St. John's Wort ~ Not Just for "Ladies' Days"

Ask most any woman, "what was the first medicinal herb you used or heard of?", and she will probably say, "St. John's Wort" because it's most well-known use is for the easing of headaches, back pain and other menstrual symptoms. And well it should be the first for many of us, because it is a wonderful herb for all sorts of relief.

St. John's Wort is one of the most useful and safest** herbs and can be used in so many ways and for so many issues ~

~Premenstrual/menstrual backache
~Depression and moodiness
~Depression
~Anxiety
~over-all feeling of tension and stress
~Tense, tired, aching muscles
~Insect bites and stings (cream/oil)
~Neuralgia
~Chickenpox, shingle relief
~Cold sores
~anti-inflammatory (cream/oil)
~pain relief (cream/oil)
~eczema (cream/oil)
~psoriasis (cream/oil)
~peptic ulcers (oil taken internally)
~heals burns and other minor wounds (cream/oil)

St. John's Wort can be taken in several ways:

~~Capsules ~ click HERE to find out how to make your own capsules, or buy them at your local, TRUSTED health food store (I DO NOT recommend supplements from grocery or drug stores; supplements from health food stores go through different quality checks than grocery store/drug store products) 

~~Infused Oils ~ very easy to make. St. John's Wort (and other herbs such as calendula) is made as a "cold" infused oil, meaning that they do not need heated during preparation. 

You Will Need:

~glass jar (clear) with a tightly fitting lid
~enough fresh or dried herb to fill jar to 1" from top
~olive oil (olive oil is the best oil for infused oil because it is slow to become rancid)
~muslin cloth OR very fine sieve/strainer
~funnel
~amber bottles or jar with tightly fitting lids
~a sunny window

Directions:
(**You may use this recipe for most other infused oils**)

1) stuff herb into clear jar to 1" from top
2) carefully pour olive oil until it completely covers the herbs
3) tightly close jar and shake thoroughly
4) put the jar on a sunny window ledge, shake a little every day or two, let steep for 4-6 weeks; the longer you leave it, the stronger it will be
. . . at the end of 4-6 weeks . . . 
5) pour your oil and herbs through the muslin or sieve, press, strain and squeeze as much of the oil out and into your AMBER glass containers as you can (amber glass protects the strength of the product from being diluted from light)
6) throw used herbs away
7) top bottle/jar with a tightly fitting lid

To Use:

1) Topically ~ use liberally on aches and pains
2) Orally ~ for peptic ulcer ~ 1 ts 1-3 times per day

~~Tincture ~ for depression ~ Click HERE to learn how to make medicinal herbal tinctures. To use: 1-2 dropper-fulls in a cold cup of water 3 times per day

~~Cream ~ for eczema, psoriasis, neuralgia, stings, wounds, burns, muscle pain relief 

You Will Need:

~1 oz dried St. John's Wort OR 2 to 2-1/2 oz fresh
~4 oz grated bees wax (I buy bars of bees wax and grate them because I find that the grated melts better than the pellets)
~2 oz vegetable glycerine
~1-1/2 c water
~tea tree essential oil
~amber glass jars with tightly fitting lids
~double boiler pot and heat-proof glass bowl that fits inside
~muslin cloth OR fine sieve/strainer
~medium-sized mixing bowl
~wooden mixing spoon

Directions:

1) in a glass bowl inside a double boiler with boiling water, melt the beeswax
2) once melted, add ~ in order ~ the glycerin (stir), water (stir), and herbs (stir)
3) simmer and stir occasionally for 3 hours
4) carefully (it's HOT) strain the herbs through your muslin or strainer into a bowl
5) slowly stir, CONTINUOUSLY, until it cools and turns into a lovely cream
6) stir in 2-4 drops of tea tree oil to stop mold growth
6) once cool and set, scoop cream into amber jars with tightly fitting lids

To Use:

~apply cream to wound or itchy area 2-4 times per day

So many wonderful uses from such a lovely little flower. God is SO good to us.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

**This herb MAY interact with prescription medications by reducing their effectiveness ~ this could cause serious health problems. MAKE SURE you talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking**

**See obligatory disclaimer at bottom of page**