Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Chamomile

[00:00:00] Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Now today we are going to talk about probably, well one of the most common herbs, probably one of the herbs that is the first one most people encounter. And I mean as infants. And it's chamomile. Chamomile is probably the best herb and certainly the most popular and traditional herb for calming fussy babies and easing colic.

[00:00:28] There are two types of chamomile. There's German chamomile and Roman chamomile. Roman chamomile may also be called English chamomile or garden chamomile. They're pretty much interchangeable. Both are calming to the stomach and mildly sedative. And it's actually an effective sedative for adults as well. But small children are far more effective by the sedative properties of chamomile.

[00:00:55] Because they haven't really been exposed to many stimulants or sedatives yet. You know as we go on through life. We're just having our morning cup of coffee or a soda or you know something stronger.

[00:01:06] However, we build up a tolerance to mildly sedative herbs like chamomile. But if you were raised on chamomile and you learned, well I guess you would say your brain kind of developed a pattern. There's a good way of putting it.

[00:01:28] But starting out as an infant before you were even aware of things in this world. The taste of chamomile caused a calming reaction in your body. Your brain develops that pattern. So if you were raised on chamomile later in life, you may still experience the sedative effect of chamomile. Even from just a cup of tea.

[00:01:51] Now we'll make stronger tinctures of this and such. But never look down on a cup of chamomile tea. It's really excellent for just if you need something mild to help you sleep. But dealing with stress. But even better than that, it's one of the best things for upset stomach and diarrhea. Very antispasmodic to the intestinal tract.

[00:02:14] So we'll get into all that. But the only thing I really need to point out is that most adults have never been exposed to fresh chamomile. If you go to the grocery store or your neighborhood health food store, herb shop or whatever and you buy some, you know, a box of tea, pre-made tea, it's most likely very stale.

[00:02:36] So fresh chamomile is so easy to tell. And this is the most remarkable quality of the plant, in my opinion. It is one of my favorite smelling plants because it smells like apples. So I always know when I've wandered into a patch of wild chamomile because I start smelling apples all around me.

[00:02:59] Fresh chamomile tea, it should be dried properly, it should be stored properly, and it will still smell like you just bit into a green apple that you found on some old tree out on an old farmstead or something. An old heirloom apple that's got that just really amazing scent to it. Except that the chamomile smells like more apple-y. It almost smells like, you know, Jolly Rancher's apple candy or something.

[00:03:24] Because it's got the aromatics of a flower that's bringing that scent to your nose. So that flower, that scent in the chamomile is an oil. Whereas in the apple, it's a liquid. So you can imagine the scent of fresh chamomile as being like apples times a hundred. And it's really remarkable. And one of the common names that people used to call it was ground apple. Because it smells so much like apples. Just absolutely wonderful.

[00:03:53] If you open some chamomile tea and you don't smell fresh green apples, throw it away. It's no good. It's lost all its potency. And the difference is night and day between the two. Between a stale chamomile and a fresh chamomile. A fresh chamomile is far more sedative. It's far more soothing to diarrhea. It has a lot of good qualities that we'll start to get into now. Let's get started to get into them.

[00:04:21] So, uh, D.S. Corides wrote about chamomile, you know, centuries ago, about 2,000 years ago or so. And, um, he describes it. Now you've probably seen chamomile before. It's a white flower with a yellow center. It's very attractive, very pretty. You can put it in your window box or your... Even if you live in a HOA or POA, you can plant chamomile in your garden and people just see it as an ornamental flower. They won't know that you have a very nice medicinal herb in there.

[00:04:50] Um, but he says the roots, uh, uh, the, the roots and flowers have a warming quality, uh, relieving strength. I think by that he means stopping cramping. Um, anyway. He says taken as a drink or a decoction or by bathing in it. That's a use we don't really use anymore. Uh, actually very good.

[00:05:14] It says it helps, um, bring on menses, um, and expel kidney and, uh, other urinary stones and, uh, induces urine. It has a diuretic effect. It says it's taken as a drink for gassiness, gaseousness, and for those suffering intestinal obstruction. They clean away the jaundice. It's a good liver herb. It's a very good liver herb, in fact. Um, it's included in the, uh, Swedish bitters.

