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Menopausal Years - Using Herbs Simply & Safely

© Susun S Weed

Plants feed us, clothe us, house us, heal us, and kill us. There's no way around it, when you use herbs, you need to be alert and aware. Here are some ways to be sure you're using herbs safely.

• Identify all plants you intend to use by botanical name (e.g., Leonurus cardiaca). Only buy herbs that are labeled with the botanical name. The botanical name is specific to only one plant, while common names overlap and vary. "Sage" refers to at least five plants in at least two different families, but Salvia officinalis only means garden sage.

• Use only one herb at a time. Learn all you can about that one herb. Read books; experiment on yourself, others, pets; listen to your elders' stories. If you discover that your herbal ally likes to work with partners, pair her up with other herbs one at a time.

• Seek out the worth of the weeds on your doorstep. Learn about, eat, or use as a remedy, one wild food/medicine that grows in your yard or nearby lot this year. When you make your own medicines and healing foods you eliminate one of the possible dangers of crude herb use: mistaken identity (or right label, wrong herb). Not that you can't make mistakes, but you're more likely to catch your own mistake than someone else's. When you make your own medicines and healing foods, they are fresh, full of energy, and in tune with you and your environment. You'll also feel better as you become more aware of the vitality and abundance of nature expressing herself everywhere.

• Begin with gentle nourishing and tonifying herbal infusions and vinegars. Watch carefully for side effects during the first 24 hours the first time you use any new plant. Don't worry if it takes your system a couple of tries to figure out how to digest a new food/herb; that's normal. Use herbal tinctures after you have some grounding in the use of herbs as foods and infusions. Start with the smallest recommended dose and build up slowly if needed.

• Build up a foundation of trust in the healing effectiveness of plants by using remedies for minor problems before tackling serious concerns.

• Gather or join a support group of people interested in self-care and home remedies and consult them when you feel uncertain.

• Respect the power of plants; those strong enough to act as stimulants, sedatives, and near-drugs (such as opium) affect the body and spirit in powerful ways and may be useful only in minute doses.

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