Healing Plantar Faciitis: What Did and Didn't Work for Me

 

Recently I have been fighting an uphill battle with plantar faciitis in my feet. Its been a long three months and although it hasn't been much fun it certainly has been informative. When the pain first hit, I ignored it mostly because it was just a twinge and and didn't seem important. Although I couldn't run, I could still walk and most of these types of pains are not uncommon for me since I play soccer. It will pass I thought. I can just wait this out like all of my other sports related injuries.

Then I went hiking and found a few days later I couldn't walk. Panicked I went to my doctor. He diagnosed me with plantar faciitis and mild tendonitis, told me to ice it, and sent me to physical therapy. My first thought was how this wouldn't be a big deal because it is just muscle pain, how hard can it be to heal? I've done this a million times before. Oh boy did I underestimate that simple muscle pain. It has been a long, expensive, and aggravating recovery.

The main thing that has made me so annoyed with the injury is the inability of  health professionals to know how to treat the issue. I've been to a total of four different health professionals and they all had different advice for me and very little of it made any logical sense or seemed to help at all.

The first thing they had me do at physical therapy was to undertake strengthening exercises in my foot. This baffled me, I was soooo confused. Strengthening exercises? For my feet? The same feet that run/walk 5-10 miles every week? How in the world are they not strong enough??? They must already have the power of three horses with the distance they carry me every week! Not knowing any better I allowed the therapist to continue to massage my feet, use elctro-stimulation, ultrasound, and direct me to the proper exercises three times a week. At this point I was able to take short 5 minute walks on a daily basis.

A month later after very small improvements, I decided to go to an orthopaedic doctor. Physical therapy just wasn't working as well as I wanted it too. This one took an MRI in addition to the x-rays and announced I had plantar faciitis again. Interestingly enough, he also didn't mention anything about tendonitis based on the MRI. Either a picture of my ankles was not taken or it didn't appear on the image. He prescribed me physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication, ice, rest, and a boot to immobilize my bad foot. 

I tried the ice at first. It felt awful, it was terribly painful and I had been using heat on my feet since I got injured and it seemed to be helping. I tried the anti-inflammatory meds. Nothing happened. A week later I yanked the boot off my foot due to excruciating pain in my good foot that was not in the boot. I had damaged the plantar muscles in my other foot by compensating too much. Not to mention I couldn't walk anymore due to the immobilization increasing the weakness of the booted foot. I was terribly upset that I had wasted nearly two months of  recovery. I felt like I was just a guinea pig in some doctors' lab. That they were prescribing me things because they felt like I needed to be prescribed something even if it was just a placebo.   

Back in physical therapy the next week I found out my insurance refused to cover any further visits to the office. So I said farewell to my therapist and decided that the only way I could get better would be to take matters into my own hands and learn on my own. It seemed the doctors were clearly lacking in experience when it came to dealing with this condition. I still continued the exercises daily at home.

However as soon as I starting reading about the issue, the more and more confusing everything seemed to become. Firstly, it seems that plantar faciitis is a very common condition experienced in nearly one out of every ten runners and in many other people who aren't as active. How in the world had doctors not learned to treat this extremely common condition? It made no sense.

I discovered that preventing inflammation is mainly important in the acute phase of the injury, at the beginning when there is clear swelling present. Yet here I was two months into the injury and they were still trying to shove anti-inflammatory drugs down my throat and preach to me about icing. There are no magic pills to heal this condition! And ice HURTS. A LOT. Heat doesn't. It was a logical choice. I read from online sources that inflammation is a good thing during an injury. As long as it is present in moderation and doesn't get out of control. Preventing inflammation entirely is known to actually extend the amount of time required for an injury to heal. The main reason I assumed they wanted to prescribe me ice was to get the blood moving in my feet (but they never told me this, always said it was for inflammation). I knew blood was very healing and it is important to have good circulation at the site of injury. So instead of ice I just started inverting my feet every couple of hours. Sure enough it helped with the pain. When the throbbing would get out of control I could just lay on my back and kick my feet in the air for a few minutes to let the blood drain. 

