Did you know that many of those unglamorous "weeds" that you've been poisoning or pulling out of your garden and lawn are some of the world's most well-respected and powerful healing plants? If not, you aren't alone: many people don't realize that common ordinary weeds can build and maintain good health. Common weeds that grow by you can boost your immunity, strengthen your liver, help you build strong blood, counter colds and the flu, increase your vitality, and even prevent cancer.
Health-promoting weeds are easy to find (even in the city), easy to identify, easy to prepare, incredibly abundant, and as delicious as high-priced gourmet goodies. Go outside right now and see if you can find one or more of my seven favorites: Burdock, Dandelion, Honeysuckle, Plantain, Red Clover, Violet, or Yellow Dock. (To the botanist: Arctium lappa, Taraxacum officinale, Plantago majus, Trifolium pratense, Viola odorata, and Rumex crispus.) You probably take them for granted. But if they could talk, they would say "Here we are! We love you! We're waiting to change your life!"
How can they change your life? When properly prepared and used, these weeds can boost your immunity, strengthen your liver, renew your energy, and help prevent cancer. And the best part is, they're free!
HOW TO USE THESE AMAZING PLANTS
Burdock:
• Dig first-year roots in autumn; use mature seeds.
• Used internally, it resolves chronic skin problems; fresh root binds and removes heavy metals and chemicals.
• Use daily for six or more weeks; it is not unusual to take burdock regularly for 2 to 3 years.
• Dried root infusion: 1 to 2 cups.
• Cooked, dried, or raw root: eaten freely.
• Fresh root vinegar: 1-4 tablespoons.
• Tincture of fresh roots or seeds: 30-250 drops.
• Infused oil of seeds: as needed on skin or scalp to encourage growth of new hair.
• Burdock is slow acting but miraculous.
Dandelion:
• Leaves are nourishing, roots are tonifying.
• Improves outlook, improves digestion and appetite, relieves food allergies.
• Can use daily for prolonged use.
• Fresh leaves and flowers: eaten freely.
• Cooked greens: ½ to 2 cups (125 to 500 ml).
• Dried root infusion (tea) 1 to 3 cups (250-750 ml).
• Tincture of fresh plant, including root: 15-120 drops.
• Wine of fresh flowers: no more than 6 oz (200 ml).
• Infused oil of fresh flowers: as needed.
• Dandelion is a superb ally for liver and breasts. Regular use internally before meals and externally before sleep helps keep breasts healthy, reverses cancerous changes. Digestion is settled and strengthened a few minutes after taking a dose. Results in breast tissue are slower, taking six weeks or more to become evident.
Honeysuckle:
One of the most vigorous vines known, Honeysuckle makes an excellent complementary medicine for many Western drugs, moderating or eliminating many of their damaging side-effects. The flowerbuds are harvested in May or June, dried quickly in the sun without turning or handling, infused in water overnight (one ounce dried blossoms to one quart boiling water in a tightly sealed jar steeped for 4-10 hours), and drunk freely.
Plantain:
• Use leaves, harvested any time, or ripe seeds with hulls.
• Internal use:
- Seeds: anti-microbial, against thrush;
- Leaves: promote blood clotting, increase in iron, strengthen digestion.
• Used externally: leaf poultice or oil reduces cysts, heals skin and connective tissues, stops itching and prevents scars.
• Daily use: no limit.
• Raw leaves: 3-20 chopped in salad.
• Fresh leaf vinegar: 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml).
• Fresh leaf oil/ointment or poultice: as needed.
• Internal response is prompt; noticeable improvement in blood iron is seen in two weeks of daily use. External response is also rapid: itching ceases, bleeding stops, pain abates, and swelling recedes in minutes. Plantain promotes quick, scarless healing from all wounds.
Red Clover:
• Use the just-opened blossoms with a few leaves clinging.
• Internally: alkalinizes, builds blood; helps prevent the recurrence of cancer, protects liver and lungs, improves appetite, relieves constipation, eases anxiety; relieves symptoms of menopause, increases fertility.
• Externally: softens and reduces breast lumps; is antifungal.
• Daily use is without limit.
• Fresh blossoms: eaten freely.
• Infusion (tea) of dried flowers: up to one quart (1 liter).
• Tincture/mother tincture of fresh blossoms: 15-100 drops.
• Fresh flower vinegar: 1-4 tablespoons (15-60 ml).
• Note: Over consumption of blood-thinning coumarins, which are present only in low amounts in red clover but found in greater amounts in other clovers such as sweet clover, can lead to the breakdown of blood cells and increase risk of hemorrhage.
• Red clover (legume family) shares with its sisters, lentil and astragalus, the ability to repair damaged DNA, turn off oncogenes, and reverse both pre-cancers and in situ cancers. According to J. Hartwell, author of Plants Used Against Cancer, medical literature has reported and confirmed hundreds of cases of remission of cancer after consistent use of red clover. I agree.
Violet:
• Use the leaves, harvested any time, even during flowering.
• Externally: Eases pain and inflammation, heals mouth sores, softens skin, antifungal.
• Daily dose: Use without limit, non-toxic.
• Fresh leaves: in salad, as desired.
• Dried leaf infusion: up to one quart (1 liter).
• Fresh or dried leaf poultice: continuously.
• Internal and external use of violet can shrink a breast lump in a month.
Yellow Dock:
• Use roots of a plant at least two years old, dug after autumn frosts, or very early in the spring; leaves, harvested at any time, use ripe seeds.
• Internally: as root tincture or vinegar, yellow dock builds healthy blood, protects liver, and acts as a laxative. As a seed tea, it heals mouth sores and checks diarrhea.
• Externally: Poultices dissolve lumps, counter tumors and kill fungus infections.
• Can be used daily for up to 12 months.
• Tincture of fresh roots: 10-60 drops per day.
• Fresh root vinegar: 1-2 tablespoons (30 ml) per day.
• Dried seed tea: no more than one cup (250 ml) per day.
• Fresh root oil/ointment: liberally, as needed.
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Legal Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material in this article is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment by seeking a second opinion.
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Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.
Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Learn more at Susun’s site.
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