Monday, May 07, 2007

New Endeavors--Studying and Using Herbs

I have recently started a new quest to learn all about herbs, how to use them and how to make them into my own products to use with my family and friends.

I started my journey by visiting: The Bulk Herb Store I purchased a couple of books from them as well as well as a number of herb combination packs and the awesome water filter system they have on their site. Their prices are great and the products are also great! There is a wealth of information in the various articles on the site as well.

The books I purchased, Herbal Antibiotics and Practical Herbalism, are wonderful resources! I am trying read through and learn as much as I possibly can (of course, it is in between all my other "normal" responsibilities).

I also found a great source for containers and other supplies useful in the making of herbal concoctions: Mountain Rose Herbs They offer a large selection of organic products as well as supplies for making soap, cosmetics, herbal preparations, etc. They also have some articles and recipes you can try out.

I came across this site recently, LearningHerbs.com They offer a lot of helpful information on their site. They also have a free ecourse "Supermarket Herbalism" which shows you how to use common items you can find at your grocery store to help your family. They have a starter kit you can buy that comes with instructions to get you started with making your own products---I haven't purchased it, but it looks like a great set.



My assortment of nicely packaged herbal concoctions!


So far I have made several batches of "Miracle Rub" in various forms--a salve/rub, an oil rub and a rubbing alcohol based rub. They all actually work very well!



I have also made a batch each of the Women's and Men's "Jungle Juice". It is basically a combination of herbs to support health in men or women. They are made in a glycerin base.

I have made several other tinctures. They are "Immune Booster" and "Restful Sleep". The Immune Booster is to use when you start to have symptoms of a cold, flu, etc or even just allergies. The Restful Sleep tincture is to help with falling and staying asleep and it can also be used in a smaller dose to help children or adults calm down.



I have just finished making a batch of "The Vinegar of Four Thieves". It is to be used as a natural insect repellent on people and animals. We will see how it works this summer!



It is fun to experiment with how to use herbs. It is amazing how many "weeds" that we try to kill in our yards, are actually beneficial plants! I plan to spend part of the summer teaching my kids more about the herbs, how to use them and how to make herbal preparations to help our family and our friends.

God truly has provided all we would need to keep ourselves healthy and to help our bodies heal in the plants and trees that He created!

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