How to Create a (Simple) Herbal Medicine Chest

My new book, Simple Natural Health, is ready! It’s a simple, comprehensive guide to natural health – nourishing your body with herbs, nutrition and fitness and nourishing your soul. The following list is an excerpt from the book.

Herbal medicine plays an important part in my family’s health. I use herbs for upset tummies, sore throats and a whole host of other ailments. They’re also used in conjunction with diet to prevent illness.

In the last year, I’ve begun simplifying my herbal medicine chest after noticing that I use a small percentage of my herbs most of the time.

I also realized that many of those herbs can easily take the place of the ones that usually don’t get used, meaning I have more stuff that I can send to a new home.

So, without further ado, here’s a look at what’s in my herbal kit:

Carrier oils: Olive, coconut, almond

My favorite carrier oil is actually coconut oil. Coconut oil is antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial on its own. It makes a great addition to any ointment because of its healing properties. If using coconut oil, you may use a smaller amount of beeswax, omit it altogether or mix it with shea butter for a creamy consistency.

Shea butter: I add shea butter to ointments that need to be moisturizing. If creating a muscle rub, for example, you would need to steep the herbs in an oil that would be easy to massage into the skin.

Muslin bag/strainer: For steeping tea.

Medicine dropper

First aid balm

Labels

Storage containers: Glass mason jars, amber bottles, other containers for storing your remedies.

Mesh strainer/cheesecloth for straining herbs

Raw, local honey or brown rice syrup (for babies) for making lozenges and syrups. Raw honey can also be used as a topical healer.

Essential oils: Tea tree, peppermint, lavender, myrrh, cinnamon, orange, lemon, eucalyptus.

Scale: To measure ounces and preferably grams. You can use it for cooking and weighing postage, too.

Herbs: Alfalfa, astragalus, calendula, chamomile, comfrey, elder, garlic, lady’s mantle, lemon balm, marshmallow root, nettle, plaintain,  peppermint, red raspberry leaf, yarrow.

Simple Natural Health contains more information on all of those herbs as well as 14 recipes that I’ve created for various ailments. Find out more about the book here.

But wait, there’s a discount code! Use it when you buy the PDF version for 10 percent off the $17 purchase price (this ends at noon on February 2nd, so tell your friends): SIMPLE10

Become Your Family’s Herbalist

My history with herbal remedies began when I was pretty young. You see, I grew up on an herb farm, where my dad managed the growing and processing of herbs for a world-wide herbal wholesale company.

The summers were great with the smell of peppermint filling the air. And Dad put a lot of those remedies to use. Teas, decoctions, poultices. All were used for a variety of ailments. And then there was his favorite – baking soda in water. I’m still not sure about that one. Though it does make a great shampoo.

When I was 16, I discovered a book called Ageless Natural Beauty. It was full of recipes for herbal beauty products and I soaked it up, trying as many of them out as I could. I loved it.

A few years ago, as I found myself heading quickly into a more natural lifestyle, I began learning more about herbs. An avid reader and researcher, I learned as much as I could about herbs and how they could benefit my growing family.

I quickly grew in self-confidence knowing that I was helping my family stay healthy. And I think it’s the coolest thing when someone asks me an herbal question and the answer pops in my head with thinking.

It wasn’t difficult to get there. I don’t have a degree in herbs – I taught myself with excellent resources, time and practice.

Read

If you want to know more about herbs, start devouring the information. Check your library and Google books for free sources. There are some really great websites out there as well. I’m particularly fond of this one. You can always buy books – my herbal references are some of the few physical books left in the house.

Follow recipes

Get to know your herbs by creating remedies with them. Several recipes are available free, like my Monthly Tea or Soothing Bath Herbs, that will help you get comfortable with using herbs. Choose simple ones that require few herbs.

Keep track of what works

Record what works best for you. If you find that plaintain works best for a dry cough, write it down. It’s good to know for next time. You’ll also remember what didn’t work, what needed tweaking and which ones your kids liked best.

