Posted on 03/19/2019 5:52:42 PM PDT by little jeremiah
Many FReepers have knowledge to share about improving and maintaining health and would like to share it and learn from others; and others may not know much yet but want to learn. Some of us don't have much money for good insurance or doctors, some want to try other methods besides prescription meds, and some have experience in treating and solving health problems.
More and more "regular" doctors have accepted treatment methods such as the benefits of acupuncture, massage for many conditions, better diet, use of herbs and so on. There are limits, and often side effects, to some standard medical efforts.
My field is Ayurvedic herbalism and related measures, and have a lot of information I can post when I have time. I have seen herbs and sometimes dietary changes help people (including myself) with issues such as rheumatoid arthritis, high BP, gallstones, kidneystones, repeated boils, UTIs, prostate problems, insomnia, allergies, urinary incontinence, and many more. I hope to learn a lot from others with their knowledge and experience.
There are many "old fashioned" home care methods that were in common use a few generations ago that actually work and are cheap, such as castor oil packs, fomentations using alternating hot and cold water, and the like, which are easy to do. I am sure there is a lot of knowledge here on Free Republic that can be shared.
I would like this thread to stay civil without distruption, so my request is that people who think natural health methods are bunkum, make your own thread.
What is DVT? Are you on chemo treatments currently?
And what are the symptoms of your neuropathy? Means nerve pain; I might be able to come up with some suggestions if I knew more about how long you’ve had it, how severe, any possible cause, etc. You can always freepmail if you’d rather.
There are many herbs that help the nervous system, brain, and mental functioning.
Read later.
Thank you!
Thanks LJ, but I find these days I’m just too calm already. I need to just lambaste some libs. I have friends who literally want to tell me how good the first phase of the Pfizer vaccine is feeling. Really? I don’t WANT to calm down.
Ok maybe I need to calm down. Let me look at them herbs again...😎
Best way to kick a** is to be very calm inside and a whirlwind outside. Kicking from a place of strength. Of course I only know about kicking a** verbally, not a fighter.
Ask ?s if you have any. Also should have added Vetiver to the EOs. I like it a lot.
LJ,
What can you tell me about fresh spearmint?
I’ve been practically mainlining it since working from home in March, putting it into smoothies.
Truthfully, I don’t know much about spearmint. Later I will copy some info about spearmint and peppermint, the mind family is very large and all are useful. Spearmint is a bit stronger than peppermint, if you feel fine mainlining, doesn’t seem to harm so keep it up!
Thanks.
I find peppermint to be stronger. I guess it’s just a matter of preference.
I don’t think peppermint goes as well with berries, green tea, coconut, bananas and spinach as spearmint.
I don’t use it when I make a tropical smoothies. It doesn’t seem to work with pineapple and mango. Perhaps basil or thyme would work. Or ginger.
Buttermint? But it’s not easy to find.
I never heard of buttermint but there are so many varieties. Maybe it’s just cause I prefer peppermint. I wouldn’t eat a lot of raw spinach, oxalic acid. Still has when cooked but not as much, if one is prone to kidney stones, can help them along considerably.
I apologize for taking so long to get some herbs posted that may help your conditions. I need to stay away from “news” (cough cough) and have actually, but I have been sick from a respiratory thing so less energy. Feeling better today (will enumerate what I’ve been taking just in case anyone wants to know) and will post herb info on varied conditions today.
No apologies LJ,
I was happy to see you back on the other thread this AM. I wanted to throw in my $.02 for your cough. Have you drank some elderberry syrup and honey? I have to buy that Sambucol at a chain store. Wish I could grow it but we live at too high an elevation for growing anything outside. We are both BC survivors and I appreciate your knowledge for natural health and thank you for all your work on both these threads (especially the mountain pics and good night wishes.
God Bless and Happy New Year to you and yours.
I have a LOT I want to post here and hopefully I will stop being obsessed about other stuff and get back.
