The Herbmonger
| Home | About us | News | Journal | Diary | Groups | Forum | Articles | Education | Links |
Winter Cold & Flu Remedies
|
 |
Wintertime is always cold and flu time, and with those problems, you should eat good fresh fruit and vegetables, get good rest and some exercise. Rather than reaching for echinacea -- or OTC (over the counter) herbal combinations including echinacea -- try using some of the herbs given below. Echinacea (Echinacea spp) is probably the most self-prescribed herb. It is valuable and a good immune system herb, but it is very over-used and over marketed -- thus overcollected, and now endangered. We'll have more about that herb in another issue -- but for now, here are alternative recipes for self-help with coughs and colds. And remember, when winters are not as cold as they should be, more germs survive and often catch us surprised and unprepared in the spring. So plan ahead. |
| The Traditional Cold and Flu tea The traditional cold and flu tea is made of equal parts of Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and Elderflower (Sambucus nigra). This tea is the magic cure-all, as it addresses all the elements present at the beginning of a cold. Taken as soon as the symptoms start, it will help the body re-establish balance quickly. Peppermint is the decongestant; yarrow is febrifuge; and elderflower is a nose and throat tonic. Method: Mix together equal parts of the 3 herbs. Use 5ml (1 tsp) of the mixture per cup of boiling water. Cover and let steep for 1-4 minutes. |
|
| Dose: In acute conditions, 6 times a day. The standard treatment is 3 times a day. When you have a cold, remember all the methods of using herbs: teas, baths, rubs with infused oils, plaisters, cooling remedies, tonic drinks, inhalants and gargles. It is better to treat a symptom locally and effectively than to drench the body with unnecessary systemic medicines. Pliny mentions the use of mint as being so common that "all the meats from one end [of the country] to the other be seasoned with Mints". Used this way, it brings out the warm digestive properties of mint to good advantage. |  |
Cough Syrup for Unproductive Coughs.Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), makes an ideal antiseptic expectorant cough syrup -- when your chest is tight, and you have a restless, unproductive cough. Syrups in general are best made to give soothing, antiseptic, demulcent and nutritive qualities. |
|
 |
Ingredients: 14.2 gm (0.5 oz) Thyme 28.4 gm (1oz) Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) or (Chamaemelum nobile) 5 ml (1 tsp) Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) Pinch cayenne (Capsicum minimum) or Ginger (Zingiber officinale) -- optional 900 ml (1.5 UK pints or 3.75 US cup) water 450 gm (1 lb) sugar |
Method:First make a decoction: Put chopped and powdered herbs into 900 ml water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, and turn heat down to low. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.Allow liquid to cool a little and strain into measuring jar or another pan. Press out all moisture from the herbs and discard them. Keep the liquid. Return this liquid to the heat and simmer very gently, uncovered, until reduced to 200 ml (7 UK fl oz. or 7/8 cup). The slower the reduction the better. The reduced liquid is a decoction. |
|
|
Then add the sugar to make a syrup:
450gm (1 lb) sugar is added to the decoction. Dissolve slowly and summer for a few minutes, stirring all the time until you reach a syrupy consistency. Let the mixture bubble for a moment, but do not overheat as it will turn into a caramel toffee instead. Dosage: Adult: 2-3 tsp 3-6 times a day and Child: 1 tsp 3-6 times a day The standard recipe for syrups and honey is : 40gm (1.5 oz) chopped herb; 900 ml (1.5 UK pints, 3.75 US cups), and 450 gm (1 lb) sugar or honey. |
|
Willow bark and Ginger DecoctionMethod: Take a rounded 10 ml (2 heaping tsp) of dried willow bark, Salix alba and 5ml (1tsp) of ginger, Zingiber officinale, powder and add to two cups of water. Simmer together for 10 minutes. Strain. Add honey to taste and drink.Dosage: Take freely, as needed, for chills, chronic diarrhoea and as a strengthening drink in convalescence. |
 |
 |
The Herbmonger first appeared on the Herb Society website in 1998 and continued until about 2002. It is the creation of Christopher Hedley AHG and Non Shaw. And reappears back on the Herb Society website with the kind permission of Chris and Non. Both are practising medical herbalists in London and have co-authored Herbal Remedies: A Practical Beginner's Guide to Making Effective Remedies in the Kitchen. Parragon Press, 1996
ISBN-10: 0752577514 . |
Click here to go back to Herbs In Medicine main page
To make comments on this article, go to our Forum.
| Home | About us | News | Journal | Diary | Groups | Forum | Articles | Education | Links |