Mountain Maus' Remedies

Until recent…before I started my research and decided to offer herbal advice and remedies…to me, nettles have always been a little like willow bark — something I’ve gone through life vaguely knowing was medicinal, yet I’d never really bothered to get around to picking and using what my Oma called “Brennnesseln” or what my Opa use to threaten to spank me with when I stepped out of line! Ironically, the first part is still true. Washington State has been experiencing very warm weather for the month of March, and my husband Jim and I decided to go on a little hike in the foothills in front of our farmstead to see what wild herbs are starting to sprout up. So off we went in search of the “Weed That Bites”. Did I want to find some? “Heck, yes!” And I was pleasantly surprised to see nettles all along the path up to the top of the mountain we were hiking up. What most people call weeds is really a super-food. I've read differing accounts (thanks, Internet) of their value, anywhere from 20-40% protein, with high levels of vitamins A, B, and C, and possibly some minerals (iron, I've been told and read). I'm no nutritionist, but I do know that greens are good for you (that’s what my Oma always told me anyways!). I found a good selection of medicinal recipes as well as dinner side dish ideas. Once we made it to the “Y” in the old logging road, (This was my goal to reach that day) Jim and I put our gloves on and pulled our clippers out and tackled the patches of nettles. A couple of hours later we started our hike down the mountain and returned to our farmstead with two grocery bags full of nettle tops. Score! Because of going out and foraging, this is why I believe we have the freshest wild harvest here at Mountain Maus’ Remedies! I emptied one bag and began trimming the leaves from the stems and carefully laying them in my dehydrator to dry, and then cut and sift. I also made a huge batch of Tincture. The cut and dried Nettle leaves can be found here and the Nettle Tincture can be found here. I’m so excited to share all this medicinal freshness with my customers! We harvested approximately 15 pounds of fresh cut nettles, about 6 hours of trimming the leaves from the stems and another 3 hours of drying then the cutting and sifting. When the whole process was completed, we ended up with 2 lbs of dried very fresh and healthy nettles. This is your standard prep when dealing with nettles. Is it worth it? You bet. Unlike Willow's, there is no shortage of information about the benefits of Urtica dioica, the common stinging nettle. They are unusually high in protein for a green plant. Nettles are also very high in vitamin C and A, iron, fiber and a bunch of other goodies. They've often been called a “super food” for this reason. For those of you who want to forage for your own nettles, here are a few things to consider: Do you need it? Harvest with a purpose or plan in mind, not just for the fun of it. Harvest only as much as you will use and process it as soon as possible (don’t waste it). 1 in 20 rule. It is ok to harvest a plant if there are 20 others available to maintain the population. Leave the Grandmother. Allow the biggest and best plants to remain so they can continue to propagate the healthiest population. Leave damaged plants or plants with “residents.” Select quality material for your food and medicine. If a critter makes it’s home there, choose another. Harvest 1/3 or less of an individual plant (leave some roots) so it can continue to survive and thrive. Harvest with a clean cut so the plant will heal well and continue to survive and thrive. Avoid polluted areas. Offer appreciation and bring positive energy to your harvest. Never put anything in your mouth unless you are 100% sure it is safe to ingest. Here are a few tidbits on Stinging Nettles. How do I identify Stinging Nettle? Fortunately stinging nettle has a distinctive look to it. The leaves and stem are vibrant green and pubescent (hairy), sometimes with a hint of purple. As the nettle grows, the strongly serrate/toothed margins or edges of the leaves become more evident. Each leaf has a twin on the opposite side of the erect central stem and they’re arranged such that one pair is in the 12 and 6 o’clock positions. The next set down is slightly larger and is at 3 and 9 o’clock. The next set down is even larger and back at 12 and 6 o’clock, and so on. The leaves have a characteristic heart shape to them with a small stem attaching the cleft or top of the heart to the central stem. The base or point of the heart aims away from the central stem. By late spring, the nettles are 3 to 6+ feet high, the largest leaves are upwards of 7 inches long and they are flowering