I buy dried elderberries from Starwest Botanicals and make my own elderberry syrup, I take in winter/flu season. I usually make with honey but sometimes when honey has been too expensive I’ve used organic sugar. I make about 3 quarts at a time, iirc. I can give recipe if anyone wants it, it’s not difficult to make at all. It lasts for a couple of years in a cool dark place because of the honey or sugar and a small amount of alcohol.
Aha I’ll just ping you here, easier. Just read up the thread a bit for more relaxing/stress reducing ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFI1JFuigRM
Mindfulness for Inner Peace
Yes I would love the elderberry syrup recipe!
My daughter is growing a couple of elderberry bushes since i told her about how great it is for fluish symptoms. And both of us cant buy a whole lot of the store brand sambucol for our small families.
When you have extra time for posting it would be greatly appreciated
FReeper FRiend
Pinging the list to Elderberry Syrup directions. Use for a preventive during flu season, and if symptoms, to help reduce severity. It does not aggravate cytokine storm. Elderberries have other value as well, strong anti-oxidant,
Here is the original recipe I copied from an experienced herbalist. My additions/changes below that.
Elderberry Syrup Recipe
7 cups elderberry juice
8 ¾ cups honey
3 cups 80 proof vodka
Warm the elderberry juice to “hot, but not boiling” temp… between 150 and 180°F should be plenty. Stir in the honey and stir until it’s completely dissolved and blended.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the vodka.
Pour into sterile jars or bottles (sterilize them by boiling for 5-10 minutes in boiling water, then let drip dry upside down until filling)
Cap and LABEL. Store in a cool DARK place (or bottle in dark brown glass)
Standard dose for adults would be:
Prophylaxis (prevention) 1 tablespoon 2x a day. If there is active flu in your office or family, double that, or take more often.
Treatment: 1-2 tablespoons every 3-4 hours
Children under 12: half the adult dose
Toddlers and infants: Talk to your doctor! But, lacking that, 1 tsp at similar intervals to the adult dose should be adequate.
There is NO way to overdose on this! Put it in juice, jello, pour it over ice cream- any way you can get the kids to take it is fine.
Alternatives:
If you do not want to use any alcohol in the syrup, use
7 cups elderberry juice
14 cups honey
Proceed as above, ignoring the reference to the vodka.
If you don’t want to use honey (probably best to NOT use it for babies under 1 year)
7 cups elderberry juice
11 ½ cups sugar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note: I use dried berries and some berries are not cleaned very well – some batches are better than others. Go through your berries - I did it bit by bit on a plate and search through for stems or off colored berries. Then I sifted through a strainer to get smaller debris out. It didn’t take too long to do a pound, and it makes a better product. I make a pound at once and didn’t measure as she says above, I just put all berries into a large pot, covered with water, and let sit for 24 hours, then strained out the liquid and saved it, then poured boiling water on the berries again just to cover, let sit, and strained again. I did twist in a piece of fine cotton cloth as she describes. Keep in mind that elderberries could probably be used as a natural dye!
If you make a whole pound, you will need several bottles. I store in either alcohol bottles, either Clear Springs 180 proof grain alcohol, or glass juice bottles. Also, I did not follow her recipe precisely, I used just a bit less alcohol (I used Clear Springs grain alcohol which is twice as strong as vodka, just diluted it with an equal amount of water, either works) and a little less sweetener. I have used either raw sugar or honey depending on honey price.
Keep in mind that the honey or sugar acts as a preservative, and if you use much less it may go bad. You only take 1 Tablespoon at a time though. If you don’t want to use much or any sweetener, than you have to make a tincture, which uses a lot of alcohol. I did elderberry tincture once and much prefer making the syrup.
Last time I made syrup, sometime in the last year, it was about 3 quarts or a bit more altogether. The recipe above is general, and I use more or less similar proportions but not precisely.
If you have any questions let me know.
Link to some benefits, also includes flowers, which can be purchased dried but I never have. Elderberries should never be eaten raw.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/elderberry#health-benefits
thanks!
Thanks for the very detailed info LJ
Thank you for this!
this is most excellent !
thank you Lj
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