[00:05:40] And it says, and Dios Cordi says it cures liver ailments. And decoction of them is used in warm packs for the bladder. So you, in that case, you would basically take a hot decoction, strong root tea, and, uh, we put the whole plant in there. It doesn't just have to be the roots. Um, reduce it down so it's real strong and dip a towel in it and, uh, put it in the roots. It's a good, uh, put it over, uh, your bladder area if you're having, uh, bladder issues. And that's also true for colicky babies.

[00:06:08] Uh, colic, the word actually has several meanings. Uh, in, in older times, it was often used for coughs and congestion. And now we think of it more as intestinal, um, essentially cramping because the baby's digestive tract isn't fully developed. And putting chamomile on as a warm decoction, a warm pack, as he says, it will soak into the skin. It will absorb it that way.

[00:06:36] And it will do more to relieve that, uh, cramping in infants than just about anything. And, uh, you know, it's just a, it's a period they have to get through as the body continues to develop. Some people never actually get past that. Uh, there's a certain percentage of people where those nerves in the intestines never fully, uh, connected.

[00:06:58] And it's very dangerous, very dangerous actually, because you're, you think, you think about how, you know, the food waste matter, whatever you want to call it, moves through your, uh, digestive system through your intestinal tract. There are, I think, peristaltic contractions, um, in the intestines that move that waste matter through it, right?

[00:07:21] Uh, those are involuntary contractions that your body does naturally when the nerves in that area are stimulated by, you know, some matter entering that part of the intestine. Depending on how large the gap is between those nerves, you may have an area of your intestine that doesn't contract and help move things through.

[00:07:45] So you're relying entirely on the nerves beforehand to push it through an area that's essentially, uh, not unresponsive. And, uh, it's gonna be painful. It's gonna cause, uh, cramping and everything, bloating. I mean, it's gonna cause issues, but it can also cause intestinal blockages depending on how large that gap is. So that's one thing, uh, you need to be aware of if you have, uh, digestive issues, uh, where you're experiencing a lot of cramping.

[00:08:14] It could be a number of things, but if this has been happening your entire life, it may not be irritable bowel syndrome or anything like that, uh, which is the label they want to put on everything these days, you know, because they've come out with a lot of nice new drugs to treat it. Um, if you're having to use, uh, laxatives frequently and you have for your entire life, I mean, from the time you were a child up to the present day, you may have that condition. And I cannot recall the name of it, where the nerves just don't go through.

[00:08:43] They just did not connect in a certain segment of your bowel. And in that case, um, you gotta be real careful about it. Be sure to get plenty of fiber. Be sure to, uh, stay very hydrated. Um, you know, uh, I am real bad for, uh, not drinking enough water when I'm away from my home in the mountains. The reason is the water where I live in the mountains comes from a deep well. And I have a backup source from a spring.

[00:09:13] This is, it's a deep spring. It is the most wonderful taste. It tastes better than any bottled spring water you've ever tasted. It doesn't, uh, you know, sometimes you drink water and it'll put like gas on your stomach or make you a little nauseous. It doesn't do that. Of course, it's like almost ice cold coming down the deep mountain. And it just, um, the water just plain tastes good and it's full of good minerals. It's, it's really good for your health. It's invigorating. Um, I love the water, uh, from the mountains.

[00:09:40] And when I'm off the mountain and I'm in, uh, especially an urban area where I'm drinking city tap water, it's been treated with chlorine and chloramine and who knows what else. It's full of pharmaceuticals from other people's waste. I mean, you know, people take their, their pills and then they go, you know, pee or poop them out. And that water just gets filtered and treated and put right back into the reservoir.

[00:10:08] Um, it's full of PCBs. It's full of, uh, microplastics and everything that's in, you know, municipal water. Uh, I, it upsets my stomach. I mean, it makes me burp. It, it just makes me nauseous. Sometimes I'll drink a glass of water, uh, when I'm at my mother's house down in the, um, in Moore County. And, um, take a glass of water and just throw up immediately. I mean, it's just, it smells like a pool and I'm, uh, my stomach's just not used to that.

