Prunus species, A HUGE thanks to every helping after the hurricane, fruitcake and cider

[00:00:00] Hey y'all, welcome to today's show. This is going to be a big one. Strap in. It's the prunus family. Well, you may wonder what the prunus family is of trees.

[00:00:12] Well, yes, as the name would imply, it's everything in the family of the prune or plum tree. Prunes are just dehydrated prunes. No, I'm sorry. Prunes are just dehydrated plums, but it's actually really big. It is a huge family.

[00:00:33] It not only includes plum, but also cherry, peach, apricot, nectarine, almonds, damson, slow. You may be familiar with slow gin. Slow gin is gin infused with slow berries. We hardly ever see slow berries on the market in the United States. It's more of a British thing. They're delicious. I love slow berries and really do need to get some growing.

[00:00:59] You know, now that the hurricane's basically ruined everything as far as my garden beds and everything I had planted, time to replant. So let's look into some, gosh, I mean, what are there? 30 different kinds of wild cherries that grow in the United States plus, you know, probably a dozen nice cultivated cherries.

[00:01:21] My favorite fruit, actually, I love cherries. Almonds are very nice. Almonds would not grow here in the mountains where I live, but in warmer areas. Really very nice. Of course, peaches I absolutely love. We have one peach that's native to the mountains of North Carolina, believe it or not.

[00:01:41] And it is a unsweet peach, unfortunately. So I can harvest those and make just about anything I would with just regular fruit peaches.

[00:01:56] If they're good and ripe by adding sugar and such as that, but you really can't beat a good, fresh, you know, ripe peach grown in a hot, sandy climate.

[00:02:07] Really, well, they grow peaches tons of them in Georgia, obviously. When I lived in Georgia, I mean, I would make peach cider and all kinds of stuff.

[00:02:15] They grow tons of peaches in the middle of North Carolina, the Sandhills.

[00:02:18] One of my favorite places to get them actually is from Macbee, Macbee, South Carolina.

[00:02:24] Little town, probably never heard of it. It's spelled Mcbee, M-E-M-C-B-E-E, I think.

[00:02:32] The locals, as far as I know, the only ones I've heard say it, call it Macbee.

[00:02:37] And it's entirely, the entire town's economy depends on peaches.

[00:02:43] Peaches, they have these cannons, these big cannons, which are so cool.

[00:02:48] If there's any chance of a frost, they start firing off these cannons to keep the frost from forming on the peaches.

[00:02:57] And they just scare the hell out of anybody going through there.

[00:03:00] And I mean, literally, people think their car has exploded or something.

[00:03:04] I mean, they're like veering off the side of the road.

[00:03:06] And, you know, they just, they do it with impunity.

[00:03:10] It's absolutely amazing.

[00:03:14] But, yeah, as far as apricots, I mean, you've got the Japanese version, you've got Middle Eastern version, you've got a Mexican apricot.

[00:03:20] I mean, there's so many members of this family.

[00:03:25] And they'll literally grow in the coldest environments, like Kimalee and cherries.

[00:03:30] Or they can grow in the hottest environments, like apricots and peaches and almonds.

[00:03:36] Really more so apricots than almonds.

[00:03:39] Peaches are pretty, actually kind of variable.

[00:03:43] Man, I'm telling you, these are really some of my favorite fruits.

[00:03:47] And it would be like a dream come true.

[00:03:49] I mean, I've got listed here, what is this?

[00:03:52] Used in, documented use in herbal medicine, 124 varieties of prunus.

[00:03:59] Can you imagine?

[00:04:01] I've probably tasted 20 of these, at most.

[00:04:06] I would love to, before I die, actually taste all 120 that are listed as having use in herbal medicine.

[00:04:15] Which is, by no, it means all that are edible.

[00:04:21] I mean, we've got native to North America, ones that people have never even studied.

[00:04:27] Prunus americanus, this is an American plum.

[00:04:29] My grandfather had them on the property.

[00:04:31] They're just wonderful, actually.

[00:04:33] When they're ripe, when they're ripe, when they're not, they're not good at all.

[00:04:37] Chickasaw plum.

[00:04:40] Carolina laurel cherry.

[00:04:41] That is such a cool one.

[00:04:44] I haven't found one in a while.

[00:04:46] When I was younger, I seemed to run across them all the time.

[00:04:49] And I didn't know they were edible.

[00:04:50] Now I want to go search it out and see if I can find it again.

[00:04:54] Pin cherry, black cherry.

[00:04:56] Absolutely.

[00:04:57] Tons of black cherry.

[00:04:57] I've got some in my yard.

[00:04:59] Hog plum.

[00:05:00] That's prunus umbelata.

[00:05:02] People used to grow these plum trees just to feed their pigs, believe it or not.

[00:05:06] Prunus virginiana.

[00:05:07] That's another variant of the choke cherry.

[00:05:11] That's the Virginia choke cherry.

[00:05:13] Prunus ovium, sweet cherry.

[00:05:16] Prunus saracis?

[00:05:18] I guess it's saracis.

[00:05:20] Sour cherry.

[00:05:21] Wonderful in pies, by the way.

[00:05:26] Prunus glandulosa.

[00:05:27] That's actually a flowering almond.

[00:05:29] That's an almond tree that grows native.

[00:05:32] Doesn't really produce nuts here in North America.

[00:05:35] Um, mahalib cherry.

[00:05:38] Prunus, uh, I'll just say wild goose plum.

[00:05:41] I love that name.

[00:05:42] I wouldn't, you know, you could do a plum brandy and call it wild goose brandy.

[00:05:47] How cool would that be?

[00:05:49] That's probably a million dollar idea right there, actually.

[00:05:51] And prunus persica.

[00:05:53] Um, that's peach.

[00:05:54] And there's so many varieties of peaches, as I said, that grow in every, every, really

[00:05:59] every environment.

[00:06:00] If you find a fruit that looks like a peach and is soft and fuzzy and everything, it's

[00:06:05] a peach.

[00:06:06] Open it up.

[00:06:07] Make sure it has a pit.

[00:06:08] I mean, I don't know of any lookalikes, but, uh, yeah, even here in the mountains where,

[00:06:13] um, commercial peach trees will not grow.

[00:06:16] We have a native and it grows.

[00:06:18] It's a big tree.

[00:06:19] It's not like your little peach tree.

[00:06:21] It's actually a big tree and, um, really nice actually, uh, if handled properly and harvested

[00:06:28] at the right time.

[00:06:29] But, um, in, uh, Appalachian herbal medicine, um, wild cherry bark is one of our

[00:06:38] like most important herbs, the bark of the cherry tree.

[00:06:42] This is black cherry, sour cherry, bird cherry, whatever you want to call it.

[00:06:47] It's just a wild cherry.

[00:06:50] Um, used to, people used to make a living going out and finding the cherry trees and stripping

[00:06:56] the bark and selling them to, um, pharmacy companies, pharmaceutical companies.

[00:07:00] The reason is there is, um, it has an antitussive quality.

[00:07:06] It's really, really good for cough and congestion.

[00:07:10] As so many commercial cough syrups used to be made from wild cherry bark, I could not begin

[00:07:15] to list them.

[00:07:17] And of course, cherry wood is wonderful to carve.

[00:07:19] I'm carving some cherry right now.

[00:07:21] I got a, um, a special order for two, uh, pickle forks.

[00:07:27] I carve a really unique pickle fork.

[00:07:29] If you haven't checked out my work before, go to, uh, Judson Carroll Woodcraft.

[00:07:33] Uh, it's a sub stack page that I do.

[00:07:36] The link will be in the description, but I do these pickle forks, which have an interesting

[00:07:41] design kind of, um, I guess sort of elegant, you know, even though it's carved out of wood

[00:07:46] with a knife.

[00:07:47] So, you know, it's kind of like combining primitive and elegant and, uh, the cherry is good and

[00:07:52] hard.

[00:07:53] It'll last generations.

[00:07:54] I mean, you know, these things could be passed down through families for hundreds of

[00:07:59] years.

[00:07:59] Actually, they'd still be just as good.

[00:08:01] Well, the thing about cherries, it has this wonderful scent.

[00:08:04] It actually smells something like rose petals and cherries mixed together, like dried cherries

[00:08:09] and rose petals.

[00:08:11] The wood is phenomenal.

[00:08:14] And as such, it's not only good for carving, which is, you know, it's great for carving.

[00:08:18] A little hard, a little difficult to work with sometimes.

[00:08:20] It, uh, it never splits evenly.

[00:08:22] You cannot get an even split out of a cherry tree, but it's a wonderful wood for smoking

[00:08:28] barbecue.

[00:08:29] There is nothing like pork smoked over cherry.

[00:08:31] There is nothing like duck smoked over cherry.

[00:08:34] Those are the go-tos for me.

[00:08:36] Um, I mean, sure I would do beef, but you know, it's beef isn't going to, beef isn't going

[00:08:43] to feature that sweet aromatic smoke like, uh, you know, pork with its fat or duck with

[00:08:49] its fat.

[00:08:50] There's really nothing like duck smoked over cherry.

[00:08:53] Uh, it will golly.

[00:08:55] I mean, it would change.

[00:08:56] It would convert any vegetarian or vegan into a pure carnivore.

[00:09:00] And I am not kidding.

[00:09:02] I am not kidding at all.

[00:09:04] I'll never forget my, uh, my Muslim friend from, uh, Egypt, Mustafa, who just, he, he wanted

[00:09:11] bacon so bad.

[00:09:12] He would smell that bacon when other people were in, and he says to me, you know, I'm Muslim.

[00:09:16] I can't eat bacon.

[00:09:17] I said, I know, I respect that.

[00:09:19] I understand it.

[00:09:20] Have you tried smoked duck?

[00:09:24] And the boy became a duck hunter in one day.

[00:09:26] I'm just telling you.

[00:09:30] Literally, um, he was going crazy wanting a, just a BLT.

[00:09:36] And of course, Islam forbids it.

[00:09:38] He was a good guy.

[00:09:39] No, he had what we call ecumenical.

[00:09:41] He had no, absolutely no bias against any Christian or Jew or anybody who wasn't Muslim.

[00:09:47] He came from an upscale, you know, intelligent, educated family.

[00:09:52] And, uh, but he tried to live by the tenets of his faith, even though, well, he had an issue

[00:09:58] in one regard.

