Primer Choosing and using medicinal herbs
Botanicals tend to support the bodys natural balance.
THE MEANING OF A DROP
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Liquid herbal extracts often are prescribed by
the drop. But for a nation accustomed to teaspoons and premeasured
pills, envisioning a drop of medicine may run against the grain.
And who has time to count all of those drops, anyway?
This chart offers you a guide to your dropper. Note: While
droppers can vary by size, manufacturers often mark the dropper
with measurements (usually given in milliliters). Generally though,
a standard dropper holds 1 milliliter of liquid.
PREFERRED HERBS
Echinacea and garlic are U.S. consumers’
favorite herbal medicines, a recent survey of health-food stores
shows.
The two herbs, known for their cold-fighting abilities —and
garlic for a host of other benefits—also were ranked numbers 1 and
2 in 1995 and 1996, according to the survey, conducted by Whole
Foods magazine.
Bumped off the top ten list from last year are ma huang
(ephedra), psyllium, Siberian ginseng, and cascara sagrada.
Here is the complete top ten list of list of consumers’ favorite
herbs for 1997, with each herb’s 1996 ranking in parentheses.
1. Echinacea (1)
2. Garlic (2)
3. Ginkgo (4)
4. Goldenseal (5)
5. Saw palmetto (9)
6. Aloe* (12)
6. Ginseng* (3)
8. Cat’s claw (14)
9. Astragalus (21)
10. Cayenne (11)
* tied
“Chamomile Tea . . . has a wonderfully soothing, sedative and
absolutely harmless effect.
It is considered a preventive and the sole certain remedy for
nightmares.”
—Mrs. M. Grieve
A Modern Herbal
(Tiger Books International, 1993;
first published by Jonathan Cope Ltd., 1931)
AN EASY BEVERAGE TO MAKE
January marks the beginning of the year and the
seem- ingly endless wait for spring; even though the days are
becoming longer, nighttime darkness still begins early.
When the night seems too long and you can’t sleep, think of
chamomile, which has been used for centuries as a very mild sleep
aid. A tea is easy to make. One caution, though: If you’re allergic
to pollen of members of the aster family, such as ragweed, you may
also be allergic to chamomile, which also belongs to the aster
family. For more about ways to quell seasonal sluggishness, see
“Fading the winter blues” on page 34.