Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

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Slide 1Welcome back to the Herbal Jumpstart Course where we’re exploring What’s the Best Herb for You?

Slide 2So far, we’ve looked at three of the five tastes in herbal medicine. In our last video we summarized the tastes and concepts we’ve explored so far. So, if you haven’t already seen the previous videos, then I recommend watching them in order.

Slide 3Now on to the bitter taste. This is easily one of the most important tastes in herbal medicine and many of our favorite herbs, like dandelion, have some degree of bitterness. But let’s be honest…

Slide 4The bitter taste is one that people most love to hate. We despise the bitter taste

so much that we’ve essentially bred it out from most of our foods.

Slide 5For example, there are so many wonderful kinds of lettuce out there, many of them with a slightly bitter taste, but yet most restaurants serve only very bland iceberg lettuce.

Slide 6But bitters are making a comeback! And not just with herbalists but with chefs and even bartenders. And while we’re beginning to appreciate the nuance of bitter flavors in our foods, herbalists know how incredibly important bitter herbs are.

Slide 7The bitter flavor enhances digestion, increasing a wide range of digestive secretions that help us to break down everything from carbohydrates to proteins to fats. The bitter flavor also enhances your immune system and can soothe

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your nervous system. Bitter herbs have a lot in common with pungent herbs, however they differ in a very significant way. While pungent herbs are warming and stimulating and are best used for symptoms of cold and damp, most bitter herbs are cooling in nature and are best used for symptoms of heat.

Slide 8The plant we’re going to explore within the bitter taste is chamomile. I’m kind of embarrassed to say I used to think that this was a weak plant that is best used for small children or you know, if you just want to make a cute cup of tea. Now, chamomile astounds me. It has so many lessons to teach.

Slide 9Have you ever really looked at a chamomile flower? I mean, really up close. I love those little flowers. You have the simple white ray flowers creating a halo around all those teeny tiny disc flowers. You know what we commonly call one chamomile flower is actually an inflorescence of hundreds of flowers.

Slide 10And chamomile is in camouflage. All those tiny flower heads, sitting atop these little thin stems which branch out with these wispy leaves. I mean the plant looks weak!

Slide 11But if you’ve ever spent time with chamomile, you’ll know it supports a lot of life.

Slide 12The genus name for chamomile is Matricaria, which has its roots in the word “mother”. Some people say this is because chamomile is wonderful for mothers. Others say that drinking chamomile is like getting a hug from your mother.

Slide 13I think it could also point to the way that chamomile is like a mother who has the ability to be gentle and sweet,

Slide 14but can be strong and powerful when needed.

Slide 15Chamomile is an interesting plant energetically. Some herbalists classify it as slightly cooling because of its bitter taste and its diaphoretic effects which we’ll talk about in a moment. Others call it slightly warming due to its pungent aromatics. So, this is an aromatic plant that if you crush it and smell it it has a very strong smell. In either case I consider it very close to neutral and therefore it’s tolerated by most people. Mostly, when I think of chamomile I think of its aromatic and relaxing characteristics and how wonderful that can be for tension and irritability.

Slide 16Especially when taken as a strong tea, chamomile relieves muscle tension whether it’s tense musculature in the neck and shoulders or even intense spasmodic pain like menstrual cramps and leg

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cramps. One of my favorite indications for chamomile is during a fever when somebody has a fever and they’re restless and listless and they also have muscle aches and a tension headache. I mentioned the word diaphoretic earlier. A diaphoretic is a plant that we use to address fevers. In this case chamomile can be used when someone has a fever. It doesn’t negatively lower a fever or artificially lower a fever but what it does is helps the body to acclimate to the fever, helps excess heat escape and can relieve that muscle tension and headache pain that can often accompany a fever.

Slide 17While chamomile can effectively decrease pain, even as I mentioned, intense spasmodic pain, it also goes beyond this simple use. In one clinical study, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs things like ibuprofen were compared with chamomile in women with PMS. After two months, those using chamomile had a reduction in pain similar to that of the women who are using NSAIDs, but also had significantly fewer negative emotional symptoms as well.

