, by using a solvent such as alcohol, or simmering a plant tea and reducing it to a thickened state. The last is done by simmering a plant and by repeating the process until most of the water used has evaporated, making a decoction. This gives a distillation of the most active principles in the plant. Add 1/4 teaspoon of alcohol (brandy,gin or vodka will do), glycerin, or tincture of benzoine to preserve the extract.

Fomentations

 A fomentation is a strong herbal tea in which a clean cloth is dipped. The cloth can be filled with herbs. The cloth is then applied to the affected part.

Infusions

This is the origin of the idea for witches potion. It is a process of soaking herbs in water. 

Hot Infusion : To make an infusion boil water. Add the boiled water to 1 teaspoon dried herb. Cover and let steep for 9-13 minutes. Strain, cool. Infusions are drunk as teas, added to bath, rubbed into furniture and floors and to anoint body. Powdered Bark, root, seeds, resin and bruised nuts, seeds, bark and buds may be used in hot infusions.

 Cold infusion : Steep in cold water or cold milk for several hours. Wet, mashed herbs can be used internally as a tea or as poultices on body.

Oils

Aromatic oils and rectified alcohol can be combined. The oils seep into the alcohol to produce and essence. Oils may be captured by evaporation from flower petals. Vegetable, nut, or fruit oils can be used as a medium for steeping aromatic plants to extract volatile oils. Aromatic oils can also be steeped in alcohol to extract essence.

To make an oil, pick your own fresh herbs or purchase dried herbs from a reputable source. Pack a large jar with the chosen herb and pour in any favorite mono unsaturated or polyunsaturated oil. Use enough to cover the herb. Close tightly. Label the jar and place in a sunny place for several weeks. Strain out the herb by pouring through cheesecloth into a fresh jar. Hold the cheesecloth over the opening of the jar containing the herbs and secure with a rubber band. Invert the jar and pour the infused oil through the cheesecloth. Before discarding the herbs, squeeze all the oil out of them. 

If you want to keep your oil as a "single infusion", squeeze well the cheesecloth to reclaim as much oil as possible. Double and triple strength infused oils are made by adding the infused oil to a new batch of plant material, and repeating the process.

Pour the oil into a labeled jar and store until needed.

Syrups

Medicinal syrups are formed when sugar is incorporated with vegetable infusions, decoctions, expressed juices, fermented liquors, or simple water solutions. Sometimes tinctures are added to a simple syrup, and the alcohol is evaporated. The tincture is sometimes combined with sugar and gently heated, or exposed to the sun until the alcohol is evaporated. The syrup is then prepared with the impregnated sugar and water. Refined sugar makes a clearer and better flavored syrup. Any simple syrup can be preserved by substituting glycerin for a certain portion of the syrup. Always make syrups in small quantities.

 To make an herbal syrup

Add 2 ounces of dried herb with 1 quart water in a large pot.

Boil down and reduce to 1 pint, then add 1-2 tablespoons of honey. If you want to use fresh fruit, leaves, or roots in syrups, you should double the amount of herbs.

Store in refrigerator for up to a month. Honey-based syrups are simple and effective way to preserve healing qualities of herbs.

Syrups can soothe sore throats and provide some relief from coughs.

Teas

Home-made herbal teas are much more potent than the store bought teas. Their flavor can be quite strong and sometimes unpleasant. To make a tea, boil 1 pint of water. Add 1 ounce of dried herb tops ( leaves flowers, stems) steep 3 -5 minutes.

Tinctures

Another popular way of making herbal medicines is to produce a tincture. Used for herbs that require a solvent stronger than water to release their chemical constituents, a tincture is a herb extracted in alcohol, glycerine or vinegar. The advantages of tinctures are that they have a long shelf life, they're available for use in a pinch, and you can add tinctures to oils or salves to create instant healing ointments.

To make a tincture, grind plant parts with mortar and pestle (or a blender). Add just enough high-quality vodka, whiskey or grain alcohol to cover herbs. Let sit for 21 days, then add a small quantity of glycerin (about 2 tbs per pint) and about 10 % volume of spring water. Strain and store in air tight amber colored glass. If kept cool and dry it will last for up to 5 years. Dose is usually 20 drops in a cup of tea or warm water, 4 times a day.

For a stronger tincture place herbs in a cone-shaped piece of parchment paper. Pass alcohol repeatedly through the powdered or cut herb. Catch the slow drippings in a jar. When it has passed once, you may use it, but the more you repeat the process, the stronger the tincture will be.

