All Things Herbal

                                              Series of Herbal Handbooks

                       Update

Sage: The Herb of Immortality has been released and is now available in the bookshop. Marshmallow: The Soothing Herb, is at the proof reading stage and going slowly!   On target for the next one to start writing in a month called, Rosemary: The Aromatic Herb. You can see the wonderful photos of the books by Vanessa Cook from Cookoo Photography & Design by going to this link. The illustrations on this site and in the handbooks are also by Vanessa. If you would like to leave a comment go to this link.

Natural Skin Care

If you don’t like spending a lot of time making your own products for your skin care routine (which I don’t because there never seems to be the time for it) then you may like to try some of following recipes which are really easy and are the ones I like to use.

Cleanser

There are two options for a cleanser. You can use Witch Hazel which you can purchase off the supermarket shelf or try the following recipe:

30 mls of sweet almond oil

15 drops of cold pressed lemon 100% essential oil

Clean face with facial pad wiping off any excess oil.

Flower Water Homemade Toner

Witch Hazel can also be used as a toner or try the following recipe:

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh herbs or 1 teaspoon (5ml) dried herbs (see below)

3 fl oz (75ml) boiling water

1 drop of essential oil [100% essential oil]

This recipe also makes a nice spritzer on a hot day because it has been kept in the fridge. It has a lovely cooling effect – just apply it throughout the day with either a cotton ball or a makeup removal pad.

Method

1. Make an herbal infusion by placing the herbs into a bowl and pouring the boiling water over them.
2. Allow the infusion to cool, before straining.
3. Add the essential oil and transfer into a sterile bottle.
4. Store in the refrigerator and use within a month.
5. Dampen a cotton ball with the flower water, and gently smooth over the face, giving extra attention to the nose and cheeks area. 1

I have been using the dried marshmallow herb (Althaea officinalis) for this one because of the mucilage content and because it is soothing to the skin. I keep the marshmallow leaf, certified organic, for tea and for this recipe. Lavender is a nice oil to add to this recipe.

Moisturiser

Purchase natural unscented moisturiser and to each 30 mls add the following essential oils:

15 drops of Chamomile

15 drops of Lavender

 Apply in the morning.

Night Oil

30 mls of Sweet Almond oil

15 drops of Egyptian Geranium

5 drops of Lemon Cold Press oil

5 drops of Chamomile

5 drops of Lavender

Use 100% essential oil for this recipe because fragrance oils don’t have the same therapeutic effects. Apply at night before retiring.

Reference 1.  SavvyHomemade.com. Step2 Homemade Toner. Accessed online 30^th December, 2011 at 6.06 am. http://www.savvyhomemade.com/homemade-toner.html

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                              Essential Oils for Christmas

The last  blog for 2011 has to be about using essential for creating a great atmosphere for Xmas! Sprinkle some cinnamon and orange in your pot pourri , some frankincense on some pine cones under the Christmas tree, and don’t forget a drop of two on your candles.

    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Festival of Independent Writers & Publishers

Motivational Day at the Gold Cost

Thinking about self publishing? This is the festival (IndieAuthorsFestival.com) to check out for information, motivation and the inspiration to take up the challenge! There were many interesting writers who have written really appealing books who told their stories about their successes and the trials and tribulations of self publishing. It was fascinating listening to the experts in printing and publishing and hearing about their opinions about the future of traditional publishing.

All writers who attended were able to display their books and the first two of my series released, Lemon Balm: The Neglected Herb and Lavender: The First Aromatherapy Herb ,were included in the display. I also sold a couple of the books on the day!

The festival also allowed me to acknowledge the illustator for my books Vanessa Johnson from Cookoo Design & Photography because I was able to sponsor her for a session.

I found it helped to find that I wasn’t alone on my journey and it gave me the motivation to continue publishing my herbal handbooks. I hope this becomes an annual event!

Aromas and the Sense of Smell

Aromas

•  Nerve cells in the nasal cavity detect aromas and pass the information through the olfactory bulb and into the brain. The olfactory nerve cells are the only sensory pathways that open directly into the brain.  The olfactory stimuli regulate our mental and physical wellbeing. As you inhale an aroma odour molecules enter your nostrils and drift up towards your olfactory receptors. Once in the receptors identify an odour, nerve cells relay this information directly to the limbic system. 
• Aromas then link the limbic area of the brain to the areas that affect many of our human functions where the nervous and endocrine systems regulate and control bodily processes such as hormones, digestion and breathing. 
• The direct link between the sense of smell and certain areas of the brain helps to explain why aromas experienced have a powerful effect on the mind and emotions and in bringing forth memories.

Inhalation

•  When you inhale essential oils they enter your respiratory system as well as your brain. 
• In your lungs molecules of essential oils attach themselves to oxygen molecules and are carried in your bloodstream and circulated to every cell in your body. 
• Essential oils can activate the body’s ability to heal itself and improve health.
• Direct inhalation or diffusion will enhance emotional wellness, relax or rejuvenate and pleasurable scents unlock odour memories, trigger our emotions and release stress.

