The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [10]
In place of Pipsissewa when treating urinary tract inflammation, substitute Uva Ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) for its excellent diuretic, antiseptic, and astringent properties. Prepare it as a cold infusion to eliminate the extraction of most of its condensed tannins that can be irritating to some folks, and combine this with Marshmallow root to help soothe and protect any irritated tissue.
When utilizing Goldenseal to employ its berberine alkaloid component, use it only when the plant’s overall specific indications are absolutely required (see indications, this page); otherwise use other berberine-containing plants such as Barberry (Berberis vulgaris), or Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium), or at least dilute Goldenseal whenever using it: mixing 1 part Goldenseal to 4 parts Barberry or Oregon Grape root. When you feel you must use Goldenseal undiluted, use a reduced dosage, for, when it is truly the specific plant to use, a small dose is wholly adequate.
Use only organically cultivated Echinacea. Avoid using wild Echinacea or any commercial products that use wildcrafted or wild-harvested Echinacea in their ingredients. Three species of Echinacea are used commercially: E. purpurea, E. angustifolia, and E. pallida. Echinacea purpurea is easily and presently cultivated, whereas the other two species are more difficult to grow and therefore not so widely cultivated. Due to overaggressive wildcrafting, the native stands of all three of these species of Echinacea are disappearing rapidly.
Goldenseal, Black Cohosh, Echinacea, and Pipsissewa are four plant allies that are due a collective show of human appreciation and currently require our concerted acts of tender loving care. Discontinuing the wild harvesting of these plants while using other herbs as appropriate substitutes will give these generous medicinals time to repopulate their natural habitats and will give herb growers time and resources to develop their skills in cultivating these herbs for commercial use. Merci.
In addition to the drama of innumerable heartbreaking revelations of personal love affairs with certain herbs, there was a rational method to the madness that was conjured up as we six herbalists compiled the above CSHS list of thirty herbs. Along with seeking plants that grow well in our climatic zone, we looked very closely at the actions (also referred to as therapeutic or medicinal properties) of these plants, and we made sure our final group of herbs embraced all the actions that we know are essential and therefore necessary in a well-endowed herbal pharmacy.
Pertaining to these actions, the science of Herbalism, like all therapeutic sciences, has its particular language. The nutritional and medicinal actions of each herb in our materia medica constitute the fundamental vocabulary of the language of Herbalism. Knowledge of the actions (the biochemical energetics) of each plant and the plant’s spontaneous affinity for various systems of the body is basic to successfully employing herbs in health maintenance, disease prevention, and curative self-care.
Understanding the inherent energetics of each plant that one uses gives insight and increased autonomy in personal and family health care. It is too limiting to think or ask, “What herb do I take for …” or “What herb will cure my.…” This approach stems from the “magic bullet” (one drug for one disease) myth conjured by pharmaceutical drug marketing. Herbs are more clever and practical than that. Each herb can do many things and have more than one effect on the human body and mind. The therapeutic actions and the unique blend of organic nutrients of each herb have a natural affinity for a variety of tissues, organs, and systems of the body. Supervised by the body’s cellular intelligence which attracts to itself whatever is needed for toning and healing, these actions are contributed