Using the Green Pharmacy

Using
the Green Pharmacy

There are many easy ways to use medicinal herbs. Whether you use them as foods, introduce them as seasonings or make teas, you'll get the benefit of their healing properties.

I have nothing against taking vitamin and mineral supplements. In fact, I suggest them for many of the conditions discussed in this book. But an ounce of fruit or vegetables has many more useful constituents than a pound of purified supplements.

My favorite way to use herbs is simply as foods or mixed into foods. In the United States, we make a distinction between foods and drugs, but in many cases there is no real difference. Is garlic, for example, a food or a drug? The correct answer is that it's both. The same goes for all of the culinary spices and many of the herbs discussed throughout this book.

Making Meals That Heal

When it comes to meals that heal, I think it's hard to beat a big mixed green salad, a bowl of vegetable soup (minestrone, which I often call Medi-strone) and a fruit salad topped with some herbs such as mint, basil or cinnamon.

In the early 1990s, I was involved with the Designer Food Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The idea was to identify medicinal chemicals, such as plant estrogens (phytoestrogens), which appear to reduce the risk of breast cancer, in plants and to breed or augment these chemicals in food plants.

While the people I worked with in the Designer Food Program were all very bright, charming and well-intentioned, we had some differences of opinion. They wanted to pump plant chemicals (phytochemicals) into foods, while I kept saying that the beneficial chemicals were already there--if you knew where to look. For example, phytoestrogens abound in most beans. If you want to take a big step toward preventing breast cancer, eat bean soup or a bean salad a few times a week, try some Mexican food with refried beans or add tofu to just about anything.

The More Servings, the Better

Many of those in the Designer Food Program endorsed the Strive for Five program promoted by the NIH to encourage Americans to eat five servings a day of fruits and vegetables. An enormous amount of research shows that as fruit and vegetable consumption increases, risk of all the major cancers decreases. In fact, the risk of heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases declines as well. Based on this research, the NIH figured that it was prudent to recommend at least five servings a day of fruit and vegetables.

Unfortunately, few Americans get their five a day. And even that goal is shortsighted, in my opinion. I personally think people should strive for at least ten a day--five fruits and five veggies, seasoned with five different herbs and garnished with five different nuts.

As Hippocrates supposedly said, "Let your food be your medicine." Amen to that, especially if you add lots of medicinal spices.

To encourage as many servings of healing foods as possible, I've scattered several recipes throughout this book. But I would certainly never pretend to be a great cook: I rarely measure ingredients at home, and I almost never cook the same dish exactly the same way. I go with a little of this and a handful of that, trusting my taste buds and the wisdom of using as broad a range of fruits, vegetables and herbs as possible. My "recipes" may seem imprecise at times, but the objective is to get you to experiment as much as possible with these tasty herbs. What pleases your palate may not please mine, and vice versa.

How to Make a Healing Tea

You can make a good tea with dried herbs. You can even pop open capsules of powdered herbs and use the contents to make tea. But whenever possible, I use fresh herbs, at least in spring, summer and fall.

Why? Simply because fresh herbs are more fun and more flavorful.

The main difference between fresh herbs and dried herbs is their water content. Leaf for leaf, herbs retain their supply of medicinal phytochemicals even after they've been dried for a while. But phytochemicals are more concentrated in dried herbs because they contain less water. While fresh herbs are about 80 percent water, dried are only about 20 percent. So ounce for ounce, the dried herb is more potent, and when you add it to water, more of the phytochemicals are infused in the tea.

Herbal tea recipes usually assume that you're starting with dried herb material. If you have fresh herbs on hand, you'll need to use four times as much as the recipe calls for if you want to get the same potency.

To Infuse or Decoct?

There are really two types of teas--infusions and decoctions. An infusion is similar to what most people think of as tea. But there's a big difference between beverage teas and medicinal herb infusions. With a beverage tea, you might dunk a tea bag in hot water a few times and then drink it. If you're preparing an herb infusion, the tea should steep for 10 to 20 minutes to allow the therapeutic phytochemicals to pass out of the herb and into the water.

To make a good cup of medicinal tea, here's a good rule of thumb. Start with boiling water and steep your medicinal herbs until the water is cool. If you like to drink it hot, reheat the tea gently.

Decoctions, on the other hand, involve putting herbal material in the water, then boiling or simmering for 10 to 20 minutes. Infusions work best for leaf and flower material because they usually yield their phytochemicals more easily. The decoction method, on the other hand, is typically used for root and twig material because it can be difficult to extract medicinal phytochemicals from them.

Throughout this book, I include suggestions for amounts of herbs to be used in infusions and decoctions. But I must confess that I make my own herb teas the same way I cook--a little of this, a handful of that. In summer I cruise my garden, grabbing whichever aromatic herbs I pass--sometimes more than a dozen--taking bigger portions of the delicate-smelling herbs and smaller portions of the coarse-scented herbs like dittany, horsebalm and thyme. Like my soups and salads, no two of my herb teas are exactly the same.

Suggestions and Safety

What I'm leading up to is this: Use the suggestions in this book as just that--suggestions. I've concentrated mostly on herbs that are safe even in amounts considerably greater than those suggested in the recipes, so don't feel concerned if you use a bit more or less than the recipe suggests. (When exact dosages are extremely important, I note that. And whenever any precautions are needed, I note that as well.)

If there is no recipe for a specific herb, try making an infusion or decoction with one to two teaspoons of plant material. Then tinker with the amounts to suit your personal needs. You can't expect all medicinal teas to taste good; some of them are quite bitter. But if you like the taste and want a stronger tea, it's okay to use a little more of the herb next time around. I mask unpleasant tastes with powdered or real lemonade. The acidity may even extract more of certain medicinal chemicals.