Furthermore, I knew from my studies of herbs that chlorophyll in general was very healing for injuries. I didn't have access to comfrey, so I began a daily application of fresh plantain poultices for fours hours at a time. It helped relieve the pain a bit, but it didn't seem to fix the underlying problem. So maaaybe the anti-inflammatory prescription did make sense because the plantain works similarly. However I stopped using these after two weeks as they were time consuming to apply, and it was hard pick herbs since I still couldn't walk.  I began taking hydrosylated collagen on a regular basis to promote muscle healing. I can't really tell if it has done anything after three weeks of use though.

I finally found a wonderful website online called the Plantar Faciitis Survival Guide. (I highly recommend this information to anyone looking for help!!) It described a plethora of massaging techniques used on the calves and feet to loosen the foot muscles and break up scar tissue. I tried them and sure enough I felt instant pain relief. I also used a massage percussion technique to get at the knotted tissues. I was tickled. And I also felt a bit cheated after spending hundreds of dollars on such an "elusive" solution. How come doctors do not know how to treat plantar pain? It is so common. Surely they must have noticed patients continually returning. Maybe people just got fed up like me and never went back. I really don't understand.   

Unfortunately however, my pain did come back. Every time I left the house I came back with my feet feeling exhausted. They needed a good massage about two times everyday to prevent stiffness and following pain.

A few weeks later I swallowed my pride about not being able to find a solution myself and went to see a chiropractor. He said I have severe over-pronation and fallen arches. This was a completely new diagnosis that none of the other doctors described. He had his assistant massage the tendons in my legs very deeply. I was excited because he seemed to know what he was doing. They adjusted my feet, applied kinesio tape, and had me step in some foam so I could be fitted for custom shoe inserts.

I was fine until they had me step in that foam. I almost lost hope. This is what I had read about online. Custom orthotic companies are infamous for striking deals with doctors so that they will sell their specific products. I left the office feeling a bit less sore but still quite dejected. I wasn't willing to shell out 300 plus dollars for a stupid piece of plastic. I had already spent so much money on this ridiculous problem.

I continued to hunt online for answers. I started to read a lot about how fallen arches are due to the excessive wearing of  shoes; especially those with heels. I began to walk barefoot around the house. Soon thereafter I was called into work. Confident I could handle being in the lab for about an hour (I managed this at home fine with frequent breaks) I went in. The day after work I was in terrible pain and couldn't hardly walk anymore. I was convinced that it was my shoes now. The worn out tennis shoes were indeed hurting my feet very badly. 

I debated heavily about whether or not to purchase orthotic shoes or minimalist shoes as there are sooo many testimonials and research from both sides declaring the efficacy of each type. After talking to my family I decided that I should give the orthotics a try as they will work, however may not be a long term solution. I'm currently testing them out. After two days in them they are definitely more comfortable than my old shoes, but just don't feel as nice as being in my bare feet. Being able to wiggle my toes and rotate my feet freely seems to help my problem a lot. I am not convinced that being in bare feet or in orthotics is really bad for plantar faciitis yet. I hope to post soon about my SUCCESS with proper shoes, because failure is not an option!

 Have you ever been in a similar situation? What solutions did you discover? Was your doctor helpful in your recovery? I'd love to hear your input and story!

Treating Cystic/Hormonal Acne with Herbs from your Backyard

 Severe Acne is Curable!

 You might be surprised to learn that cystic acne is a condition that can be controlled rather easily without the assistance of dangerously strong medication. I have learned from firsthand experience and want to share with you here how to treat yourself at home using readily available herbs. It is a difficult journey and I want to share how I overcame my issue so that others might do the same. Don't be disheartened! 

I believe the reason our society can't handle this condition is because our medical system is focused on treating symptoms and not the cause of the problem within the body.