Experiment

Once you have the basics down, start experimenting. Make your own small batches of teas based on what you’ve learned. There’s nothing quite like knowing that you created your very own herbal remedy recipe that works.

Keep it simple

It’s easy to become zealous over this new hobby and purchase pounds and pounds of herbs that will just sit in your cabinet. Oh wait, that’s me. Downside of super-easy access to quality herbs, I guess. In my experience, there are only 15 herbs that I need. Half of them are used on a regular basis, while the others stand-by for certain illnesses. But just 15. Wish I would have figured that out a few years ago.

Are you interested in knowing more about herbal remedies? My upcoming book, Simple Natural Health, has an entire chapter devoted to those 15 herbs I mentioned. It also has tips for buying herbs as well as detailed recipes and how-tos for preparing herbs. Be sure to join the newsletter for the latest news on the book.

10 Natural Living Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about living a more simple, natural lifestyle. I’ve really embraced the use of herbs and other natural remedies in my home. But. That’s not to say that I did everything perfectly the first time. Nor have I been free from any interesting side effects. Here are a few mistakes to avoid (and laugh at).

1. Cinnamon after-shave is good everywhere … but your bikini line. Ouch.

2. Citric acid is easily mistaken for salt, especially when purchased from the same company. Our green beans tasted really interesting that night. I can’t believe I ate them anyway.

3. Vinegar hair rinse feels really special on fresh cuts.

4. When they say to drink/gargle apple cider vinegar, they mean dilute it first. Unless you like hacking and spitting vinegar all over your sink, window and counter.

5. If you overcook your herbs, your ointment will smell like an ash tray.

6. Yarrow tea is great for infection, but you must add lots of honey if you ever want to get past that first drink. Holy yuck.

7. Taking tons of garlic for an infection will make you and all of your excretions smell like an angry, vampire-hunting mob.

8. Fenugreek, taken to increase milk supply, will leave you smelling like maple syrup and your husband with a never-ending craving for pancakes. It’s fun to see how many people start sniffing with a puzzled look on their faces.

9. Yarrow and cayenne are both excellent herbs that stop bleeding. Guess which one doesn’t sting like the dickens.

10. I don’t care what anyone says, garlic should only be taken by mouth to treat a yeast infection. Yeah, I went there.

If only I knew then what I know now. Now I’m armed with an awesome community and resources and I’ll never make a mistake again (ha!).

One resource I do want to point you to, though, is DIY Natural. They have tons of recipes, for everything from home made vanilla extract to laundry detergent. And sometimes, they even let me write a post or two.

Right now they have some great ideas for low-cost, thoughtful Christmas ideas in case you’re wracking your brain. I spent an hour there tonight reading there suggestions (The kids and I had no idea what to do for the 8 nieces and nephews whose names my kids drew).

And I will be spending hours this weekend making play-doh, finger paints, lip balm, laundry detergent and some pretty scarves with the kids and some friends. I can’t wait!

Have your home remedy ventures ever left you with some interesting results?

Oh Comfrey, How I Love Thee

I have been hard at work for the last week putting together a local class. I’m talking about herbal remedies and using natural ways to take care of your family. All from a minimalist point of view.

I’m excited. And really nervous.

Herbs have been on my mind non-stop for the last week. With that, I thought it would be fitting to give you a little information on one of my favorite herbs, comfrey.

Photo credit: amberdc

Comfrey stands out from the rest because of all its goodness. This herb is a staple in my house and I use it for many reasons.

I include it in all of my skin healing balms because of its ability to heal sores, abrasions and bruises quickly. Comfrey’s mucilagenous property makes it soothing to irritated skin. Think diaper rash, scrapes and new tattoos.

Several stories I’ve read reported that broken bones heal faster when a comfrey salve is applied. Another story pointed to comfrey tincture as a foot bath additive for stubbed toes or feet that have had something heavy dropped on them. Like a ridiculously heavy old Mac book, perhaps.

Comfrey promotes fast healing and much-needed pain relief.

