Blog#50: Herbs You Can Use Safely for Healing
There are many ways to use
herbs for healing. They can be used as
teas, which usually are mild and primarily act as mild stimulants or sedatives;
they can be used as infusions, which make them act more like tonifying foods;
they can be used in extractions, which allows them to become more medicinal; they
can be used as seasonings, which can have a subtle effect on the various
internal organs, and help in digestion; and they can be used in several other
ways. These seven blogs will cover the
use of herbs as infusions, a method that many people will find new and quite
helpful. I recommend initially using
just one herb at a time in an infusion; that way you will be able to tell exactly
how it affects you. If you combine
several herbs into an infusion and experience an undesirable reaction, you
won’t know whether you were sensitive to a particular herb or whether the synergy
of the herbal combination was problematic.
All the herbs I cover are non-toxic and tonifying. They can be used singly in teas or infusions
for long periods of time on a daily basis without problems, except for the rare
individuals who may be allergic or sensitive to them.
Today we will look at oat
straw. Oat straw is part of the plant
from which we make oatmeal – it is the green, unripe stems and leaves of the common
oat plant, which is called Avena Sativa.
Oat straw is also sometimes referred to as wild oats. Although there is not a lot of scientific
research to strongly support some claims for oat straw, it is known in folk
lore and by word of mouth to be an aphrodisiac, particularly for men. It is also reputed to help people stop
smoking, and is even considered to have anti-depressant and stress-reducing effects. Additionally, oat straw is reputed to help
lower cholesterol and also to help increase your energy level in general.
You can find Avena Sativa at health
food stores and quality herb shops. It
should be organic, since wild oat is also sometimes considered to be a weed and
may be sprayed with toxic pesticides, such as Round-up, if it is growing among
other grains, such as wheat. You can
make an oat straw infusion as follows:
Take anywhere from one
heaping tablespoon to one ounce by weight of oat straw and place it in a glass
ball jar which has a quality, sealing lid.
Pour over the oat straw water that has just been boiled. Pour slowly and all the way to the top. Stir gently with a stainless steel or wooden spoon,
if desired, to make sure the herb does not stay only on top of the water. Close the lid and leave in a shaded/dark
place for anywhere from four hours to overnight. Remove the lid and strain off the herbs, leaving
only the liquid infusion. Refrigerate
and drink within 24 hours.
Some people are sensitive or
allergic to oats, but this is fairly rare.
Also, if the oats were growing amidst a crop of wheat, barley, or rye,
then people who are gluten sensitive or allergic will generally react poorly to
it, though their reactions will actually be to the remnants of gluten from
wheat.
This week’s offer: Come in for an herbal assessment, during
which I will take your pulses, look at your tongue, take a history and
suggest a beneficial use of infusion for you, specifically, perhaps a combination of herbs, or
else sequential uses of different single herbs.
