Childbearing Year

Nourishing herbal infusions

 

From the Wise Woman perspective, the perfect way to maintain bone health, bone flexibility, and resistance to fracture is to use mineral-rich herbs and foods. Because minerals are bulky, and do not compact, we must consume generous amounts to make a difference in our health. Just as eating a teaspoon a carrots is laughable, so is taking mineral-rich herbs in capsule or tincture form. Because minerals are rock-like, we need to break open cell walls to get at them. Raw, fresh foods do not deliver minerals to our bodies. To extract minerals, we need heat, time, and generous quantities of plant material. I prefer to extract minerals into water or vinegar.

To make a nourishing herbal infusion, I pour one quart/liter boiling water over one ounce/30 grams of dried herb in a canning jar, covering it tightly, and letting it brew overnight. In the morning, I strain out the mineral-rich liquid and drink it -- over ice or heated, with honey or milk, mixed with black tea, seasoned with mint, spiked with rum, however you want it. You can drink the entire quart in one day, but do finish it within two.

My favorite nourishing herbal infusions are made from oatstraw (Avena sativa) or nettle (Urtica dioica) or red clover (Trifolium pratense) or comfrey leaves (Symphytum uplandica x). I sometimes add a little bit of aromatic herb such as peppermint (Mentha pipperata), lemon balm (Melissa off.), or bergamot (Monarda didyma) to change the flavor.

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Making a Syrup

Making a Syrup

Add sugar or honey to any type of decoction, and you have a syrup. The extra sweetness makes some herbs more palatable, soothes the throat, and can improve keeping qualities.
How much sugar or honey should you add? The exact amount is determined by weight. A standard for syrups is an equal amount, by weight, of sugar and decoction.
One cup (8 fluid ounces) of water or decoction, weighs half a pound (8 ounces). So one cup of decoction requires half a pound of sugar.
Honey is about twice as sweet as sugar. Use a quarter of a pound (4 ounces) of honey to every cup of decoction. One level tablespoon of honey weighs about one ounce.

* Add the sweetener to the hot liquid
* Increase the fire until the brew just comes to a boil.
* Pour the boiling hot syrup into a bottle and cap it. Sterilized bottles reduce the risk of producing unexpected herbal fermentations, but the boiling liquid kills many yeasts in the bottle.

Optional: Add one tablespoon of brandy, vodka, etc. to further stabilize the syrup.

Store the syrup in the refrigerator once it cools. Syrups keep for 3-6 months.
Depending on the herbs in your original infusion, you can make a cough syrup (Comfrey root and Wild Cherry bark), an iron tonic (Yellow Dock and Dandelion roots), a soothing syrup (Valerian root), or any other medicinal syrup.
Dosage: Generally, one teaspoon of syrup is a dose for a 125-150 pound person. The dose is repeated as needed, up to 8 times daily. Use a half teaspoonful for 60-75 pound children and a quarter teaspoonful for 30 pounds or smaller.

excerpt from:
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year

 

Nourishing herbal infusions

My favorite herbs for making nourishing infusions are:

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) for lots of energy.
Red clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense) to forstall cancer.
Oatstraw (Avena sativa) to be very, very sexy.
Comfrey leaves (Smyphytum uplandica x) to help the memory.
Linden blossoms (Tillia species) to counter inflammation.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) to lose weight.
Hawthorn blossoms (Crataegus oxycantha) for older hearts.
Raspberry leaves (Rubus species) for uterine health.

To brew a nourishing herbal infusion
Place one ounce (30 grams) of dried herb by weight in a quart (liter) jar.
Fill jar to the top with boiling water.
Cap tightly and steep for at least four hours; overnight is fine.
After brewing, strain the liquid from the herbs.
Squeeze the herbs to get all the goodness out.
Refrigerate the liquid, which needs to be consumed with a day or two.
Drink your nourishing herbal infusion over ice or heated up, with honey or not.
I drink 2-4 cups of infusion a day.

You can mix nourishing herbal infusions with fruit juice or soda water; you can add whiskey or miso, honey or ginger to them, or flavor them in any way that appeals to you.

More info:
http://nourishingherbalinfusions.com/

Edema

Edema

 

A caller on blogtalkradio, asks about herbal remedies for edema in her legs since puberty. She has tried diet changes etc.
This audio is just over 8:00 minutes long.

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Join Susun Weed on blogtalkradio, Tuesday nights 7:30-9:30 pm EST. Call or Skype in: 1-646-929-2463, with your questions or email ahead of time to [email protected]. 

Visit the link for more info:
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Buckwheat while TTC

Hi,
I have been reading Susan's book "The Childbearing Year" in preparation for trying to conceive in March. It is mentioned that one should avoid rutin tablets as it is an implantation preventer. Can I still enjoy buckwheat/Kasha several times a week while trying to conceive without jeopardizing implantation and conception? I know buckwheat is rich in rutin but assume it is far less than consuming rutin supplements.?

I believe buckwheat to be nutritious and nourishing and I'm hoping it will aid my fertility not harm it, plus it delicious! I'm hoping someone here can help answer this. :)

Thanks,
Aimee

 

Hello Aimee,

I hope this email finds you well. Supplements are made in a way that the active ingredient is used and therefore they are drugs. It is hard to moderate how your body deals with supplements. Food however, buckwheat included is made up of many different constituents that work together synergistically to give you what you need.
Here is an audio of Susun talking about calcium in this context. I think it will make sense to you. http://wisewomanmentor.com/q&a/1544459

Check out this article as well on soaking grains to make nutrients more available and grains more digestible
http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/03/how-to-soak-grains-for-optimal-nutrition/

Thank you for writing in and please let me know if you have any more questions.

blessings,
Kim
Wise Woman Team

www.wisewomanweb.com
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Join Susun Weed on blogtalkradio, Tuesday nights 7:30-9:30 pm EST. Call in with your questions or email ahead of time to [email protected]. 