[00:10:37] And, um, so, uh, a lot of times when I'm spending time away from home, I will get very dehydrated. Not even thinking about it. I'm thinking, you know, I'm drinking water when I'm thirsty or I'm drinking something alternative to water. But, uh, because the water doesn't taste good, I don't drink enough of it. And especially, of course, true in hot weather, you know, you sweat a lot and everything. If you have that issue with your bowel, um, you gotta be sure to get those, you know, eight glasses of water a day.

[00:11:05] You know, plus your coffee and tea. And if you drink a couple of beers or something, gotta get those eight glasses of water a day. Um, would definitely recommend, um, kefir or kefir as I call it because that sounds better to my ear. Uh, if it's my accent better, K-E-F-I-R. I make water kefir. Uh, you can make milk kefir. It doesn't matter. It's a probiotic beverage that's been around for thousands of years. Um, kombucha.

[00:11:34] Learn to make your own kombucha. I think I've done a whole show on that. Uh, you know, if you need some info on kombucha, well, you can Google it. But, I mean, it's, it's, uh, far better to make your own because a lot of the store-bought kombucha has been pasteurized. Which means they killed off all the good stuff in there. Um, you know, that's a good idea. Uh, those are probably the two best things. Uh, kefir and kombucha. Of course, uh, yogurt. But again, you gotta make your own or buy it from a specialty source because it's been pasteurized otherwise. Sauerkraut.

[00:12:03] And ditto on that. If you don't make your own sauerkraut, what you buy from the store has probably been pasteurized. Uh, real, you know, super easy to make your own fermented foods and that will help a lot. That'll help a whole lot.

[00:12:16] But, in fact, there has been some research to indicate that the, uh, the probiotic, the good gut bacteria and fungi, um, that will, then, if you eat this stuff and drink those beverages every day, will then be living in your intestines, uh, will kind of compensate for that lack of nerve connection. They will actually help move things through.

[00:12:40] And it's almost like if you think of the, uh, mycelium in the soil, like when you pull back some pine straw or something, you see all those like little white spider webby looking things going everywhere. Those are mushrooms. That's the mycelium of the mushroom, which you see on top of the ground is the fruiting body. Those actually intertwine and kind of communicate with each other, moving nutrients from one area to another to support the entire mushroom colony.

[00:13:07] The, the good gut fungi and bacteria that work together that are in kombucha and kefir and all that do basically the same thing in your intestines. So, if you, even if you have that almost like, you know, deadened gap in your intestines, get enough fermented foods, those fungi begin kind of helping move things along from one end of their mycelium to the other. And, um, also of course, very good for your immune system.

[00:13:37] About 80% of your immune system is in the gut and it works in cooperation with those good gut fungi and bacteria. Whenever we take antibiotics, it kills off most of them. We have to get it back by getting more fermented food. And if we only live on pasteurized food and we're not making ferments at home, um, we end up with heart disease and diabetes and kidney disease and all the ills of the modern American diet.

[00:14:04] I mean, you know, that it's, it's absolutely essential that we have fermented foods in our, um, in our diet. And the, the, the only way you're going to get, be assured of getting the best quality is to learn to make them yourself. And if you don't know how, uh, my, my cookbook, the omnivore's guide to home cooking walks you through it from the most basic step by step. I mean, people have gotten in touch with me and, uh, they're like, I just made my first batch of sauerkraut.

[00:14:33] I'm like, Oh, that's great. Where would you get the recipe? I got it from your book. I couldn't believe it was that easy. It's the best sauerkraut I've ever had. I can't tell you how many people have done that. If you like kimchi, which I do definitely give it a try. I even had my recipe in there for redneck kimchi, which is like the best thing you'll ever have at a hot dog. Let me tell you. I mean, it is so good. It is spicy, funky, hot. It's not just spicy. It's hot. It's funky. It's pickly. It's a little sweet.

