Beyond 50 -
Herbalist Susun Weed on Herbal Infusions
Hosted by: Daniel Davis
Title: EPISODE 139 - Herbalist Susun Weed on Herbal Infusions
Time: 05/20/2009 03:00 PM EDT
beyond50radio.com
Episode Notes:
For Beyond 50's "Natural Healing" talks, listen to an interview with Susun Weed, a leading expert on healing herbs. She'll recommend all to change what they drink. Instead of coffee, tea, fruit juice, soda or even bottled water, drink nourishing herbal infusions. They are powerhouses of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other phytonutrients like polyphenols and phytoestrogens. They can literally rebuild the body.
Q. What single thing can someone past 50 do to ensure a long, healthy and vigorous life?
A. Change what you drink. Instead of coffee, tea, fruit juice, soda, or even bottled water, drink nourishing herbal infusions.
Q. What is a nourishing herbal infusion? Is it a kind of herbal tea?
A. A tea is a small amount of herb brewed for a short time. An infusion is a very large
amount of herb brewed for a long time. Herbal teas are lovely, but don't aid longevity or build health. Herbal infusions are powerhouses of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other phytonutrients like polyphenols and phytoestrogens. Because they are so concentrated in nutrition, nourishing herbal infusions can literally rebuild the body.
Nettle rebuilds the adrenals and restores energy.
Oatstraw rebuilds the nerves and blood vessels as well as giving sexual energy a boost.
Red clover rebuilds the immune system, helping to prevent cancer and chronic inflammation.
Comfrey leaf rebuilds the digestive system, the skin, and the connective tissue, restoring flexible health throughout the body.
Q. How much infusion do you need to drink to get these benefits?
A. I drink a quart of nourishing herbal infusion daily. And I have been doing so for over twenty-five years. In my mid-sixties, I find I have more energy and a better memory than most of my twenty-something apprentices. I encourage the apprentices to get into the infusion habit by asking them to start their day with a cup of infusion, hot or cold, sweetened or not. Then to drink more infusion the next time they are thirsty. And to continue to drink infusion until their quart has been consumed. Only after they have drunk a quart of infusion can they drink water or tea. They never have soda pop or fruit juice. As little as 4 quarts of infusion a week can create rapid
and profound change.
Q. What do you mean when you say rapid and profound change?
A. The effects of nourishing herbal infusions can be seen immediately in restored energy levels, better looking skin, and healthier hair. Habitual use results in deeper changes. Let me tell you a story about a woman who was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis. (Story is about 5 minutes long. Four years of use, no drugs, restored her bone mass to pre-menopausal levels.)
Q. Maybe those results are only true for that one woman. Have other people been helped?
A. I have heard from thousands of people who have regained and maintained health
with the use of nourishing herbal infusions. Some of them are now in their 80's and 90's and feeling pretty good. One especially interesting story (takes about 3 minutes, doctor amazed at the level of minerals and antioxidant vitamins in the blood of someone who has drunk infusions for the past ten years. "Healthiest post-menopausal, 50 plus woman I have ever seen," said the MD.)
Q. OK! How do I get hold of these nourishing herbal infusions? Do you sell them? Can I buy them at a store? I don't have to pick the herbs myself do I?
A. You can buy dried herbs to make nourishing herbal infusions at health food stores, online, by mail, or by phone. I have links to great places to buy herbs at my website. I don't sell any herbs myself. You can pick the herbs if you want to, but I buy most of the herb I use.
Q. Can you tell me how to make a nourishing herbal infusion? Is it complicated?
A. It is very easy to make a nourishing herbal infusion. You will need dried nettle leaf or dried oatstraw or dried red clover blossoms, a scale, two quart canning jars with lids, boiling water, and a strainer. Boil a quart of water. While it is heating, measure out one ounce of dried herb and put it in one of the quart jars. When the water boils, pour it into the jar, filling it to the very top. Using a wooden spoon, stir the herb down into the water. If needed, add a little more water. Cap tightly and let sit. After it has brewed for four hours or overnight, strain the liquid from the herb. Use your hands to squeeze the herb so you get every bit of nourishment. Store the liquid, the infusion, in the refrigerator. Drink it hot or cold, with honey or miso, fruit juice or a shot of whiskey.
Q. Sounds like too much trouble for me. Can't I just take these herbs in pills?
A. Neither tinctures nor tablets, extracts nor capsules can provide nourishment. We use infusions, which are water-based solutions because vitamins and minerals dissolve more readily in water than in alcohol (tinctures) and because you can't fit enough nourishment into a pill or capsule to have a beneficial effect. It is fun and easy to make infusions. I make one every evening before going to bed. Some people make two or three on one night and then drink them over the next 2-3 days. Really, all you have to be able to do is boil water.
Q. How can I learn more about nourishing herbal infusions?
A. I discuss uses for nourishing herbal infusions, and give instructions for making them, in each one of my four books: Healing Wise, the big green herbal for everyone, Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, Breast Cancer? Breast Health! the Wise Woman Way, or New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, voted best health book by Foreword Magazine. I also have a enormous amount of information, as well as links to herbal suppliers, available absolutely free at www.susunweed.com
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