[00:09:58] I won't get into, um, let's just say, no, I won't get into it.

[00:10:03] Um, and there's probably one thing he couldn't do because maybe he did.

[00:10:08] Maybe he overcame it.

[00:10:09] It was a personal struggle and maybe he got over it.

[00:10:11] I'm going to hope he did.

[00:10:12] Um, because it's not allowed in Christianity either.

[00:10:18] Um, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks.

[00:10:20] Let's just say he had a proclivity, uh, toward, um, a certain issue that is not allowed in

[00:10:28] Islam or Christianity, but a good guy, a really nice guy.

[00:10:32] And I'm telling you, he became a duck hunter in like 10 seconds.

[00:10:37] I'm like, you, you get some duck and you roached it over hickory or oak or, well, oaks.

[00:10:44] Okay.

[00:10:44] But I mean like nutwoods, like walnut and pecan or cherry.

[00:10:48] And he's like, that's like bacon.

[00:10:50] I'm like, give it a try.

[00:10:53] And he's like, next time I see him, he's like, yeah, I'm going out.

[00:10:57] I'm getting my limit.

[00:10:58] And I'm doing nothing but smoking duck from here until the end of season.

[00:11:02] I mean, that boy loved, uh, smoked duck.

[00:11:06] Um, yeah, he was an all right guy.

[00:11:09] I gotta admit, he was really an all right guy.

[00:11:11] You know, I've said this before.

[00:11:13] I think, well, maybe on my herbal podcast, there was one year I just come to, uh, the

[00:11:18] county I was working in for a while.

[00:11:20] It wasn't near home and it's very different from where I live.

[00:11:23] It's in North Carolina, but it's mostly populated by non North Carolinians.

[00:11:28] A lot of folks from up North.

[00:11:29] I didn't know anybody.

[00:11:30] And that year, this Muslim Egyptian transplant was the only guy in the entire county to wish

[00:11:37] me a Merry Christmas.

[00:11:39] Now think about that.

[00:11:42] Were he home, he could have had his head cut off for wishing somebody a Merry Christmas.

[00:11:47] And he was the only person in probably a county where 90% of the people identify as Christian

[00:11:53] to actually wish me a Merry Christmas.

[00:11:57] So, you know, um, keep things like that in mind.

[00:12:03] Uh, just cause people don't share your background or, or, or religion, um, doesn't make them bad

[00:12:10] people.

[00:12:11] And a lot of times we need to be a lot better just to be as good as they are sometimes, uh,

[00:12:17] a lot better.

[00:12:19] Um, and you know, I say that, uh, I need to be better Christian.

[00:12:22] I was talking to someone just recently, um, you know, uh, fellow Christian, but he's a

[00:12:27] different denomination and, um, uh, such a great guy.

[00:12:32] Uh, he worked at a grocery store and he learned the name of like every customer, like probably

[00:12:38] 10,000 people that walked in there, addressed each person by name, talked with them, knew

[00:12:43] their family life, their situations, and prayed for each person or had a kind word,

[00:12:48] uh, you know, a smile for everybody.

[00:12:50] And, um, you know, you think this guy, you know, you would think in our limited human

[00:12:56] understanding, God's going to bless this guy, right?

[00:12:58] Um, no, he was in a terrible car accident.

[00:13:01] He was almost killed, suffered brain damage and has lost his sight two years ago.

[00:13:06] Uh, he's got three little girls.

[00:13:12] What did he do?

[00:13:13] Well, anybody else probably would have fallen into despair.

[00:13:18] Not, not Jim.

[00:13:20] Jim decided if he had to go on disability, which he did not want to do, he would volunteer in

[00:13:27] any capacity he could for any religious organization or, or secular if they were doing good, but

[00:13:34] he didn't care about the denomination.

[00:13:36] He didn't care if he were Baptist or Catholic or Presbyterian or whatever, he would volunteer

[00:13:42] and he would pray for every single person he met.

[00:13:50] There are no words.

[00:13:52] There, there, there isn't, there are no words, you know, that's, uh, I mean, we've seen so

[00:13:57] many people like that here in the mountains after the hurricane, people who just dropped everything

[00:14:02] came up to help.

[00:14:04] So it's amazing.

[00:14:06] Uh, it's absolutely amazing.

[00:14:08] You know, as preppers, we tend to think that, um, you know, when the blankets, the fan or

[00:14:13] whatever, uh, we need to focus on defending our property and keep people from breaking

[00:14:18] in and stealing our preps and everything.

[00:14:20] Cause well, there's a certain percentage of the population that will do that.

[00:14:24] But there's also a certain percentage of the population that will do literally anything to

[00:14:30] help their fellow human beings, regardless of whether they know you, regardless of whether

[00:14:35] they have anything in common with you.

[00:14:37] You can disagree about every single thing, but there's a certain percentage.

[00:14:41] And I don't know what that percentage is, but thank God for them.

[00:14:44] Thank God for them.

[00:14:45] It could be 10%.

[00:14:46] Maybe it's 10%, right?

[00:14:48] I don't know.

[00:14:50] You know, we got a lot of, um, fellas that go in.

[00:14:54] Well, now women too.

[00:14:56] Okay.

[00:14:57] So I don't actually approve of women in the military.

[00:14:59] I'm sorry.

[00:15:00] I don't.

[00:15:00] Okay.

[00:15:01] That offends you.

[00:15:02] I am sorry.

[00:15:03] I mean, in support roles and whatever, but I do not think women have any place in combat.

[00:15:09] No, you may disagree with me, whatever.

[00:15:12] But I'm going to say we got a lot of guys that go into the military and give their lives.

[00:15:18] Uh, for us and we don't give them enough respect.

[00:15:21] It is true that there are some women as well.

[00:15:24] Um, I'm never going to be good with that.

[00:15:26] I'm never going to be okay with that.

[00:15:27] I'm sorry.

[00:15:28] I just, I'm not.

[00:15:30] Anyway, you know, I never served.

[00:15:31] So I guess it's not my place to stay, but I just don't think it's right.

[00:15:36] But, um, there's a certain percentage of the population that would do military service.

[00:15:41] There's a certain population percentage of the population that would do, you know, law enforcement

[00:15:46] or, uh, firefighting EMT.

[00:15:49] You're going to have always have some good ones and some bad ones.

[00:15:52] 100%.

[00:15:54] But there's also a certain percentage of the population that I think we don't really acknowledge

[00:15:59] enough.

[00:16:00] Who's just a plain good neighbor.

[00:16:03] Just somebody you can count on when you need them.

[00:16:05] And we should all strive to be that person.

[00:16:09] But when we encounter them in our lives, um, that's the hidden hero.

[00:16:16] That's the one that gets no government benefits.

[00:16:19] You know, they're not getting free tuition to go to college and no one's paying for their

[00:16:22] health insurance or anything like that.

[00:16:25] Um, to me, that's, uh, really a hero that, uh, we need not to forget about.

[00:16:34] And as I know as preppers, we, we always think like worst case scenario and, you know, the

[00:16:39] hordes are going to be beaten in our door to steal our food.

[00:16:43] Um, and that's true in many cases, and we should be prepared.

[00:16:48] But, uh, there's also the neighbors can be knocking on your door to offer you a hot cup

[00:16:54] of coffee or a bowl of soup.

[00:16:56] And, um, man, those are real heroes.

[00:17:03] I mean, yeah.

[00:17:05] And I've seen it.

[00:17:07] I'm a little emotional because literally I've been living in this hurricane now for like

[00:17:11] two, for like a month trying to recover from the hurricane.

[00:17:15] And I just see it all around me, men and women, people of different races and ethnicities,

[00:17:22] people of different ages, they just dropped everything and came to help.

[00:17:27] You know, when you're in it, it's really hard to be able to help because you've got so many

[00:17:33] things you got to deal with.

[00:17:35] Uh, but it, it, it's amazing.

[00:17:38] And, and I know so many people in the, in the, uh, prepper broadcasting family have done

[00:17:46] exactly that and are doing exactly that.

[00:17:49] And, uh, I hope you've been told thank you, but from the bottom of my heart, I'm telling

[00:17:58] you now.

[00:18:01] Anyway, um, let's talk about this family of trees and we're going to start with almond

[00:18:06] oil because this was like one of the most precious things in the ancient world.

[00:18:10] Almond oil.

[00:18:12] D.S.

[00:18:13] Quarty said, uh, well, he actually tells you how to make the almond oil.

[00:18:17] And interestingly, he used bitter almonds.

[00:18:21] Now, bitter almonds are poisonous.

[00:18:23] So I guess they had almonds for eating and then they would use the poisonous ones actually

[00:18:28] for, um, making the oil, but it is actually that poison.

[00:18:34] And let me think, is it cyanide, right?

[00:18:38] I think that's right.

[00:18:39] I believe that's the poison that's in bitter almonds.

[00:18:42] Actually in very small amounts, it is medicinal.

[00:18:46] It's actually the quality that gives that, that cherry bark, the antitussive quality.

[00:18:51] It suppresses, uh, coughing.

[00:18:54] I think it, yeah, I think it, yeah.

[00:18:56] It's cyanide.

[00:18:57] If not, I'll, I'll, I'm sure I'll get to a note here that I've written down soon that

[00:19:01] will correct that.

[00:19:03] But, but, um, he talks about how it was harvested and how it was made.

[00:19:08] It's essentially pressed like, just like olive oil was.

[00:19:11] Um, he, and like I said, it's antitustive.

[00:19:15] Well, it's antispasmodic and they actually used it.

[00:19:19] Um, well, they actually used it to prevent miscarriage, uh, like contractions, premature

[00:19:26] contractions, which is not considered a safe use now, but they were very, uh, you know,

[00:19:32] aware, but they also said it was good for headaches, ear problems.

[00:19:37] And interestingly, tinnitus or tinnitus in the South, we say tinnitus.

[00:19:42] I don't care what you call it ringing in the ears.

[00:19:44] And it is still to this day, one of the best remedies for tinnitus.

[00:19:50] It helps inflammation of the kidneys, good for kidney and bladder stones, brokes urination,

[00:19:56] good for asthma and splenitis were inflamed spleen amazingly.

[00:20:01] Uh, but topically was used to remove spots from the face.

[00:20:06] Freckles good for sunburns.

[00:20:09] Very, very useful.

