Intestinal Issues
Medicinal Teas with Dandelion Root
Here are three recipes for medicinal teas using Dandelion Root:
Infuse 1 OZ. of Dandelion in a pint of boiling water for 10 minutes; decant, sweeten with honey, and drink several glasses in the course of the day. The use of this tea is efficacious in bilious affections, and is also much approved of in the treatment of dropsy.
Take 2 OZ. of freshly-sliced Dandelion root, and boil in 2 pints of water until it comes to 1 pint; then add 1 OZ. of compound tincture of Horseradish. Dose, from 2 to 4 OZ. Use in a sluggish state of the liver.
Mix together 1 OZ. Dandelion root, 1 OZ. Black Horehound herb, 1/2 OZ. Sweet Flag root, 1/4 OZ. Mountain Flax. Simmer the whole in 3 pints of water down to 1 1/2 pint, strain and take a wineglassful after meals for biliousness and dizziness.
Peppermint Tincture for Digestion
- 1/2 cup dried peppermint leaves
- 1/4 cup-1/2 cup very finely diced fresh ginger root
- 1/4 cup dried fennel seeds
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups vodka
Put peppermint, ginger and fennel in glass jar and pour over the boiling water until they are just covered. Fill the rest of the jar with vodka and close with air tight lid. Keep in a cool dark place for at least 2-6 weeks, shaking daily. Strain through mesh strainer or cheesecloth and store in dark place in small jars.
For adults up to 1 tsp can be taken straight or in water as needed. For heartburn indigestion or nausea, one dose is usually sufficient, though sometimes a second dose is needed.
In pregnancy, 1/2 tsp in the morning often helps with morning sickness, with additional doses if needed throughout the day.
For children, 10-20 drops is usually enough, or it can be used externally.
Digestive Tea
This simple tea is probably one of the best for upset tummies and indigestion.
- 1 part chamomile flower
- 1 part dill leaf and seed
- 1 part peppermint leaf
Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1-2 tsp of mixture of all these herbs. Let it steep 5-10 min. Drink ½ cup of the warm tea before and after meals.
Chamomile for Digestive Problems
“Chamomile tea, perhaps the best-known herbal tisane, is widely employed as a digestive remedy throughout Europe, and its therapeutic use is well documented,” says David Hoffman, author of Medical Herbalism. The herb relaxes spasms of the smooth muscles and counters inflammation in the gut lining; it also has antiseptic and vasodilatory effects. When making the tea, use 1 to 2 teaspoons of herb per cup of boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes. Allergic reactions are possible, especially if you’re sensitive to ragweed.
~Michael Castleman, Natural Health
Diarrhea Cure
An injection for diarrhea may be made as follows:
- 1 drachm powdered Slippery Elm bark
- 3 drachms powdered Bayberry
- 1 drachm powdered Scullcap.
Pour on 1/2 pint of boiling water, infuse for half an hour, strain, add a teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh and use lukewarm. (By injection, I assume she means an inema.)
Source: A Modern Herbal
For information on individual herbs visit: The Encyclopedia of Herbology
Measurement conversions can be found here: Table of Weights and Measures
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