lovely whitish/greenish inflorescence's or clusters. These clusters will soon go to seed and become slightly brown. And as late summer turns to autumn, the leaves will wither and fall and the stems will turn from green to brown to whitish/gray as they overwinter. The bare stalks may decompose completely before new leaves emerge from the underground rhizomes or they may remain to oversee the beginning of the next generation of foliage. If you are still unsure whether a plant is indeed a stinging nettle, you can opt to touch it and see what happens. If you feel a sting/slight burning feeling and possibly even a small welt which may arise, then you have confirmation of the plant’s identity! If not, then perhaps you could consult a field guide such as Plants of the Pacific Northwest. You may harvest nettles from the time the new leaves emerge from the ground until late fall after the flowers have gone to seed but before the rains begin to rot the stems (while they still maintain their green color and have leaves attached). It all depends upon your goal. If you would like to use nettles for food or tea, then harvest them before they flower. Fortunately, individual plants will often be at different reproductive stages depending on their location. So, look around and you can usually find some that you can still harvest where others are not. How do I harvest Stinging Nettle without getting stung? The easy answer is to use scissors and wear long sleeves, long pants and work gloves. But it’s much more interesting to harvest nettles when you understand how the stinging process works and learn how to handle them without getting stung. When looking at a stinging nettle, you can see little hairs on the stem and leaves. These hairs are hollow and when they get under your skin, the tips break off and allow the formic acid (among other things) under your skin. Now I don’t know if every hair is hollow or if every hollow hair has acid associated with it. I do know that sometimes the lightest touch will get you stung and sometimes it takes effort to get stung. The key is that the hairs on the leaves all aim from the cleft or top of the leaf to the point or bottom of the leaf. If you run your finger from cleft to point, you will not get stung and you will impress your friends. If you run your finger from the pointy end up toward the cleft and central stem, chances are excellent you will get stung. It’s as simple as that. Let’s imagine you want to harvest some nettles, and you have your scissors but forgot your gloves (something I DO NOT recommend). No problem, because you know the secret (or you pull your sleeves down over your fingers). All you to do is cut the portion you need, hover your fingers above and below the leaf, then pinch it. Ta-Da, no sting, because you know the hairs don’t point straight out, they angle down the leaf. All you've done is press them flat against the leaf where they cannot poke you. Good job! Now you can place the nettle in your collecting bag and continue harvesting. If you've forgotten your scissors, you can harvest leaf by leaf (but that takes a long time). If you choose to go this route, be extra careful, I speak from experience, no matter how much experience you have, you will experience some stinging. When you select your leaf and pinch it, look at the location of the nearby leaves before you pull it from the stem. Beware the smaller upper leaves that dangle down and zap the top of your hand. And be mindful of the larger lower leaves that sneak out and get you on the wrist as you’re watching out for the wily upper leaves. Stinging nettle is a plant that demands respect so be sure to do so. What part do I harvest? I harvest the tender tops (usually 4-6 leaves or 2-3 leaf sets). There are a number of species of moth and butterfly larvae that feed on nettles. Check the terminal (top) bud for signs of little six legged creatures before harvesting. It just takes a quick glance to notice that the tips or leaves has been chewed on, is slightly blackened or there is bug poop (waste material from plant-eating insects) visible. If the nettles are very young then I only harvest the top bud and first leaf set. Harvesting the terminal (top) bud will stimulate lateral bud growth causing the plant to become bushier and allowing you to harvest continually from the same plant all summer long. What do I do if I get stung by a Stinging Nettle? Plantain is one of the many potential natural remedies for a stinging nettle sting. It works for me every time!Getting stung is a bit of a pain (no pun intended) but not a very big deal. And, it’s certainly not enough of a negative to keep me from harvesting and enjoying these amazing plants. I rarely get