[00:15:03] It's like the best relish you can imagine. Um, it's a little mustardy. It's, it's, it's just, um, horseradishy. I mean, it's just, it was a punch in the face. I like it a lot. Now, if you have a more mild taste, I have, you know, just basic, um, cucumber pickles and such as that in there as well. So definitely check that out. And, uh, in, in, if not my book, get somebody else's book or go on YouTube and watch videos of people making sauerkraut or pickles or something.

[00:15:32] Just make sure it's fermented, real fermented food, not using vinegar. Now, vinegar is a fermented product, but what we get in the store is like distilled white vinegar. It's dead. It's dead vinegar. That's actually more of an industrial product than a natural vinegar. If you buy apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar, ideally get something like Bragg's for apple cider vinegar. It will have this little jelly-like thing in there that's called the vinegar mother.

[00:15:59] That's actually the, the bacteria and yeast that colonize the vinegar and turn apple cider into vinegar. Same thing is true of, uh, good, uh, wine vinegars. Uh, even like Pompeian. I mean, that's, I think it was, yeah, that's the brand if I'm not mistaken. That's one of the most widely available commercial red wine vinegars there is. Bottle bottle one time. It had a nice big vinegar mother just sitting in the bottle of it, bottom of it. So when I finished that vinegar, I poured in some red wine and let it make another batch of vinegar.

[00:16:29] Excellent. It was the best, uh, red wine vinegar I've ever had. And literally just using the mother in the bottom of the bottle, add some fresh wine, let it sit for a couple months. And I mean, that was superior to the store-bought vinegar. I mean, it had a more complex flavor. It had a balance of sweetness and acid. Um, really good. So either, you know, you can get into vinegar making, but, uh, if you buy vinegar pickles from the store, they have no probiotic benefit.

[00:16:57] They've been pasteurized in the jar. So anyway, learn to make that stuff yourself. So anyway, um, uh, Discordy said that for people who had a urinary gravel that had a purplish color to it, chamomile was the absolute best. And it could be used externally and internally. And he said that, um, smeared on, they would cure the ulcers of, uh, the eyelids.

[00:17:27] And he's specifically talking about like ulcerated areas on the, the rim of the eyelid. Um, let's see, uh, good for thrush. Um, even used as a suppository for fevers. Chamomile does have a fever lowering quality. Um, you know, it works as a tea too, uh, which is probably better. Um, but for, you know, an emergency. Uh, in that case you would want to use a cold, by the way, you don't want to put hot tea up your butt.

[00:17:57] I hope I don't have to tell you that. Um, uh, makes an excellent tea, uh, combined with honey. And I mean, 2000 years ago they were drinking it same way we do now. And chamomile and honey. I mean, that is just such a great combination. It really is. It's like one of the few herbal teas I really actually do enjoy. I'm not, uh, if I'm going to drink tea, I drink, you know, black tea. I like caffeinated tea. I don't drink a lot of herbal teas, which I know is odd for an herbalist, but that's, you know, Chamomile is one I do like with honey. Anyway.

[00:18:25] So, uh, moving up about a thousand years, we get to St. Hildegard von Bingen. And of course she wrote German chamomile, whereas D.S. Cordes would have been writing up the Roman chamomile. She says German chamomile is, uh, has a pleasant, is a pleasant, has a pleasant juice. Let's see if I can get that out. And, uh, it's like an ointment for painful intestines. If one has pains in the intestines, he should cook German chamomile with water and lard or oil.

[00:18:53] And he should add the whole, oh, some fine whole wheat flour, thus making a porridge. He should eat it and it will heal his intestines. When women menstruate, they should eat or drink that same porridge. It will greatly provide a purgation of mucus and internal fetid matter and bring on menses. However, a person who suffers with a stitch in the side, a pain in the side, should mix the juice of German chamomile with cow butter and rub it on the area which hurts and he will be cured.

[00:19:20] As I mentioned before, you know, when you run and you get that stitch in your side, that's actually sort of a friction between the lining around the lungs and the liver, essentially. Um, if you have a constant stitch in the side, it may be because you have lung inflammation. Uh, that's very common and that happens to me when I'm, uh, asthma flares up. Um, it was very worrisome when it first happened and then, uh, found out it was my lungs causing it, not an inflamed liver. You never want an inflamed liver.

