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The |Home Herbal Preparations: Infusions Episode
Listen Introduction to Home Herbal Preparations The world of herbs and their healing qualities is a most fascinating one, herbs being primarily any soft stemmed plants that humans use for medicinal, culinary and other purposes, but may include especially medically woody stemmed plants too e.g. the Bay tree. By far the most common way we prepare and consume herbs is to add small prescribed quantities so indicated in recipes in the preparation of our daily meals. For more on culinary herbs see a previous article series Popular Culinary Herbs and their health effects. But there are quite a few of other ways one can prepare herbs to be used medicinally for specific treatments. These preparation methods are mostly the result of over 60,000 years of empirical experimentation and observation by our ancestors in the quest to heal the sick and sustain health. It is also to be noted that the same plant can be prepared in diverse ways that accentuate different healing properties, and this can account for single plants being used to treat dissimilar ailments. Some preparations promote certain chemical compounds over others present in the plant by either; destroying those other compounds, or preventing their uptake in or on the human body, because of the preparation process and method of use. This is also why it is important to use the correct preparation indicated for a specific ailment. Always remember that traditional plant knowledge has been learnt the hard way and as I said before, over a very long time, so one must pay careful attention to the specifics of any herbal treatment. It also pays to collate any herbal treatment you intend on using from as many independent sources as you can through intensive research. Whilst there are many places one can now buy or order fresh and dried herbs with more springing up everyday. Truly the only way to guarantee herbal quality, and indeed certainty that they actually are from the correct plant if you are new to herbs, is to grow them yourself organically. Sure not everyone has access to land in order to do this, as is the case with myself at this point in time, but at the very least you can grow herbs in pots on a balcony, that’s me, or some such similar place that you have access to. The next best thing is to know, or befriend someone near you, who does have the land or perhaps already grows herbs organically for this very reason. Also if the herb you want to use does or is not, grown in your country then it’s time to look more closely at your local indigenous plants. The odds are you will find a more than acceptable substitute that is upheld by local traditional healers for the particular use you need it for. This though of course requires a far more in-depth and hands on approach to your research but I guarantee you will be rewarded for doing so. "Most medical herbs grow in the wild, all around you. It might therefore, be a good idea to organise Nature walks to get acquainted with them and get to know and identify them, so that when you need them, you know exactly where to find them" -Dr Joshi at FarawaySister Next would be local professional organic herb reseller companies that have a proven record in quality and availability, with several medical referees on hand to vouch and be questioned for the efficacy of their products. Then I would go for the top globally available herb companies such as the organic herb company Hambledon Herbs in the U.K. Again, I can’t stress enough especially when ordering herbs from outside your country, is to do the collative research on whichever company you decide to order from. You also may have noticed that I only mentioned growing or buying organically grown herbs, which are free of inorganic pesticides and fertilisers. This is mainly because to use these herbs medically, you really want them to be at their natural optimum and free or any harmful substances however small, as they are going to be used in an already stressed environment caused by the ailment you want to treat. So the last thing you want is an unknown chemical compound disturbing the other known chemical compounds and their reactions to the given process and then the patient. This is also why you need to be able to trust the source of the herbs, be it from your own garden or from elsewhere. (Want to know more about Organic Gardening?) There is an old herbalist adage in regards to general herb storage “light when living and dark when dead” and this holds true to the storage of most herbs and their resultant preparations. A rough guide in picking fresh herbs for immediate use or for drying for storage is to pick only the best looking leaves, or if they are flowers when the flower is at its best looking normally just after opening. If its roots you are after then when the whole plant seems to look at its optimum in health. It also implies sealing dry herbs or preparations and in this way through not being exposed to sunlight nor air both will last or retain their properties for much longer. This is primarily from the reduction in the speed of the oxidation process which ultimately claims all dry herbs and most preparations eventually. The average herb leaf lasts just over a year in ideal storage conditions, barks and roots will keep for just over two years also under similar ideal conditions. It is essential for dry herbs that the remain free from excessive moisture as this also accelerates the oxidation process and can lead to moulds and other moisture loving spore that may be present in the air or on the plant. In hot humid countries this may necessitate keeping oft used dry herbs in porous brown paper bags to avoid this and it must be noted that this will just about halve the storage life of those