pregnancy tea blend

Pregnancy Tea

This herbal tea combination is meant to be a soothing comfort tea with herbs that are safe and beneficial to a healthy baby. There is lots of love in this tea. I made sure all the herbs in this blend were well researched and ones that have been used for nurturing women and their little ones for centuries. All the herbs in this blend are organic and some of them have been wild crafted by myself.

Ingredients:
Raspberry leaf
Rose Hips
German Chamomile
Nettle
Ginger with pure maple
Scullcap


Raspberry leaf: Rubus Idaeus

This raspberry leaf tea was hand picked by myself with lots of love and cleanliness. These are home grown beauties from right next door, all organic.

Raspberry leaf has been used as a uterine tonic for a very long time. This native plant has been commonly used by the following Native American tribes: The Chippewa, Cherokee, Iroquois, Kwakiutl and Quinalt. (Beckstrom-Sternberg et al 1995).

This culturally established plant is also well known in the scientific world. It is full of vitamins A, C, E and some B. Also it is a great source of calcium and iron, two very important minerals for mama and baby alike. Also raspberry leaf contains tannins, which help reduce inflammation gently.


Rose Hips: Rosa Canina

It is well known that rose hips are full of vitamin C. Weight to weight, rose hips have about 10 times more vitamin C than oranges. They are also full of vitamins E, D, A and K as well as Bioflavinoids. They also contain calcium, iron, phosphorus, and magnesium.

An interesting study in Germany found that rose hip extract inhibits lipid oxidation in vitro. Also, rose hip treated patients suffering from osteoarthritis reported that physical symptoms declined. Furthermore, data from a randomized controlled trial indicated not only that pain significantly declined but also flexion of the hip improved in this study’s active group. (Rossnagel , 2001) Rose hips are a powerful medcicine, but yet so very gentle and nourishing for your body as well.

German Chamomile: Matricaria recutita

Commonly known to be a soothing herb great for winding down and for being safe enough to drink every day even during pregnancy. This herb also has many other medicinal uses that may be less commonly known yet very potent. The Egyptians, Romans and the Greeks used this herb thousands of years ago and has been scientifically validated for curing the following: chest colds, absesses, gum disease, anxiety (Cauffield,1999), insomnia (Gyllenhaal, 2000) and minor burns. German chamomile also has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties.


Stinging Nettle: Urtica dioica

This was also an herb that my boyfriend and I wildcrafted. This is no ordinary plant you can just grab, it has tiny little hairs with droplets at the end of formic acid, the same stuff that ants have when they bite you. Once it dries, it is a mineral dense plant. Very full of chlorophyll and a high amount of iron. This herb is best known for its ability to tonify your urinary tract. It helps improve urine flow, reduces urinary frequency and nocturia. (Hoffman, 2003)

Ginger: Zingiber officinale

We made a ginger maple syrup by dicing up lots of ginger and letting it masurate in only the finest maple syrup for about 5 months. After pressing off the ginger we baked it just long enough to be dry to keep. This ginger is perfect because the spicy bite has been softened by maple. All that is left is medicinal constituents that have been proven to reduce the instance of nausea caused by morning sickness. (Apariman, et. al. 2003)

Scullcap: Scutellaria lateriflora




Sources

CRC Handbook of Medicinal Mints Aromathematics Phytochemicals, Beckstrom-Sternberg et al. 1995. Boca Raton CRC Press.

Value of complementary medicine exemplified by rose-hips, Rossnagel K, Willich SN. Institut fur Sozialmedizin und Epidemiologie, Universitatsklinikum Charite, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin. Gesundheitswesen 2001 Jun; 63(6):412-6.

Cauffield JS, Forbes HJM. Dietary supplements used in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Lippincott's Primary Care Practice. 1999;3(3):290-304.

Ernst E, ed. The Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach. New York, NY: Mosby;2001:110-112.
Foster S, Tyler VE. Tyler's Honest Herbal. New York, NY: The Haworth Herbal Press; 1999:105-108, 399.

Gyllenhaal C. Efficacy and safety of herbal stimulants and sedatives in sleep disorders. Sleep Med Rev. 2000;4(2).

Mazokopakis EE, Vrentzos GE, Papadakis JA, et al. Wild chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) mouthwashes in methotrexate-induced oral mucositis. Phytomedicine. 2005 Jan;12(1-2):25-7.

Hoffman, David. Medical Herbalism. Rochester, Healings Arts Press; 2003
Apariman S, Ratchanon S, Wiriyasirivej B. Effectiveness of ginger for prevention of nausea and vomiting after gynecological laparoscopy. J Med Assoc Thai. 2006;89(12):2003-9.