[00:19:48] But if it's happening without, uh, lung issues, it can be an inflamed liver. And chamomile is very good for soothing liver, bringing down liver inflammation, whether taken as a tea or applied externally. And we'll continue in the German tradition. I'm going to sip of water here. And, uh, Father Nape writing in the, um, late 1800s said,

[00:20:13] Chamomile tea used for colds and cataracts congestion, especially when these are attended by fever for stomach pain, cramps, violent congestion, toothache, etc. It's a well-known and trusty friend in every German house. Less familiar to the English public will probably be the little muslin bags filled with dried camomile flowers, which will relieve pain when applied warm on the stomach or abdomen. And yeah, that's how you want to use it with, with babies who have colic.

[00:20:40] In fact, uh, Brother Alwishus was his protege. He goes on to say it relieves cramps and is one of the best remedies for colic, stomach cramps, and swelling from wind. That's gaseousness. It is also recommended for indigestion, heavy bleeding, liver complaints, and nerves for the hysteria, kidney and bladder stones, and dropsy. In this case, he's talking hysteria. Well, it's hard to say. Uh, hysteria can actually be, uh, pleurisy, which makes you short of breath and would cause people to faint and swoon.

[00:21:10] Or it can be, uh, basically PMS. You never know what the old herbalists are referring, but actually, chamomile would help with both. Um, he said, uh, good for kidney stones and bladder stones and dropsy. When applied externally in the form of warm bags, chamomile relieves cramps, inflammations, etc. Burns should be constantly bathed with the decoction of chamomile. Uh, Austrian herbalist Maria Treben, writing in the eighties, uh, well, seventies or eighties, somewhere around there, said,

[00:21:39] It is no exaggeration that I cite chamomile as a cure-all, especially for babies. In any case, the child should be given chamomile tea if it suffers from cramps and stomach aches. The tea is of help in flatulence, diarrhea, eruptions, stomach troubles, and gastritis, and menstrual disorders, cessation of menstrual flow, and all abdominal disorders, insomnia, inflammation of the testicles, fevers, wounds, and toothache. Chamomile produces perspiration. It is soothing and antispasmodic.

[00:22:06] It is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, especially in cases of the inflammation of the mucous membranes. Externally, chamomile is used as a compress, and washed from inflamed eyes, conjunctivitis, moist and ishing eruptions, wounds, and as a gargle for toothache. Anyone who starts to feel aggravated should drink a cup of chamomile tea, and soon the wonderful soothing effect, uh, sensitive effect is felt. Very much recommended is a warm chamomile pillow applied to aching parts.

[00:22:35] Chamomile baths and washings are much beneficial to the whole nervous system. After a severe illness or for states of exhaustion, its soothing and quieting effects are soon felt. Even as a beauty aid, chamomile has merit. The face wash for the decoction of chamomile once a week will soon show healthier and softer glow. A decoction is used as a hair conditioner, especially on blonde hair, where it makes it more manageable and gives it a beautiful shine. Chamomile helps with the movement of the bowels without purging

[00:23:05] and is therefore indirectly beneficial for hemorrhoids, to which a chamomile ointment can also be applied externally. This ointment may also be used to promote the healing of wounds. Colds and maxillary sinusitis are soon better if chamomile steam is inhaled. After such treatment, one must understandably remain warm, because it will make you sweat. But, boy, she goes on quite a bit. Let's see what else she said.

[00:23:33] Well, if I can get... There we go. I got it on the next page. Okay. So, she says the ancient Egyptians dedicated chamomile to the sun god because of its fever-reducing effect, and the oil of chamomile was used as a rub for neuralgia and rheumatic pains. The name matricaria comes from the Latin mother, or mater or mother, and as the name applies, it was used for female disorders. In old herbals, one reads that chamomile takes away the tiredness of the limbs,

[00:24:02] and boiled flowers applied to an ill bladder ease the pain. The Swiss Abbie Kunzel, that's Father Kunzel, you know, I wrote the English translation of his book, tells of a village where a woman was known as the chamomile witch to whom people came in their distresses. The people regained their hearing when she fried green field onion in chamomile oil and was dropped into the ear frequently.

