Herbs: Gout and Kidney; a new experience
Just recently my feet turned red and blue, oh what to do. The pain is not a first; we talked about this last spring before I was cursed. This was a surprise for me and I immediately recognized the swelling, color and pain as a gout attack.
Of course my physician was on vacation, but all he could do would be to prescribe alpurinal. My goal is not to get on a life support system with bad side effects. Our previous article on “Gout”, suggested sour pie cherries as a relief, I see with advancing years that I am beyond the cherry stage.
I turned, as usual, to God’s Pharmacy. I took a glass of water and applied “Stinging Nettle” tincture- two-dropper full- and by morning I was normal again.
The herb: Stinging Nettle (Utrtica dioica) aka: Greater Nettle is a blood cleansing and blood building herb and known as a remedy for disorders and inflammation of the urinary track. Being a diuretic it will flush out the “crystals” in the blood that collect in the joints and cause so much pain.
I view this as a word of knowledge that I am getting too old to neglect my diet (I ate a big steak the night before, with de caffeinated coffee- my doom; and the Purines accumulated to my discomfort). Secondly in this “word of knowledge” of my root problem was my kidneys. I needed to focus on their health since Gout is directly a function of the Kidney’s.
Since this is the fall of the year this is my time to gather herbs and process them into tinctures and salves, I was focusing on the beautiful Golden Rod that is abundant in this area and in fact just about all over, up and down the USA, Canada and Europe.
Golden Rod (Solidago virga-aurea) aka: Aaron’s Rod, the flowering head is gathered and dried, turning daily to reduce mold on the underside. This frass is pulled apart, further dried and stored in a paper bag. This makes a delicious tea for me and maintains urinary health.
Golden Rod is a specific for kidney and bladder complaints. Since we are all undergoing emotional complaints and stress, Golden Rod is known for its influences on emotions. Stress seizes the body in a tight hand and this of course is a beginning problem with Kidney disorders.
There are many varieties of this valued herb, some 50 plus as I recall, but mostly in this area you will see hybrids of the European and Native USA varieties. They are all good and it makes not a wit of difference except to the botanist and collector.
As Golden Rod emerges, the long standing “Bed Straw” starts to seed and go dry. This tall plant has many uses throughout history, but for my purposes in Kidney health and eliminating Gout symptoms. In the lower valley of my farm, the Bed Straw still has the golden flowers, like Daisies all in a whorl on the top of the plant. Otherwise the plant goes to seed, standing erect and stalwart awaiting the snows to bend it to the earth.
The Bedstraw (Gallium) aka: Cilvers, Goosegrass, Cheese Rennet and Lady’s Bed Straw, medicinal properties are in the entire plant, although I lean to the flowering/seed tops for my collection, and in the dead of the winter I can always dig the roots.
My Guru, Maria Treben, author of the European best seller: Health through Gods Pharmacy, available at: www.swedishbitters.com, suggested the above two herbs are tinctured with Yellow Dock Nettle (Lamium galeobdolon) to create an effective tincture in chronic kidney disease and where renal dialysis or other major complaints are incurred.
Alas I will have to grow my own Yellow Nettle next spring, but in the meantime I have Stinging Nettle-dried and ready to tincture. I prefer to use fresh grown herbs.
I take a ½ gallon canning jar and place it about half full with equal portions of the above three herbs. Then I top it off with a quart of vodka-80 proof is good. I store in a dark cupboard, or place it on a shelf with a sack over it to keep out the light. It is shaken once or so a day for the first couple of weeks. This makes a simple tincture and preserves the medicinal qualities of my mixture.
Eventually all the goodness is extracted by the alcohol, and using a small plastic container and a strainer of close weave we pour the tincture. Then taking the mass of herbal leaves and flowers you squeeze them into the strainer for the strongest of the strong essence. Deposit the squeezed herbs in the compost pile, restrain the tincture with a funnel back into the vodka bottle, cap it, and mark what the herbal tincture is and date it-for if you do not, you may forget what is in the container.
Sipping a dropper full of this in the morning tea or spring water promotes health in the kidney-urinary tract. This has been done for centuries with good results. I stand in testimony of the success. However for those hardy souls venturing into the world of herbal health I must add the traditional disclaimer. I am a plant person and take responsibility for my self. The information above about myself is but a historic footnote, I cannot take any responsibility for what you do with any herbs, nor the condition of your health. My Doctor and I have good discussions about herbs-as a medicine- and you must do the same- discuss herbal health and what you are ingesting with your personal physician. Herbal treatments can interact with common pharmacological interventions to your detriment. It is imperative you keep a list of what you are doing and share this with your physician.
Sometimes I have run short on herbs. I can always buy tinctures already made up from: http://www.iherb.com/. If I want to make my own tinctures and I am short on a bulk loose-leaf herb I can order that from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/. But the best of the best is to grow your own herbs. Medicinal herb seed can be purchased from www.horizonherbs.com as well as interesting books by Richo Cech on making tinctures and plant medicines.
The kidneys are but one link in the chain of health organs that all work together. Only through health will they work together to take you comfortably through the late years. There exists so much suffering of health related problems that can be avoided. So I am drafting an article series on the body that will enlighten many towards better health. Until then,
God Bless.
Our lead in picture this date is the valuable “Stinging Nettle”.
COPYRIGHT: 2009, http://back2theland.com/ Mark Steel
