Primer Choosing and using medicinal herbs

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THE MEANING OF A DROP

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.