stung, (I am kidding!), but when I do there are a few natural remedies nearby that I like to use. You’ll find that different remedies work for different people, so you may have to try a few to find what works for you. Some swear that mud does the trick for them, but it doesn't do a thing for me except get me dirty. My #1 go-to plant to stop the sting is Plantain. Simply pick a couple of fresh leaves (usually growing close to where you are harvesting) put them in your mouth and chew (making a spit poultice) till its wet and yucky, then rub it on and the sting is eliminated. Others crush and apply Yellow Dock leaves or rub the welt/sting with the spores on the under side of Sword Fern leaves. And, if you’re so inclined, you can smash some of the stems with a rock and apply the juice from the plant that stung you or from it’s roots. If you’re close to home, you can apply aloe vera gel, make and apply a paste of baking soda and water, apple cider vinegar, Desitin (diaper rash cream), tooth paste, etc. I encourage you not only to research (field guide or online) the plant remedies listed above, but go outside and look around to make sure you can identify them in the field where you’ll actually be when you need them. My final notes on Stinging Nettles: The internet boasts many medicinal uses for stinging nettle which may or may not be true. I encourage you to do your research by finding reputable and independent sources of information. Don’t take my work for it or my using my husband and children as guinea pigs, consider working with a respected herbalist or naturopathic physician in your area – someone who uses plants as medicine on a regular basis and knows from experience what they will and will not do.

During this time of year, immunity to various colds, flu’s and viruses are a huge topic. You can barely watch a television program or listen to the radio without hearing and seeing commercials about cough drops, syrups, over the counter, non-prescription immunity protection, not to mention the shots that are so conveniently provided by various drug stores. The problem is that many, if not all, of the commercial products have a few ingredients that are not the best for your body that are an included ingredient to help with color, flavor, and preservatives. Plus, do you really know what is in that needle that is being injected into you that is called a ‘flu shot’? With immunity being such a vast topic, there is no way to go into the details of how our physiology interacts with plants, and it’s not possible to provide you with a huge list of herbs that aid and boost your bodies natural immune system in this little blog. This is to provide you with a few things to think about, ponder, and will provide you a few common examples in how to use various herbs to help boost your natural immune system. So, let’s start with immune stimulators which get your body into gear. They work in various ways, some through increasing lymphatic filtration, some by stimulating T-cells or B-cells, some through ‘squeaks’ (stories) that have been passed down through ancestral folklore. The “how” isn't relevant here, but the “when” is: the sooner you take an immune stimulator, the more likely you are not to spend a week or more, miserable on the couch or in bed. There’s this idea floating around our “enlightened culture” that if an occasional little bit is a good thing, you should probably take a massive amount of it daily because then you’ll turn into a superhero and you’ll rock! This of course, is not the case, so please don’t drink Maus’ tinctures by the ounce! Immune stimulators are strong medicines and should be treated with respect. If you’re buying tinctures to be used as an immune stimulator, make sure you read the label for the correct dosage or just send a “Squeak” to me by phone or email and I will be happy to assist you! I really don’t recommend tea for these herbs since the medicinal extracts are best if infused with alcohol, which is why I suggested that you don’t drink it by the ounce! It’s important to note that stimulating an already over-reactive immune system can be dangerous for some people; for example, if your immune cells are attacking your nervous system, like in Rheumatoid arthritis, you shouldn't encourage them to be extra stimulated. People with serious autoimmune disorders, just a heads up: this might not be the best path for you to travel down. The most famous immune stimulating herb is Echinacea; there’s no need to go into the science—let’s just use Maus sense and know that it works—but here are some tips to using Echinacea. Before you make medicine with it, sample some of the plant you’re going to harvest. It should make your mouth go numb and tingly, and if it doesn’t, it’s not strong enough. Echinacea purpurea is the species I recommend, since it’s easier to grow than Echinacea angustifolia, has a wider range of temperature zones, and isn't endangered. I like to make several tinctures through the season of different plant parts, and then combine them all at the end of the season for a whole plant tincture. Similar immune stimulators include yellowdock root, barberry root bark, Oregon grape, garlic (eat this, don’t tincture it), and thyme (nice in oil).Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis, is not as well known as Echinacea, but it is no less fabulous as an antibacterial, antiviral immune stimulator. Of course we only uses mature black berries in our tinctures it tastes great and is even safe for little mauschens too (that’s lil’ mice!). Unlike other immune boosting herbs, elderberry is safe for everyday use. You can give the mauschens up to 10 drops of tincture every day in the winter to protect them from any of their little mice friends that may be ‘coming down with something’ and this works for adults too! If you’re actually sick, take a bigger dose to help fight it off faster. The flowers of the Echinacea are a great immune stimulator too, tinctured fresh in summer and used when you’re actually sick. If you are going to make your own tincture of Elderberries make sure you do not make medicine from poisonous red elderberry (S. racemosa). Energetics for everyone! To help in avoiding getting sick, take immune stimulating herbs. If you do get sick, at lease you don’t have to choose between unrelieved suffering and DayQuil®, you can also choose to pump up your body with natural immune stimulating herbs. First, identify what’s actually wrong, using a concept known as ‘energetics’. Do you have a dry, non-productive cough? A wet sore throat with a post-nasal drip? In very simple terms, is this problem a wet problem or a dry problem? Next, do you need to stop something that’s happening, like a hacking cough? Or do you need to make something happen, like coughing that junk out of your lungs? In other words, do you have a problem that is stuck or moving? Once you've identified the energetics of your problem, wet/dry & stuck/moving, it’s easier to pick herbs by thinking about how to balance out your problem. Choose an herb that has the opposite effect, like a drying herb for a wet problem. I know this seems very simplistic—it is actually a vastly over-simplified version of a really complicated idea—but it works, it’s easy, and it’s accessible. Right there you've narrowed down your choices of herbs to the ones that will actually help. There’s a constant theme in society, “I know herbs don’t work, because when I had this gross phlegm-y cough I tried mullein and it didn't work.” Think about this, you can’t use water to clean black mold and on the other hand, you can’t put out a fire by adding more dry wood, so in this case, why would a moistening herb fix a wet cough? Society gets like this because the article they read in Cosmo didn't mention balance at all (not that this is an exhaustive explanation, but still) and they’re expecting a ‘one-size-fits-all’ miracle pills, but that is not how this works, and should not be how medicinal and pharmaceuticals should work either. You, however, are now well-informed and you want your remedies to work, so you will think about balance. Coughs: The harbinger of doom. When we talk about symptoms, we’re going to talk about them in terms of wet/dry & stuck/moving. ‘Expectorants’ are for stuck coughs: they make you cough up the grossness in your lungs…eek! This is very helpful if you happen to have that grossness in your lungs because you need to get it out. However, if you don’t have anything in your lungs, or if you have a hacking, painful cough that won’t quit (a moving cough), an expectorant is not a good plan—in that case, you want a cough suppressant (“lung antispasmodic”). So right off the bat, is the cough stuck or moving? Is it dry or wet (think phlegm-y versus sandpaper throat)? Choose herbs based on these characteristics of your cough. For a dry, stuck cough, try a moistening (“demulcent”) expectorant like mullein leaf, violet, sassafras, or licorice root in tea since alcohol won’t pull the gooey goodness out of a demulcent herb. For a wet, stuck cough, try a drying expectorant like elecampane, prickly ash, or angelica, in whatever preparation suits your fancy; whether it be a tea or tincture. For a wet, moving cough (the kind that won’t quit), try a drying cough suppressant like wild cherry bark, which historically was such a famously effective medicine that when Robitussin® came out they had to make it cherry flavored