Yerba Santa - Eriodictyon californicum

Yerba Santa
Eriodictyon californicum

Early may I decided I wanted to have some girl time with my friend Iz. She lives on the edge of a BLM land, tons of untouched mountainside to hike and wild-craft from. I had a couple beers and pizzas while hanging out and watched some pretty shameless chick flicks.

The next morning she left for work leaving me to do my first solo wild-crafting experience. Unfortunately when I woke up I went through an intense detox mode where I soon became very intimate with my friends bathroom. I had only had three beers and yet my body acted as though I sloshed through a kager. This happened because I became severly dehydrated because of the dryer climate of the mt. st. helena mountainside. Also, I did not drink any water the night before. Falling asleep next to a dry, hot fire didn't help either. My body had to process that alcohol without any water in my system to help.

I have an awesome intuition. For some reason I knew I would need a coconut water, so I purchaced one before I left. I drank that, and filled it up with water about 4 more times. The electrolites in the coconut water saved me! Then I took a nice long bath, and drank more water. Then I decided the earth could help me if I just asked. So I walked outside and grabbed some herbs to make a tea. I knew I was going to journey to find yerba santa, so I figured I should utilize the medicine I was seeking. I grabbed a large gummy wad of yerba santa from the back yard of my friends amazing cabin. I walked around more and grabbed some mullein, and some of my favorate chocolate mint. I made a decoction of those 3 herbs and sipped on 2 cups of tea. I finally felt totally perged of whatever my body did not want in there as well as totally hydrated.

I finally left for my 5 hour trek. I wandered around and played at each spring, to keep cool and plus I'm by myself so it doesn't matter how long I take, so I take my time. I wanted to collect some indian warrior, but alas most had gone to seed. I decided to trek farther up the mountainside where there may be a grove of yerba santas and also where the indian warrior may still be in bloom. Finally when I had walked to the point where I thought it was about time to turn back because of water concerns I found the grove. A nice shaded area right below the tree line where it is dry and the yerba santa grows happily. I had picked from this spot a year before with a group of friends and they had picked from there a year before. These were bushy and full yerba santas. I collected three heavy bags and also found enough indian warrior to soothe my achey back after a long hike.

I had some pretty spiritual connections with the earth on this particular hike. I think it may be because I had just detoxed and I was super clean and fresh. I was also healed by my bitter yerba santa decoction and felt that it brought me to a whole new vibration.

Yerba santa is an evergreen bush that stands usually from 2-6 feet tall. It has a sticky and shiny resin that covers a dark green long lance shaped leaf. The upper side of the leaf is dark and resinous while the underside undersides are greyish yellow and is felty . The Eriodictyon californicum species that grows in that region have small tubular white to a pale lavendar color flowers.

I brought the three bags of yerba santa home and Matt showed me how to make a distilation of herbs. We made 1 gallon of beautiful and refreshing hydrosol. I spray it on myself after a shower every day and take small sips of it to totally make a shift in your lungs and heart which gives an almost euphoric clearness for just a moment. But I guess you have to use it all pretty quickly because Matt made a distilation last year and it already smells off. The fresh stuff is amazing.

Yerba Santa is a member of the waterleaf family (hydrophyllaceae), most members of this family grow in cool and moist places. Yerba santa's does have a relationship with water but it's mixed with fire as well. With it's tough resinous leaves it conserves and protects its water inside to survive in the intense fire hot environment. Yerba santa's seeds are the happiest right after a good fire tears through a forrest.

This herb is used as a water element regulator. Yerba Santa coats the mucous membranes and holds the aqueous component in contact with the cells, reestablishing mucopolysaccharides. It is a bronchio-dilator and an expectorant. Great for asthma or allergy issues. This can also be used medicinally by smoking the leaves.


Yerba Santa was highly valued by many California tribes including the Salinan, Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, and Yokuts who continue to use it for various medicinal purposes. The Spanish who came to early California were so impressed with the plant that they gave it the name Yerba Santa, meaning holy plant. Yerba Santa was introduced to the Spanish Padres at Mission San Antonio de Padua by the Salinan tribe and it became one of three major medicinal herbs used at the mission. Yerba santa leaves and flowers were used to treat fevers, coughs, colds, stomachaches asthma, rheumatism pleurisy, and to purify the blood. The Kawaiisu drank Yerba Santa tea instead of water for a month to treat gonorrhea.Leaves were smoked or chewed to relieve asthma, coughs, colds, headaches, and stomachaches. Heated leaves were placed on the forehead to relieve headaches and other aches and sores. The sticky leaves conveniently stay in place upon the skin. Mashed leaves were applied externally to sores, cuts, wounds, and aching muscles. Mashed leaves were also used to reduce the swelling and relieve pain caused by bone fractures. Yerba Santa, used alone or combined with other herbs, was applied to infected sores on humans and animals. The branches and leaves were burned in steam baths to treat rheumatism. The Ohlone wove the leaves into skirts and aprons. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_erca6.pdf

Osha, Ligusticum porteri

Ever since I realized that my lungs were really in trouble from bronchitis it was this stuff that I craved the most. Matt makes it in a tincture, and I've been suckin it down. I put a drop on my tongue and breath in deeply to get the vapors in my lungs. When I do this I feel the sensation in my lungs of being more open, similar to taking my albuterol inhaler. The only sad part about my new love for osha is that apparently people have relearned that this herb is an amazing medicine and it has become over harvested from nature. Osha has become seriously threatened in the wild.

