Christian Herbal Magazine

11/03/2025

It's not too late to join in on the learning! Registration ends March 14th. Looking forward to a great weekend!!

05/02/2025

Looking to learn more about herbal medicine? Join me for a relaxing herbal weekend in Virginia with Blessing God's Way ! We'll be deep diving into the digestive, nervous, and immune systems -- looking at dysfunctions and how to treat those with herbs. We will also be learning how to make herbal medicine with plenty of hand-on practice. Would love to meet you there!

https://gracemidwifery.com/roots-remedies-intro-to-herbal-medicine/

17/02/2024

Engaging the Relaxation Response​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the relaxation response, otherwise known as "rest and digest". Ideally, we should spend the majority of our time engaging our parasympathetic nervous system, although very few of us are able to do so as often as we would like. Engaging the parasympathetic nervous system not only reduces anxiety, it reduces pain, stress, tension, slows our heart rate and breathing, and leaves us in a state of PEACE! Sounds delightful, doesn't it!

How do we engage our relaxation response? Simple. Anything that relaxes us will engage the response.

-- singing, laughing, massage, reading, resting, walking, talking with a friend, a nice bath, a good movie, gardening, stretching, a long hug, a hot cup of tea --

Find something that causes you to relax and take the time each day to engage the relaxation response.

16/02/2024

Hoping to learn more about using herbal medicine and natural remedies to take care of your family this year? 🌿🌸🌲​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​When I first started learning about herbs, I was so frustrated with doctors that:

➡️1) didn’t actually treat the root of the problem, and
➡️ 2) made me feel like it was their way or the highway. The problem though, was that I didn’t know enough about herbal medicine to treat my kids’ illnesses. I was scared that I would make things worse.

After over 20 years of herbal study and practice 📚, the Christian Herbal Magazine was published to teach people how to confidently use herbal medicine, natural remedies, and nutritious foods to grow healthy families!

Subscribe today and not only will you receive a copy of the magazine, but you will also have immediate access to the Immune System: Defender and Protector class including 2 hours of video lessons, 32 pages of notes, and an Herbs of Immune System chart for easy reference.

Learn more and sign up today at https://christianherbal.com

15/02/2024

Beautiful dill and borage ❤️​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Just a really pretty picture that I found as I was scrolling through images from last year's garden. Anybody else do that? When winter seems to be taking forever and all you really want to do is go out and dig in the dirt, you scroll through old photos to remind yourself that spring will come again!

14/02/2024

There are many different types of herbal extractions. One way to extract the herbal goodness out of a plant is through infusions (steeping a tea) and decoctions (gently simmering the plant material in water). These extractions use water to extract the herbal constituents (different active components) from the plant material. Plants contain many different kinds of constituents. Not all of these are soluble in water. Therefore, we must sometimes use other methods to extract the medicine.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​One of the most common herbal extractions is a tincture. A tincture utilizes a menstruum to extract the medicinal properties of the plants. A menstruum usually contains a combination of alcohol (usually at least 45%), water, glycerin, and/or vinegar. Because a single plant often contains different types of constituents, a combination of solvents is used to extract the largest amount of all types of constituents in the plant. This provides the most potent herbal extract with a full-spectrum of herbal constituents. There are several herbal medicine making books that provide information about the ideal percentages of alcohol, water, glycerin, and vinegar needed to most efficiently extract the medicinal constituents out of the most common herbs used.

The types of herbs used in the tincture determine what type of menstruum is needed for extraction. For example, some herbs such as milk thistle seeds require a high percentage of alcohol to extract the oils on the seed coat. Other herbs such as cleavers are very water soluble and require only a small amount of alcohol to extract the few non-water soluble constituents in the plant.

These were some milk thistle seeds I tinctured last year. The bright yellow tincture in the last picture is the milk thistle tincture after several weeks of extraction. The one on the right is ashwagandha.

12/02/2024

Oral health is one of those topics that most people try to avoid…until they can’t. If you have been graced with genetically strong teeth, count your blessings. Most of us need to nourish and strengthen our teeth as much as possible if we hope to carry them into our elder years. We are only given one set of permanent teeth so it behooves us to be diligent in our efforts.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​While losing our teeth might sound horrible, there is another even more detrimental reason to take care of our teeth and gums. Poor oral health has been linked to many systemic inflammatory conditions and diseases. Chronic inflammation in the mouth also weakens the immune system. Our life span can actually be shortened by poor dental health.

