With all the crud going around this time of year, I am going to share with you one of our families favorite go tos when it comes to cold & flu remedies. We love the herb yarrow and use it all the time!
Herbs are awesome! You may have it in your mindset that herbs are a little weird and that only STRANGE people use herbs. I will admit I had a few judgments myself. I remember my first experience going into an herb store, and just the weird smell turned me off, (you know what I am talking about, right)? Just because you use herbs doesn’t mean your house is going to have the aroma of a health food store. My kids friends have said on more than one occasion that my house smells organic. I used to take take offense thinking they meant it smelt like a health food store or something, but I have been reassured that they like the smell. It’s probably a combination of essential oils and other natural products that we use in our home. Who knows?
Over the years, I have intensively explored the alternative field and I have found many things that work through trial and error. I would like to share with you some home remedies we have tried and what HAS WORKED for us. I say “we” because I have used these remedies on myself and my family. At first they thought I was a little strange when I had them drink some odd tasting herbal concoction, or when I crushed up a plant growing in the yard to put on a bee sting. However, now they come to me and ask what they can use when they have a headache, or are experiencing an ailment of some kind. They ask because they know these things really do work.
Yarrow is classified as a “bitter herb” because of the volatile oil it contains. It is not the best tasting, but you do acquire a taste for it. I don’t mind the taste anymore and believe me, I have taken worse tasting things. When you realize the benefits, who cares what it tastes like anyway.
What is Yarrow good for?
- ANTISEPTIC and VIRAL INHIBITOR
- BLOOD PURIFIER
- CIRCULATION
- COLDS AND FLU
- DIGESTION
- FEVER
- INFLAMMATION
TONIC
This is a list of just a FEW of the many things yarrow is good for. I recommend reading 10 essential herbs, by Lalitha Thomas. Read my post about the book here.
This paragraph from Lalitha’s book is what sold me on Yarrow.
“Its volatile oil collects and absorbs many impurities (I think of it as gathering the toxins into little packets) and then, somewhat like a detergent, breaks down these “corralled” toxins into forms much easier for the body to eliminate without the usual illness symptoms.”
This winter my family has fared very well considering all the junk that is going around. No really, people at work, school, friends, the family are all so sick and stay sick for some time. We have had a few colds, but they don’t last long or we just haven’t gotten sick at all. We do additional things like up the vitamin C, and a few other things to stay well, but I give the credit to the yarrow.
So if the crud is going around the neighborhood, don’t just sit there waiting for the symptoms to start, drink 1 to 2 cups of yarrow tea a day as a preventive tonic. If you already have symptoms, start flushing it out with 4 to 8 cups of Yarrow tea each day.
Yarrow is very easy to grow and dry yourself, which I do, but I like to stay stocked up on it and have plenty to share so I buy the dried herb in bulk on Amazon or you can get it at Starwest Botanicals.
Making a cup of herbal tea is a snap using either of these two nifty devices.
1- The mesh tea ball with a handle shown above is nice and inexpensive.
.
2 -One of my latest favorites for making tea in is the Grosche Perfect Tea Maker.
Everyone in our family has one. You simply put one teaspoon of dried herb in it and pour boiling water over it. After steeping for 10-15 minutes, you just place it on top of your mug and it strains and drains it. BAM !
To make a simple cup of tea:
- Boil water.
- Measure 1 teaspoon of the dried herb per cup of water.
- Steep for 10-15 minutes.
*I like to add a little dried peppermint to my tea. It tastes good and helps clear congestion in the body.
If you have not developed a taste for Yarrow and feel you need to sweeten it a bit, use raw honey or agave nectar.
You will soon learn to love and enjoy the taste. Sip and enjoy the soothing comfort of Yarrow tea!
Stay well and be happy!
If you have questions or have had any great experiences using Yarrow, please post and share!
Jan Howell
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