[00:20:11] Uh, even the bitter almond tree, which, uh, we don't really use much at all anymore.

[00:20:18] Um, but again, topically, uh, for ulcerated wounds, uh, shingles.

[00:20:25] It's good.

[00:20:25] They applied it for, for shingles and of the sweet almonds.

[00:20:30] It said it would take away pains and soften the bowels.

[00:20:33] So essentially, um, you know, just a laxative, uh, good for the kidneys and pneumonia taken as a drink.

[00:20:40] They, yes, in ancient Greek, they actually made almond milk.

[00:20:44] It's been used.

[00:20:45] It's in so many recipes in Apicius' cookbook from, uh, ancient Rome.

[00:20:51] Um, yeah, almond milk's actually been around for a very long time.

[00:20:54] I don't see it as a substitute for milk.

[00:20:58] I think it's very nice, though, included in some desserts and such.

[00:21:02] It's not really my thing, you know.

[00:21:04] I like, uh, I like milk and meat and fat and all that good stuff.

[00:21:09] But, uh, actually almond milk as a food by itself does have some very good uses.

[00:21:14] And there's no reason you cannot use it.

[00:21:16] Now, when we think, okay, how is the almond related to the peach and such?

[00:21:21] Well, open a peach, crack the kernel, and you're going to see two seeds look like almonds.

[00:21:25] Don't eat them.

[00:21:26] They're poisonous.

[00:21:28] Don't, they're, that little amount probably wouldn't hurt you.

[00:21:30] But it could if you're a person of weak constitution.

[00:21:33] It, again, that's that bitter almond, uh, principle.

[00:21:38] And so almond as a nut, uh, these are, these are droops, really.

[00:21:43] You know, they have more fruit on the peach, less fruit on the almond nut.

[00:21:48] But essentially, they're like cousins.

[00:21:50] And so are the prunes and plums, I mean, all that.

[00:21:55] They said that they keepeth away the drunkenness if five to seven of them are taken before indulging.

[00:22:03] In other words, in ancient Greece, they believed eating five or seven almonds would keep you from getting drunk.

[00:22:08] I have not tried that.

[00:22:12] I doubt it's true.

[00:22:13] But, you know, give it a shot.

[00:22:15] Tell me what you think.

[00:22:16] Eat a few almonds, a handful of almonds.

[00:22:19] And if you're going to indulge, let me know if it helped in any way.

[00:22:22] I don't think it's going to do you a bit of good.

[00:22:25] But also taken as a drink for bloody vomit.

[00:22:30] That's pretty serious.

[00:22:31] And so I wanted to include that.

[00:22:33] Rubbed on with vinegar, it takes away impetigo or other skin infections.

[00:22:38] Taken as a drink with diluted wine cures old coughs.

[00:22:41] Good as taking a drink with passam.

[00:22:44] That was a raisin wine.

[00:22:46] And for those troubled with urinary stones.

[00:22:48] The sweet edible almond has a great deal less strength than the bitter, however.

[00:22:53] Yet it also reduces the symptoms and is a diuretic.

[00:22:56] So I guess, you know, if you're going to play around with this like prevention from getting drunk thing, he's actually talking bitter almonds.

[00:23:02] And therefore, I'm going to recommend you don't do it.

[00:23:05] Because like the last thing you want to do is take a bunch of poison and drink a bunch of alcohol at the same time.

[00:23:11] Green almonds eaten with their shells heal the moistness of the stomach.

[00:23:15] And I don't even know what that means.

[00:23:16] Maybe a mucus stomach?

[00:23:18] I have no idea.

[00:23:20] But anyway, he goes on with sour cherry and recommends it for coughs.

[00:23:25] So you can see that the cherry bark and such has been used by all people throughout time.

[00:23:31] I mean, this is true in China.

[00:23:33] This is true.

[00:23:33] I mean, it's really very good antitussive.

[00:23:36] Said it also, the dried sour cherries were good for the intestines and would stop the discharges of the bowels.

[00:23:43] They have tannins.

[00:23:44] So they're going to help with diarrhea and such.

[00:23:47] And a gum, a sap for the plant, taken with diluted wine, was very good for a cough.

[00:23:54] Peaches, he said, they were good for the stomach and the intestines too if ripe.

[00:23:58] But if unripe, they gripe.

[00:24:01] They cause pains.

[00:24:02] I do not eat unripe peaches.

[00:24:04] They're quite unpleasant, actually.

[00:24:07] I made that mistake a few times in my life.

[00:24:09] Unripe palms and peaches, no doubt about it.

[00:24:12] I made that mistake a few times, especially as a kid.

[00:24:15] A plum or prune.

[00:24:17] They loved them.

[00:24:18] They loved the Damascus prunes from Syria in ancient Greece.

[00:24:23] But they were really not only used as a food, but as a laxative, essentially.

[00:24:31] But also said it was good taking as a drink for kidney stones.

[00:24:36] It was rubbed on with vinegar to heal.

[00:24:39] This is actually lichen sclerosis, a fairly rare skin thing that's somewhat related to psoriasis.

[00:24:48] I know someone who had it.

[00:24:50] And it's one of the few herbal remedies for it.

[00:24:53] It actually prunes with vinegar.

[00:24:56] They would call it paper skin disease.

[00:24:59] It's like a...

[00:25:00] It's...

[00:25:01] Well, look it up.

[00:25:03] Okay?

[00:25:04] It's hard to describe.

[00:25:06] But just the gum of the sap used for cuts and sores.

[00:25:11] The cherry laurel, which is very similar to our native laurel cherry here in the southeast.

[00:25:20] Very good for the leaves.

[00:25:24] Helped with headaches and burning of the stomach.

[00:25:27] Used externally, actually, as a poultice.

[00:25:30] Taken in a drink.

[00:25:31] They were good against griping and other stomach pains and such.

[00:25:37] It's got to about 1080.

[00:25:39] We'll skip ahead about a thousand years.

[00:25:42] St. Hildegard von...

[00:25:43] I've been told it's bingen.

[00:25:45] I've always heard it bingen.

[00:25:47] But a reader from England has told me it is bingen.

[00:25:49] I have no idea.

[00:25:51] I'm just going to try to pronounce it as best I can.

[00:25:55] She said...

[00:25:57] This is such an interesting entry.

[00:25:58] I had to include it.

[00:25:59] Of almond tree, right?

[00:26:03] It's bark leaves and sap are not much used.

[00:26:05] It's in medicine because all its power is in the fruit.

[00:26:08] And here we go.

[00:26:09] One whose brain is empty and whose face has a bad color from pain in the head should frequently eat the unmost kernels of this fruit.

[00:26:18] They will fill his brain and give him a correct color.

[00:26:22] Also, one who ails in his lungs or is weak in his liver should often eat these kernels.

[00:26:27] Almonds, in other words.

[00:26:28] Sweet almonds, in this case.

[00:26:29] They give strength to the lungs and they are no way a burden to a person.

[00:26:36] There you have it.

[00:26:38] Don't ask me to explain that.

[00:26:40] Interesting.

[00:26:41] I don't know what an empty brain even is, actually.

[00:26:45] The cherry...

[00:26:46] She loved cherries.

[00:26:48] And she said, for one, it has retching pains in the belly, but not from worms.

[00:26:53] She'd actually eat cherry seeds.

[00:26:55] Well, we don't do that anymore.

[00:26:57] And they do contain some of the poison.

[00:27:01] But used topically, the cherry dissolved in bear fat.

[00:27:07] This is actually cherry fruit pounded, dissolved in bear fat, of all things.

[00:27:14] Was really good for sores and ulcers and leprosy.

[00:27:17] And was very commonly used, actually.

[00:27:22] The gum of the cherry tree was good for eye inflammation.

[00:27:27] Again, recommended for tinnitus and earaches and all kinds of stuff like that.

[00:27:32] She mentions medlar.

[00:27:34] Medlar is a fruit we don't use much in America.

[00:27:36] Really good.

[00:27:38] Somewhat like a quince, I guess.

[00:27:40] Anyway.

[00:27:42] She said the fruit of the tree was good for healthy or sick people.

[00:27:45] Increases their flesh and cleanses their blood.

[00:27:48] In other words, very nutritive.

[00:27:52] But for peach, she liked using the inner bark of the tree.

[00:27:57] And was good for spots and sores and different things.

[00:28:02] Really infused in vinegar with a little honey in it.

[00:28:06] And, yeah, she used that a lot.

[00:28:09] And that was actually, she used it as a cure for bad breath.

[00:28:12] I mean, you might think people in the 10 hundreds didn't care about bad breath.

[00:28:14] Yeah, actually they did.

[00:28:16] She said, take the fruits of the peach tree that are ripe.

[00:28:20] Pound them.

[00:28:21] Cook them with a handful of licorice.

[00:28:23] A bit of pepper.

[00:28:24] And some honey.

[00:28:25] And then put these things in pure wine.

[00:28:28] And so prepare a spiced wine.

[00:28:31] And not only would that be absolutely delicious.

[00:28:34] But said it was good for bad breath.

[00:28:38] And it was probably due, that bad breath would probably be due to like a sinus infection.

[00:28:44] And yeah, I can see how that would help.

[00:28:46] And the root they used for worms.

[00:28:51] Literally, the root of the peach tree steeped in boiling wine, taken before breakfast at night,

[00:28:59] was used to help get rid of intestinal worms.

[00:29:04] Again, the kernels of the peach tree, which are something like almonds and somewhat toxic,

[00:29:11] were, oh boy, combined with a couple of really poisoned herbs, actually.

[00:29:16] And a few good ones like galangal and licorice.

[00:29:18] Galangal is a type of ginger, essentially.

[00:29:20] And you know what licorice is.

[00:29:23] And spurge, which is quite dangerous.

[00:29:28] Prepared in a certain way.

[00:29:29] I'm not going to get into it, because I'm not going to recommend this.

[00:29:32] But it was good for mucostomic and actually some forms of paralysis,

[00:29:38] which she called the gitcht, which was probably more like arthritis and anything.

[00:29:42] But also for pains in the chest and the throat and all that.

[00:29:47] So, she talks about plums.

[00:29:51] And let's see if there's any interesting use here.

[00:29:55] Again, like externally for sores and such.

[00:29:59] But an ash made from the bark of the tree.

[00:30:02] A lye, actually from the ashes, was used for pockmarks.