or it wouldn't sell. Cherry bark contains cyanide so open a window if you’re drying it inside. If your cough is very irritable, combine with another antispasmodic like blue vervain or coltsfoot. For a dry, moving cough, use a moistening cough suppressant like marshmallow root or slippery elm bark. If your cough is very irritable, combine the demulcent with another lung antispasmodic like blue vervain or coltsfoot. Sniffles (not my cousin, Sniffles the Mouse): For nose & sinus symptoms, again think about identifying and balancing your problem: is it wet/dry or stuck/moving? A stuffy nose is a great example of a stuck condition that can be wet or dry: sinus pressure or a post-nasal drip usually means there’s a bunch of wet inflammation in your face, as opposed to when your nose is so dry that you can’t blow it. A decongestant increases movement and drains everything, so we use it for stuck conditions. Astringents are herbs that dry and tighten mucous membranes, like the lining of your nose and sinuses, so they work great for wet conditions. Just like with coughs, think about demulcents for a dry condition. A wet stuffy nose or a runny nose is just begging for an astringent decongestant; they are also appropriate if it hurts to touch your cheekbones or forehead (where your sinuses are). Examples are goldenrod, bee balm, bergamot, thyme, or cayenne (not really astringent, but a strong decongestant). Use these in any preparation, although I recommend drinking them in a tea because these herbs are stronger in this form. You can also boil water add goldenrod, bee balm, and a little eucalyptus or thyme, put a towel over your head, lean over the steam and breathe in all those delicious oils—believe you me, you will be thanking me, so I’ll say it now, “You’re welcome!” If you've got a dry, stuck stuffy nose or a runny nose you can’t blow, you want something to increase movement and moisture. Combine a less-drying decongestant like bee balm, goldenrod, or thyme with a demulcent herb like mullein or violet to loosen it all up. Again, demulcents should be tea only. Unearned sweat: Fevers are common with winter illness, and can generally be brought down with herbs called febrifuges or antipyretics. That being said, don’t ignore an emergency: if the fever is very high, especially in a child, use your maus sense. There are two basic ways to get rid of a fever with herbs: increase body temperature until it breaks into a sweat (most herbs), or cool the body down. The most widely growing herb for fevers is willow bark, which affects temperature regulation in the brain, as well as relieves pain and inflammation. Willow contains salicylates, the compound that aspirin was synthesized from, but, being natural, it doesn't thin blood like aspirin. You can use any species for medicine as long as the bark tastes bitter and astringent—the yuckier it tastes, the better. Meadowsweet, black birch, and wintergreen work like willow too. Cayenne, prickly ash, bee balm, or boneset (in small doses, tincture only) make you sweat out the fever. These herbs work best in tea or as tincture added to tea; most of them don’t taste great but hot water increases temperature, and dehydration is a fear with fevers. It’s not a good idea to use these herbs with little ones under 6 with viruses, because they don’t have a good temperature ceiling and fevers can go way too high; instead, use cooling herbs to reduce temperature like catnip, borage, and peppermint; together with cold baths (you can add herbs to the bathwater, too). See!!! It works! So let’s say you've got a fever, stuffy nose with post-nasal drip, sinus headache, and a gooey cough but you’re not bringing much up. Instead of taking an herb or two for each of these problems, let’s look at the whole picture and pick a couple of herbs to do a bunch of stuff. Based on our very simple wet/dry moving/stuck thing, this looks and sounds like a wet, stuck condition, so we’ll use dry, moving herbs to get you feeling better. An example of a reasonable combination would be prickly ash, goldenrod, and bee balm. These herbs are warming and drying, expectorant, decongestant, and will help with the fever. They are also not too strong—you don’t want to overdo it and throw yourself out of balance in the other direction. Don’t forget to take some immune boosters too, like elderberry, so you can get better even faster. You can always look up herbs on the Maus’ website, and of course if you have any questions, squeak at me! If you are going to gather your own herbs, please make sure you have the right species and that the contraindications (when not to use it) are okay for you and not poisonous. Thanks for reading, and I’ll squeak at you later! Maus