Nowadays, more and more people are interested in natural solutions for minor ailments and conditions. When you search on the internet or obtain information elsewhere, you are often told that you can use a tincture. You can purchase such a tincture in the store, but if you know a little about herbs and plants, it is very easy to make such a tincture yourself. But what exactly is a tincture?
What is a tincture?
A tincture is an alcoholic solution. This usually means a solution of valuable substances extracted from plants, plant parts, plant roots, leaves, resins, flowers and even the seed. It just depends on what the purpose of the tincture is. These tinctures are mainly used in plants and herbal medicine. This type of medicine is called Phytotherapy.
Phytotherapy is a method of medicine in which herbal medicines are used to promote or maintain health. Tinctures are also used in cosmetics, nutritional supplements and drinks. A major advantage of a tincture is that it has a very long shelf life and is easy to use in drop form. Even for children it poses few problems.
The dosage
The dosage is always indicated in a number of drops. For example: 30 drops three times a day. That may seem like a lot, but consider that 1 teaspoon contains approximately 40 drops.
Make your own tincture
You can also make your own tincture. The advantage is that you can be sure that the ingredients are pure and as fresh as possible. It’s a lot cheaper and fun too. What you need first is a little knowledge about the plant or plant part that you want to use for your tincture. Fortunately, you can gain a lot of knowledge via the internet and it is even wiser to ask someone who has experience with it. In addition to the plant part, alcohol is needed, sometimes some water and, above all, time. That time, often weeks, is important because it can take a while before the substances from the plant or plant parts are completely absorbed into the alcohol. The alcohol used by producers is ethanol, but if you get started yourself, you can also use rum, vodka or grain gin. The alcohol percentage depends on the herbs or plants you want to use. For a tincture of flowers and leaves, an alcohol percentage of 30 to 50% is required, and for roots or woody parts this is 50 to 70% and for resins it is 80 to 95%. A few well-known tinctures that you can easily make yourself are, for example, marigold tincture
. , lavender, chamomile, st. John’s wort, comfrey tincture. And so on. In principle everything is possible. You can collect the flowers or leaves and roots yourself in nature, but you can also choose to use the already dried varieties in the store.
Method:
- Make sure you have a clean jar with a screw lid.
- Make the herbs or flowers as small as possible with a knife.
- Put the herbs in the jar and fill it with the alcohol.
- 1 part fresh herbs to 3 parts alcohol.
- 1 part dried herbs to 5 parts alcohol.
- Place the lid on the jar and shake well.
- Then place the pot in a place in the light, but not in direct sunlight.
- Shake the jar well every day.
- Please wait 3 – 4 weeks.
If you think your tincture is good enough, you can strain out the remaining pulp and divide the tincture into clean bottles or jars. Don’t forget to write on the bottle what’s in it and the date so you know when the tincture was made. Store it in a dark place where you can leave it for at least 3 years before use.
Tincture ideas
- Chamomile – soothing, unclean skin
- Lavender – soothing, calming for the skin
- Scarlet coneflower – resistance, infections, inflammation, sore throat, flu
- Comfrey – bruises, bruises, strains, sports injuries etc.
There are many options for tinctures. Google for the application or the plant/herb and you will always find a good article that can help you.
Meadowsweet. A natural aspirin
Ever heard of meadowsweet? You can also make a tincture from that. From the flowers and from the root. The plant itself, as the name shows, prefers to grow in a moist place. It is a perennial plant with white flowers that loses its leaves in winter. You can simply buy it in the garden centers, but if you want an easier approach, you can simply buy the herb dried via the internet.
The plant contains salicylate salts from which acetylsalicylic acid was developed in the 19th century. And acetylsalicylic acid is in aspirin. Quick conclusion: the original aspirin, but from nature. Aspirin can cause stomach problems, but meadowsweet does not because it also naturally contains soothing substances that protect the stomach mucosa and also help against stomach acid. Furthermore, it also helps to remove urine and oxalic acid from the body, making it suitable for people with joint pain, for example. You can also make tea from it (flowers). So if you want to try something new, meadowsweet might be fun to try out as a replacement for an aspirin.
NB!
Meadowsweet is also not suitable for people who cannot tolerate aspirin. Spirea is also not suitable for pregnant and breastfeeding women and people with asthma. The latter because meadowsweet has a slightly constricting effect on the lungs.
