Good morning emporium! I hope all has been well this week. I hope you all enjoyed last week’s post on peppermint. This week I wanted to address something that a lot of people don’t get quite right off the bat.
Everyone knows that certain herbs are good for certain things. For example, chamomile helps you relax. What I wanted to do was talk today about what herbal actions are and give you a basic cheat sheet on what you may want to look into putting into your home to help with certain things.
This publication has not been approved by your local health department or the FDA and is not intended to provide diagnosis, treatment, or medical advice. The content provided on this publication is for informational purposes only. Please consult with a physician or other healthcare professional regarding any medical or health-related diagnosis or treatment options. Information on this publication should not be considered as a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional. The claims made about specific products throughout this publication are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease or ailments.
We previously discussed adaptogenic herbs and I want to eventually have more posts on different actions and herbs so you can take notes and build yourself a nice little cabinet to be able to have things on hand when you need them. You can also download the PDF from my linktree here
We have already covered adaptogens, so I will move onto the next.
Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive guide, but will give you a better understanding so you feel more confident in knowing what you need.
Immune Modulators
These are herbs that modify the response of the immune system.
You probably know the most popular one: echinacea!
These are what you take when you need help with immune function for example for when you are sick, a lot of people take echinacea tea.
Some examples (not limited to) of herbs would be
Eleuthero
Mistletoe
Garlic
Astralagus
Helichrysum
Anti-microbial
These herbs help get rid of or prevent microbes from developing. These are great for preventing severe illness and infections.
Always combine herbs that support the specific tissue/system/organ that is affected to ensure you are getting what you need. The aim here is targeting the microbes, bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae, and parasites without harming you. They can be:
Antibacterial (antibiotics)
Antiviral
Antifungal
Antiparasitic
Antiseptic
Disinfectant
Some examples (not limited to) of herbs would be:
Garlic
Clove
Thyme
Golden Seal
Echinacea
Pine Needle
Remember the type of herb is dependent on what is currently going on so be sure to check out each herb and do some research on what works best. I recommend this book as a good option to have around or a materia medica.
Anti-inflammatory
This can be from muscle and joint pain to stomach issues or even chronic ongoing inflammation. If inflammation is causing issues for you, it is always a good idea to have this be a supporting herb that you keep with your main herb to reduce some side effects. Or if you are having acute inflammation, treating it outright with an herb can be helpful as well.
Inflammation can be warm, swollen, painful, red, and cause loss of function in some cases. It is best to understand what is causing the inflammation in order to best treat it with a specific herb.
Some herbs may include, but are not limited to:
Basil
Juniper Berry
Turmeric
Solomon’s Seal
Oat Straw
Lavender
Goji Berry
Calendula
Arnica
Chamomile
Carminative
These herbs help overall with stomach issues. These can be bloating, gas, nausea, or indigestion.
The important thing is to know what you are treating. Is it a symptom or is it the root cause of what you are seeking to rectify? If you have IBS that is different from constipation and pain from stress and insomnia.
They can do things from helping prevent gas to soothing intestinal walls in your GI tract. It is important to research and pick the right one to treat your symptoms.
A list of these can include, but are not limited to:
Peppermint
Ginger
Chamomile
Lavender
Cinnamon
Lemon Balm
Fennel
Nutritive
These herbs are high in vitamins and minerals. These can help with nutrient deficiencies. They can also be nourishing to tissues, organs, and systems.
If you find that you need a certain micronutrient like calcium, iron, potassium, iodine, etc, you may be able to help support yourself with herbs.
Some herbs that are listed as nutritive include:
Bladderwrack
Chickweed
Dandelion
Stinging Nettle
Seaweeds
Berries
I am excited to go over and teach you more. There are so many different things to learn but this is a simple and quick guide to get you up on your feet and learning the basics of what you should have on hand to start taking control of your health and life and never feel overwhelmed on what to do or not to do. You can do this!
Please let us know what you think of our publication so we can create and cultivate the absolute best content for you. I hope you take notes and build your very own book to be able to keep this information and pass it along as herbalism has become a lost art. I hope to inspire herbal practices by showing you step by step and herb by herb to live an amazing life and feel confident in your knowledge.
Thank you. Love this article