MEDICINES As Close as Your Door

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6 parts rosemary leaves
4 parts peppermint leaves
4 parts balm leaves
4 parts sweet violet
3 parts feverfew
6 part sweet violet flowers

Native Americans have used the purple cone flower (Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia) for well over a thousand years. If you have been considering the idea of holding people in awe of your magical ability to plunge your hands into boiling water, walk on hot coals, or pop them into your mouth without injury, the Winnebago Indians and other tribes had a secret that was supposed to do just that—a quick rinse of echinacea juice before the exhibition. Not interested? Good, don't do it; that's a dangerous way to live. Actually, the use of this plant is much more practical and far-reaching.

The purple cone flower is a widely known medicinal herb, one of the most popular used by Native Americans. As pioneers began to depend on available cures for headaches, toothaches, swellings, insect stings, or snakebites, they added Echinacea to their own collection of available medicine plants.

In 1992, The Journal of the American Botanical Council and the Herb Research Foundation reported that constituents in the echinacea plant "...protect against systemic infections by Lystra monocytogens and Candida albicans (a common yeast infection)." This was followed in 1994 by a segment on CBS in which Dr. Bob Arnet offered a remedy for colds and flu; again, his candidate was echinacea. He cited another physician, pediatrician Jay Gordon, M.D., of Cedars Sinai Medical Center, who had been using echinacea effectively for treatment of ear infections and colds on his young patients.

Personally, I have found echinacea to be effective in overcoming infections and colds, and reducing swelling and pain in tissues and joints. A tea may be made from fresh, frozen, or dried roots and flower heads. Two methods of producing a tincture can be employed. The first is to weigh five ounces of dried, ground herb, then measure 15.5 ounces of grain alcohol (I Use Everclear—DO NOT CONFUSE WITH RUBBING ALCOHOL) and 7.5 ounces of distilled water. Mix the liquids in a canning jar and add the herbs. Cover with plastic wrap and seal with a lid. Let sit for two weeks, shaking the jar twice a day. The second method begins with five ounces (one part) finely chopped fresh herb and 10 ounces (two parts) of grain alcohol. Mix and bottle as in the first method. Let sit for 10 days. Strain and seal in dark bottles (dropper bottles are ideal). Dosage varies according to need, but 1/2 (30 drops) to one teaspoon (60 drops) of the tincture mixed with water or juice, three to five times daily, is a dependable amount.

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