Here is a recipe from our upcoming spring issue of the Christian Herbal Magazine! It will start shipping out mid-March. If you haven't subscribed, I think you will love this herbal resource! 🥰

Gum Health Mouthwash

1 part Holy basil tincture
1 part calendula tincture
1 part spilanthes or echinacea tincture
1 part monarda tincture
1 part oak bark or black walnut hulls glycerite

You can either purchase these five tinctures/glycerites or you can make them yourself (see instructions for making tinctures on page 26). If you choose to make tinctures yourself, make sure to make individual tinctures or glycerites and then mix them together.

When I make this mouthwash, I mix half an ounce of each tincture or glycerite into a four ounce bottle that has a dropper cap. Shake well before each use. When ready to use, put 2-3 dropperfuls of the formula in a cup, add ¼ cup water, and swish several times in your mouth. Repeat several times.

08/02/2024

3 Herbs You Need to Take This Winter​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Benjamin Franklin

As Benjamin Franklin so wisely alluded to, prevention is worth so much more trying to cure a disease. Not only are we able to avoid the misery and discomforts associated with contracting the illness, when we focus on prevention we are building the body up to a greater level of health rather than simply trying to maintain the minimum health needed to survive.

Astragalus
Astragalus membranaceus

Astragalus is an herb that has been utilized in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries. Over the last few decades, it has won the hearts of many traditional western herbalists as we realize the many benefits this herb has to offer. The Chinese name for this herb is Huang Qi, which means “yellow leader”. The Chinese consider the yellow roots of the astragalus plant to be the leader of tonic herbs.

Astragalus is a sweet, warming, and building herb. It is considered an immune amphoteric that best shines as a preventative and should not be taken during an acute illness. Astragalus is known to strengthen both our innate immunity (first line of defense immune fighters and barriers) and our adaptive immunity (specialize immunity toward specific pathogens).

Astragalus is considered an adaptogen that promotes longevity, supports healthy heart function, and is hepatoprotective. It combines well with the medicinal mushroom reishi.

For optimal results, astragalus should be taken in larger doses over an extended period of time. Astragalus is excellent in soups and broths or it can be added to herbal tea blends and consumed daily.

07/02/2024

Favorite Herbal Medicine Books to Keep on the Shelf​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​One of the members of our community asked if anyone had a list of books that would be good for new herbalists to read through. I decided to compile a list of books that are both my favorites, my go-to’s, and a few that are on my wishlist (but highly recommended by others).

I am sure this list will be a work-in-progress as I read more and find nuggets of truth sprinkled in the works of many great herbalists.

Is your favorite not on the list? Message me and let me know!

Please note: Some of the books contain questionable and/or offensive content. Please use judgement and discernment as you study any of the books on this list.

https://christianherbal.com/herbal-medicine-book-list/

06/02/2024

Two grand babies born in the last few months, so I have had sitz baths on my mind. Threw together a few herbs that I had grown last year and made this gorgeous blend of herbs. You could also add in some dead sea salt to the sitz bath. These would make great gifts for expectant mothers! The herbs I included were:​​​​​​​​​calendula​​​​​​​​​rose petals
yarrow
comfrey
beebalm (Monarda citriadora)
lavender

05/02/2024

Let me share a tip with you – if you really want to get to know medicinal herbs, plant them in the garden. There is something that happens when you actually see an herb in person and touch it and smell it and taste it. You learn so much about the herb that is difficult to convey in books or articles. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​For instance, looking at pictures of chickweed one would assume it is just a leafy groundcover. But when you pick chickweed, you discover that it has a very succulent quality about it, holding much water and moisture within its leaves. And when you taste fresh chickweed, you get the salty, earthy taste. Interestingly, chickweed is a great balancer of water in the body and is full of the minerals needed to accomplish the task!

One thing you need to realize before you start putting seeds in the ground, herbs are not vegetables. When I first started growing herbs, I was so frustrated because I couldn’t get many of them to germinate. After some digging, I realized that many of our herb seeds are still “wild”. They follow the patterns and processes of the natural world. They need nature in order to germinate and grow. And if we want to domesticate them and keep them within the confines of our gardens, we have to learn what each of the herbs need to flourish in the wild and then mimic that in our growing process.

01/11/2023

Well, it's finally here! For those of you who would love to learn more about using herbal medicine to care for your family, this magazine will get you going in the right direction. Now available in print and digital editions. Subscribe today!

Herbal Education with a Christian Foundation