For example:

About.com lists the following as causes of severe acne:

• overactive oil glands
• excess dead skin cells within the hair follicle (pore), and
• a large number of acne-causing bacteria, Propionibacteria acnes

Therefore doctors treat only these issues and most patients never see relief from their condition without intense medication. That is because these symptoms are a result of internal imbalances in the body. Most doctors treat the things on the surface not the origin of the problem.

The truth is, some people are just genetically predisposed to acne. There are many toxins in the food we eat and the environment around us that our bodies must deal with on a daily basis. Some people's systems just can't handle these as well as others and as a result, one exhibits symptoms that seem to have no root cause.

What I Learned in the Struggle

I have battled with cystic acne myself and it has been painful, embarrassing, and overall an emotional roller coaster. I've tried a multitude of products, home remedies, alternative treatments, diets, and medications as most other people probably have as well. All of the searching was expensive, time consuming, and frequently caused other negative side effects.

However, after my search I finally found a solution to my acne utilizing local herbs and could not be more pleased and surprised with the results! I want to share this with others so they might find a way out of a seemingly hopeless situation as well. I initially got the idea from an apprentice of Susan weed on this message board.  However a lot of the herbs she used were hard for me find. I was convinced I could do this on my own but with plants that were easier to locate. 

In order to better understand how this herbal approach works, I first want to explain the imbalances in the body that lead to my cystic acne in particular. Upon studying herbalism online, I observed that my body is imbalanced because it has excess heat, mild dryness, and weakness in the lower GI or reproductive regions. My symptoms were severe acne that flared during PMS and the presence of excess energy that resulted in frequent anger.

Herbalism teaches that in order to restore balance to the body, treatment must be opposite of the body's constitution. Since I run a bit hot and dry, I needed to use herbs that were cooling and moist in nature. Using proper herbs and some topical treatments I have managed to control my acne to a reasonable level now. I feel much more confident and relieved. Here's a bit of a timeline in snapshots:

 This is the beginning. You can see my face was pretty rough here. These were average days, it flared up worse sometimes. All of this made me really self conscious and I constantly felt embarrassed.
 

At this point I was drinking chickweed tea on a daily basis and supplementing with red clover every now and then.


At this point I had started taking plantain tincture on a regular basis three times a day. This was much easier than making a huge jug of tea to last only a couple of days. And it seemed to work better because compliance was simpler.

 

This is currently. You can see a huge reduction in the amount of acne on my chin which is where it predominantly resided. I still have the occasional bump, but I don't get more than one or two a week and they are easily managed. The scars are taking a while to recede, but I feel like they are going away pretty well with the help of MSM cream.

 

How to Start Working With Backyard Herbs

I have experimented with many local wild herbs and found that several of these taken internally helped relieve my symptoms. The herbs I list below are VERY EASY TO FIND! Many of them probably grown in your own yard or an abandoned nearby field. In addition they worked great for me and were also free! What an awesome bonus! Here is a list of useful herbs to treat cystic acne starting with the best first:

Red Clover

Taken internally as a tea, red clover provided immediate reduction of swelling in my acne. When nothing else worked for my face, red clover took care of the problem. Look for this plant in open sunny fields. Tolerates drought pretty well. Easy to spot when in bloom. Stores well dry. Do not use if stored plant has molded.
Dose: steep 10 flowers in warm water until the color has leached from them. drink twice daily.
Plant Profile: Very drying may aggravate those whose body lacks moisture.
Other notes: Tincture is ineffective on my acne. It seems the dry or fresh tea is required.

Plantain

Taken internally as a tincture, plantain is my go to for acne prevention. I love the tincture because I don't need to drink a large glass of tea for the effects. However, plantain is even more potent as a tea if you are looking for something strong. Be aware that it is also a nervine, so the tea tends to make me sleepy :)
Look for this plant in very sunny and moist areas. I use black seeded plantain, but I assume all types of plantain will have a similar effect.
Dose: three or four leaves as a tea x2 a day or one Tbsp tincture x3 a day
Plant Profile: Cooling, neither dry nor moist, mild relaxing nervine
Other notes: Holding your nose makes the tincture go down much easier. The plant is quite bitter.