It is a perennial plant that loves growing in the mountains. This umbiliferous plant is related to hemlock and looks quite similar. Can be found growing around 10,000 feet to as low as 5,000 feet. It loves to grow in aspen groves, highland meadows and ravines. One of the many uses for osha is it's amazing ability to help with altitude sickness. It increases alveolar gas exchange increasing the oxygenation of the blood. When you're in a high altitude oxygen becomes thinner and when you use osha it allows your body to absorb more oxygen. It is interesting to me that a beautiful plant that helps heal people of altitude sickness happens to grow in high altitudes.


A regional name for Osha is chuchupate, which meant in the old aztec's tongue "bear medicine." It was called this because sure enough bears love to use this stuff to heal themselves. Bears love it. They roll around in it and love on it like kitties and catnip. Male bears have been seen diggin it up and giving it to their mates, it's sort of like buying a box of chocolates in the bear world. After hibernation a bear will try and get a hold of a bunch of osha to clean out it's digestive tract. They have been seen chewing the root then spitting it out on to its paws and rubbing it all over themselves! Bears love honey, I love honey. If bears love osha then they probably are on to something.

The root of Osha is the part used medicinally. Energetically it is spicy, bitter and warm. The healing components in this powerful herb include volatile oils, essential oils, terpenes, lactone glycoside, saponins, ferulic acid, and phytosterols. Its healing properties are antiviral (a substance that destroys or weakens a virus), diaphoretic (producing perspiration), diuretic (increases the flow of urine), decongestant (breaks up congestion), expectorant (helps bring up mucus), stimulant (increasing activity), carminative (inducing expulsion of gas from stomach or intestines), and emmenagogue (provokes menstruation). Osha root is a powerful antiviral and antibacterial herb strongly used for the respiratory system It is used
for such conditions as head colds with dry or wet cough, irritating coughs, bronchial infections and sore throats. It is also used to treat flues, fevers, pharyngitis, early stages oftonsillitis, pneumatic complaints, indigestion and delayed menses.

To soothe sore throats and irritation of the gums, the root may be chewed raw.
Boiling the root into a tea helps loosen phlegm and is an effective treatment for viral colds and flu. It stimulates the macrophages or resident white blood cells of the lungs, numbs sore throats, bronchio-dilates the lungs to assist in expectoration, warms the lungs and helps one to breathe more deeply. Osha can be used as a preventative for those prone to sore throats and lung congestion or who get secondary infections from allergies. The tincture and root can also be put on cuts and scrapes because of its strong antibacterial qualities.

Heal thyself - bronchitis

Being sick is never a pleasant thing. It's definitely never pleasant during the holidays. And this new crazy bug that's going around is hittin my crowd pretty hard, and I'm no exception. I had a big bad flu that knocked me out for about 2 weeks. Right when I was getting better I managed to get some form of sinus infection that just kept on going. Now it's in my lungs. Now there's green phlegm and it's bronchitis. Yay. But I don't have insurance and a doctors visit is easily 70 bucks and don't get me started on those expensive bad for you anti-biotics. I suppose I should stop focusing on school because finals are over now and start focusing on healing myself, because it's not good to be sick on Christmas.

I started my healing processes on Wednesday, the day before Christmas eve. I started off by kicking my butt with some antibiotics. Garlic is an amazing healing bulb, and oh so tasty. It has fab abilities to kill anything nasty around it, and far cheaper than going to get a perscription.

My amazingly talented boyfriend Matt made some fire cider and I've been using that as my main medicine. It's made from horseradish, ginger, garlic and cayenne. I drank so much of that stuff the first thing my mom asked me when I gave her a hug was "so you've been eating a lot of garlic huh?" lol! I don't care if I stink of garlic, as long as I can heal myself everyone else can just get used to my stinky healthy self.

Something I never had done before but now I'm addicted to it is using honey and lemon. I baught my dad a meyer lemon tree and now they have tons of lemons. I cut one upen and squeezed its contents in a cup and got a big spoon full of honey. Mix that concoction together and its a lemony treat that coats your throat and eases coughing urges.

I've also been taking an ocea tincture to help with my lungs, and I love that stuff. It's been super healing.

Even though I smelled of garlic I had an awesome christmas and I wasn't too sick to enjoy myself.