Herbal Home Remedies

Elderberry juice has been used for many years by native Americans and others to help enhance the immune system. Several years ago, my dad and step-mom started making elderberry jelly. Not only did it make breakfast special (elderberry jellies and jams are delicious), the health benefits were great. Elderberry has nine times as much vitamin C, more than twice the calcium, and 7.5 times as much vitamin A as grapes. Dad isn't able to get out and harvest elderberries, anymore, and we really miss the jellies and jams. During the winters that we had elderberry jelly for breakfast several times each week, colds and flu were drastically reduced in our home.** In lieu of Dad's homemade jellies, my family now takes elderberry capsules to get the same benefits.

If you want to give elderberries a try, but don't have a local resource for them, you can purchase concentrate, teas, and capsules contianing elderberries. If you do have them locally, take care in handling, and do not allow children to help you with them. The stems are toxic and there have been reports of poisoning in children who used the easily hollowed stems for pea shooters. Raw berries should not be eaten. They contain hydrocyanic acid and can cause diarrhea. This toxic substance is totally destroyed by the cooking process.

Puritan's Pride, a direct-to-you vitamin manufacturer, has quality Elderberry Products

If you have elderberries available to you, you might try this recipe to make your own jam:

Homemade Elderberry Jam
(Use gloves to protect hands from stains.)

2 qts. elderberries, washed and removed from stems
6 cups white sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar

Crush the berries, or put through a fruit strainer for jelly. In a 5 qt. heavy pan, add the sugar and vinegar. Cooking over low heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Stir often until all the sugar dissolves. Continue stirring frequently to keep jam mixture from sticking to the pan. Boil until the jam mixture begins to thicken. While still hot, pour into three clean pint jars. Be sure you leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch of space at the top. Place the canning lids on the jars and tap lightly to remove the air bubbles that may be present. Screw rings on firmly.

In a large pot, bring three inches of water to a rolling boil. Put the jam jars into the
boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Using canning tongs, remove the jars from the water and let them cool overnight. Some poeple like to turn the jars upside down while they cool to help them seal better. Be sure not to clink the jars together. While they are very hot, they will break easily.

Refrigerate the jam after you open it.

** These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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Research indicates that adding cinnamon to your diet can help control blood glucose levels for diabetics and pre-diabetics. There are many ways to add cinnamon to your diet: sprinkling into tea or on cereal, or eating cinnamon rolls or apple pie (may not be wise due to added sugar)..

Hot Apple Cinnamon Cider is a great way to add cinnamon intake to your diet. For those who don't have time to brew up a tea or hot cider, cinnamon capsules could be your answer. As always, be sure to discuss using herbal supplements with your doctor. Watch blood glucose levels when taking cinnamon. You don't want your sugar to go too low.

Cinnamon Herbal Supplements: Cinnamon is not just for cooking. It has been used as an herbal supplement for thousands of years.

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One of the best allergy relief formulas I have tried is simple to make. Stir 1/2 tsp. cinnamon into 1/2 tsp. raw honey. Take twice a day, morning and evening. I was surprised at how quickly this worked. I tried stirring up 1/2 a cup of each and refrigerating it. The taste did not change, but it was much harder to swallow the cold and hardened mixture.

Raw honey has been recommended for many years for allergy sufferers. The cinnamon added to this recipe helps prevent the honey from affecting blood glucose levels. If you don't want to take a spoonful of the mixture by itself, spread it on toast for a delicious breakfast or evening snack.

Recently, I had a cold sore I could not get rid of. After a bit of research, I created the following recipe, which has worked wonders. The pain went away the first day I used this, and the cold sore is healed.

Homemade Cold Sore Salve

1 tbsp. petroleum jelly
4 garlic soft jell capsules (1200 mg each)
4 droppers full of liquid echinacea

Measure the petroleum jelly into a small bowl. Open the garlic capsules and squeeze garlic oil into the bowl. Add the echinacea. Mix all ingredients, and store in a small airtight container. Use 4 to 6 times a day until the cold sore is gone.

For a dry, hacking cough, try chopping up an entire bulb of fresh garlic. Place it in a small bowl and pour enough local honey over the garlic to completely cover it. Place an airtight lid or plastic wrap over the bowl, and allow it to marinate for at least 8 hours or overnight. I take 1 tablespoon three or four times a day as long as I have the cough--usually less than 24 hours.