[00:24:27] The chamomile witch gave movement back to paralyzed limbs through chamomile oil massasers. Against eye pain, chamomile boiled in milk was applied as a compress over close eyes, and they were healed in a short time. Abbie Kunzel goes on, Oh, weaver could only sleep sitting up because he felt as if he would suffocate. The herb woman took a look at him and said he was not passing water, which he acknowledged. Immediately, he had a drink from a large bottle of wine in which chamomile had been boiled,

[00:24:56] a glass full given every morning and evening, and an unbelievable, an unbelievable amount of urine was passed. First dark and turgid, then cleaner and clearer, and after eight days he was helped. Um, yeah. And consider these are German speakers, you know, Germans don't tend to be the most effusive of people. When somebody, when a German praises something, you know it's really, really good. And they really, they really like their chamomile.

[00:25:25] So, uh, English chamomile, which, um, is, uh, yeah, I believe that's the Roman. Um, the English love their chamomile as well. And Girard wrote in the 1500s, Chamomile is good against the colic and stone. It provoketh urine and, um, uh, oil of chamomile, good against all matter of aches of joints, bruising, shrinking of sinews, hardness, and cold swellings. That's another thing we haven't mentioned. Uh, chamomile oil, um, can be used.

[00:25:55] It's more like a mild, mild form of St. John's Wort oil or arnica. It's, it's good for swellings and bruises. It's another one to keep around. And you can combine those plants without a doubt to use externally in oil. Um, let's see. Decoction made in wine and drunk is good against coldness in the stomach, belching, and, um, voideth the wind. That means gets rid of, uh, flatulence and bloating. And bringeth down the monthly courses. Uh, it stimulates menstruation.

[00:26:23] The Egyptians have used it for a remedy against all cold agues. It's fevers. And, uh, decoction made in white wine would help expel the afterbirth and such. Um, the herb boiled in ale and given a drink easeth, easeth the pain of the chest, uh, coming from wind, and expelleth tough, clammy phlegm, and helpeth children of the ague. Yes, the English used to give their children beer. Everybody drank beer all the time. Ale, really.

[00:26:52] Um, because the water wasn't good. And, um, Western civilization was essentially built on beer. You know? Anyway. Uh, and wine in France, but beer in England and Germany. But anyway. So, the herb used in baths provoketh sweat, rarefieth the skin. That means, uh, cleanse, makes your skin a little, uh, whiter and, and, and healthier. Uh, it actually can be used to remove freckles even in some cases.

[00:27:17] Openeth the pores, uh, mitigateth the gripings and gnawings of the belly. Allayeth the pains of the sides. Mollifieth hard swellings. That means softens. And wasteth away raw and undigested humors. The oil compounded of the flowers performeth the same, and is a remedy against all wearisomeness, and is with good success mixed with all those things that are applied to mitigate pain. All right. A hundred years later they had moved away from the Elizabethan English, thank goodness. And Culpepper said,

[00:27:47] The decoction made of chamomile and drank, take away all pains and stitches of the side. The flowers of the chamomile, beaten and made up into balls with oil, drive away all sorts of agues or fevers. Um, and, oh, let's see, is there anything we haven't covered? Uh, oh, it could be the, the oil applied externally, applied to the, the crown of the head and the feet, covered up, would induce sweating, and that would help break a fever.

[00:28:16] Um, let's see, There's nothing more profitable to the side than the liver and spleen than it. Bathing with the decoction of chamomile, that will take away weariness and ease, pains, uh, what part soever they be applied. Uh, aches and pains, yeah, we covered most of this. Um, Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Um, yeah, we talked about how to be taken for bladder issues and all that. Miss Grieve, writing in the 30s, said,

[00:28:46] um, she gave a little poem from the Middle Ages. Like a chamomile bed, the more it is trodden, the more it will spread. That's nice. And, uh, yeah, you do want to walk through it. It smells phenomenal, really. Especially first thing in the morning when you're going out to your garden. Uh, a little patch of chamomile can just be one of the nicest things to have around. The, um, let's see, she said that chamomile used in the olden days used to be looked upon as the plant physician.