[00:30:08] Or, what would you even call it?

[00:30:14] Scars and marks on the face and head.

[00:30:18] We're probably not.

[00:30:19] But here's another one.

[00:30:20] This is really, you know, very 1080 AT.

[00:30:23] If someone through magic or by evil word is rendered insane.

[00:30:28] Well, we don't really think of things that way now.

[00:30:31] Not to say it couldn't happen or didn't happen.

[00:30:35] But anyway, if someone take a little earth, which is around the roots of the tree,

[00:30:40] and warm it vigorously in fire until it burns a bit.

[00:30:43] When it has burned by fire, place rue and a little less pennyroyal in it.

[00:30:47] Again, two fairly toxic herbs.

[00:30:49] Let it absorb their sap.

[00:30:51] And if you don't have pennyroyal, use fresh fenugreek,

[00:30:55] which nobody has anymore unless you're really into Indian cuisine.

[00:30:59] If it is winter, place the seeds of the herbs moderately warm.

[00:31:03] After the person is eaten, place this with the herbs on his head,

[00:31:07] on his stomach, and then his naked sides, and tie it with a cloth.

[00:31:13] Put him in bed with clothing so he might sweat a bit.

[00:31:18] Do this for three or four days, and he will be better.

[00:31:20] For when the ancient serpent hears magic and evil words,

[00:31:25] he takes them up and sets traps for one whom they were said unless God stops him.

[00:31:31] I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about.

[00:31:35] But this, you know, one of the reasons I love the old herbal books

[00:31:38] is they are just absolutely fascinating.

[00:31:42] You know, she used the gum of the tree if someone's lips swelled up.

[00:31:48] I guess that would be an allergic reaction.

[00:31:50] I don't know.

[00:31:51] Maybe, well, she did live in Germany.

[00:31:54] Maybe they had, you know, cracked lips,

[00:31:56] and they didn't have, like, chapstick like we have now.

[00:31:59] So they were using a gum, and it was just smeared on with the fingers.

[00:32:04] Good for dry cough.

[00:32:06] Again, they used the intercorals of the peach,

[00:32:08] like we use the bark of the cherry tree.

[00:32:12] Now, getting up to 1500s England.

[00:32:17] Obviously, they didn't have almonds in England.

[00:32:19] They were imported.

[00:32:20] They were very, very expensive.

[00:32:22] You only got almonds, sweet almonds especially,

[00:32:26] if you were very wealthy,

[00:32:28] and they'd probably be served to you in, like, a fruitcake.

[00:32:30] And, I mean, a legit, and he actually gives,

[00:32:34] let me say, he basically, in his, like, first century,

[00:32:38] gives a recipe for a fruitcake.

[00:32:41] A legitimate, not the crazy stuff we have in American grocery stores

[00:32:46] around Christmas time with all the weird colored fruits.

[00:32:49] A legitimate English fruitcake like my ancestors carried into battle

[00:32:55] against the Moors and the Crusades as essentially the ancient power bar.

[00:32:59] Yes, I am actually related to,

[00:33:04] oh, wow, King Richard Lionheart,

[00:33:06] Edward the Confessor,

[00:33:07] William the Conqueror,

[00:33:08] you name it, you know.

[00:33:10] This was their, like, storage food.

[00:33:12] You can think of, this is like,

[00:33:13] this was their prep, right?

[00:33:15] They would make a cake with all kinds of dried fruit,

[00:33:18] dried cherries, dried peaches,

[00:33:20] dried pears, dried apples,

[00:33:21] raisins, currants, gooseberries,

[00:33:23] every kind of dry fruit you can think of,

[00:33:25] and every nut they could get hold of.

[00:33:26] So, if you were wealthy, you had almonds.

[00:33:29] Otherwise, you had pecans and walnuts and hazelnuts.

[00:33:32] Hazelnuts were really the nut of the common people.

[00:33:35] They, you know,

[00:33:36] they grew very, all over the place in England.

[00:33:39] You may even have acorns

[00:33:40] if they came from what we call a noble oak tree

[00:33:43] that had sweet acorns.

[00:33:45] But you just make a really dense cake with it.

[00:33:48] Dried fruits, nuts, you know, flour, sugar, honey.

[00:33:53] Honey was used a lot because it has preservative quality.

[00:33:57] Some eggs and all that.

[00:33:58] Make a really dense cake and then just soak it in brandy.

[00:34:02] I mean, these things were like,

[00:34:03] you ate a bite of a real English fruitcake

[00:34:07] is like taking a drink from a glass of brandy.

[00:34:10] Plus, it's phenomenal.

[00:34:12] I mean, I'm telling you now,

[00:34:15] if you've never had a real fruitcake,

[00:34:17] you've never had fruitcake.

[00:34:19] The crap that they sell in grocery stores

[00:34:21] really should be made illegal.

[00:34:23] I mean, it should not be allowed

[00:34:25] to hold the noble name of fruitcake,

[00:34:28] which is in its true form.

[00:34:31] If you do one thing,

[00:34:33] this Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday season,

[00:34:36] go get, you can get my cookbook,

[00:34:38] The Omnivore's Guide to Home Cooking,

[00:34:40] or any traditional fruitcake recipe online.

[00:34:45] I don't care what recipe you use.

[00:34:46] Make sure it doesn't have that weird candied fruit in there.

[00:34:50] It may say citron.

[00:34:51] Citron was actually a citrus.

[00:34:53] A real fruitcake will often have citrus peel,

[00:34:56] candied citrus peel in it,

[00:34:57] but it doesn't have weird dyes and colors

[00:35:00] and marshmallows and, you know.

[00:35:02] No.

[00:35:03] This thing should be as heavy as lead

[00:35:06] and as calorie dense as you can imagine.

[00:35:09] And yeah, throw some almonds in there

[00:35:11] and you're going to be like,

[00:35:12] I mean, you know, you can do a panettone.

[00:35:14] I mean, that often has just basically raisins and almonds in it

[00:35:18] as, not always almonds,

[00:35:21] but sometimes as like the only ingredients, you know.

[00:35:25] I definitely prefer honey to sugar in this case

[00:35:27] because honey's just richer

[00:35:29] and has those preservative qualities.

[00:35:31] But I mean, the real deal

[00:35:33] is like the best thing you'll ever eat in your life.

[00:35:36] I'm not kidding you.

[00:35:38] If you think you don't like fruitcake,

[00:35:40] man, go get a real recipe

[00:35:44] and try this sucker out

[00:35:46] because it is going to blow your mind

[00:35:49] and make a few and give them as gifts

[00:35:51] and blow your friends' and family's minds

[00:35:53] who say they, you know, I hate fruitcake.

[00:35:55] Well, you hate fruitcake

[00:35:56] because you had the 1950s, 1960s nasty version

[00:36:00] that has taken over in America

[00:36:02] and I just don't understand it.

[00:36:04] You know, when I was a kid,

[00:36:06] my family had a grocery store.

[00:36:07] It was in this resort town in the mountains

[00:36:09] and we had a lot of imports.

[00:36:11] We had real English fruitcake.

[00:36:13] We had real mincemeat,

[00:36:16] like actual big barrel

[00:36:18] that had, you know, apples and beef in it.

[00:36:20] I mean, the real thing

[00:36:22] and that's actually amazing.

[00:36:24] If you've never had a real mince pie,

[00:36:26] that will also absolutely blow your mind.

[00:36:28] Beef suet, apples, spices, nuts.

[00:36:33] It's, it's like bewildering

[00:36:34] to our modern American thought.

[00:36:37] Real English mincemeat

[00:36:39] is one of the greatest things

[00:36:40] on the face of the earth.

[00:36:41] Okay.

[00:36:42] We had imported wines.

[00:36:43] We had imported cheeses.

[00:36:45] We had all this stuff.

[00:36:45] So we had a real butcher.

[00:36:48] I grew up in a butcher shop.

[00:36:49] We had farmers bringing in produce.

[00:36:52] It was like, I mean,

[00:36:53] I grew up thinking like fruitcake

[00:36:55] was like the best thing

[00:36:56] on the face of the earth

[00:36:57] because I had the real thing.

[00:36:59] And what wasn't imported,

[00:37:01] there were these little old ladies

[00:37:02] that would bake it.

[00:37:03] We had a lot of people there

[00:37:04] from England and Germany

[00:37:06] and Switzerland.

[00:37:06] They all had their, you know,

[00:37:08] this was a resort town

[00:37:09] in the mountains of North Carolina.

[00:37:10] They all had their own recipes.

[00:37:12] Italians, they made their panettone.

[00:37:13] I fell in love with it, you know.

[00:37:15] When I was like 10, 12 years old,

[00:37:17] probably 12 to 15, you know,

[00:37:19] and the store had been gone

[00:37:21] for a long time.

[00:37:24] I tried probably the first time

[00:37:27] standard American fruitcake.

[00:37:29] And I bit into one of those

[00:37:30] neon colored citrons.

[00:37:33] I almost threw up.

[00:37:34] I mean, I literally,

[00:37:35] I started gagging.

[00:37:36] And I don't react that way to food.

[00:37:39] I mean, I'll eat just about anything.

[00:37:41] You give me head cheese,

[00:37:42] I love it, you know.

[00:37:43] Salce meat.

[00:37:44] I mean, I have like an iron stomach.

[00:37:46] I mean, I've gone to taco stands

[00:37:48] and had pig brain tacos.

[00:37:50] I mean, I am not a squeamish eater.

[00:37:52] That's the one thing I could not eat

[00:37:55] was the traditional American fruitcake.

[00:37:58] Get yourself a real recipe

[00:38:00] and make it.

[00:38:00] You will thank me later

[00:38:02] and you will freaking love it.

[00:38:03] I am not kidding you.

[00:38:05] And of course,

[00:38:05] you can tailor it to your taste.

[00:38:07] But getting back to the herbal.

[00:38:10] So he would make a liqueur.

[00:38:12] Also another traditional way of,

[00:38:15] oh, wait a minute.

[00:38:16] First of all, for fruitcake,

[00:38:18] he basically said

[00:38:19] it would give you strength,

[00:38:20] it would give you energy,

[00:38:21] and it was great for fiber

[00:38:23] as a laxative.

[00:38:25] So it is so good.

[00:38:27] I'm not kidding.