 It is acceptable to dilute any alcohol tincture with water. Add 4 ounces of water and 1 teaspoon of glycerin for every pint of alcohol .The glycerin is optional, it is an additional preservative.

Because the usual dosage of a tincture is 15 to 30 drops, you receive enough herb to benefit from it's medicinal properties with very little alcohol. If you are alergic to alcohol - or simply don't wish to use it - try making vinegar-and-glycerine based tinctures. They dissolve plant constituents almost as effectively as spirits.

Non Alcoholic Tincture

Herbs that are soluble in alcohol are usually soluble in vinegar, and are useful for salad vinegars, cosmetic vinegars, some liniments and preventive sick room "washes".

Alcohol is a near perfect preservative of plant attributes. If for some reason you wish to evaporate the alcohol, add the tincture dose to a cup of water then add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of boiling water. Some herbs can be steeped in milk to make a milk tincture. Strain out the herbs, and store in a labeled jar in the refrigerator.

Vinegar, which contains the solvent acetic acid, is an alternative to alcohol in tinctures.  Apple cider vinegar is a good choice to use with herbs. Apple cider vinegar is made by naturally fermenting apple juice, whereas white distilled vinegar is an industrial by-product. Vinegar is also a potent antifungal agent and makes a good athelete's foot soak when combined with antifungal herbs. 

Ointments

An ointment is a soothing, healing, slightly oily or fatty substance into which the essence of a healing plant has been dissolved. This is done by heating the fat or oil with the plant until it loses its normal color and the oil or fat has absorbed the healing chemical principles. The plant is then strained out, and beeswax is added to harden the ointment. Preservatives such as drops of tincture of benzoin, poplar bud tincture, or glycerin are optional additions. If you make ointments in small batches and keep them tightly closed with paraffin wax, they don't decompose.

The traditional folk, herbal, and pharmaceutical base for ointments is pork lard. Purify it by simmering and straining. It has healing abilities even without the addition of herbs, but so do a lot of fats and oils. It is said to have great drawing power.

Purified, liquefied anhydrous lanolin is also used as a base for ointments.Lanolin is the substance washed from the wool of sheep. It comes in many levels of purity, so the results vary depending on the product. This oil is the closest to skin oil.

Almond oil, cocoa butter, wheat germ, and vitamin E are neutral bases for ointments. If no other product is available, Vaseline may be used, but is listed here in case nothing else is available.

All ointments must contain one substance that will thicken the final product. Lanolin is a thickener, as is cocoa butter. Both are non sticky and mix well with most other oils. Other useful but sticky thickeners are glycerin, honey, or liquid lecithin. Also, various powdered resins and gum swell up and thicken when first soaked in cold water, then simmered in gently boiling water, and added to preparations. Agar-agar and Irish moss are seaweed thickeners. Green apples provide and excellent acid fruit pectin that is a good addition to creams and ointments.

While any of the above sticky and non sticky thickeners will help swell a product and keep it emulsified, you will still need some wax to harden a cold cream or ointment. Beeswax is perfect, although expensive. It may be combined with paraffin wax.

To make a simple ointment

8 ounce lard by weight

2 ounce beeswax (white or yellow)

2 ounces fresh herbs (1 ounce dried herbs)

Simmer 2 ounces of fresh herbs, or 1 ounce of finely chopped dried herbs, in 8 ounces of pure lard, or vegetable fat and 2 ounces of beeswax for 10-15 minutes.

Strain through a fine sieve or cloth. (For a double strength ointment, add another measure of herbs to the strained ointment, and re-simmer.

Pour into a jar and let cool before storing.

Adding a little benzoin to help preserve the ointment, and the benzoin will help sooth chapped skin.

Poultices

A poultice is a raw or mashed herb applied directly to the body, or applied wet directly to the body, or encased in a clean cloth and then applied. Poultices are used to heal bruises, putrid sores, soothe abrasions, or withdraw toxins from an area. They may be applied hot or cold, depending on the health need. Cold poultices (and compresses) are used to withdraw theheat from an inflamed or congested area. Use a hot poultice or compress to relax spasms and for some pains.

To make a poultice, use fresh or dried herbs that have been soaked in boiling water until soft. Mix with enough slippery elm powder to make poultice stick together. Place on affected part then wrap body part and poultice with clean cloth.

Waters

Steeped herbs, water, and alcohol and steeped herbs plus honey and other fruits are often called waters. Sometimes extracts or spirits of various herbs, such as lavender, are also called waters.