Chickweed

I am very fond of chickweed as it is the first herb I learned to identify and use medicinally. Look for this herb in cool areas such as under bushes. Chickweed doesn't like the heat.   
Plant Profile: Cooling, neutral, has high water content
Dose: drink a strong tea throughout the day. I usually use about 1/2 cup of loosely packed fresh plant per liter of water. I have no experience with the tincture.
Other notes: Chickweed has a very mild taste and is fabulous when brewed with some lime juice and thyme!

Wild Violet

I love the taste of violet, primarily because it really doesn't have one (Some herbs taste pretty rough :p). I use it frequently in salads too. Look for this herb in shady moist areas. Again I don't use this herb much because it makes me  a bit drowsy. This plant will work best for those that have a dry constitution. It make not work for those that are damp. Everyone is different so don't be discouraged if one solution doesn't work for you.
Plant Profile: Cooling, Moist, slight relaxing nervine
Dose: Strong tea throughout the day. Use the same amount as chickweed.


*keep in mind all of these dosages are relative. This is just what works for me. You might need a larger or more frequent dose if you are heavier or if your condition is more serious. Take what you feel you need as all plants are safe for consumption.


Other potentially useful (and available) plants I have yet to experiment thoroughly with include:
Dandelion - bitter and neutral all around

Chicory - similar to dandelion

Other Useful Tools For Getting Started

I assume that not all cystic acne has the same root cause as mine. It is important to identify your constitution type in order to get good results! Take a tongue test here to find out your bodily deficiencies (hot or cold, dry or damp): http://eagleherbs.com/self-tests/tongue-diagnosis-38

For a tutorial on making tinctures see my other post here: http://sparrowchef.blogspot.com/2014/02/simple-winter-healing-herbal-tinctures.html

If you would like to learn more about other herbs (useful for things beyond acne) for beginners see my facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/foragingnaturewalk

I hope this post has been helpful and informative for those looking for answers! Keep in mind that there are other factors that can affect your breakouts such as diet, stress, and allergies. Sometimes handling these can alleviate your symptoms, but odds are if the condition is severe, this not enough to fix the problem.

 If you are struggling with severe acne, I wish you the best in recovery and would be happy to answer any questions that you might have! Good luck in your search! 

Fermented Fabulously Crunchy Pickles

Yeah they really are fabulous.
Especially in comparison to my first attempt at fermented pickles where I ended up with squishy gross slimy things. They were pretty hard to stomach. These new pickles are wonderful because of the simple little trick I used to make them crunchy and the method that I used to prevent mold formation. Its a pretty common work-around I have seen on other fermenting pages as well.


This post is primarily about the methodology of making good fermented pickles instead of recipe based. 

First thing you will need to do is to locate a good fermented pickle recipe. Make sure it includes at least 1/2 Tbsp salt per cup water and lots of garlic such as this one: http://www.deeprootsathome.com/lacto-fermented-pickles-no-canning/.

To get the fermentation process started you need to place your sliced cucumbers into a wide mouthed glass jar and fill with salt water and spices.

In order to make the pickles crunchy the secret is to add tannic acid in some form. Surprisingly tannic acid is in many types of foods. Of these are green tea, black tea, fruit leaves, wine, unripe fruits, and many types of nut tree leaves. I chose to use butternut leaves in my pickles, but for those that can't find this fragrant walnut type tree, the more common oak tree leaves will work as well. The more fragrant the leaf, the better it will retain crunchiness in your pickles.

White oak leaves (left) are the better choice if you can find them, but red oak (right) will probably also work.

Wash about three or four leaves, cut them in quarters, and pack them around and on top of the cucumbers. You can also use the leaves to hold the vegetables below the brine surface.

Now for the fermentation setup:

 Simple, I know.
This step is necessary to keep the pickles submerged to prevent mold. For that reason it is important that you clean the bottom of the cup you use to weight the pickles down well. 