[00:38:28] But he would also make

[00:38:29] an almond liqueur,

[00:38:32] baking sort of an almond milk

[00:38:34] and then mixing it

[00:38:35] with either wine

[00:38:36] or a liquor,

[00:38:38] a brandy,

[00:38:39] a whiskey or whatever.

[00:38:41] It's really good.

[00:38:43] I told you,

[00:38:44] I think it was last week,

[00:38:44] I told you about

[00:38:45] a pistachio liqueur I had tried.

[00:38:47] Oh my gosh.

[00:38:48] Almond liqueur,

[00:38:49] that was really,

[00:38:49] really good too.

[00:38:51] And you can use it

[00:38:52] in cooking as well.

[00:38:52] It's really good as a flavoring.

[00:38:54] But he said

[00:38:55] it was also medicinable.

[00:38:58] What does that mean?

[00:38:59] Well,

[00:39:00] it was good for the chest lungs

[00:39:05] and especially

[00:39:06] for helping people with phlegm.

[00:39:08] And, you know,

[00:39:09] yeah, again,

[00:39:11] we come to,

[00:39:11] this family is actually

[00:39:13] very good for coughs

[00:39:14] and congestion.

[00:39:15] And he said

[00:39:16] the almonds just eaten plain

[00:39:17] or almond meats

[00:39:18] as he called them

[00:39:19] do stop the belly

[00:39:21] and nourish but little.

[00:39:23] I disagree.

[00:39:23] I think they nourish but much.

[00:39:25] But, you know,

[00:39:26] of course the English

[00:39:27] have odd prejudices

[00:39:28] when it comes to food.

[00:39:29] I guess we all do,

[00:39:30] really.

[00:39:31] I mean,

[00:39:32] you know,

[00:39:33] all of Asia

[00:39:34] uses fish sauce.

[00:39:36] You know,

[00:39:37] if you've had Thai food

[00:39:38] or whatever,

[00:39:38] you've had fish sauce.

[00:39:41] Ancient Romans

[00:39:41] love fish sauce.

[00:39:42] It smells like butt,

[00:39:44] okay?

[00:39:44] It tastes pretty good

[00:39:45] in food,

[00:39:46] but it stinks.

[00:39:47] It's horrible.

[00:39:49] I use it.

[00:39:50] It takes a while

[00:39:51] to get used to it.

[00:39:52] It literally smells

[00:39:53] like butt sweat,

[00:39:55] okay?

[00:39:55] That's what fish sauce

[00:39:56] smells like.

[00:39:56] You know,

[00:39:57] I'm sorry if you're,

[00:39:58] you know,

[00:39:59] Korean or something

[00:40:00] and you're hearing this

[00:40:01] and getting offended.

[00:40:02] You have to admit

[00:40:03] it smells like butt sweat.

[00:40:05] But anyway,

[00:40:06] it is delicious.

[00:40:07] I will not deny that.

[00:40:09] But it takes a while

[00:40:11] to get used to.

[00:40:13] So,

[00:40:14] he talks about

[00:40:15] barley water,

[00:40:15] barley cream,

[00:40:17] et cetera,

[00:40:18] and says you can do

[00:40:19] almond milk the same way.

[00:40:20] That's what they used to call

[00:40:21] T-son,

[00:40:22] which is what you would give

[00:40:23] to a person who was sick.

[00:40:24] It's just,

[00:40:25] it's easy on the stomach.

[00:40:26] Gives you a little nutrition.

[00:40:28] Oil of the sweet almonds

[00:40:30] was good for pain

[00:40:31] and all manner of aches.

[00:40:33] Also helped with kidney

[00:40:34] and bladder stones.

[00:40:35] Good for the liver.

[00:40:39] He talks about the oil of almonds

[00:40:40] being good for spots

[00:40:41] and pimples

[00:40:42] and cleanseth

[00:40:44] the skin of all,

[00:40:45] everything.

[00:40:46] You know,

[00:40:47] the English hate freckles.

[00:40:48] You know,

[00:40:48] if you have a freckle,

[00:40:49] it means you've been in the sun

[00:40:50] and therefore you can't be

[00:40:51] a gentleman.

[00:40:52] So,

[00:40:53] or a lady.

[00:40:54] So,

[00:40:54] you have to cleanse away

[00:40:55] all freckles,

[00:40:56] which I actually like freckles myself.

[00:41:00] Bitter almonds,

[00:41:01] he said,

[00:41:01] were especially good

[00:41:02] for stoppings of the liver

[00:41:04] and spleen

[00:41:04] and good for pains

[00:41:05] in the side.

[00:41:08] Good for the spitting

[00:41:09] of blood,

[00:41:10] actually.

[00:41:10] So,

[00:41:10] that would be tuberculosis.

[00:41:13] And again,

[00:41:15] he says that five or six

[00:41:16] being taken fasting

[00:41:17] do keep a man

[00:41:18] from being drunk.

[00:41:19] I sincerely doubt it.

[00:41:22] Especially since I've eaten

[00:41:23] so many fruitcakes

[00:41:24] full of almonds

[00:41:25] with a nice glass of port

[00:41:27] and some good blue cheese.

[00:41:29] Oh my gosh.

[00:41:31] Blue cheese,

[00:41:32] any kind of cheese really.

[00:41:34] A lot of people prefer cheddar

[00:41:35] or whatever.

[00:41:36] But,

[00:41:37] cheese,

[00:41:38] fruitcake,

[00:41:38] and a glass of port.

[00:41:40] Whoa!

[00:41:41] That's Christmas for me.

[00:41:42] I'm just telling you.

[00:41:43] And yeah,

[00:41:44] mincemeat.

[00:41:45] Love that stuff.

[00:41:46] Man,

[00:41:46] I love that stuff.

[00:41:48] Have I said that enough?

[00:41:50] No,

[00:41:50] I really love that stuff.

[00:41:51] And I don't even have

[00:41:52] a sweet tooth mainly.

[00:41:53] But that's good stuff.

[00:41:55] Really good.

[00:41:57] Take with honey.

[00:41:59] And this is going to be

[00:41:59] the oil of almonds.

[00:42:01] And oil of rose

[00:42:02] could be applied to,

[00:42:04] he says,

[00:42:05] the biting of some mad dogs.

[00:42:07] He thought it was good

[00:42:08] for rabies.

[00:42:08] I,

[00:42:09] again,

[00:42:09] cannot endorse that whatsoever.

[00:42:12] But also good

[00:42:13] for any kind of

[00:42:13] fowl or ulcerated sore.

[00:42:17] Good for the bites

[00:42:18] of scorpions,

[00:42:19] which freak me out.

[00:42:21] I hope I never

[00:42:22] encounter a scorpion.

[00:42:24] And if I did,

[00:42:25] I don't think

[00:42:26] I'd be in the right

[00:42:27] frame of mind

[00:42:27] to grab some almonds.

[00:42:28] I'd just be freaking out

[00:42:30] because they really do

[00:42:31] freak me out.

[00:42:34] With oil,

[00:42:35] it is singularly good

[00:42:36] for those that have

[00:42:37] the stone

[00:42:37] and cannot easily

[00:42:38] make water.

[00:42:39] So that's self-explanatory.

[00:42:41] Good for the gums.

[00:42:48] It takes,

[00:42:49] they say that

[00:42:50] sweet almonds

[00:42:51] would take away

[00:42:51] the sharpness

[00:42:52] of the urine,

[00:42:53] but said it must be

[00:42:55] drunk with bastard.

[00:42:56] Okay,

[00:42:57] I don't know

[00:42:57] what that means.

[00:42:58] So,

[00:42:59] but anyway,

[00:43:01] then he goes on

[00:43:02] to cherries

[00:43:04] and you'd say

[00:43:05] it was a good

[00:43:06] blood purifier.

[00:43:08] Um,

[00:43:10] good for,

[00:43:11] of course,

[00:43:12] anything,

[00:43:13] you know,

[00:43:14] for two,

[00:43:14] the digestion.

[00:43:16] Uh,

[00:43:16] brandy made

[00:43:17] from cherry juice

[00:43:18] or cherries

[00:43:19] infused in brandy

[00:43:21] was so good

[00:43:22] for a cough,

[00:43:23] obviously.

[00:43:23] And in that case,

[00:43:24] you'd actually be getting

[00:43:25] a little of the,

[00:43:25] um,

[00:43:26] or the cyanide

[00:43:27] from the,

[00:43:28] uh,

[00:43:28] the pit

[00:43:29] of the cherry stone.

[00:43:30] And it is

[00:43:32] antitussive,

[00:43:32] just like in the mountains

[00:43:33] we use the bark.

[00:43:35] Um,

[00:43:36] but,

[00:43:37] you know,

[00:43:38] what is there

[00:43:39] bad to say

[00:43:39] against cherries?

[00:43:40] They're phenomenal.

[00:43:42] And,

[00:43:43] in any way,

[00:43:44] shape,

[00:43:44] or form,

[00:43:44] you have them.

[00:43:45] And ditto with peaches.

[00:43:46] He talks a little bit

[00:43:47] about peaches.

[00:43:48] It says they're good

[00:43:49] there for the appetite

[00:43:50] and good for digestion.

[00:43:51] And,

[00:43:52] um,

[00:43:54] yeah,

[00:43:55] the leaves,

[00:43:56] uh,

[00:43:57] the tree says

[00:43:58] are good for

[00:43:59] stoppings of the liver

[00:44:00] and loosen the belly

[00:44:01] and kill worms.

[00:44:02] So,

[00:44:02] not a use we use

[00:44:04] much anymore.

[00:44:05] But he said

[00:44:06] that the leaves

[00:44:06] boiled in milk

[00:44:07] were one of the

[00:44:08] best remedies

[00:44:08] for helping children

[00:44:10] who had worms.

[00:44:11] And,

[00:44:12] uh,

[00:44:12] dried,

[00:44:13] put on wounds

[00:44:14] would help heal them.

[00:44:17] Uh,

[00:44:18] plum,

[00:44:18] he goes on about,

[00:44:19] yeah,

[00:44:20] this is a very long

[00:44:21] entry in my book

[00:44:21] Medicinal Trees.

[00:44:23] Um,

[00:44:24] I'm going to try

[00:44:24] to just kind of

[00:44:25] skip ahead

[00:44:25] if I see something

[00:44:26] I haven't said before.

