Most of the time, when I need herbal medicine for my family, I choose alcohol tinctures for several reasons. First, they make the chemical constituents of the herbs easier for our bodies to assimilate. (Just like you wouldn't eat nails if you wanted to increase your iron levels. It just doesn't work.) It is the same with herbs. Not all the good stuff in the herbs can be extracted through digestion. Second, alcohol is the strongest solvent that can extract a major portion of the plant constituents without harming its properties. Also, they are easy to make (read that: not labor intensive), keep forever (about five years when stored properly), and they don't take up tons of space (compare a cough syrup bottle for the tincture to a bag of cotton candy for the bulk dry herb).

You can make tinctures with a different menstruum (the liquid medium) such as vinegar or glycerine, but the alcohol medium makes the tincture stronger. Also, Mr. Visionary wouldn't get near anything made with vinegar and the glycerine method is much more involved.

How you make them is actually very simple. Powder the herb, add alcohol, and let it sit a while. Then take the alcohol back out, and it is a tincture. The timing and measurements are the only parts that are slightly more complicated.

I buy my herbs in bulk in the largest form possible (i.e. sticks or pieces of root herbs, whole leaves or flowers of herbs, etc.), then powder them myself in the blender. This is because the chemical constituents last longer in a whole form rather than a powdered form.  If you do not have strong blender, then it is perfctly fine to buy your herbs already powdered, just make sure they are fresh.

Here is how we recently made an Elderberry tinture and then turned it into syrup (you'll flip when you see how easy it is):

Step Three: Blend Well. Blend the herb and alcohol until thoroughly combined. It will be thick and the berries should be as completely dissolved as your blender can get them. (Just a side note: this can also be done with a simple mortar and pestle...you don't have to have a spectacular blender, it just saves time.)

Step Five: Strain the liquid (two weeks later). You need something to help you strain all that smushed-up herb back out of the mixture. We use a metal mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth (wet the cheesecloth first). Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth lined strainer, and let as much liquid as you can strain through on its own. Do small amounts at a time. Then, gather up the cheesecloth and gently sqeeze the remaining liquid out of the herb mixure. Be careful not to squeeze too hard or you will burst the cheesecloth and have to start all over. However, get as much liquid as you can squeezed out, as this is the richest part of your tincture, and you don't want to waste any.

'Blueberry juice' recipe: equal parts elderberry tincture and maple syrup. Store in the refrigerator.

There are tons of sites online that give more information about making herbal medicine, and I have learned some there. Some sites I use when researching herbs are:

this one for learning about the usage of certain herbs,

this one for learning how to make different forms of herbal products,

 and this one for buying herbs and essential oils in bulk.

Several books that have taught me a lot are:

Mommy Diagnostics by Shonda Parker

Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner

The Complete Woman's Herbal by Anne McIntyre.

Have fun making your own medicine. (Although I hope you won't be needing it!)

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Just in time for my Elderberry syrup to be ready, the first episode of sickness has hit our family. For the average family, sickness is no sprint, but for a larger-than-average sized family, it can be a true marathon. The typical duration of an illness is compounded by the passing of germs from person-to-person-to-person... The more people, the longer it takes to work it's way through the family. This creates doubts in the mind of the Mommy who wonders if she will ever see the outside world again. At least this is the usual way it goes.   This time however, it appears that we will come out of this round the victor. This illness seems to only be lasting a few days, and, wonder of wonders, it will have gone through the entire family in one week. That would have been unheard of in the past for our family. God is good.   The timing is great, too, as I am getting a refresher course in treating illness right as I promised to post about it. Cool, huh? I'll be preparing that post soon.   Now I'm off to get everyone another dose of Echinacea-Elderberry Syrup and put on another Moody video. Gotta love homeschooling: where else could they get science credit on their sickbeds?     Six sick siblings sleeping, sniffling and studying science.

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So why do it anyway? What could possibly be the point of making your own medicine? The bottom line answer is simply that the 'run-yourself-ragged, get sick, pump in antibiotics, feel a little better, then repeat' method does not work. It is a failing system. You know what I mean, too. How many families do you know (or even your own?) that seem to just get over an illness when they start battling another? It is a cycle that repeats all winter long for far too many families. As I have been studying over the last few years about the overuse of antibiotics, and the poor state of folks' natural immunity these days, I have become  determined to find a better way.  Before antibiotics, people did not die from every minor cold.  Our current desperate reliance on antibiotics forgets that God did not leave us defenseless.  We do have immune systems that, when properly cared for, can fight off illness. This plan makes us stronger in the process instead of weaker, like the antibiotic model.  From my studies, I have developed a two-fold plan of attack for dealing with illness in our family. The first is building (sometimes from the ground up, starting from scratch) our immune systems.  I have learned that the immune system is more directly affected by what is happening in the digestive system than by any other factor. Weird but true. The second part of the plan is treating an illness once exposure has occurred naturally with homemade herbal medicine. Our fledgling attempts last year to boost immunity and naturally treat illness were very successful. Starting earlier, and armed with an extra years' worth of studies, I hope to raise the bar this time. Not only are my hopes that we will "not get sick", but also, that we will continue to strengthen our immune systems enough to be able to serve sick people (i.e. not leaving Grandma and Grandaddy to fend for themselves when sick). I will be posting Parts Two and Three about building immunity and treating illness, and a special episode about how to make herbal tinctures and syrups at home. Stay Tuned! P.S. All our efforts to prevent illness do not detract from our understanding of God's sovereignty. He is sovereign-no question. Sin has caused sickness and death to enter the world-it is a fact. There are times when illnesses are our own fault for not being good stewards of our health (i.e. living on Dr. Pepper and M&M's), and other times when God allows them for our good and His glory. My goals: (1)  simply to be obedient to the amount of knowledge He has allowed me to have and (2) to not be laid up with illness knowing all the while that I brought it on myself by slothfulness or foolishness.

