Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Burdock

[00:00:00] Hey y'all welcome to this week's show. We're going to talk about really a common plant today that well I mean it's coming up right now you'll see it all throughout summer and fall. This time of year it's a great wild edible we eat the leaves. Most people in the world actually grow it as a vegetable for the root and you harvest the root in the fall. We're going to talk about a little bit of the medicinal value of burdock today.

[00:00:29] Burdocks are really common what they call weed. It was again brought here as food and medicine and now people just spray it with Roundup and stuff. Really abundant food source in most places and a great source of herbal medicine. So I mean you got to associate dandelion with burdock. I mean the two plants are so very similar not only are they considered weeds but the they have a slight bitterness. The roots are very similar.

[00:00:59] roots are really good for the liver and they have a lot of good medicinal properties. And I mean okay yeah they have burrs and they're real pain like pick them out of your dog's hair cut you got to cut them out or out of your horse's mane or something they get all over you. Other than that they're really great you know. I think I've spent much of my life cutting burrs out of dogs fur and such as that. It really is a pain.

[00:01:25] So farm raised burdock is usually called gobo. I believe that's the Japanese name given to it. G-O-B-O. And they actually grow it in farms to use it as a vegetable. It's really popular throughout Asia and parts of Europe.

[00:01:44] So the well all right if you ever dug burdock you know it's like impossible to eradicate on your property because it has this like super long root. I mean a little burdock plant that stands maybe a foot and a half two feet tall can have a root that's like three four feet down and it grows straight down like a tap root. You're not going to get it all up. So usually people dig it up break the root off and the next year just comes right back right. So they get around that by doing raised beds really deep raised beds with very

[00:02:14] loose soil. They grow it out for a season. Then they remove the side one side of the raised bed and just dig it out like that. If you're going to dig burdock it really is easier if you can find on a hillside or a stream bank and you can kind of do the same thing dig it out from the side. So a lot of the Japanese recipes I found were for pickling the root and I think that'd be really good. I haven't tried it. I usually would take the young root kind of peel it wash it and peel it and just toss it in with stuff.

[00:02:44] It's got a real mild flavor. It's not real bitter. It's good sliced up cooked with bacon, onions and cabbage that's for sure. The leaves are good too. They usually I probably told you my favorite stream side dish and that is to either catch a trout and fry it in a pan with bacon and some wild onions, some ramps, something like that. Some sorrel if I can find some sorrel because it's got a lemony taste. Perfect meal. But you don't have to have the pan. You can actually just take a burdock leaf. It's a big leaf, right?

[00:03:14] And put your fish in there, your onion, your sorrel inside the cavity of the fish, wrap it up and cook it right on the coals and open it up like a little envelope. Oh man, it's fantastic. If you've got some good wild mushrooms that are edible and you know they're edible or some crawfish tails. Yeah, you can throw in maybe a little angelica for a little fennel type flavor. It's really very, very good actually.

[00:03:39] And you just peel out the charred outer leaves. You can eat the inner leaves and eat everything actually. Just the whole package and spit out the bones of course. You know, I don't usually have some rice with that and it's really one of the most amazing wild meals you can get. So, the roots I usually combine with dandelion because they're very similar in property. They're good for the liver and the skin.

[00:04:07] And it's one bitter, well two bitters I should say, both the burdock root and the dandelion root. You can combine with licorice to make a bitter that's what they call cooling to the liver. You can't mix licorice with stronger bitters like gentian. They just cancel each other out. But this is one you can use with licorice. Licorice is very supportive of the lungs and kidneys. So, sometimes you would want to do that with some liver support.

[00:04:35] This is especially good in case of inflamed liver. It's soothing, soothing to the liver and helps it do its function. But, the use of burdock goes back thousands of years, obviously. The use of corities wrote two burdocks, a big one and a little one. And we still have great burdock and lesser burdock. You'll find them growing on the same property. I don't know if they're maybe two varieties of the same plant.

[00:05:00] I mean, and literally both genetics are in one seed pod, the burrs. Because I rarely see just one growing by itself. So, it could be. Or it could be two separate varieties that were, you know, brought to America at the same time. And ended up in the same place. Who knows, right? So, for the lesser burdock, he said, The root and seed of this, so, this is deus corities again. The root and seed of this, soaked in wine, have the strength, when held in the mouth, to soothe the toothache.