[00:44:27] Well,

[00:44:28] leaves of the plum tree

[00:44:29] used as a tea

[00:44:30] were good against

[00:44:31] swellings of the throat,

[00:44:32] gums,

[00:44:33] uvula,

[00:44:34] and the underside

[00:44:35] of the throat

[00:44:36] and jaw.

[00:44:37] Jaw,

[00:44:37] they stop the room

[00:44:38] or congestion,

[00:44:39] the mucus.

[00:44:41] Excellent use for those.

[00:44:43] Um,

[00:44:44] good,

[00:44:44] again,

[00:44:45] uh,

[00:44:45] being drunk in wine,

[00:44:46] the leaves infused in wine

[00:44:47] were good against

[00:44:48] kidney and bladder stones.

[00:44:50] And,

[00:44:51] um,

[00:44:52] applied topically,

[00:44:53] good for joint pains

[00:44:54] and swellings.

[00:44:55] So we're talking

[00:44:55] astringent property.

[00:44:59] Um,

[00:45:00] wild plums

[00:45:00] are especially astringent,

[00:45:02] which is why

[00:45:02] you don't want to eat them,

[00:45:03] you know,

[00:45:03] before they're ripe,

[00:45:04] trust me.

[00:45:05] Um,

[00:45:06] but he mentions

[00:45:07] they were good,

[00:45:08] uh,

[00:45:08] as an astringent

[00:45:09] to help with diarrhea.

[00:45:12] Well,

[00:45:12] skip ahead

[00:45:12] about a hundred years.

[00:45:14] Ooh,

[00:45:14] boy,

[00:45:15] you know,

[00:45:15] I may not say a lot

[00:45:16] about what

[00:45:16] Culpepper says

[00:45:18] because,

[00:45:19] um,

[00:45:19] um,

[00:45:19] he was getting

[00:45:19] into all his

[00:45:21] astrological stuff.

[00:45:22] And,

[00:45:23] um,

[00:45:23] I think he's,

[00:45:24] if I see something new,

[00:45:25] I'll tell you,

[00:45:26] but a lot of this

[00:45:27] is same use.

[00:45:29] Um,

[00:45:31] um,

[00:45:32] yeah,

[00:45:32] again,

[00:45:32] infused in wine,

[00:45:33] good for coughs

[00:45:34] and shortness of breath.

[00:45:35] And he was talking

[00:45:36] cherry and such,

[00:45:38] um,

[00:45:39] plums he thought

[00:45:40] were particularly good

[00:45:41] for women,

[00:45:42] women and,

[00:45:42] uh,

[00:45:43] may actually help

[00:45:44] with fertility,

[00:45:44] but also good

[00:45:45] for ringworms

[00:45:46] and,

[00:45:47] uh,

[00:45:48] kidney and bladder stones

[00:45:49] and hemorrhoids even.

[00:45:51] And that was the leaves,

[00:45:52] of course,

[00:45:53] we're using that instance.

[00:45:54] We're not talking

[00:45:55] the fruit there,

[00:45:56] but the fruit

[00:45:57] would open the body

[00:45:58] and cool the stomach

[00:45:59] and all the kind of things

[00:46:00] people used to say.

[00:46:02] Miss Grieve,

[00:46:04] 1931,

[00:46:05] she loved almonds.

[00:46:06] Uh,

[00:46:06] she has some good recipes again,

[00:46:08] but the almond oil,

[00:46:10] um,

[00:46:11] used for all things

[00:46:12] we talked about before.

[00:46:13] She talks about

[00:46:13] how to make almond milk

[00:46:15] and how it's very good

[00:46:16] for digestion

[00:46:16] and gives some nutrition.

[00:46:18] It is quite delicious.

[00:46:19] I just don't see it

[00:46:19] as a substitute

[00:46:20] for cow's milk

[00:46:21] or goat milk

[00:46:22] or anything like that.

[00:46:24] Um,

[00:46:24] of cherry,

[00:46:25] uh,

[00:46:26] especially astringent tonic,

[00:46:27] pectoral and sedative.

[00:46:28] Now that's true.

[00:46:30] Uh,

[00:46:30] again,

[00:46:31] that little bit of poison

[00:46:32] in there,

[00:46:32] that little bit

[00:46:33] of cyanide in there.

[00:46:34] Did I say strychnine?

[00:46:35] I meant cyanide.

[00:46:36] Okay.

[00:46:37] Anyway,

[00:46:37] that little bit

[00:46:38] that's in there,

[00:46:40] um,

[00:46:41] does have a slightly

[00:46:42] narcotic property

[00:46:43] and sedative property.

[00:46:45] It's not,

[00:46:46] generally speaking,

[00:46:47] enough to make you

[00:46:48] sick,

[00:46:49] unless you're very weak

[00:46:50] or you add a lot.

[00:46:51] Um,

[00:46:52] but,

[00:46:53] yeah,

[00:46:54] the,

[00:46:54] uh,

[00:46:54] hydrocyanic acid

[00:46:57] specifically is what it is

[00:46:58] and it does help

[00:47:00] with cough,

[00:47:01] whooping cough,

[00:47:02] asthma,

[00:47:03] um,

[00:47:04] stomach cramping.

[00:47:05] It,

[00:47:06] yeah,

[00:47:07] that's,

[00:47:07] that's what it is.

[00:47:08] Actually,

[00:47:08] you're taking a very small

[00:47:09] amount of cyanide

[00:47:11] when you take,

[00:47:13] well,

[00:47:14] anything

[00:47:15] made from these,

[00:47:17] this family of plants.

[00:47:18] And it is actually,

[00:47:20] um,

[00:47:21] not bad for you

[00:47:22] unless you really

[00:47:23] over did it.

[00:47:24] And she would use

[00:47:25] the,

[00:47:26] uh,

[00:47:26] kernels of,

[00:47:27] of peaches

[00:47:28] for the same reasons.

[00:47:29] Also,

[00:47:30] uh,

[00:47:30] branches,

[00:47:31] flowers.

[00:47:32] I mean,

[00:47:32] she'd make,

[00:47:32] you know,

[00:47:32] teas and infusions

[00:47:33] and tinctures.

[00:47:34] But she says,

[00:47:35] in infused in white brandy,

[00:47:38] sweetened with barley sugar,

[00:47:39] the leaves have been said

[00:47:41] to make a fine cordial.

[00:47:43] Never tried that.

[00:47:44] Uh,

[00:47:45] probably couldn't go wrong.

[00:47:46] But like I said,

[00:47:46] when I lived in Georgia,

[00:47:47] I made some peach cider.

[00:47:49] I may or may not have made

[00:47:51] quite a few gallons

[00:47:52] of peach brandy

[00:47:53] at one time as well.

[00:47:55] Which really impressed

[00:47:56] my friends.

[00:47:57] If,

[00:47:57] if I did in fact make it,

[00:47:59] which I'm not going to admit to,

[00:48:00] uh,

[00:48:00] I kept it in the freezer,

[00:48:02] uh,

[00:48:02] cause it was extremely,

[00:48:03] I may have kept it

[00:48:04] in the freezer

[00:48:05] because it was extremely

[00:48:07] high proof

[00:48:07] and was like drinking

[00:48:08] a glass full

[00:48:09] of broken glass.

[00:48:11] Actually,

[00:48:11] it was so harsh

[00:48:11] before it had aged,

[00:48:14] you know,

[00:48:15] uh,

[00:48:16] sort of a,

[00:48:17] a short barrel age

[00:48:18] where you just put

[00:48:19] a piece of oak

[00:48:20] in the bottle,

[00:48:21] you know,

[00:48:21] anyway.

[00:48:21] Uh,

[00:48:22] but when it first came out,

[00:48:24] man,

[00:48:24] would it knock you down.

[00:48:27] Uh,

[00:48:28] it was,

[00:48:29] uh,

[00:48:29] so strong that when,

[00:48:30] if you add a little water

[00:48:32] to it,

[00:48:32] it became like milky white.

[00:48:33] That's like,

[00:48:35] and again,

[00:48:36] I'm not admitting

[00:48:37] to ever do this,

[00:48:37] but if I did,

[00:48:40] let's just say

[00:48:41] I made something

[00:48:42] nearly a hundred proof,

[00:48:43] uh,

[00:48:44] prunes,

[00:48:45] dried prunes

[00:48:45] used as a mild laxative.

[00:48:47] And of course,

[00:48:47] we all know that,

[00:48:48] don't we?

[00:48:49] Okay.

[00:48:49] Yeah.

[00:48:50] Prunes will get you going.

[00:48:51] So a raisin bran,

[00:48:52] by the way,

[00:48:53] uh,

[00:48:53] raisin bran.

[00:48:54] Wow.

[00:48:56] You know,

[00:48:56] I don't even know

[00:48:57] why I threw that in there,

[00:48:58] but I mean,

[00:48:59] most people don't realize

[00:49:00] that if they're buying

[00:49:01] prescription

[00:49:02] or over the counter laxatives,

[00:49:04] raisin bran is generally

[00:49:05] speaking,

[00:49:06] just about as good.

[00:49:09] anyway,

[00:49:10] um,

[00:49:11] in the Irish tradition,

[00:49:13] bitter almonds,

[00:49:14] according to,

[00:49:14] uh,

[00:49:15] Kehoe,

[00:49:16] used for all diseases

[00:49:17] of the lungs,

[00:49:18] liver and spleen,

[00:49:19] good against the shortness

[00:49:21] of breath,

[00:49:21] coughs,

[00:49:22] inflammation,

[00:49:24] ulcerations of the lungs,

[00:49:26] should be taken in sweet wine,

[00:49:27] and it's an excellent cure

[00:49:29] against the headache

[00:49:30] when applied to the forehead

[00:49:31] with oil of roses

[00:49:32] and vinegar.

[00:49:33] It is said that if a man

[00:49:35] take five or six almonds,

[00:49:36] he cannot become drunk

[00:49:37] that day,

[00:49:38] well,

[00:49:39] you know,

[00:49:39] whatever.