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Medicine is not supposed to taste great. I know this. At least I know that it usually doesn't. Even as a child, I knew that whatever that pink stuff was, it did not taste like any bubblegum I ever had. (Let's not discuss the time little brother and I ate "chocolate bar" Ex-Lax. Little kids don't care much about taste. It looked like chocolate, and finders are keepers, you know.)

We really are spoiled to live in a time when so many pharmaceuticals are available as tablets and capsules. In the old days when folks made their own medicine, or at least got it from a local doctor, everything tasted bad. "A spoonful of sugar" was not just a cute saying, but a very necessary anti-retching maneuver. 

Some of us who have become discontent with the current pharmaceutical-happy culture in which we are immersed have gone back to the "old days". We study and learn to discern and diagnose those conditions that can safely (and likely more safely) be treated at home. We are making our own herbal medicines, and learning how to use them effectively. The good news is, we are healthier. The bad news is, everything tastes yucky again.

Case in point, I am struggling with pregnancy-induced anemia. When expecting, a woman's blood plasma volume increases fifty percent, while the hemoglobin level only increases thirty percent. Hence, even though I faithfully eat my green vegetables, (I swear) my iron level has significantly dropped.  

My first measure in any condition is dietary intervention. I envisioned black-strap molasses in cookies, baked beans, and barbecue sauce. I was prepared to live on spinach-and-orange salads with that raspberry dressing I love. I could add more iron-rich foods to my diet, and even vitamin C to make sure it was absorbed properly. I was looking forward to this. Food is always more fun than medicine.

Alas, since the dietary-intervention-route was not quite getting the job done, it became time to bring in the big guns. Herbs. This also looked pretty simple. I made red raspberry, nettles, and alfalfa tea, (throwing in a little peppermint to cover the taste give it a springy flavor), and administered it intravenously drank it by the gallon. I was even getting close to making my daily quota of fluids. Well, sorta.

But even the tea wasn't quite strong enough. Bigger guns were required. That's right-tinctures. And not just any tincture, either. The single-most-effective herb to increase iron levels (Yellow Dock) just so happens to be the single-most-bitter-tasting herb as well. Blech and more blech. Although the most effective as far as potency, a tincture is the single most repugnant form of any herb as far as palatability. Great.

Remembering the spoon-full-of-sugar method is the only way I have gotten through this treatment. (My regards to Mary Poppins.) Admittedly not the "most delightful way", it has worked wonders. My iron is up, and I am feeling much better. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" Hebrews 12:11.

Sometimes the really good stuff does taste bad.  

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I think we made it. It is already the time of year when we can stop utilizing the woodstove. It has been more than a week since it has been on; winter is (finally) taking it's leave. The Lord has allowed us to pass through this winter essentially unscathed.

Last winter our family was sick, then sick some more. We went to a church where the pastor preached, "Crawl in, don't call in." So folks did: they came to church in all stages of illness, shaking hands with all my children. Add to that our less-than-ideal immunity and we were constantly sick. During the most intense part of this season, I laid ill on the couch and mentally put a stake in the ground: "I will find a way to build our immune systems. I cannot let this happen to my family again."  

With this fresh determination, I began doing my homework in earnest. I read books, researched websites, and learned how to make my own herbal tinctures. I studied the immune system, the digestive system, and the lymph system inside out.  My studies led me to the intricasies of the digestive system (fun) and how much it controls immunity. I previously had an understanding of antibiotics, and knew of their chronic overuse.  But what I discovered was probiotics, the natural "good bacteria" created by God. The plan of attack I developed was two-fold.

My part was to work through the summer making lacto-fermented vegetables, and experimenting with kefir, yogurt, and other fermented dairy products. I began feeding these things to my family on a daily basis.

I also began praying in earnest, which is also my part. God's part will be to answer in the way He deems best. One thing I understand well is that my health and my family's health is not in my hands. Only  my obedience is. "Some trust in chariots (boosting immune sytems), and some in horses (homemade tinctures): but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Proverbs 20:7, parenthesis added.

I am not afraid of sickness (although I don't look forward to it). But if it happens, I want to know that I have been obedient to the amount of knowledge the Lord has given me. I need to have been a good steward of my health. My desire is to rest in knowing that it is from His hand for His glory alone, and not because of my foolishness.

The only thing worse than having a family of eight flat-on-their-backs with illness, is to know that you are the one who could have worked to avoid it, but didn't. Ask me how I know.

By the way, I think I have discovered where the word "barf-a-rama" originated-it was at my house last winter.

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