Using Herbs Simply And Safely
by Susun S. Weed
Author and voice of the Wise Woman Way

Plants feed us, clothe us, house us, heal us, and kill us. There's no way around it, when you use herbs, you need to be alert and aware. Here are some ways to be sure you're using herbs safely.

  • Identify all plants you intend to use by botanical name (e.g., Leonurus cardiaca). Only buy herbs that are labeled with the botanical name. The botanical name is specific to only one plant, while common names overlap and vary. "Sage" refers to at least five plants in at least two different families, but Salvia officinalis only means garden sage.

  • Use only one herb at a time. Learn all you can about that one herb. Read books; experiment on yourself, others, pets; listen to your elders' stories. If you discover that your herbal ally likes to work with partners, pair her up with other herbs one at a time.

  • Seek out the worth of the weeds on your doorstep. Learn about, eat, or use as a remedy, one wild food/medicine that grows in your yard or nearby lot this year. When you make your own medicines and healing foods you eliminate one of the possible dangers of crude herb use: mistaken identity (or right label, wrong herb). Not that you can't make mistakes, but you're more likely to catch your own mistake than someone else's. When you make your own medicines and healing foods, they are fresh, full of energy, and in tune with you and your environment. You'll also feel better as you become more aware of the vitality and abundance of nature expressing herself everywhere.

  • Begin with gentle nourishing and tonifying herbal infusions and vinegars. Watch carefully for side effects during the first 24 hours the first time you use any new plant. Don't worry if it takes your system a couple of tries to figure out how to digest a new food/herb; that's normal. Use herbal tinctures after you have some grounding in the use of herbs as foods and infusions. Start with the smallest recommended dose and build up slowly if needed.

  • Build up a foundation of trust in the healing effectiveness of plants by using remedies for minor problems before tackling serious concerns.

  • Gather or join a support group of people interested in self-care and home remedies and consult them when you feel uncertain.

  • Respect the power of plants; those strong enough to act as stimulants, sedatives, and near-drugs (such as opium) affect the body and spirit in powerful ways and may be useful only in minute doses.

  • Respect the unique individuality of every plant, every person, every situation.

  • Remember that you become whole and healed in your own unique way, as you will. Plants can help in this process. People can help in this process. (Animals, too.) But each individual body/spirit does the healing/wholing itself. Don't expect plants to be cure-alls.

  • Respect the difference between herbs used in Step 3 - nourishing and tonifying herbs - and those used in Steps 4 and 5 - stimulating, sedating, and toxic herbs.

    Nourishing herbs are the safest of all herbs; side effects are quite rare. Nourishing herbs may generally be taken in any quantity for any period of time. They are foods, just as leafy greens, garlic, and carrots are. They provide high-level nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, starches, simple and complex sugars, bioflavonoids, carotenes, and essential fatty acids (EFAs). Examples include: alfalfa, borage, calendula, chamomile, chickweed, cornsilk, comfrey, elder blossoms or berries, fennel, fenugreek, lemon balm, mallows, nettles, oatstraw, plantain, raspberry, red clover, seaweeds, sweet briar (rose hips), St. Joan's wort (Hypericum), slippery elm, and violet.

    Tonifying herbs act slowly in the body and have a cumulative, rather than immediate, effect. They are most beneficial when they are used in small quantities for extended periods of time. Side effects are slightly more common with tonics. (Note that many herbalists equate stimulating herbs with the tonics, leading to misuse and unwanted side effects.) The more bitter the tonic tastes, the less you need to take of it. Bland tonics may be used like nourishing herbs, in quantity. Examples include: birch, black cohosh, blackstrap molasses, chaste tree, dandelion, dong quai, echinacea, false unicorn, ginseng, hawthorn, horsetail, lady's mantle, motherwort, peony, sarsaparilla, spikenard, wild yam, and yellow dock.

    Sedating/Stimulating herbs cause a wide variety of usually rapid reactions, some of which may be unwanted. Long-term use can lead to dependency, so sedating/stimulating herbs are best used in moderate doses for fairly short periods of time. Side effects are frequent; there may be loss of tone or a rebound/manic effect when the herb is no longer taken. Some parts of the person may be stressed in order to help other parts. Examples include: catnip, cinnamon, ginger, hops, licorice, myrrh, passion flower, poplar, primrose, sage, skullcap, uva ursi, valerian, vervain, willow, and wintergreen.

    Toxic herbs are potential poisons and potent medicines. They activate intense effort on the part of the body and spirit. Toxic herbs are taken in tiny amounts for very short periods of time. Unexpected side effects are common when toxic herbs are used without regard for their power. Increase your herbal knowledge and sense of security when contemplating use of a toxic herb by consulting other herbal references and several experienced herbalists. It is especially important to check on the possible side effects of toxic herbs if you are allergic to any foods or medicines. Examples include: cayenne, cotton root, goldenseal, liferoot, poke root, rue, sweet clover (Melilot), and wormseed.

    Green blessings!

    Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative. Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. She is Founder of the Wise Woman Center, and also advises the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Pottenger Foundation for Wise Traditions. Her work has inspired millions of women world-wide to respect their inner wisdom and to trust the healing power of common weeds, simple ceremony, and compassionate listening. Susun is a Peace Elder and a member of the Wolf Clan.

    Look for lots more tips for keeping your breasts healthy in her book Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way, recommended by many oncologists and breast health specialists including Dr. Susan Love. And please visit her special breast health website: www.breasthealthbook.com

    Visit her site http://www.susunweed.com for information on her workshops, apprenticeships, correspondence courses and more! Browse the publishing site http://www.ashtreepublishing.com to learn more about her alternative health books. Venture into the NEW Menopause site http://www.menopause-metamorphosis.com to learn all about the Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way. Email Susun Weed at susunweed@hvc.rr.com, write to PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 or call 845-246-8081.

    Susun Weed's books include: Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
    Author: Susun S. Weed. Simple, safe remedies for pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and newborns. Includes herbs for fertility and birth control. Foreword by Jeannine Parvati Baker. 196 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $9.95 Get 20% off at: http://www.ash-tree-publishing.com

    Healing Wise
    Author: Susun S. Weed. Superb herbal in the feminine-intuitive mode. Complete instructions for using common plants for food, beauty, medicine, and longevity. Introduction by Jean Houston. 312 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $12.95 Get 20% off at: http://www.ash-tree-publishing.com

    NEW Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way
    Author: Susun S. Weed. The best book on menopause is now better. Completely revised with 100 new pages. All the remedies women know and trust plus hundreds of new ones. New sections on thyroid health, fibromyalgia, hairy problems, male menopause, and herbs for women taking hormones. Recommended by Susan Love MD and Christiane Northrup MD. Foreword by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. 304 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $12.95 order at: http://www.ash-tree-publishing.com. For more great info on menopause, visit: http://www.menopause-metamorphosis.com

    Breast Cancer? Breast Health!
    Author: Susun S. Weed. Foods, exercises, and attitudes to keep your breasts healthy. Supportive complimentary medicines to ease side-effects of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or tamoxifen. Foreword by Christiane Northrup, M.D. 380 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $14.95 Get 20% off at: http://www.ash-tree-publishing.com


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