[00:49:41] okay,

[00:49:43] um,

[00:49:43] cherry,

[00:49:44] he actually said

[00:49:45] was good,

[00:49:45] again,

[00:49:46] for kidney stone,

[00:49:47] but,

[00:49:47] uh,

[00:49:48] there's actually a form

[00:49:49] of epilepsy

[00:49:49] that's caused

[00:49:50] by water retention,

[00:49:51] essentially not being able

[00:49:52] to urinate,

[00:49:53] or at least that was

[00:49:53] traditionally thought,

[00:49:54] and so he recommended it

[00:49:56] for epilepsy

[00:49:57] as such,

[00:49:58] but,

[00:49:58] you know,

[00:49:59] what's generally

[00:50:00] diagnosed as epilepsy

[00:50:01] now is not,

[00:50:02] uh,

[00:50:03] the same,

[00:50:04] uh,

[00:50:05] but,

[00:50:05] uh,

[00:50:05] does have,

[00:50:06] because of its

[00:50:07] antispasmodic effect,

[00:50:08] you know,

[00:50:09] again,

[00:50:09] it's that little bit

[00:50:10] of cyanide,

[00:50:11] good for convulsions

[00:50:12] and such that,

[00:50:13] but also provokes

[00:50:14] urination,

[00:50:15] breaks up the stone.

[00:50:16] uh,

[00:50:17] meddler again,

[00:50:18] uh,

[00:50:18] which we hardly ever see,

[00:50:19] is astringent,

[00:50:20] he thought it was very good,

[00:50:21] uh,

[00:50:22] for stones of the kidney

[00:50:23] and bladder,

[00:50:23] but also for stopping

[00:50:24] diarrhea.

[00:50:25] Uh,

[00:50:26] peach especially good

[00:50:26] for the liver

[00:50:27] and for digestion.

[00:50:29] Um,

[00:50:31] Father Nape in the German

[00:50:32] tradition absolutely loved

[00:50:34] almond oil

[00:50:35] and his,

[00:50:37] he loved it for,

[00:50:38] especially for earaches

[00:50:39] and inflammations,

[00:50:40] uh,

[00:50:41] good for the lungs,

[00:50:42] uh,

[00:50:43] et cetera.

[00:50:44] And he did have tuberculosis,

[00:50:46] he cured himself

[00:50:46] from tuberculosis

[00:50:48] using herbs

[00:50:49] and almond oil

[00:50:50] was one of the

[00:50:51] main ones he used.

[00:50:53] His protege,

[00:50:54] uh,

[00:50:55] brother Aloysius,

[00:50:57] uh,

[00:50:57] he liked almond milk

[00:50:58] for bladder complaints,

[00:51:00] gravel,

[00:51:00] dry,

[00:51:01] horse cough

[00:51:02] or hoarseness with fever

[00:51:03] and the oil dissolved

[00:51:04] to help with

[00:51:05] hardened earwax.

[00:51:07] Um,

[00:51:11] uh,

[00:51:12] well,

[00:51:12] he used peaches

[00:51:13] for,

[00:51:14] uh,

[00:51:14] constipation,

[00:51:15] um,

[00:51:16] but actually warns

[00:51:18] against using the kernels

[00:51:19] in very high doses.

[00:51:20] He said it could even be

[00:51:21] dangerous or fatal,

[00:51:23] which I agree.

[00:51:24] Uh,

[00:51:24] I'm not sure exactly.

[00:51:25] I,

[00:51:25] I just would not eat

[00:51:26] or use the kernels

[00:51:28] of peaches myself.

[00:51:29] Um,

[00:51:30] unless it was a very,

[00:51:31] very small amount

[00:51:32] and I knew what I was doing

[00:51:33] and in this case,

[00:51:34] I don't.

[00:51:36] So,

[00:51:36] um,

[00:51:37] and so

[00:51:37] research,

[00:51:38] Southern fields and forests,

[00:51:40] 1860s,

[00:51:40] wild cherry.

[00:51:41] This is like really

[00:51:42] some of the first

[00:51:42] documentation on wild cherry

[00:51:44] and it,

[00:51:45] it basically gives

[00:51:46] the cough syrup

[00:51:48] that we use

[00:51:49] so much here

[00:51:50] in the mountains,

[00:51:51] which is essentially

[00:51:52] just wild cherry bark

[00:51:54] infused into

[00:51:55] whiskey

[00:51:56] or liquor

[00:51:57] or whatever

[00:51:58] kind

[00:51:59] or a tea

[00:52:00] if you have to,

[00:52:01] but that's usually it

[00:52:02] and mixed with

[00:52:03] local honey

[00:52:04] and that is

[00:52:05] like the very

[00:52:06] best thing.

[00:52:07] Um,

[00:52:07] sometimes people

[00:52:09] put a little ginseng

[00:52:09] in it,

[00:52:10] you know,

[00:52:10] but it's really

[00:52:11] fantastic

[00:52:12] and I'm not going to

[00:52:14] get into all his uses

[00:52:15] because we've really

[00:52:16] covered most of them.

[00:52:19] Um,

[00:52:21] let's see if there's

[00:52:22] anything else here

[00:52:23] that I haven't

[00:52:24] discussed.

[00:52:25] Um,

[00:52:26] well,

[00:52:27] the Thompsonians

[00:52:27] did actually use

[00:52:29] the kernels,

[00:52:30] the,

[00:52:30] the meat,

[00:52:31] what they call

[00:52:32] the peach

[00:52:33] stones.

[00:52:33] Um,

[00:52:35] I,

[00:52:35] I will just kind

[00:52:35] of cover this

[00:52:36] a little bit.

[00:52:37] Again,

[00:52:37] they would infuse

[00:52:38] them into wine

[00:52:39] or,

[00:52:39] or liquor

[00:52:40] made into a cordial.

[00:52:42] Um,

[00:52:43] when it said

[00:52:43] one of the best

[00:52:44] remedies I know

[00:52:45] to recover

[00:52:46] the natural

[00:52:46] tone of the

[00:52:47] stomach

[00:52:48] after a long

[00:52:49] sickness.

[00:52:50] So,

[00:52:50] very small amount

[00:52:52] was used

[00:52:52] just to help

[00:52:53] with digestion.

[00:52:55] Uh,

[00:52:55] looks like

[00:52:55] they did the

[00:52:56] exact same

[00:52:56] thing with

[00:52:57] cherry stones.

[00:52:58] Both of these

[00:52:59] are very high

[00:52:59] in cyanide,

[00:53:00] so I would

[00:53:01] be very

[00:53:02] careful

[00:53:02] with them,

[00:53:04] uh,

[00:53:04] were it me.

[00:53:06] Uh,

[00:53:06] 1898,

[00:53:07] uh,

[00:53:07] wild cherry

[00:53:08] bark was

[00:53:09] used in

[00:53:09] official medicine.

[00:53:10] It appears

[00:53:11] in,

[00:53:11] uh,

[00:53:11] King's

[00:53:11] Medical

[00:53:12] Dispensatory.

[00:53:13] I've already

[00:53:14] told you how

[00:53:14] to make it,

[00:53:15] and I've told

[00:53:15] you what it

[00:53:16] does,

[00:53:16] so we don't

[00:53:16] need to

[00:53:17] worry about

[00:53:17] that.

[00:53:18] You know,

[00:53:19] I think

[00:53:20] I'm just

[00:53:20] going to

[00:53:21] wrap it up

[00:53:21] there.

[00:53:21] I'm,

[00:53:22] okay,

[00:53:22] Plants

[00:53:23] for Future

[00:53:24] has

[00:53:25] listings

[00:53:25] for almond,

[00:53:26] apricot,

[00:53:27] wild cherry,

[00:53:28] dampson,

[00:53:30] peach,

[00:53:31] nectarine,

[00:53:33] uh,

[00:53:33] and

[00:53:34] slowberry.

[00:53:35] Um,

[00:53:37] I think

[00:53:37] we've covered

[00:53:38] all the uses.

[00:53:38] They do

[00:53:39] give,

[00:53:39] uh,

[00:53:40] especially

[00:53:41] a warning

[00:53:41] not to be

[00:53:42] used by

[00:53:42] pregnant women,

[00:53:43] obviously.

[00:53:44] Um,

[00:53:45] it's,

[00:53:46] it's really

[00:53:46] the cyanide

[00:53:47] in there

[00:53:48] that is

[00:53:49] being used

[00:53:49] a lot for

[00:53:50] coughs and

[00:53:50] such,

[00:53:51] but,

[00:53:52] and I've

[00:53:52] told you

[00:53:52] about external

[00:53:53] uses in

[00:53:54] poultice

[00:53:55] and all

[00:53:56] that,

[00:53:57] um,

[00:53:57] just like,

[00:53:58] for instance,

[00:53:58] apricot.

[00:53:59] I don't think

[00:53:59] I mentioned

[00:53:59] that one.

[00:54:00] Um,

[00:54:01] they see

[00:54:01] that the

[00:54:01] seeds are

[00:54:02] analgesic,

[00:54:03] that means

[00:54:03] it helps

[00:54:03] with pain,

[00:54:04] anthelmintic,

[00:54:05] that's for

[00:54:05] worms,

[00:54:07] antihistamic,

[00:54:07] it actually

[00:54:08] has some

[00:54:08] antihistamine

[00:54:09] properties,

[00:54:10] antispasmodic,

[00:54:11] antitussive,

[00:54:12] meaning it

[00:54:12] helps with

[00:54:13] coughing,

[00:54:14] demulsant

[00:54:14] means softening,

[00:54:15] emollient also

[00:54:16] means softening,

[00:54:17] expectorate means

[00:54:18] it helps get

[00:54:18] the crap out

[00:54:19] of your lungs,

[00:54:20] pectoral

[00:54:20] sedative and

[00:54:21] vulnerary,

[00:54:21] vulnerary means

[00:54:22] it helps

[00:54:22] with wound

[00:54:24] cleansing,

[00:54:25] good for

[00:54:25] chronic

[00:54:30] B17,

[00:54:31] I'm not

[00:54:32] sure what

[00:54:32] that is.

[00:54:33] Um,

[00:54:34] so yeah,

[00:54:34] I mean,

[00:54:35] I guess we

[00:54:35] hadn't said

[00:54:36] everything about

[00:54:37] that.

[00:54:39] Um,

[00:54:40] gosh,

[00:54:40] it just,

[00:54:41] there's a lot,

[00:54:42] but I think

[00:54:43] we've,

[00:54:44] we've hit the

[00:54:44] high points

[00:54:45] at the very

[00:54:46] least.