I used a racquetball to add enough weight to keep the pickles below the water line. Now you can walk away for a couple of weeks and let your pickles develop at room temperature. Make sure the weighted cup sits loose in the top of jar so your bacteria can breathe.

Other notes:
Be careful not to add a tight seal to your jar. If you use a tight seal, the bacteria might blow it off of the jar as pressure builds up from the fermentation process. Finding a cup that covers the majority of the top of the jar will prevent dust and things from getting in. Don't sweat it. Being clean really isn't a big deal here. The acid the bacteria produces will sterilize the food.

Also don't throw away your first batch of pickles! You can use juice from the first batch as a starter culture for the next. It considerably speeds up the process.

Happy pickling!

Seasoned Mushrooms and Soft Boiled Egg Appetizers

Ingredients:

 per person:

• half a clove of garlic
• 8 slices of mushrooms (I just used button)
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped green onion or chive and parsley or carrot greens
• one egg
• 1/2 tablespoon of butter

This made a great appetizer, but I could also see it making a very tasty breakfast as well in larger portions. The mushrooms and seasonings make this dish very flavorful. Whereas the egg makes it filling and the yolk makes a kind of sauce to tie everything together. I really liked garnishing at the end because it added a bit of crunch to the mix as well.

Instructions:

First finely chop up all of the greens and mince the garlic. Set a skillet with a lid to medium low heat and add the butter. When the butter starts bubbling, and the seasonings. After a minute or two, or once the garlic has browned, add the mushrooms. Coat them well in the seasoned butter and let them cook for a few minutes until browned. Now flip them, coat them in the butter and brown them on the other side. 

Once done, remove the mushrooms to the serving platters, sprinkle some salt and pepper on them, and remove the skillet from the heat. Let it cool down for a minute and then directly crack your egg into the pan.

You ideally want your egg to be cooking over the lowest heat possible. However I was impatient and you can see the bubbles and brown bottom of my cooked egg. I just couldn't wait, it smelled too tasty...

Cover the skillet and let the egg cook for about 5-10 minutes over the lowest heat possible. As soon as your egg yolk is no longer liquid, but more gel-like you can serve these. Sometimes you can move the pan around a bit to see if the yolk moves or not. What should happen is the outside of the yolk will cook just enough to stop it from spilling everywhere, but the inside is still a thick liquid. Also if you see a white film start to form on top of the yolk your egg is done. Remove it ASAP to the serving platters and lay it on top of the mushrooms (It keeps them warm).

You can see a bit of whiteness on the yolk here...


Top with some salt and pepper then garnish with uncooked green onions and shredded carrot to serve.

Featured Dessert Recipes from Against All Grain

The other day I stumbled on a wonderful blog called Against All Grain by Daniel Walker. I am always on the look-out for easy gluten free baking options and found her site to be full of great ideas. Most gluten free recipes require the use of three or more types of alternative flours. In the long run using this approach to gluten-free baking can be very costly not to mention it takes up a lot of space in your pantry!

In Daniel's blog she sticks to using primarily almond and coconut flour for all of her sweets. Not to mention she substitutes honey for cane sugar whenever possible which was a huge plus for me.

Since these recipes looked so delicious and simple I immediately set out to bake them and prove that they were more than what I supposed were just mythical sweets of legend.

I was very surprised and satisfied with my results. All of the recipes I tried were delicious and had no weird aftertastes or textures.

I tested out her banana muffins, chocolate chip cookies, and honey meringues. 

 I made a few substitutions in the recipe by subbing some chopped carrots for a banana since I didn't have enough.

The meringue cookies were really lovely too. Perfectly crispy and they tasted strongly of honey. However I find out that you cant leave these out overnight. Apparently the honey is hygroscopic enough that they get soggy unless covered or stored in containers.

I forgot to take pictures of the chocolate chip cookies. I ate them too fast. But take my word they were PERFECT.