[00:05:29] It is a poultice for burns and chill blades, also drunk in wine for sciatica and dysuria. Of the greater burdock, he said, well, he describes it. And then says, One teaspoon of decoction of the root, taken as a drink with pine kernels. He used pine nuts a lot. Depending on where you live in America, we don't really have pine nuts where I live. You may have the stone pine in the western part of the state. Maybe the pinion. But, you can always buy pine nuts.

[00:05:59] They're really expensive, though. So, I think you can probably substitute almonds for them, though, in this drink. But anyway, he said, One teaspoon of decoction, taken as a drink with pine kernels, helps spitters of blood. That's people with tuberculosis or really bad, any other kind of really bad lung infection. Or even really bad bronchitis can cause that. And it helps with corrupt matter. And when smeared on, it soothes sores from the wrenching of the joints.

[00:06:29] The leaves are applied to old ulcers. And then he gets into different names for it at the time in different languages. We don't need to worry about that. So, England, 1500s, Girard also differentiated between the larger and smaller, the lesser and greater, Burdock. And he said, let's see, is this Girard? Yes, it's definitely Girard. Because he talks very unique Elizabethan English, right? So, anyway, the virtue.

[00:06:59] The roots taken with kernels of pine apples, as Dioscordides witnesseth, are good for them that spit blood and corrupt matter. Then he quotes a nervous name, Apuleus. I think is the way you pronounce it. He said that the same, being stamped with a little salt and applied to the biting of a mad dog, cureth the same. And so speedily setteth free the sick man. Again, hey, if you get bit by a mad dog, you need to go to the hospital.

[00:07:28] If you were in the woods and you had no other option, but for some reason you had burdock and pine nuts and salt, I guess it would be worth a try. But definitely not my go-to on that. He says, Again, take that with a grain of salt. Literally, in that one case.

[00:07:56] He quotes another herbalist, Cumella. He said, Now, okay, that sounds probably a little crazy, right? But actually, there are poultices, what we call drying poultices, that do draw out venom. If you want to read an interesting story about it, go to the Grow Network.

[00:08:20] Look up Marjorie Wildcraft's publication on how she cured rattlesnake bite using, I believe it was prickly pear cactus poultices, or it could have been plantain. But anyway, yeah, long history of that. There is some truth to it. But again, if you get bitten by a snake, reasonably responsibly, I should say, go to the doctor.

[00:08:44] But she treated hers at home, and Jack Spirico did the same thing. Y'all probably familiar with Jack Spirico, and he was bitten by a copperhead. Her husband got bitten by a rattlesnake, went to the hospital, and had much more tissue damage, and got a whole lot sicker than she did staying home using herbs. So look into it, make your own decisions.

[00:09:05] But anyway, he said that the root being stamped, that means crushed, essentially, good against serpents, and the root in like manner is good against the king's evil. That is scrofula, or inflamed glands of the throat. The stalk of the burr with the rind peeled off before the burrs come forth, being eaten raw with salt and pepper, or boiled in the broth of fat meat, is pleasant to be eaten.

[00:09:31] Being taken in like manner, and increaseth the seed, and stirreth up lust. Well, I don't know about that. But yes, you can peel the stalk and cook it in some broth or grease, you know. And it is quite good. The whole plant's very edible, except for the burrs, I guess, unless you get to the seeds inside of them. But as far as increaseth the seed, and stirreth up the lust, probably not, but who knows. It is also good nourishment, especially boiled.

[00:10:02] And we said it was good against ulcers of the lungs and spitting of blood. But the root stamped, again, or crushed, and combined with good ale is the most approved medicine for windy or cold stomach. Yeah, let's see, he's probably got a couple. Well, we already covered all. Well, he's just quoting the ascorities now, so I'm going to move on. 1600s England, about 100 years later.

[00:10:33] Cole Pepper, who was an apothecist, pharmacist of the time, wrote that, By its seed or leaf, you may draw the womb which way you please, either upward by applying it to the crown of the head in case it falls out, or downward in fits of the mother by applying it to the soles of the feet. Yeah, no idea on that one, okay? You're really talking about, like, prolapse here.