[00:54:47] Um,

[00:54:48] slowberries I

[00:54:48] haven't talked

[00:54:49] about a lot,

[00:54:49] like I said,

[00:54:50] slow gin,

[00:54:51] um,

[00:54:51] that's a

[00:54:52] popular,

[00:54:52] uh,

[00:54:53] beverage in

[00:54:54] England.

[00:54:54] They are

[00:54:55] delicious.

[00:54:56] I would

[00:54:56] highly,

[00:54:57] highly recommend

[00:54:58] using,

[00:54:59] growing

[00:54:59] slowberries.

[00:55:00] You're not

[00:55:00] going to find

[00:55:01] them in the

[00:55:01] wild of the

[00:55:02] United States

[00:55:02] or for sale,

[00:55:03] but,

[00:55:04] um,

[00:55:05] the fruits

[00:55:05] are

[00:55:06] apparent,

[00:55:06] astringent,

[00:55:07] purative,

[00:55:08] diuretic,

[00:55:08] diuretic,

[00:55:09] febri-fuge,

[00:55:10] which is good

[00:55:10] for fevers,

[00:55:11] laxative,

[00:55:12] and stomatic.

[00:55:13] An infusion

[00:55:13] of the flowers

[00:55:14] is used

[00:55:14] in the treatment

[00:55:15] of diarrhea,

[00:55:15] especially for

[00:55:16] children,

[00:55:17] good for

[00:55:17] bladder and

[00:55:18] kidney disorders,

[00:55:19] stomach weakness,

[00:55:21] um,

[00:55:22] yeah,

[00:55:22] wonderful stuff,

[00:55:23] and yes,

[00:55:24] it has a

[00:55:25] little bit

[00:55:25] of the

[00:55:26] cyanide in

[00:55:27] it,

[00:55:27] and,

[00:55:28] um,

[00:55:28] which is

[00:55:29] very poisonous,

[00:55:30] but also

[00:55:31] helps with,

[00:55:33] uh,

[00:55:33] in very small

[00:55:33] amounts,

[00:55:34] coughs and

[00:55:35] congestion,

[00:55:36] and gives

[00:55:36] one a sense

[00:55:37] of well-being.

[00:55:38] Believe it or

[00:55:38] not,

[00:55:39] a little bit

[00:55:40] of cyanide

[00:55:41] actually makes

[00:55:42] you feel good,

[00:55:43] which is probably

[00:55:44] the worst thing

[00:55:45] I've ever said

[00:55:45] on this show,

[00:55:46] but it's true.

[00:55:47] It actually

[00:55:48] has a slightly

[00:55:49] narcotic,

[00:55:50] relaxing,

[00:55:50] relaxing action,

[00:55:52] so be really,

[00:55:53] really careful

[00:55:53] with it.

[00:55:54] I'm serious,

[00:55:55] uh,

[00:55:56] but,

[00:55:56] you know,

[00:55:57] when we just

[00:55:57] make our old

[00:55:58] cough syrup out

[00:55:59] of choke cherry

[00:56:00] bark or black

[00:56:00] cherry bark,

[00:56:01] um,

[00:56:02] you'd have to

[00:56:03] drink like a

[00:56:03] gallon of it

[00:56:04] to even get

[00:56:05] a little sick,

[00:56:05] so it's no

[00:56:06] big deal.

[00:56:07] Um,

[00:56:08] uh,

[00:56:09] Peterson Field Guide

[00:56:09] talks exactly

[00:56:10] about that,

[00:56:11] the black or

[00:56:11] wild cherry,

[00:56:13] uh,

[00:56:14] used to

[00:56:14] make in that,

[00:56:15] um,

[00:56:16] cough syrup,

[00:56:17] and says,

[00:56:18] uh,

[00:56:19] yeah,

[00:56:20] well,

[00:56:20] you know what,

[00:56:21] I'm just going to

[00:56:21] finish it up with

[00:56:22] physician's desk

[00:56:22] reference because

[00:56:23] they'll give you

[00:56:24] the,

[00:56:24] you know,

[00:56:25] they'll tell you

[00:56:25] if it's dangerous

[00:56:26] or not.

[00:56:26] This is what your

[00:56:26] doctor would use.

[00:56:28] Sweet almond

[00:56:28] used in skin care

[00:56:29] and liniments,

[00:56:30] no hazards or

[00:56:31] side effects are

[00:56:32] known in conjunction

[00:56:33] with the proper

[00:56:34] administration,

[00:56:35] or design of

[00:56:36] therapeutic topical

[00:56:37] doses of sweet

[00:56:38] almond,

[00:56:39] bitter almonds

[00:56:40] were used in

[00:56:41] the past as a

[00:56:42] remedy for

[00:56:42] coughs,

[00:56:43] vomiting,

[00:56:43] nausea,

[00:56:44] or in the

[00:56:44] form of a

[00:56:45] bitter water,

[00:56:46] almond water,

[00:56:47] uh,

[00:56:48] but bitter almonds

[00:56:49] contain more

[00:56:50] cyanide and

[00:56:51] should only be

[00:56:51] used by qualified

[00:56:53] professionals.

[00:56:54] Uh,

[00:56:54] they can be

[00:56:54] quite dangerous.

[00:56:56] Um,

[00:56:59] let's see,

[00:56:59] and they actually

[00:57:00] talk about how

[00:57:00] 10 bitter almonds

[00:57:01] would be a fatal

[00:57:02] dose for a child,

[00:57:03] so yeah,

[00:57:04] they really can,

[00:57:05] and I think of

[00:57:06] peach pits,

[00:57:06] about the same.

[00:57:08] Of cherry,

[00:57:08] wild cherry bark

[00:57:09] is a stringent

[00:57:10] any tusks of

[00:57:11] insedative,

[00:57:11] wild cherry bark

[00:57:13] is used for

[00:57:13] coughs,

[00:57:14] bronchitis,

[00:57:14] and whooping

[00:57:15] cough,

[00:57:15] also used in

[00:57:16] the treatment

[00:57:16] of nervous

[00:57:17] digestive disorders

[00:57:18] and diarrhea,

[00:57:19] and very

[00:57:19] importantly here,

[00:57:20] this is from

[00:57:21] the physician's

[00:57:21] desk reference,

[00:57:23] no health hazards

[00:57:24] or side effects

[00:57:25] are known in

[00:57:25] conjunction with

[00:57:27] properly

[00:57:27] administrated or

[00:57:29] designated

[00:57:29] therapeutic dosages.

[00:57:32] Cyanide poison

[00:57:32] from the drug

[00:57:33] is unlikely,

[00:57:35] due to both

[00:57:35] its low

[00:57:36] cyanogenic

[00:57:37] glycoside content

[00:57:38] and the lack

[00:57:39] of inclination

[00:57:40] to digest it.

[00:57:41] What does that

[00:57:42] mean?

[00:57:42] It means it's

[00:57:42] bitter.

[00:57:44] You're not

[00:57:44] going to want

[00:57:45] to have enough

[00:57:46] to make you

[00:57:46] sick,

[00:57:47] hopefully,

[00:57:47] but like I

[00:57:49] said,

[00:57:49] in Appalachian

[00:57:50] medicine,

[00:57:51] this is like

[00:57:51] one of the

[00:57:52] essentials.

[00:57:53] This is like

[00:57:53] the go-to.

[00:57:55] This is like

[00:57:56] dandelion and

[00:57:57] a few other

[00:57:57] things.

[00:57:59] we don't

[00:57:59] even have a

[00:58:00] tradition without

[00:58:01] cough syrup made

[00:58:02] from wild cherry

[00:58:03] bark.

[00:58:04] And, wow,

[00:58:06] I mean, I

[00:58:07] can't say enough

[00:58:08] good about

[00:58:10] cherries.

[00:58:10] I love them.

[00:58:11] I really do.

[00:58:12] All right, y'all,

[00:58:13] have a great week

[00:58:14] and I will talk to

[00:58:15] you next time.

[00:58:16] The information

[00:58:17] in this podcast

[00:58:18] is not intended

[00:58:19] to diagnose or

[00:58:20] treat any

[00:58:20] disease or

[00:58:21] condition.

[00:58:22] Nothing I say

[00:58:23] or write has

[00:58:24] been evaluated

[00:58:24] or approved by

[00:58:25] the FDA.

[00:58:26] I'm not a

[00:58:27] doctor.

[00:58:27] The U.S.

[00:58:28] government does

[00:58:29] not recognize

[00:58:29] the practice of

[00:58:30] herbal medicine

[00:58:31] and there is no

[00:58:31] governing body

[00:58:32] regulating herbalists.

[00:58:34] Therefore, I'm

[00:58:34] really just a guy

[00:58:35] who studies herbs.

[00:58:36] I'm not offering

[00:58:37] any advice.

[00:58:37] I won't even

[00:58:38] claim that anything

[00:58:39] I write or say

[00:58:40] is accurate or true.

[00:58:41] I can tell you

[00:58:42] what herbs have

[00:58:42] been traditionally

[00:58:43] used for.

[00:58:44] I can tell you

[00:58:44] my own experience

[00:58:45] and if I believe

[00:58:46] an herb has helped

[00:58:47] me.

[00:58:47] I cannot nor

[00:58:48] would I tell you

[00:58:49] to do the same.

[00:58:50] If you use an herb

[00:58:51] anyone recommends,

[00:58:53] you are treating

[00:58:53] yourself.

[00:58:54] You take full

[00:58:55] responsibility for

[00:58:56] your health.

[00:58:57] Humans are

[00:58:57] individuals and

[00:58:58] no two are

[00:58:59] identical.

[00:58:59] What works for me

[00:59:00] may not work

[00:59:01] for you.

[00:59:01] You may have

[00:59:02] an allergy,

[00:59:03] a sensitivity,

[00:59:04] an underlying

[00:59:05] condition that

[00:59:06] no one else

[00:59:06] even shares

[00:59:07] and you don't

[00:59:07] even know about.

[00:59:08] Be careful

[00:59:09] with your health.

[00:59:10] By continuing

[00:59:11] to listen to my

[00:59:12] podcast or read

[00:59:13] my blog, you agree

[00:59:14] to be responsible

[00:59:15] for yourself,

[00:59:15] to your own

[00:59:16] research, make

[00:59:17] your own choices

[00:59:17] and not to blame

[00:59:18] me for anything

[00:59:19] ever.