susun weed (of "wise woman" tradition)says she only takes them separately--as infusions.
Is there any reason in your view- not to mix, say, oatstraw and nettle?
It just seemed to me, intuitively, to be a good thing.
I agree with you. These herbs are great together. Both are great sources of B vitamins and silica and help with the nervous system. And I would not take them as infusions since this will lose the fibers, many of the vitamins and much of the silica. Powders are better.
ah. then, powders AND infusions--for I really like the taste of the 'tea', as it were.
(susun weed is all about infusions and extracts--she feels
that the minerals aren't avaible enough with the powders.
The vitamins appear as oily swirls on topthe infusion--says she)
I disagree. Herbs are like foods to the body. Does she also make extracts of her food before consuming them? We do not have issues with extracting and absorbing minerals from our foods unless severely low in stomach acid and/or flora. And the more surface area the food has the easier it is to extract nutrients from the source. Powders have more surface area than what we are able to chew our food up in to, so it is easier to absorb minerals from a powdered herb than the foods we routinely eat in our diets.
And we do not lose as much of the nutrition from powders like we do with teas and tinctures. This is one of the reasons I rarely use teas for medicinal purposes. I primarily drink teas for flavor. Although some herbs are better if extracted as teas. For example uva ursi when using it for urinary tract indections.
alright--you make a good case.(surface area, and all)
I do have low stomach acid though...
and I like to drink my nettles, and I like mineral vinegars too---powder\ doesn't seem like much fun. It feels more 'allopathic', almost. no offense.
So which is closer to allopathic? An herb with all of of its constituents intact as nature made it or teas and tinctures? I can find herbs in nature with no problem. But where am I going to find these teas and tinctures in nature? Are there tea and tincture fairies out there in the woods and desert making these that I don't know about?
Point is that when we make teas or tinctures with herbs we alter their chemistry. So this makes them closer to allopathic than herbal powders.
I could argue though, that while you will of course find the herbs in nature, you won't find powders, or the machine to do this...
That is why I said:
"An herb with all of of its constituents intact as nature made it "
The constituents are not really changed by the powdering process unlike teas and tinctures that alter the chemistry of the plants quite a bit.
But drinking herb is just plain fun.
Most people smoke herb instead of drink it.
persuasive, aren't you? You make a good point. Or two.
I wonder how much of the powder the body is able to truly assimilate...For myself, it feels as though nettle infusion, long steeped, is da bomb. I also like nettles blended into paste (which I guess is like powder, sort of) and made into a kind of hearty flatbread. This stuff feels like it would support a mountain climber. I'm getting the feeling I've mentioned this before--nettles being such a popular subject around this forum...
now, I don't want to start any trouble, but have you tried the so-called tomato juice liver flush drink?
It's so delicious!!!! I've taken turmeric in the past, made into little paste 'pills', but this has to be the best way to take your turmeric--I'm thinking a soup version of it could be a big seller at a restaurant--I kid you not.
I made it with organic tomato paste (high brix)and water, for the juice part, olive oil, grated garlic, and turmeric, and then you blend to a nice mayonnaise-thickness. You're supposed to have two, in the morning, fifteen minutes apart, and then nothing for 90 minutes.
I started to seriously crave a third. I don't know about the flushing part, but this feels like the elixir of life.
tried it?
so--do you think a combination of the four herbs in powder would be well assimilated, or is taking them singly the optimal way, in your view?
now, I don't want to start any trouble, but have you tried the so-called tomato juice liver flush drink?
It's so delicious!!!! I've taken turmeric in the past, made into little paste 'pills', but this has to be the best way to take your turmeric--I'm thinking a soup version of it could be a big seller at a restaurant--I kid you not.
I made it with organic tomato paste (high brix)and water, for the juice part, olive oil, grated garlic, and turmeric, and then you blend to a nice mayonnaise-thickness. You're supposed to have two, in the morning, fifteen minutes apart, and then nothing for 90 minutes.
I started to seriously crave a third. I don't know about the flushing part, but this feels like the elixir of life.
tried it?
Nope, never heard of it until now. I don't care for garlic anyway, and am not a big fan of tomato paste either. I'll stick to bitters to cleanse the liver.
so--do you think a combination of the four herbs in powder would be well assimilated, or is taking them singly the optimal way, in your view?
Except for turmeric, which is not well absorbed in the first place. Certain herbs have constituents that are either not absorbed or poorly absorbed. Usually for a good reason. For example, plant saponins are not absorbed since they will hemolyze red blood cells if they do come in to contact with the red blood cells. On the other hand saponins do increase the absorption of other compounds taken with them. This is one of the reasons that herbal formulations are frequently better than individual herbs. Formulations can also lead to potentiation of the herbs, and allow more aspects of a disorder to be addressed.