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Have you ever had hiccups that you couldn't get rid of? My dad has the perfect, always works (at least for me and my family) hiccup cure.

Take a teaspoon of cider or white vinegar. This should take care of the problem. If not, take one more teaspoon. I have never seen a case of hiccups that did not stop after the second dose of vinegar.

My kids and grandkids prefer the juice off of dill pickles, which works just as well.

There are studies that indicate vinegar helps with heartburn, too, due to the change of the pH balance in your stomach that vinegar causes.

If you are not at home and do not want to purchase pickles, which should be refrigerated after opening, you might try sea salt and vinegar potato chips. My husband loves these, and they seem to help prevent heartburn for him.

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My grown children often call me to tell me of some hurt or other minor damage they manage to inflict upon themselves. It has become a family joke that I ask first if they put a tea bag on it. My son-in-law will call and tell me he hurt himself on a tool and ask what to do about it. Before I can answer, he says, "And don't tell me to put a tea bag on it!" My reply is always, "If you know what I am going to say, why call?"

So where would I get such an outlandish idea, anyway?

When I was growing up, long before tea bags were available for purchase at the grocery store, Lipton brand tea came loose in a box. My grandmother would make small cotton bags with a tablespoon of tea sewn up in them for medicinal use. When we were cut or bruised, she would pour boiling water over it to moisten the bag. As soon as it was cool enough to touch without burning fingers, it was placed directly on the cut or bruise. For minor burns, she first soaked the tea bag in ice water. The bag was tied on and left until it dried. Most of the time, pain went away, and the cut or bruise healed without infection. Now that I am grown and have done some reading, I realize that it is the tannin in the tea that has such great healing properties, but as a child, I thought my grandmother had a magic healing touch.

A few years ago, on a blistering hot summer day, I wore the wrong sandals to campus for classes. They were just large enough that they slipped around on my feet and blistered the tops of all my toes. It hurt to wear them, so I took them off and went barefooted on concrete sidewalks--not a good idea on a day when the mercury hits 107 degrees F in the shade.

By the time I got home that night, both the tops and bottoms of my feet were covered in blisters. I could barely walk well enough to get from the car to the front door. I asked my husband to make a gallon of strong black pekoe tea. He put it in a foot tub with five trays of ice so I could soak my feet. I kept them in the tea for two full hours, then slipped on a pair of clean, thick cotton socks and went to bed. The next morning, my feet no longer had any blisters and did not hurt.

In November 2008, I burned my hand. I usually use a cast iron skillet to bake cornbread, but for some reason that day I used my stainless steel skillet--the one that has cool touch stainless steel handle (at least it stays cook on TOP of the stove). The pot holder slipped in my hand, so I set the pan on the counter to keep from dropping it, then forgetting that stay cool handles are not cool when they come from a 420 degree F oven, I picked it up with my bare hand. All four fingers, my palm and my thumb instantly blistered up. I had some tea made and filled a medium size bowl half full and added ice. After soaking my hand for an hour in the tea, the blisters were almost gone and the pain was completely gone. The next moring, I had one blister about an half an inch long on the palm side of my ring finger. All the others were gone.

A cup of hot Lipton tea with a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of lemon juice is soothing to my sore throat when I am ill. Herbal teas are also good for this. Celestial Seasonings has a wonderful tea called Sunburst C that is made with raspberry leaves, among other ingredients. It also is soothing for a sore throat, and has enough vitamin C that we use it to help get over colds or flu.

Camomille tea is soothing to jangled nerves and is helpful for rashes, too. I use it as a tea and as a wash when I have hives or poison ivy. There are dozens of traditional uses for teas of all kinds. As long as tea gives these kinds of results, I will continue to buy tea both for drinking and for medicinal purposes.

Please Note: I am not a doctor. I am not prescribing or recommending that anyone use these methods medicinally. I am simply relating what my family has used effectively. See your doctor for any health issues you may have. You are responsible for any use you make of these methods.

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Several years ago, an elderly friend had pneumonia. We went by to visit and see if we could do anything to help. His wife offered us a cup of hot Dr. Pepper. It didn't sound very appealing, but to be polite we thanked her and took a cup. It was surprisingly good.