[00:11:02] Anyway, we'll go and maybe he's got some a little more practical. Again, he talks about putting it with pine nuts, and it would help them to spit blood. So it was used, that's 1600 years after the ascorities wrote that. So it must have been pretty effective. But now let's see if there's something we haven't talked about. The leaves applied to places troubled with the shrinking of the sinews or arteries gives much ease. The juice of the leaves, or rather the roots themselves, given to drink with old wine,

[00:11:30] doth wonderfully help the biting of serpents. All right. And that the root beaten with a little salt laid on the place easeth the pain thereof. So, soothing anti-inflammatory effects more than likely. The juice of the leaves taken with honey provoketh urine and remedieth the pain of the bladder. The seed being drunk in wine for 40 days together doth wonderfully help the sciatica. So, boy, that's a cure you've got to commit to.

[00:11:57] The leaves bruised with the white of an egg and applied to any place burnt with fire, take out the fire and give sudden ease. And yes, poultices of burdock are one of the best things for burns. Really very good. The decoction of them fomented on any fretting sore or canker stayeth the corroding quality, which must afterwise be anointed with an ointment made of the same liquor, combined with hogs grease, nitrate, and vinegar boiled together.

[00:12:26] Interestingly, he preserved the roots with sugar and said, take in fasting, take in when you haven't eaten anything else. We're good for consumption, urinary gravel, bladder and kidney stones. The seed is much committed to break the stone and causeth it to be expelled by the urine and is most used with other things that do the same purpose. Now, getting up to modern use and out of the hard to pronounce Elizabethan English,

[00:12:53] let's get to Miss Grieve writing in the 1930s. I agree with her. She said it was a stout, handsome plant. I'm quite fond of burdock, actually. She said the, let's see, she gives a long description and you can identify burdock. I mean, if you can't, just look it up real quick on Google. You've been around this plant your entire life. You probably considered it a weed.

[00:13:19] But let's see if, she said the name, okay. So in Latin, it's Archeum Lappa. Apparently a lot of burdock grew in Ireland and such. And lap is an old Celtic word. You know, that's not really germane to our conversation. But, or as Archie Bunker used to say, it's not joining into the conversation.

[00:13:47] But the parts used medicinally. The dried root for the plant's first year's growth forms the official drug. But the leaves and fruits, commonly though erroneously called seeds, are also used. The roots dug in July should be lifted with a beetlifter. You know, that'd be a little bit easier. But like I said, dig them out of a hillside is really the best way you can do it. Unless you want to grow them in raised beds. So, she said burdock root has a sweet and mucilaginous taste. And it does.

[00:14:16] I wouldn't call it sweet, but it's certainly not bitter. Maybe it is slightly sweet. Certainly not as sweet as a carrot. Maybe a little bit more like a parsnip. I don't know. Anyway. Burdock leaves are also collected in July and dried. Medicinal oxygen uses. Here's what we're looking for. Alternative, that means something that gradually brings you back to health. Diuretic and diaphoretic. Diaphoretic means it can help break a fever.

[00:14:41] One of the best blood purifiers in all skin diseases, it is a certain remedy and has affected a cure in many cases of eczema. Either taken alone or combined with other remedies such as yellow dock and sarsaparilla. The root is particularly employed, but the leaves and seeds are equally valuable. Both root and seed may be taken as a decoction. Anti-scorbutic properties of the root make it very useful for boils, scurvy. Anti-scorbutic means it has vitamin C, so it helps to get scurvy.

[00:15:11] Infusion of the leaves is useful to impart strength and tone to the stomach, especially for some forms of lasting indigestion. When applied externally as a poultice, the leaves are highly resolvent for tumors and gouty swellings and relieve bruises and inflamed surfaces generally. The bruised leaves have been applied by the peasantry in many countries as cataplasms to the feet as a remedy in hysterical disorders.

[00:15:35] From the seeds, both some medical tincture and fluid extract are prepared, and they are a benefit in chronic skin diseases. Let's see. Also relax it and demulce it. Demulce it means softening. With a limited amount of tonic property. Infusion of the seeds used in drops of global plants that's retaining fluids. Good for all affections of the kidneys.

[00:16:02] According to the late herbalist Michael Moore, not the fat communist filmmaker, the leaves are very good for poultice, juice leaves, good for abrasions, heat rash, chafing, etc. The leaf is antimicrobial. Remember how one of the old authors said it was good for infected ulcers, sores, essentially. It has antimicrobial properties.