Check out these recipes and more at Daniel's blog here: .http://againstallgrain.com

Edible Spring Weeds

Wild and homegrown plants are great sources of nutrients. The soil that a plant grows in significantly affects its nutrient profile, and much commercial produce is grown in over-used fields that are depleted of these. With the weather change, now is the time to start planting domestic and wild plants. In addition, everything is blooming which is great when beginning to identify wild plants. Blooms are a distinct part of most species and can significantly aid the process. Here are a few common edible plants you might find in your area.
In order from tastiest to least:

Purple Dead Nettle:

 This weed has a rather minty taste. It has soft fuzzy leaves and can grow quite tall (about 2 ft) if left alone.

Be careful however of the look alike of this plant: in this previous post.

Another commonly seen edible is the wild violet:

Again these plants grow significantly larger if cultivated and kept well watered.

Next is chickweed:

 

 It grows in large mats and has distinctive blooms. The best way to positively identify chickweed is to look for the single line of hairs running along the stem of the plant. No other look-alikes have this characteristic.

 I listed chickweed as third not because of its taste, but more texture. Its a bit stringy. But otherwise its a nice addition to salads.


Fourth on the list is dandelion. Although a bit bitter, the blooms and greens are still tasty in salads.

Lastly is red clover. It is known to be a great herb for health however, it is even more bitter than dandelion. Best to use only the most young and tender parts. Red clover should be easy to differentiate from white clover. A) because it is usually just larger (you can see the white clover in the background of this picture, and B). because it is fuzzy.

These are great weeds to cultivate in whatever green space you maintain. I've been transplanting some into my garden to make sure they are safe to eat since we have a lot of dogs that live in the area.  Happy Spring!

Making Simple Winter Healing Herbal Tinctures: Dandelion and Usnea

     I recently began a journey to start foraging in my area a few months ago. I don't have much time for it, but I love being outside and learning the names and uses of new plants. I love plants and everything about them, growing them, smelling them, eating them. This passion combined with my acne issues made me seek out ways to use plants to abate my breakouts. Store bought tinctures are ridiculously expensive, so one thing led to another and soon I was making my own herbal medicines from wildly gathered plants.
    At first it was a lot of work to learn to identify everything and how to properly store and use them as medicine. However, once I got past the first hurdle it has been easy to continue the process. It was a bit overwhelming at first to identify what I would like to collect, so hopefully I can provide a guide for those of you looking to expand your horizons with herbal medicine. 

Using sources such as the wonderful Kiva Rose's site and others, I familiarized myself with what I wanted to collect and what ailments I wanted to try treating. (As a side note:  Kiva Rose's blog is really phenomenal, she has done a great job describing the energetics of herbs and how they can be used for everyday purposes. I learned so much! It is a must visit! )

I chose two winter herbs to gather that I highly recommend for beginners:

Dandelion

 It has unmistakable toothy leaves.
image source: http://healthybodynow.net/

Usnea

 

It is the center lichen pictured. It is fuzzy, easily separated, and sometimes has flat fruiting parts. However it is still unmistakably hairy ( aka: old man's beard) and pliable with a white interior under the skin of the organism.

I chose these two because they were abundant in late fall, and still are in the dead of winter, and do not have any poisonous look-alikes. I am paranoid that I might forage the wrong plant in my naiveness, so I try my best to start with very distinct plants. Please when you are foraging be very careful and always identify, identify, identify!

Dandelion is a wonderful bitter that can be used as a delicate diuretic. It helps expel toxins while maintaining potassium concentrations. Most diuretics can be a bit harsh because you can become dehydrated, however dandelion helps prevent that with potassium absorption. Typically used for liver and kidney support. I was interested in using dandelion because I know my acne is hormone related. The liver is a site for hormone production and breakdown. It synthesizes testosterone and estrogen and expels any excess hormones lurking around looking for trouble. I have heard that dandelion helps clear acne for this reason. Dandelion has neither a cooling nor heating effect on the body, so it is a useful delicate tonic for most all persons.