[00:29:15] It has been stated that nothing contributes so much to the health of a garden as a number of chamomile herbs dispersed about it. So it probably has some companion plant qualities, probably helps keep some bugs away with that, you know, strong scent. Um, let's see if she gives anything we haven't covered before. She talks about where it was cultivated at the time. We don't really need to know that. No, she pretty much covers the same thing. Uh, we'll stop with, uh, plants for future, uh, modern use.

[00:29:44] Medicinal use of German chamomile. German chamomile is well known herbal remedy and is much used in the West. In particular, it's an excellent herb for treating various digestive disorders, nervous tension, irritability, and is also used externally to treat skin problems. An infusion of the flowers is taken internally as an anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carmenic, chologog, diaphoretic, amenagogue, febri-fuge, sedative, stomatic, tonic, and vasodilator. What does all that mean?

[00:30:14] Uh, well, okay. Soothing, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, you got all that. Antispasmodic means it helps cramping. Carmenitin means it helps settle a, get the gas off the stomach essentially. Colegog, very similar, very similar, diaphoretic, breaks a fever, aminagogue brings on menses, febri-fuge, breaks a fever, sedative, stomatic, tonic, vasodilator means it dilates the blood vessels and can help lower blood pressure.

[00:30:42] Infusion is particularly useful as stomatic nerve, iron, and sedative for young children, especially when they're teething. Yeah, absolutely. and, whoo, we're, especially when, I lost my place, treatment, there we go, especially when they're teething. It is also useful in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, peptic ulcers, and hiatal hernia. In large doses or when it is taken regularly for several times each day,

[00:31:11] the tea can be emetic means enough it will make you throw up, and can also cure the symptoms it's intended to cure, cause the symptoms it's intended to cure. So if you drink too much of it too often, you could throw up and probably have cramping and diarrhea. The flowers are also used externally to treat wounds, sunburns, burns, hemorrhoids, mastitis, and leg ulcers. The flowers are harvested when fully open and dried for later use. The flowers contain various volatile oils upon steam distillation.

[00:31:40] The volatile oils become the essential oil, okay this is basically what they're saying, and become remarkably anti-allergenic, and it's useful in the treatment of asthma and hay fever. The flowers are sometimes added to cosmetics as an anti-allergenic agent. The whole plant harvested when flower is used to make homeopathic remedies, especially good for children. And let's see, let's see,

[00:32:10] we just, that was the German. Now let's get the, yeah. Now this is the Roman. It says, Chamomile is a common herb with a long history of safe and effective medicinal use. It is widely used as a household remedy. It is particularly useful as a remedy for various problems of the digestive system, as a sedative and nervine. It is especially suited for young children.

[00:32:37] A tea is made from the flowers and should be prepared in a closed vessel to prevent the loss of essential oils. Flowers are anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, nervine, stomatic, tonic, vasodilator, everything we just said about the, the, the German, this is the Roman. The single flowered form is most potent medicinally, though it can in large doses damage the lining of the stomach and bowel. So don't, you know, again, stay away from large doses. For this reason,

[00:33:05] the double flowered form is preferred because it contains less of the alkali that causes the problem. Flowers gathered in summer when they are fully open and distilled for their oil or dried for later use. Should not be stored longer than 12 months. The whole herb is used to make a lotion for external application, the treatment of toothache, earache, neuralgia, etc. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy and is considered to be soothing. So, in closing, what do I say?

[00:33:35] This is one of the most pleasant and useful of all herbs. It smells great. It's a pretty sunny looking little flower. It's one of those that people take for granted because you probably had chamomile tea when you were a child and never really thought about it after the age of five or so. Do yourself a favor and start growing your own chamomile. And you'll find many, many uses for this herb. And it's one of those I would put in the essentials.

[00:34:03] I mean, if I was going to pick like my top 10 or 20 herbs, chamomile would absolutely be in there. So, y'all, now wrap this one up. Have a great week and I will talk to you next time. 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. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and there is no governing body regulating herbalists.

[00:34:32] 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. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you.

[00:34:59] 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. Thank you. Thank you.