The human olfactory system

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Why the Body’s Tissue Salts are Important …

Tissue salts are the material basis of the organs and tissues of the body and are essential to their integrity and of structure and functional activity.

Experiments prove that the various tissue cell salts will rapidly disintegrate in the absence of a proper proportion of these in the circulatory fluid. Maintenance of this proportion insures healthy growth and perpetual renew.

 Factors that contribute to dangerously low levels of minerals in the human body are: 

• Transferred deficiency and years of depletion of tissues salts can be caused by deficiencies of the mother carried over to the new born child then causing a backlog. Minerals in the soil have been reduced by chemical treatment. Storage and preparation of food add to the destruction of the valuable minerals.
• Consuming highly refined foods which lack mineral content does not nourish the body. The refining process bleaches the minerals out of foodstuff.
• High levels of stress are putting the human bodily system under constant pressure tension. This results in constant depletion because the body is placed on alert mode, resulting in an ever decreasing deficiency.
• Pollution has destructive effects on the biological systems. Air, water and electro pollution have detrimental influences on the central nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune system. 1

COMMENTS

Supplementation of tissue salts can be considered essential and 12 Schuessler Tissue salt remedies are available through Health Food stores. I have found them really helpful for a back problem that I had developed and chose to use Calc Phos which is for bone health. In the next blog I will summarise Dr Schuessler’s Biochemic System of Medicine.

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Reference

1. Health and Harmony Colleges. Biochemical Tissue Salts Course. 2010.

                                                        Why it is Important to Drink Water … 

Drinking water has always been a problem for me. I would rather drink tea, coffee or flavoured water. But nothing survives without water, and virtually nothing takes place in the body without water playing a vital role.  Almost all of the body’s cells need and depend on water. This information has helped me to increase my water intake so it may be helpful to others as well.  

 Digestion

 Water in the digestive secretions softens, dilutes and liquefies food. It also helps move food along the gastrointestinal tract. Water is a vital part of the digestion process, it dissolves nutritive material in the process of digestion so that the nutrients can be absorbed by the blood and carried to the cells and tissues of the body where they are needed.

 Absorption

 Differences in the fluid concentration on either side of the intestinal wall enhance the absorption.

  Circulation

 When water is drunk, some of it is absorbed through the intestines into the bloodstream increasing its volume. This increases the circulation by making the blood more fluid. When blood volume is increased, more water comes into contact with the body’s waste material in every part of the body. This results in more waste being removed; this is illustrated by the increase in urinary output and perspiration.

 Excretion

Water is also excreted as urine by the kidneys along with waste materials carried from the cells. The amount of urine reflects to some extent, the amount of fluid intake of the individual, although no matter how much one consumes, the kidneys will always excrete a certain amount each day to eliminate waste products generated by the body’s metabolic actions. About 4-6 cups a day are excreted as urine.

 Transporting Nutrients

 The most important functions of water are, to help the body use essential nutrients and to move nutrients and oxygen from the blood to the cells and to get waste material from the cells back to the blood so that they can be removed from the body.

 Maintaining Temperature

 Other functions for water within the body are to regulate body temperature, to give cell shape and form, to protect certain body organs, lubricate joints and other areas and to maintain performance.

 Building Tissue

 Water also cleanses the blood from its toxic waste which leaves the blood cleaner to build tissues. In this way water both helps with repair and elimination.

 Some key points about water …  

• It is important not to ignore feelings of thirst. The sensation of thirst is one of the mechanisms that operate to keep body – water content within narrow limits. You feel thirsty when the blood starts to become concentrated.
• The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements.
• We also make about a third of a litre of water per day when glucose is burnt for energy.
• Therefore our minimum intake from food and drink needs to be more than 1 litre per day.
• Vegetables & fruit consist of around 90% water and about 1kg of these foods can provide a litre of water. This leaves 1 litre a day to be taken as water or diluted juices, herb or fruit teas.
• Alcohol, tea and coffee cause the body to lose water so are not recommended as sources of fluid intake. They also rob the body of valuable minerals.
• The average adult’s body weight is generally 50% – 60% water; however there are variations to this generalization.
• Human blood is about 92% water while the muscle and the brain about 75% and bone 22%.

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                                   Herbal First Aid Kit

 I have used several of the following herbal remedies for myself and my family when the need has arisen such as crystallized ginger for morning sickness, eucalyptus oil for colds and flu, rescue remedy for emotional shock, tea tree oil and aloe vera straight from the garden for sunburn and found them very helpful.

Aloe vera

•  Aloe vera can be used for minor burns and sunburn. It will also heal the wound and broken tissue. The substance can be scraped out of the leaf of Aloe vera and applied to the wound. It will also ease the pain of the sunburn.

 Arnica

•  Arnica can be used on a bruise if the skin is not broken and can be bought and used in a cream or oil form. Caution: In high doses can be toxic so may not be suitable for use on children. 

Calendula Cream

•  Calendula possesses antiseptic and anti fungal properties meaning that it helps to heal wounds. It is a cream that can be produced in your home or alternately you can purchase it.