Visit the link for more info:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/susunweed

 

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If you're ready to go deeper with your herbal studies, join Susun on her Mentorship website. Get new content weekly such as the expanded herbal ezine, replays of teleseminars, videos, audio of Susuns past lectures, many articles by Susun, and even personal one on one mentorship from Susun.
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Spotting between periods

Spotting between periods

A caller on blogtalkradio says she has been reading Susun books, Down There and Childbearing year, and she would like to know if there are any herbs to help with spotting. Susun asks her some questions, about timing, and diet. She lists various reasons for spotting and gives some suggestions.
This audio is over 4:00 minutes long.

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Join Susun Weed on blogtalkradio, Tuesday nights 7:30-9:30 pm EST. Call in with your questions or email ahead of time to [email protected]. 

Visit the link for more info:
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External Uses of Infusions

External Uses of Infusions

A soak consists of an infusion that has been rewarmed after the plant material has been strained out. The affected body part is then soaked in the warm infusion.

If you soak your feet in an herbal infusion, it's a foot bath, an excellent way to soothe and heal the entire body, and absorb herbal benefits.
A sitz bath is a big soak! Two or more quarts of infusion are usually needed to fill a shallow bowl or pan big enough for you to "sitz" in.
A bath is an enormous soak, like steeping your body in an infusion. You can prepare an herbal bath by putting the herbs directly in the tub, but my plumber made it clear to me that herbs and drains are incompatible. Some herbals say to put the herbs in a cloth and allow the bath water to run over them but I find the resulting bath too weak. If you want a strong herbal bath, try it this way: Infuse two quarts of your favorite bath herb, strain, and add the liquid to your hot bath. Ahhhhh!
Enemas, douches, and eyewashes are herbal infusions carefully strained and inserted into the proper body cavity.
Plant material strained out as an infusion still contains healing qualities and can be used to poultice. Simply place the damp plant material, warmed if desired, or fresh plant material grated, chewed, or crushed, directly on the body. Poultices are preferred for first aid and infections.
Make a compress by putting macerated fresh or infused dried plant material into a cloth. Compressing is recommended when using hairy herbs like Comfrey leaf which irritate sensitive skin. They are less messy than poultices, and are often the choice when dealing with internal organs and growths.
For a fomentation, take a clean washcloth or a small cotton towel, soak it in a heated infusion, wring it out, and apply. Fomentations treat breast congestion, sprains, muscle aches, and the like.
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Raspberry Leaf - Uterine Tonic

Raspberry Leaf - Uterine Tonic

Brewed as a tea or as an infusion, raspberry leaf is the best known and safest of all uterine and pregnancy tonic herbs.

Initiating labor

Initiating labor
(Excerpt from Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year pages 60 - 61)


The herbs used to initiate labor are listed here in order of increasing strength. With the exception of Castor oil (and there is some disagreement on that), these herbs will not
be effective unless the cervix is ripe. CAUTION: Do not try to initiate labor unless the fetus is at least 37 weeks gestational age.

* Get the uterus to begin contracting by "imagining" that it is. Don't try to force or push the feeling, just let it arise by itself. If your mind worries or focuses on the problem,
gently return yourself to the solution by affirming that labor has begun and that you will feel it very soon. As with all visualizations, this one works well with any of the other
remedies.

* Homeopathic Caulophyllum 200x, is reported as a good labor initiator. The dose can be repeated every half-hour for two hours.

* Labor can be initiated by stimulating the uterus. Rub the belly softly and persistently, with or without oil. Make an infusion of Blue Cohosh and use it as an enema. Have an
orgasm. Rub and gently pinch the nipples. All are safe and effective ways to encourage uterine contractions.

* Castor oil, a favorite herbal remedy of Edgar Cayce, is used internally and externally to stimulate the uterus, soften the cervix, and help initiate labor.

Rub Castor oil on the belly and cover with a warm towel if the cervix is ripe and labor seems near. Or use Castor oil as a stimulating purgative. The dosage and procedure for starting labor with Castor oil varies considerably from midwife to midwife, but
everyone uses some form of this treatment. Two ounces of Castor oil, two ounces of vodka, and two or more ounces of orange juice is the usual dose.
This is often followed with a hot shower. After an hour, the dose is repeated and an enema is given. The dose is repeated a third time one hour later and
another hot shower enjoyed. labor will begin 3-5 hours after the last dose if all is well.

* Blue Cohosh tincture, 3-8 drops in a glass of warm water or tea, is very effective in starting labor. Repeat every half-hour for several hours until contractions are
regular. If labor is not underway in four hours, use a dropperful of the tincture under the tongue every hour for up to four more hours or until contractions are strong
and consistent.

* Homemade or commercial herbal labor tinctures, based on Blue Cohosh and supporting herbs, are commonly used as a safe and reliable way to initiate labor.
Follow the directions on the tincture bottle or take 10 drops every hour until contractions begin. One midwife uses labor tincture hourly and homeopathic Caulophyllum 200x every half-hour. She says this establishes a smooth labor within five hours. Contractions build slowly when a labor tincture is used; do not discontinue until they become regular.

See Appendix II -labor Tincture.