She sliced a lemon into 1/4 inch rings and put them in a medium saucepan. Then she added about a liter of Dr. Pepper, and turned on the heat. After the Dr. Pepper simmered for about 10 mintues, she poured it into large mugs and made sure each mug got at least two slices of lemon.

She told me she uses this everytime her husband gets pneumonia, which is often since he has chronic lung problems. He won't eat when he is sick. The sugar in the Dr. Pepper gives him some needed calories, and the lemon gives him a good dose of vitamin C.

About a year later, I had pneumonia and remembered hot Dr. Pepper. It really worked. I am not sure why or how it helped, but I started feeling better within a few hours. The coughing wasn't as bad, either, and I was able to get some sleep.

Now, when we have bronchitis, flu, colds or pneumonia in the house, we make sure we have Dr. Pepper and fresh lemons available. The warm liquid helps ease a sore throat, too.

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The following list is by no means exhaustive. There are other uses for the listed kitchen herbs, spices, and cabinet staples, as well, but these are the ones most well known.

Cayenne
Fights germs. Helps keep hands and feet warm on cold winter days if you spring a very small amount in shoes or gloves during cold weather. Be careful not to use too much, since it can blister in large amounts. Cayenne will also help stop blood flow on bleeding cuts. Sprinkle on and be ready for the burn. Since it also kills germs, this is a good first aid treatment.

Celery
Good for arthritis. Also good for stabilizing blood pressure. It has lots of fiber which helps with constipation.

Cinnamon
Antimicrobial that kills harmful germs. Good for helping regulate blood sugar. 1/4 tsp a day is enough to help stabilize blood sugar. Add some to your oatmeal for a tasty breakfast.

Citrus Fruit
High in antioxidants. Helpful in overcoming flu and colds. Enhances immune system.

Cranberry
This is not as common in the kitchen. At my house, we keep Craisins--cranberries dried like raisins. Delicious and helps cure urinary tract infections.

Garlic
A natural antibiotic, antiviral, and antiparasitic. Does not work as quickly as prescription drugs, so if you are very ill go to your doctor immediately. Helpful treatment for any lung infections, and helps promote coughing up lung congestion. Good for the digestive system, and helps balance intestinal flora. Reduces cholesterol levels.

Ginger
Great for nausea. Make a tea with powdered ginger, and sip. If you don't like the heat of the herb, you can use ginger ale or nibble on ginger snaps. Good for morning sickness or motion sickness. Also used as a remedy for the common cold in China. In India, it is used in a paste applied to the temples to relieve headaches. It has also been reported to help relieve migraines. For this use take 1/3 of a teaspoon of powder, or take a ginger capsule. Can also be helpful in weight loss efforts. Can cause heartburn, gas, or bloating if taken in powder form.

Oats
Good for constipation. High in fiber. Help to reduce cholesterol. Feeds the nervous system and is good for depression. Oats take a while to work, but can be a very helpful in treating nervous exhaustion.

Olive Oil
Prevents DNA damage. Provides mono-unsaturated fat for your diet. Research indicates that oilive oil likely prevents cancer.

Parsley
A great remedy for bad breath--also is good for urinary tract and works as a diuretic.

Peppermint
Good for digestion. Also good to take as a capsule for irritable bowel syndrome. Helpful for cleaning sinuses and lungs of congestion.

Rosemary
Helps boost memory and energy, and is helpful for people with low bloood pressue. Use a a tea externally for muscle stiffness. Also good for nervous tension, indigestion, flatulence and diarrhea.

Sage
Make tea from tsp. sage and one cup of boiling water. Can gargle for soar throat, or add honey and sip for soothing effect. IT is also good for mouth ulcers and gum desiease. DO NOT use if you are pregnant or lactating. Sage will dry up a mother's milk.

Thyme
Good treatment for lung infections and also for urinary tract infections. As a gargle, it is good as a treatment for laryngitis, tosillitis and soar throats. Can also be used as a wash for minor cuts, sores and infections. Do not use the essential oil of Thyme undiluted and do not take it internally. Essential oils are often quite poisonous when taken internally.

Again, this list is not exhaustive. There are many other herbs, spices, and kitchen staples that have medicinal uses. The herbs listed here are traditionally used in homeopathic and herbalist medicine. Before using any herbal remedy, talk with your doctor. While uncommon, there are sometimes interactions with some prescription medicines that can be very harmful.

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