herbs to around six months at the most. Infusions Second only to current culinary use worldwide, the first herbal preparation is called an Infusion, more commonly known as herbal teas. This preparation is like making normal tea from Camellia sinensis or traditional black tea known the world round, but with a few important additions to the process. Generally, and this can vary from herb to herb and ailment severity etc. one infusion treatment is 1 teaspoon of a dry herb or two of a fresh herb in an average cup which should hold around 236 millilitres/8 fluid ounces. Bring hot water to the boil remove from heat and pour over the herb in the cup and cover so that the steam can’t escape and drips back into the cup. Leave covered for 10 -15 minutes so that the herb can steep in the hot water and release its chemical compounds into the water. If you are using a pan again remove from heat and add the herb to the pan and steep, making sure to cover it tightly. For powdered herbs stir the infusion once during the steep and for fresh twice. After the 15 min’s if you have used a dry or powder herb sip carefully making sure to leave the sediment at the bottom of the cup in the pan when poring. With fresh herbs if they are large pieces you may leave them floating in the cup but don’t eat them, if they are smaller then strain the liquid through an appropriate strainer. "Herbal teas are usually made from aromatic plants and herbs. So if your tea has retained the aroma when you drink it, you can rest assured that you have prepared and preserved it in the right manner." -Dr Joshi at FarawaySister The main reason for covering the infusion is to prevent the escape of volatile oils which mostly have very low boiling points and are often the prime ingredient you require from the herb. It also seems very important not to use any metals in any of these preparations apart from stainless steel or ceramic coated pans. This is a routine recommendation from nearly all the herbalists I have researched, but for the life of me I can’t find out why exactly, if you know why this is the case drop a comment, I'd really like to know why exactly. I have my suspicions and some anecdotal evidence but nothing concrete as to why this might be. Infusions are more effective when prepared as needed or if you make the standard daily dose of three doses a day at one time then keep the result in a cool dark place or in a fridge, but for no longer than a day. Though for quite a few herbs heavy in volatile (essential) oils it is best to drink them as quickly as possible after the steep and not to make more than one dose at a time or risk losing most of their beneficial properties to oxidation and the surrounding environment. Also try to tap the cover a few times before removing it and then drip the condensate on its surface back into the cup when taking it off to drink, and put it back if you are going to take your time drinking the whole cup. For the most part Infusions are used for herbs which contain; structurally delicate, easily oxidised or very volatile chemical compounds. Or the plants in question do not lend themselves easily to other preparation processes without damaging or inhibiting their prime ingredients. There again it might be for just that purpose of prime ingredient inhibition to accentuate others in a specific treatment. This is where knowing the correct herb for a treatment must be combined with the correct preparation and dosage in order to gain the required medical effect. Make no mistakes here by backing your actions with as much collated knowledge and professional opinion as you can and never underestimate the power of any herb. Herbs are medical drug powerhouses as identified by the empirical understanding of our ancestors. Their knowledge is today more often than not is being rapidly being confirmed by modern pharmacological research and experimentation. So it is advisable to tread lightly and only use herbs and their particular preparations when you are very sure of the effects, through professional advisement and personal research. The world of herbs and their uses and preparations is a most fascinating and life affirming field and one that may change you life or even save it. If you have easy access to first hand traditional herbal knowledge e.g. your grandmother, that has been handed down across the centuries I urge you to learn this knowledge and combine it with modern science. If not then you are like me and I research as much as possible what for me is a very important and interesting field. On my continent Africa, we have the good fortune to still be using as much as 80% herbal remedies that are bound to the indigenous plants of the area in which they are used. But with the steady increase in westernisation this percentage is dropping in favour of global industry touted pharmaceutical treatments. I don’t in any way think modern western medicine and the related pharmaceuticals are a bad thing, but what worries me is that we might lose that hard earned carefully handed down plant knowledge. Which as I said before more often or not proves to be correct when properly examined and tested. If we loose this information and then the plants themselves, through extinction via human settlement expansion, pollution and global climate change. We may have just loose forever many very important medical treatments and potential cures. Because as fast as pharmacology and other related fields are progressing through grassroots research and laboratory experimentation, is it fast enough?This article was written By Ivor W. Hartmann at The IWH Inquirer.In this Series . Infusions . Decoctions . Tinctures . Essential Oil Extractions . Macerations .
[ Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:44:58 PDT ]
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