Slide 18Herbalists have been relying on chamomile’s relaxing properties for centuries. It’s used to decrease anxiety, let go of a stressful day and even to promote sleep. And science is now catching up on confirming this traditional use. In an exploratory study, researchers found that chamomile, even in a relatively small dose of 220 mg, was more effective than a placebo in relieving both depression

and anxiety in people. Another clinical study found that chamomile relieved mild to moderate anxiety in people who are diagnosed with general anxiety disorder.

Slide 19Chamomile is a plant that I recommend everyone keeps on hand because it does so many things.So, I mentioned it supports the fever process and can be used as a diaphoretic herb. It modulates Inflammation, can be used both topically and internally to help address eczema. It’s an amazing herb for pink eye. I’ve used this myself, wonderful antimicrobial and very specific for that. It’s also just a wonderful digestive plant. And it can be used to support digestion, it can relieve gallbladder inflammation, GI inflammation and also just calm an anxious stomach. That makes it a great after dinner tea. It also soothes pain and irritability especially those that are associated with colic and teething. So, great for kids in that respect.

Slide 20Chamomile is commonly used as a dried herb. I recommend getting it as a bulk herb. So, buying it at a pound at a time or less but in a bulk amount as opposed to using it as a tea bag. When you use a tea bag you probably aren’t going to get as good a quality as when you buy it in bulk. And you’re probably going to go through a lot of tea bags. So, it’s a lot cheaper to buy it in bulk. And when you’re buying in bulk look for brightly colored flowers that are wonderfully aromatic. They don’t have a strong smell then they’re probably past their prime.

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Slide 21Drinking a chamomile tea that’s made with a simple tea bag or one tea bag can be a really delicious tea, but if you want more powerful effects then I recommend making a really strong tea. When you make a strong tea, you’ll really get why this is a bitter herb. Right, when you just use a little tea bag and you steep it for a short amount of time it almost tastes sweet. But the more you use and the longer you steep it that bitterness really comes out. And while that may not be our first choice for a delicious beverage that’s where you get those results for things like intense spasmodic pain or helping with a fever.

Slide 22Dosage-wise, 9-15 grams of it a day, that could be about 3-5 tablespoons. Chamomile also works great as a tincture and I like taking that at night when you don’t want to have a lot of liquid before bed.

Slide 23Chamomile is a very safe herb for children and adults. And also, a very effective herb for children and adults. There are a small percentage of people out there who are allergic to plants in the aster family so if you know that’s you then you would want to avoid chamomile.

Slide 24jim mcdonald an herbalist and a friend of mine sums up chamomile’s teachings, he says … “Gentle does not mean weak.” And after having dismissed chamomile for many years, I now can’t imagine being

without it. It’s one of my most used herbs. And it’s an herb I know I can trust to do so many things, yet it’s gentle enough to be enjoyed every day as well.

Slide 25So, now you know that chamomile is a bitter herb that soothes and calms. It can be used to relieve painful muscle spasms like menstrual cramping or leg cramps. But is especially beneficial when taken as a strong tea. It has many many gifts it can be used for fevers, eczema, pink eye and more or simply enjoyed after dinner as a delicious tea. And it can be used as a tea or tincture.

Slide 26To help you further feel the bitter gifts of chamomile I’ve included two recipes for you in your workbook. The first is a really delicious and beautiful blend of calming herbs that is a recipe excerpt from my book. The second is a very strong cup of chamomile tea – and so the second recipe doesn’t really taste great but again, it’s a powerful way to address things like muscle cramps, fevers, irritation, and restlessness. I would only recommend drinking that really strong tea if you’re able to lay down afterwards. You wouldn’t want to drink it in the middle of the day if you had a lot going on that day.

Slide 27So, as you might imagine, chamomile is one of the 29 herbs that I include in my book, Alchemy of Herbs. And I wanted to mention that in these presentations I’ve been citing a lot of studies. All of

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those studies are clearly footnoted within Alchemy of Herbs. There’s over 250 scientific studies in that book that I cite. And most of them are human clinical trials and there are a few in vitro studies and never any animal studies. So, all high-quality studies that I’ve vetted myself and look at in-depth. So, lots of great kind of scientific resources within the book as well. And you can pick up a copy of this book where ever books are sold. As a thank you gift I have several bonuses for you which you can instantly download at www.alchemyofherbs/order.

Slide 28Our next taste is one that’s easy to love: Sweet. See you in the next video!