more on boneset and elderberry

decided to read up a bit on these two and this is what i found out... 

boneset is an excellent remedy for colds and congestion. boneset treats colds by raising body temperature to kill the colds virus, but it also treats fevers by inducing perspiration to lower body temperature. The polysaccharides in boneset activate T-cells to fight bacterial infections.

and...

native americans used the flowers, berries, and bark of elderberry trees to treat fevers and joint pain for hundreds of years, but elderberry's real claim to fame is as a cure for the flu. elder berries are known to be effective against eight strains of influenza. This suggests that elder be superior to vaccines in preventing flu, because flu vaccines are only effective against known strains of flu, whereas the virus is continually mutating to new strains. vaccines have another draw back: over half of people who get them report side effects.

flu prevention

i am going today to get boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) and elder flower (Sambucus nigra). i guess the big scare right now is this H1N1 flu coming on - and i watched this video with paul bergner on natural flu prevention... studies show that it is more effective than influenza immunization - not to mention - no negative side effects and poison getting injected into you. he also mentions vitamin d. best prevention - 20 minutes in the sun between 10 and 2. also these supplements:

daily:
Vitamin D - 4000-10000 IU
Zinc - 25 mg
Vitamin C - 500-1000 mg
Vitamin E - 100-200 IU
Selenium - 200 mcg
Cod Liver Oil - 1 teaspoon

plus the boneset tincture and elder flower syrup
10-12 drops a day - 4 times a day

folk method gal

well... the forum said that sometimes the ratios and charts in books are not exact if the herb is fluffy or compact or....

i thought i wanted to know this way of doing tinctures - but after alot of frustration... i pronounce that i am officially a folk method gal.

tincture experiment

this is my first tincture... solomon's seal root (Polygonatum biflorum) in 190 proof organic grain alcohol. solomon's seal is good for joint injuries... it has the ability to restore lubrication. i have many neck/back aches. so i decided to try this as my first tincture. i used dried solomon's seal root... and then agonized looking over my notes to try to figure out how much herb ? how much alcohol ? do i add water ? reading over these math equations that just made my head buzz. actually... my nephew sammy is coming by today to give me a basic math course. i will show him the formulas and see if he can make sense of them. i posted my questions on a forum i follow... and got more math equations and then - someone said 'use the folk method'. 50% herb - 50% alcohol. that was 2 weeks ago - solomon's seal tincture has been sitting there for two weeks.... four more weeks to go... and then i have my medicine. i already use mullein (Verbascum thapsus) tincture (bought it) and a st. johns wort (Hypericum perforatum) and tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) oil rub when pain flares up. this is the original medicine. modern medicine has been around for say... 100 years ? for thousand of years before that we relied on and believed in plant medicine. i'm going back to the roots...

bottles and jars

saving jars... for infusions, oils, creams, herbs...

infusions

every night i make an infusion of either nettles (Urtica dioica) or oatstraw (Avena sativa). infusions draw out the minerals and vitamins from the herbs. since they are a whole source, our bodies assimilate them easier. much better than taking a vitamin/mineral supplement in pill form. i just put fresh/dried herbs into a glass jar and pour hot water over them. they should sit at least four hours - roots and bark eight - i let mine sit overnight. nettles is rich in calcium, potassium, protein, b carotene, chlorophyll, trace minerals, iron, vitamins a, c, d and k.

in the picture is a nettles infusion... and fresh lemon verbena (Aloysia Triphylla) infusion.

it goes way back

i was looking thru some old pictures yesterday and i found this one... i took it in june 1975. i had all these plants in my bedroom that i would take outside once a week to water them and give them a day of fresh air...