 Clove Oil

•  Clove oil has powerful antiseptic properties and can be used for the treatment of cuts and toothaches.

 Crystallized Ginger

•  This is particularly useful for motion sickness and morning sickness.

Eucalyptus Oil

•  Eucalyptus provides relief from colds, coughs and respiratory infections.

 Rescue Remedy

•  This remedy is useful for children. It is made up of five Bach flower remedies. Give this remedy to people suffering from shock and emotional upset.

 St John’s Wort Infused Oil

•  This will help heal minor burns and sunburn.

 Slippery Elm

•  Slippery elm powder can be used to make a poultice that will draw out splinters and bring boils to a head. Slippery elm is also a pain reliever.

 Tea Tree Oil

•  Tea tree oil also has antiseptic and antifungal properties and can be used for cleansing wounds.

 Witch Hazel Extract

•  Witch hazel can be used to aid healing of minor burns, sunburn and insect bites. Cuts can be washed with it to help cleanse them.

 Compresses

 A compress is made from a square of gauze or cheesecloth. Different compresses can be used for different problems:

• Comfrey and witch hazel are useful for healing sprains
• St John’s Wort can be used to heal deep cuts
• Comfrey and witch hazel can be used for soothing burns

 Pharmaceutical First Aid Kit Items

 Assorted bandages in a variety of sizes, bandage closures for sticking the edges of minor cuts and scrapes, triangular bandage for a sling, elastic wraps, rolls of gauze 2’ and 4’’ pads, adhesive tape, sharp scissors, safety pins, antiseptic wipes, disposable cold packs, tweezers, rubber gloves and a thermometer.

Reference 

Institute of Natural Healing. Herbal Medicine. Assignment 7 First Aid Remedies. 2008.

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             Looking After Your Essential Oils

         Guest post by Gwendoline Ford

 Imagine going to a friend’s house and discovering that they’ve invested in a bottle of this year’s Grange to give to their newborn son on his eighteenth birthday. These friends—who are by no means wine buffs—have invested a significant amount of money in this bottle, and are fervently hoping that in eighteen years’ time the wine inside will be in peak condition. Then you find out that they’re storing the wine vertically in a glass-fronted cupboard directly above the stove—poorly-oriented and exposed to heat and light. It will be a miracle if the wine is drinkable in three months’ time, let alone in peak condition in eighteen years’ time! You’d tell them straight away to store it somewhere more appropriate, wouldn’t you?

Many aromatherapists feel much the same way when they see how poorly many people store their essential oils. Essential oils are the most volatile components of the plant, which means they are particularly susceptible to being damaged by heat, light, and oxygen. As I’m sure you’re all aware, essential oils are not cheap—even the most abundant oils such as Eucalyptus are relatively expensive, while the cost of a CO2-extracted rose absolute or a 100% pure jasmine enfleurage are astronomical! Yet despite this, many people don’t store or look after their essential oils properly—essentially throwing money away when they realise that their oils have lost their vital spark. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your essential oil collection at home:

1. Know how long each oil will last, and use each bottle up before its ‘use-by date’. Most essential oils will last around five years, but some have shorter or longer lifespans, depending on the oil. Most cold-pressed citrus oils will only last two years, for example. Patchouli is an interesting exception to the rule: as patchouli oil ages, it becomes mellower, richer, and more fragrant, ageing like wine. 

2. Keep your essential oils away from heat, light, and oxygen.  Heat, light, and oxygen all accelerate the chemical processes that destroy the potency of your essential oils, so it therefore follows that you should do your best to keep them away from these. Keep your essential oils somewhere cool and away from sunlight (the refrigerator is fine!), and make sure you have screwed the lid on tightly. If you buy your essential oils in bulk, you may wish to split a larger bottle into smaller bottles in order to reduce the amount of oxygen the oil is exposed to as the bottles are emptied. Because of the heat and humidity of the shower, the bathroom is not the best place to store your essential oils.

3. Hygiene first when making blends. The base oil used to create an aromatherapy blend can go rancid when heat, light, and oxygen allow microbes within the oil to multiply and break the fatty acids of the oil down into their basic acid components (hence the sharp, acrid scent of rancid butter). In order to prevent this happening to your blends, make them in as sterile an environment as you can manage, and decant them immediately into sterilised dark glass bottles.  The darkness of the bottles will keep out light, and the glass is non-reactive (as opposed to plastic, which can be damaged by the essential oil’s components).  To sterilise bottles, boil them in a pot of water for five minutes, or rinse them with pure ethanol and dry them with the hot air from a hairdryer. Adding the contents of a vitamin E capsule to a blend can help preserve it longer.

4. Safety first. Essential oils can be harmful if ingested, so make sure that they are kept out of the reach of children.

Gwendoline Ford is the principal of Health and Harmony Colleges, the Aromatherapy College of Australia, and Career Accelerators. She has extensive training in aromatherapy, herbal medicine, natural therapies, and hypnotherapy, amongst other qualifications. Find out more about Gwendoline at her blog: http://gwendolineford.com/about

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