How We Make Our Winter Elixir

08/23/19 • 58 min

This winter elixir is our #1 cold & flu remedy! We make a big batch every year around this time, when most of the plants that go into it are fresh and ready to harvest. They need about a month to extract fully into the elixir, so we can’t wait until we’re already sick to start putting our elixir together. Preparing it now means it’s ready for us when the first respiratory infection of the season strikes. Holistic herbalism means thinking ahead sometimes!

Our herbal elixir is designed to be general-purpose, to cover all the most important bases. When you have a cold or the flu, you don’t only need to “kill” the virus. You also need to keep your inner waters flowing, help fevers be effective & efficient, maintain mucous membrane function, and provide your immune system with the support it needs to function optimally. From the marrow on outward, our winter elixir is a full-spectrum solution to respiratory infections.

PS: If you don’t have all the ingredients we discussed in this episode, work with what you’ve got! Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 🙂 And remember that you can work with what the landscape gives you in your own bioregion – wherever you are, there are herbs that can do these jobs.

Herbs discussed include: loosestrife, elderberry, ground ivy, mullein, boneset, sumac, goldenrod, st john’s wort, japanese knotweed, catnip, & blue vervain.

If you want to learn more about how to manage cold & flu with herbs and holistic strategies, our newest online course is for you! Herbal Remedies for Cold & Flu teaches you everything you need to know to conquer a cold or fight off the flu. We teach you how to work with herbs that are safe and effective for all aspects of the illness. Throughout, the focus is on finding ways to support what your body is already trying to do as it works to restore balance. Winter is coming, so get ready now!

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs discussed include: loosestrife, elderberry, ground ivy, mullein, boneset, sumac, goldenrod, st john’s wort, japanese knotweed, catnip, & blue vervain.

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Previous Episode

Nicole Rose & The Prisoner's Herbal

"Creating this community garden, and teaching families in your area how to grow food and look out for each other – that is abolition. We’re humanizing people again, and working for community health and ecological health, and all of those things are completely opposite to what the prison-industrial complex is trying to do. So in that way, herbalism is abolition."

Today we’re honored & excited to share with you our interview with Nicole Rose of Solidarity Apothecary in the UK! Nicole is an herbalist who is working tirelessly to bring herbal medicine to incarcerated individuals, those who have been released from prison, and the families and communities who have been impacted by the state violence and the prison-industrial complex. She recently completed her new book The Prisoner’s Herbal, which Katja helped edit and which we’re going to help distribute in the US.

We talked about how Nicole’s personal experience of finding support from wild plants during her own incarceration shaped her work as an organizer and as an herbalist, the sad state of healthcare and nutrition in prisons, why herbalists should care about what happens to prisoners, what prison abolition really means and how we can move as a society in that direction, and how we can all support and care for incarcerated people in ways large and small.

To get your own copy of The Prisoner’s Herbal and support the work Nicole is doing, visit:

Solidarity Apothecary

Also mentioned in this episode:

If you’d like to help us keep our incarcerated students initiative moving forward, while also supporting out podcast, free clinics, scholarships, and other projects – and get some goodies for your generosity – we’d very much appreciate it!
To start supporting us today, all you need do is click this link to support us at $5/month, or this one to support us at $10/month. At either level you’ll get immediate access to our weekly supporters video series. These exclusive videos come out every week and are only for our supporters!

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Next Episode

Herbs for Athlete's Foot

The itchy, inflamed, sensitive presentation of a fungal skin infection is something no one wants. These kinds of infections can be difficult to resolve whether you’re trying with herbs or with pharmaceutical agents, but don’t give up! With a few pointers and a solid plan, you can be successful working with herbs for athlete’s foot. The difference between success and failure often comes down to how you prepare and apply the herbs – that’s what this episode will teach you.

Our favorite antifungal herbs are actually some of the most common – plants like garlic, oregano, turmeric, and willow. With common household items like salt and vinegar, they can be made into very potent herbal remedies to combat athlete’s foot. We like to come at the problem from a few angles at once, working with soaks, sprays, and salves to keep the fungi on their toes – and get them off of yours!

(By the way, these remedies are also helpful if you’re dealing with thrush, ringworm, or related issues. We offer some tips for applying these herbs for athlete’s foot to other fungal skin infections like these, too.)

Herbs discussed include: garlic, oregano / thyme / monarda, uva ursi, pau d’arco, black walnut, plantain, calendula, turmeric, henna, seaweeds, marshmallow, propolis, usnea, loosestrife, willow, barberry, oregon grape root, tea tree, rosemary, thuja, cinnamon, & chaparral.

Have you seen our newest online course offering? If you want to learn more about how to manage cold & flu with herbs and holistic strategies, this is for you! Herbal Remedies for Cold & Flu teaches you everything you need to know to conquer a cold or fight off the flu. We teach you how to work with herbs that are safe and effective for all aspects of the illness. Throughout, the focus is on finding ways to support what your body is already trying to do as it works to restore balance. Winter is coming, so get ready now!

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!