It’s not a surprise anymore that I love herbal medicine. I’ve been writing a lot about it the past months. I wanted to share some pictures of things I’ve been buying recently for herbal medicine and beauty. Everything is from Mountain Rose Herbs which is where I’m an affiliate and source almost everything (unless they’re sold out of something). They offer such great prices on their stuff and the staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable.
These teas are remarkable blends that I love drinking. My daughter loves them, too. I use my big bad-ass french press to brew a big ol’ batch of herbal medicinal tea. (Read more here.) I’m particularly fond of the Dream Tea (it really works), the Vita-Blend Tea, Lemon Tea, and the Moon Ease Tea really works, too.
You know I love tinctures (I teach you how to easily make your own here). I buy some blends and I make some of my own. Since the tincture making experience, easy as it is, takes time to process, I sometimes buy pre-made blends if I don’t have something ready of my own. Or, if there’s a single herb tincture that I don’t feel like making myself, I buy it. For example, I always buy Mountain Rose Herbs’ Ashwaganda Tincture and Astragalus Root Tincture.
I’ll also never be without Black Cumin Seed oil for its crazy ridiculous benefits… it’s from a powerful medicinal plant which enjoys a robust reputation for healing a lot of things. It has a long history (especially in Egypt) of being used for many ailments from headache to toothache to sick stomachs to beauty (and a ton more).
I also source a lot of essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs (I also love Living Libations but they’re usually more expensive, but oh so amazing. Their lemon oil was life-changing for me with Wild-Caught Salmon Roe). I use essential oils daily in our home vaporizers / aroma diffusers (I haven’t tried this one, but it’s on my Amazon wish list). I like to have one in the bedroom, office, kitchen, and family room. They work miracles for energizing when I use peppermint and rosemary … or calming when I use lavender … or disinfecting at flu time when I use eucalyptus, tea tree, and thyme. I also use essential oils for a plethora of other things. I have an epic blog post coming soon on how I use essential oils. I like the small vials (pictured above) in Mountain Rose Herbs’ Classic Sampler for my first aid kit.
Here are a few great choices for soups, tinctures, and teas. I use the rose hips in many of my tinctures to add a beautiful boost of Vitamin C.
I use Schizandra berries in my longevity and beauty tinctures. I read something interesting about Shizandra. According to the little gem of a book, Herbs for Long Lasting Health (by Rosemary Gladstar, my favorite author on herbal medicine), “Schizandra is often associated with the sexual organs, as it’s known to increase the staying power of men and to revitalize women’s sexual experience. When taken over a period of three to four weeks, it’s said to give a warm, tingling feeling to the vagina.” Um… OK!
And, astragalus root? That’s a potent longevity root that I will never be without. It has a stellar reputation for building immune strength and energizing the body. I use it in soups and stews primarily, like my Longevity Bone Broth (recipe here). I simply drop some slices into any simmering stew or tea and let it enhance my creations with longevity vigor. I aim to be a centenarian, after all. (Strain it out before consuming the soup, stew, or tea.)
Last, but not least, beauty (and first aid). I buy a mix of their oils so I can create my own blends for oil cleansing and healing (I have a post coming about a new twist I’ve added to my oil cleansing routine that upgraded it significantly — spoiler alert: this thing).
Mountain Rose Herbs also has awesome hydrosols (basically herbal water sprays for face and body… some are edible for food too, I think). These products are great for anti-aging, hydration, and just making me feel good. One of my favorite hydrosols is the rose water. I buy it, by the big size, and transfer it into smaller bottles, one of which that I carry in my purse at all times. I spritz it on my face to freshen up my makeup, give me a bit of hydration, and calm my senses with the smell.