Usnea is an even more essential herb to keep in your medicine cabinet. It is a strong antibacterial and used for bladder (e.g. urinary infections) and immune support. It has a very cooling effect on people and is good in situations were there is excess heat (or energy/overproduction) in the body. I use this medicine to prevent me from getting sick in the winter months, and surprisingly as a disinfectant wash for my face. It works brilliant for both accounts. I have not gotten sick this winter and my face feels very nice after I apply a few drops of tincture.

Harvesting:

Dandelion harvesting in winter is best for root collection. In the winter all of the nutrients migrate down to be stored in the root section of the plant. These are much easier to unearth in wet soil. Search for these in open field areas or on the edges of woods. Be careful not to take plants if you think they may have been contaminated with dog feces. Local parks are usually not good places to gather.

Usnea is very abundant if you know when and where to look for it. The best time to search is directly after any rainy, windy, or snowy weather that might shake loose tree branches or things growing on them. Look for fallen branches on the ground with other fungi growing on them and you are likely to spot usnea. Like all lichen, usnea is sensitive to pollution and will not grow in city areas well. I say this and yet I find usnea quite frequently in my neighborhood,  just never enough to make medicine with :)  Look for these when you are hiking or are in more rural areas.

It is additionally important to gather these during moist weather because usnea gathered on wet days tastes is earthy and sweet but batches collected on dry days are quite bitter.

Medicinal Storage Methods:

There are four main ways to preserve herbs for medicine (that I know of):
-in glycerin
-in oil
-in vinegar
-in honey
-in alcohol

Glycerin is used as an alternative for alcohol extractions. I don't use it. 

Additionally I do not use herbal oils. For internally consumption they must be processed CORRECTLY in order to prevent botulism poisoning. This crock pot method that can be safely used but it is time-consuming.You can not simply place herbs in oil for extended periods of time, this is very dangerous.

Herbal infused vinegar is really lovely for salad dressings and such, but it is hard to stomach as a tonic in spoonfuls. Use 2 parts vinegar to 1 part herbs. Vinegar will kill bacteria, so as long as the herbs are submerged in the fluid, nothing will grow.

Herbal infused honey is a real winner when eating whole spoonfuls of harsh tasting medicine are involved. Unfortunately neither of these herbs infuse well with honey. Dandelion is bitter tasting and usnea will not extract into aqueous solutions. So try this one in the spring when dandelion blossoms are around. Raw honey has antibacterial properties as well, so as long as all of the herbs are submerged you should not worry. Make sure to stir your infusion every now and then.

Alcohol infusions (aka: tinctures) are my favorite way to store medicinal herbs. It is quick, simple, and the most antibacterial substance I know of, so I feel quite comfortable with this method of preservation. The only drawback is that you need very concentrated alcohol to make the usnea tincture. It requires at least 60% alcohol to extract the medicinal molecules from the lichen. So you need 120 proof booze. I have a bottle of bacardi on hand, but everclear would probably be more favorable because it is tasteless. I dilute my alcohol to about 40% for dandelion tinctures, because you don't need as concentrated of a solution for it and that alcohol stuff is expensive sheesh. Make sure your herbs are completely covered in alcohol when you store them.

Preparation:

As for preparation of the medicines it is very simple.
-clean gathered herbs with water (most time consuming step) and a bit of vinegar

- chop with a knife or roughly process the herbs in a food processor

-add to a preferably opaque glass container and cover with alcohol

-label with date and plant name (sharpies come right off with alcohol)
-store in a dark place cool place
-after two weeks, take 2 - 4 spoonfuls of liquid as needed daily depending on severity of condition. I would recommend starting with a low dose and working your way up to make sure your body is fine with the herb.

 

(The steeped herbs after several months)

Be aware: These medicines do not taste good. They tend to be bitter and strong. Collecting the freshest ingredients will help minimize their harsh taste. I find that the benefits of having them for use outweigh the stinging taste though.

I have read a lot of literature on preparing herbal tinctures, however I am not a medical doctor and information listed on this site should not be taken as medical advice. Please refer to more knowledgeable sources for any serious ailments you might be attempting to treat.