At the same time, however, you must remember that these herbs are medicine. You have to pay attention to how your body responds to the herb and adjust your dose accordingly. If you're looking to relax and end up feeling overly sedated, for example, you'll want to make a weaker tea the next time you're using that particular herb. Our personal chemistries may be just as variable as the herbs'.

As for frequency, I typically suggest one to three cups of tea a day. Again, these are merely suggestions. In general, I wouldn't recommend much more than four cups of most herbal teas per day.

Tinctures and Vinegars

Classically, a tincture is made by steeping herb material in drinkable alcohol, such as ethyl alcohol (ethanol). My personal favorite when I'm creating my own tinctures is cheap vodka. It works just fine.

The alcohol extracts a great deal of the medicinal essence of the herb. Tinctures have longer shelf lives than dried herbs or capsules.

You can buy ready-made tinctures at most places that sell herbs. You can also make your own quite easily.

To make a tincture, you can use anything from 40-proof alcohol to almost 200-proof, which translates as anything from 20 percent alcohol to almost pure alcohol. Most herbalists suggest two ounces of dried herb (or a loose handful of fresh herb) per pint of alcohol. Allow your herb-alcohol mixture to stand for about a week, shaking it occasionally. Then strain it. Discard the plant material (preferably in the compost pile) and store the tincture in a bottle with a dropper lid.

Tincture dosages can run anywhere from 5 to 50 drops or from a fraction of a dropperful to several dropperfuls. Sometimes they're even measured in teaspoons or tablespoons. I usually add tinctures to beverage herbal teas or to juices.

One advantage of buying a tincture is that appropriate dosages are generally indicated on the label.

While alcohol is a great preservative, we want to pickle the herb, not the consumer. One nonalcoholic option that's often available these days is glycerides, tinctures that have been prepared using glycerin rather than alcohol. These are nice options for infants or for recovering alcoholics who wish to avoid alcohol in any form.

Herbal vinegars are another good option, and you can even make your own. To do this, simply steep your herbs in vinegar rather than alcohol. The same ratios might be used: one pint of vinegar for every one to two ounces of dried herb or loose handful of fresh herb.

You can use many herbal vinegars straight as salad dressings, which can be especially helpful for people who are overweight. Herbal vinegars can also be added to soups or cooked vegetables.

Using Poultices and Compresses

A poultice is a wad of chopped, fresh (or dried but remoistened) plant material that is applied directly to a wound or infection on the skin and usually held in place by a wet dressing that is covered by a bandage.

It's best to soften the herb first to coax out more of the medicinal phytochemicals. You can do this by boiling, steaming, chewing or pounding it. Then shape the material into a small, coin-size wad that can lie flat against the wound. Many herbalists recommend mixing one part herb with three parts water, alcohol or vinegar thickened with flour to make the poultice easier to handle and apply. In a pinch, you can simply ball up some whole leaf and use that.

Poultices work primarily at the application site, typically preventing infection and hastening the healing of wounds. But there are doubtless many compounds in poultice plants that pass through the skin and have internal benefits as well.

Compresses are clean cloths that have been dipped in an herbal solution--an infusion, decoction, tincture or vinegar. Compresses can be used in two ways. You might hold a poultice in place with a compress, in which case it doubles as a bandage. Or you might apply it directly to the skin. This type of compress is also known as a fomentation.

Soothing Salves

Many commercial salves contain herbs, and probably your best bet is to buy a salve rather than make it. Making your own salves is a pretty messy business, but you can certainly go that route if you choose. Making salves involves mixing medicinal herbs with water, beeswax, animal fat (lard or lanolin), vegetable fat (corn oil, Crisco, margarine or olive or safflower oil) and other ingredients to create spreadable lotions.

I confess that I've never had much luck mixing up salves. Mine tend to be either too runny or too dry. But other herbalists are much better at it.

If you'd like to try making a salve, start with pulverized herb and cover it with water. Boil or simmer for 15 to 30 minutes, then let it cool. Add some oil, then gently heat the oily mixture until the water has evaporated, perhaps 15 to 30 minutes.

Finally, add beeswax and/or a fat to give your salve the proper consistency. Cool before using. A well-prepared salve can keep for up to a year. Salves can be used like poultices, except that you often don't need the bandage.

If you'd rather not make salves from scratch, you can also simply add
pulverized, simmered herb material to any of the commercial skin ointments sold in drugstores.

Healing with Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the treatment of medical conditions with the aromatic essential oils of fragrant herbs. Aromatherapists often use essential oils from the mint family, which includes such aromatherapeutic superstars as lavender (a tranquilizer) and rosemary (a stimulant).

The essential oils used in aromatherapy, which come in little vials, are extremely concentrated. You can simply sniff directly from the vial, or you can use the oil for massage.

Since the oils are so concentrated, they can be irritating to the skin. If you're using an oil for massage, first dilute it by adding a few drops to vegetable oil or massage lotion. If you doubt that essential oils can pass through your skin, here's an experiment for you to try: Massage a few drops of diluted lavender oil into your skin. Within a short time, your friends may notice that you have lavender breath when you exhale.

Another nice way to use essential oils is to add a few drops to your bath. (You can also use a handful of fresh or dried herbs if you choose.) Since many of the fragrant compounds are readily absorbed through the skin, this is a particularly pleasant way to get your medicine. If you have insomnia, for example, I suggest adding sedative lavender and lemon balm (also known as melissa) to your bath. I bet you'll fall asleep more easily and sleep more soundly.

Whatever you do, though, do not ingest essential oils. Many are quite toxic, and as little as a half-teaspoon can kill you. (A few essential oils can be taken in diluted form, but this is not something that you can experiment with on your own. An experienced herbal practitioner may occasionally recommend ingesting diluted essential oils.)