[00:16:29] It has a kidney tonic. He actually died of kidney disease, so he had a special interest in things that were good for the kidneys.

[00:17:00] Pregnancies in winter can be particularly difficult because we excrete toxins not just through the urine but through the skin. In the wintertime, we don't sweat as much and you're covered up with a bunch of clothing. So sometimes a pregnant woman might need a little kidney support, and this would be one of his go-tos for that. But of course, you'll have to look into that. Good for eczema and psoriasis. Thomas J. Elpel, writing in Botany a Day, said the root contains 45% inulin. That's what gives it that slightly sweet taste.

[00:17:29] It's the same compound as in Jerusalem artichoke. So if you do start eating it, it may give you some gas and stomach upset the first few times you eat those roots because your body has to learn to process inulin. It's sort of an indigestible sugar. On the bright side, once you can get your gut and, you know, you want to eat some fermented foods with this, really the best thing to do would be to pickle, ferment the root and eat it. That way you're getting the ferment plus the inulin and your body will get used to it a little bit quicker.

[00:17:59] It's your gut bacteria, really, and flora that has to get used to it. It's not so much your body. It's actually what lives in your body. But anyway, inulin does not spike blood sugar. It is one of the things diabetics can eat. So really good to get used to eating inulin. Let's see. PDR for Physician's Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine says,

[00:18:20] Burdock may have antibacterial, antineoplastic, antitoxic, antioxidant, antiretroviral, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties. So liver-protective properties. Plants for Future states, Burdock is one of the foremost detoxifying herbs in both Chinese and Western herbal medicine. The dried root of one-year plants is the official herb, but the leaves and fruits can also be used.

[00:18:44] It is used to treat conditions caused by an overload of toxins, such as throat or other infections, boils, rashes, or other skin problems. The root is thought to be particularly good at helping eliminate heavy metals from the body. The plant is also part of the North American formula called Essiac, which is a popular treatment for cancer. Its effectiveness has never been reliably proven or disproven since controlled studies have not been carried out. That's right. There's a Native American tea that's supposed to be a remedy for cancer. Some people swear by it.

[00:19:14] And the doctors and pharmaceutical companies just can't be bothered enough to test it to see if it works or not. Why might that be? Well, could it be because cancer drugs cost a whole lot more than an herbal tea? Especially when you can grow the plants or harvest them from your own backyard? I think so. Yeah, I think so. The other herbs include in the formula are Rumex, that's a doc, Olmus rubra, that's elm. Oh, what else?

[00:19:43] Reimplantum, I cannot remember which that one is. It's R-H-E-U-M, P-L-A-M-A-T-U-M. That's on the tip of my tongue. It's not coming to me. Anyway, yeah, it's right there. Well, you can look it up. The plant is antibacterial, antifungal, and carminative.

[00:20:05] It has soothing mucilatidus properties and is said to be one of the most certain cures for many types of skin diseases, burns, bruises, etc. It is used in the treatment of herpes, eczema, acne, impetigo, ringworm, boils, bites, etc. The plant can be taken internally as an infusion or used externally as a wash, used with caution. The roots of one-year-old plants are harvested midsummer and dry. They are alternative, apparent, blood purifier.

[00:20:32] Colagogue, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, and stomatic. The seed is alternative, antiflogistic, depurative, diaphoretic, and diuretic. That's a lot of big words. We've covered those all in the past. Google will tell you what they mean real easy. No sense in going back over them. Recent search has shown that seed extracts lower blood sugar levels. Another reason this plant may be good for diabetics. The seed is harvested in the summer, dried for later use.

[00:21:01] The seed is crushed into poultices for bruises. The leaves poultice on burns, ulcers, and sores. And the only known hazard that I can find on this plant is that the seed pods, the birds, burrs, are irritating. Which is why the old saying, when somebody was upset, they said, you've got to burn his britches. You don't want to have a burr in your britches. So anyway, y'all. Yeah, burdock. Excellent food. Really one of the best medicines. Totally mild.

[00:21:29] Safe, as far as I know, for just about anyone. Check into it. Look into it. But stop seeing it as a weed and start seeing it as food and medicine. Because it's pretty abundant and really darn tasty, actually. So y'all have a good one. The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor.

[00:21:58] The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine, and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health.

[00:22:27] Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.