Added to an ointment it also does very well for treating hemmorhoids. Yet another joy of giving birth.

Comfrey infuses well into massage oil and does a great job at easing those tender spots. My dad created his own muscle rub using comfrey, arnica and devil’s claw that brings amazing relief to arthritis and other sore areas. My sister-in-law asks for a massage with it every time we see each other.

Used internally, it has many benefits, including healing stomach ulcers and hemmorhoids, as well as treating pernicious anemia with its high vitamin B12 content.

HOWEVER, young comfrey leaves contain poisons called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are carcinogenic, so consuming comfrey is highly cautioned against. Thankfully, these alkaloids are NOT absorbed through the skin.

Phew, right? There’s no way I’m giving this herb up.

How to use it

Use comfrey to create tinctures, decoctions and balms. A comfrey balm is an excellent tool to have in your herbal first-aid kit.

Cautions

Avoid consumption.

I’m off to do some heavy grocery shopping and put the finishing touches on my class. Wish me luck!

5 Must Haves for Creating Herbal Remedies

Using herbal remedies is a fun and effective way to improve your health. Herbs are inexpensive to buy; even cheaper if you grow them yourself. And they’re a lot of fun to experiment with.

There’s just something awesome about taking what you know about the properties of a few different plants and creating a healing remedy. Ah, it makes my inventor’s heart happy.

I realize that few people had the same upbringing I did – a dad who came from a family that used many herbal remedies and firmly believed in using plants as medicine. While it’s second nature to me, I know that some have no idea where to get herbs or how to use them and have no idea where to start.

That said, here are a few tips to make getting started a bit easier.

Quality herbs

I have been fortunate that my dad has managed a large herb wholesale company for the last 15 years. I see where my herbs come from and how they’re grown. Unless you are growing your own herbs, I suggest researching different herbal companies to see what their growing practices are and whether or not they offer organic herbs.

I highly suggest Mountain Rose Herbs as a starting point. I use them when my dad’s company doesn’t have an herb I need and he tells me that they grow high-quality herbs. I like that they’re also in Oregon.

Trusted references

Getting a a bunch of great new herbs is kind of pointless if you don’t know what to do with them. Make sure you invest in a few good herbal reference books. I like to have at least three because each book tends to have a different focus and not all books cover the same herbs.

If you’re unsure where to start, check out Amazon’s book selection. The reviews are like gold when it comes to buying something you don’t know too much about. My two favorite herbal books are Herbal Medicine by Dian Dincin Buchman and The Handbook of Vintage Remedies by Jessie Hawkins.

Herbal recipes

The two books I mentioned have a few recipes for things like balms and tinctures as well as herbal cleaning supplies. However, there are so many herbal recipes out there, it’s nice to have a book dedicated to making remedies.

I love Herbal Nurturing by Michele Augur because it’s full of different recipes for common ailments. Once you become familiar with herbs and their properties, you can also begin making your own recipes to suit your needs.

Preparation accessories

If you plan on making anything other than infusions and decoctions, you’ll need some additional supplies. Even then, you would need some quart-size canning jars. Other items you’ll want to have on hand are: quality raw honey or brown rice syrup, beeswax or candelilla wax, coconut oil, olive, jojoba or almond oil as a carrier, medicine dropper, jars and a muslin bag for steeping herbs in.

These items are extremely useful to have around once you begin experimenting with different herbal remedies and many can be found at Mountain Rose herbs or a local natural food store.

A supportive caregiver

Finally, seek out a supportive, knowledgeable healthcare provider. There will be many times when you will be able to self-diagnose and create the correct herbal remedy, but sometimes a professional medical diagnosis will be needed to ascertain what remedy you need to make. Having a provider who supports and has a vast knowledge of herbal medicine is a definite plus.

*The links in this post are affiliate links. I do make a small commission on purchases made through them. However, I use all of the items that I link to and highly recommend them.

What resource(s) do you find most valuable for creating herbal remedies? If you’re just getting started, what else would you like to know?

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