When you hear or see the word TONIC what comes to mind? For some, it is spring tonics that we have heard the old timers talk about. For others, a good way to rid your body of serious illnesses, such as cancer. Still others, think of quackery. Actually, all three are correct.

My research goes back to the days of the Middle Ages when a group of religious hermits, who shut themselves away from society, and were called monks, grew herbs to use for medicinal uses to keep themselves from contracting plaques and other disease that were rampant during that period of time. The first medicinal gardens of the battered medieval Europe were sown in early monasteries. These monks not only grew herbs, but they studied how to use them. They formulated many herbal tonics that worked very well and people came to trust the monks.

Around the 1700's, the Shakers, originally known as the Society of Followers, had a successful manufacturing of herbal products and medicines and were similar to the monks. From around 1784 until after the civil war, the Shakers enjoyed growing, formulating and selling all over the United States and other countries, tonics and other herbal medicines. They had an excellent reputation of taking great pains to ensure that their products were always of the highest quality.

Somewhere around the mid 1800's, other imitation herbalist decided to get on the bandwagon and, being unable to extract from the Shakers the exact formula, and perhaps not being able to obtain the correct herbs, made up bogus tonics and started selling their wares to the general public. Today's soft drinks were originally linked with tonics. Drinks like root beer, sarsaparilla, and sassafras were created from an array of herbs reported to boost health. Mixed with soda water, they were served at pharmacies advertised as “pick-me-ups”. Coca-Cola, originally included traces of cocaine. Many fakes endured at that time. Fake medicines were advertised far and wide with flyers and medicine shows. They were packaged in appealing containers with bright labels that announced miraculous cures. Just as today, many hucksters back then, were quite skillful at pushing their products.

There were some honest herbalist during that time, such as Lydia E. Pinkham of Massachusetts, who around 1875 made up and sold her own herbal tonics. There were other people who truly wanted to help themselves, families, and friends to get well from various illnesses and diseases. These people made a sincere effort, just as the monks, and the Shakers of years ago, to use the proper herbs for each illness and disease in order to get the desired results.

So, what exactly are tonics? A tonic is a medicinal preparation used to restore tone and vigor to the body for people suffering from a deficiency. A tonic is a healthful brew designed to invigorate the body so that it can fight disease. Tonics are herbal extracts that contain high vitamin and mineral content designed to strengthen and purify the body and to improve the immune system. Tonics have been known to cure devastating illnesses and can fight diseases. They can break up toxins in our bodies and flush them from body tissues, tone organs and restore balance.

When one first starts taking a tonic, they may notice that they feel worse than they did before they started the tonic. This is actually a good sign because what we are really feeling is the body working to throw off toxins and wastes. Some of the “worse” symptoms may be vomiting and diarrhea. But, how else do toxins leave? Toxins are what? Poisons. They don't belong in your body and it is your body's way of kicking these out! Tonics can take anywhere from one month to a year to complete their “job”. Tonics work slowly through our bodies. Figure one month for every year of sickness, and, that includes the time that one didn't even know they were sick!

So, what type of tonics would we use and why? Spring tonics come first to my mind. These tonics go back in America to the colonial days. After a long winter of nothing much more than root vegetables, deer and rabbit meat, it was nice to finally see dandelion greens, asparagus, early cresses, thistles, pursalane, lamb's quarters, etc growing. Many a housewife, if not all, made up their spring tonics using these ingredients to help purge the family's digestive system and help in cleaning the rest of the organs. A sort of renewing effect. Dandelion especially , was used. Dandelion greens detoxify the liver, kidneys, blood and tissues as well as fight gallbladder infections. Dandelion today is also used after cancer treatments and other extreme drug therapies. It can be used for treatment of alcoholism as well.

Other tonics were used during the Civil War to restore the spirits, cure coughs and increase morale. Both the Union and Confederates used these tonics. Even doctors back in the eighteen and early nineteen hundreds used tonics.

If we use real tonics, which contain good-quality herbs and ingredients, we will begin to feel better and to recover from illnesses.

What herbs are used in tonics? Dandelion ( cleansing, stimulating efficient removal of waste products) ; echinacea ( immune system stimulant); goldenseal, ( antibiotic, checks hemorrhages or secretions by coagulation of proteins on the soft surface); nettle ( same qualities as dandelion and goldenseal); ginseng ( energizes) ; hawthorn ( good for the heart and blood circulation); garlic, (antibiotic); milk thistle ( good for the liver) ; licorice ( energizes, good for respiratory and digestive systems); burdock ( used for tumors, skin disorders, liver); clary sage ( general cleansing of the body); yellow dock ( also a cleansing tonic) ; fennel ( kidney stones, gout, liver, lungs); Oregon grape ( kidney disorders, heart burn, skin problems); sweet woodruff ( liver disorders, blood purifier, kidney and bladder obstructions, gallbladder ). There are hundreds of herbs that can be used as tonics. Generally, two to five herbs are used .

How can one purchase tonics? As a liquid ( tincture) , in tea bags, or in bath herbs.

I sell tonics as drinking teas and bath teas. I will be introducing more tonic herbal blends in the very near future and I invite you to try them!