It is interesting to note that the heart may continue to beat even when the person is already dead. On the other hand, it is also possible for the heart to stop beating although death has not yet occurred, as in the case of suspended animation (apparent death, or asphyxia). A strong electric shock, for example, causes a spasm in the heart which may temporarily suspend its function, but death itself does not occur until later, when the oxygen supply is cut off completely and carbon dioxide accumulates because it is no longer eliminated.

Vesalius, the father of modern anatomical research, wanting to determine the cause of death of a nobleman he had treated, performed an autopsy during which he noticed, to his horror, that the heart was still beating. Witnesses who were present at the autopsy took him to court. He was found guilty of having performed a post-mortem examination on a living person and he was sentenced to death. This illustrates that life does not always coincide with the activity of the heart. So, even if death has occurred, the eyes are glassy and breathing has stopped, the heart may nevertheless continue to beat for a little while.

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Archangelica officinalis UMBELLIFERAE

Angelica is one of the oldest-known herbs. It is a native of cold countries, Russia and Lithuania and Iceland, and as far south as Germany. It is classified as a biennial, but if it is not allowed to flower and is cut back hard it will grow as a true perennial.

The legends about angelica are many. It was introduced into England in the sixteenth century with already a wide reputation on the Continent as a powerful remedy for coughs, colds and rheumatic complaints—all the troubles of the cold, damp climates in which it grows naturally and, as Nature has ordained, where it is most useful to man.

In Europe, it flowers on St Michael the Archangel’s day, 8th May, and it figured in many rites and rituals for this festival. In England it gained a strong reputation as a stomach strengthener, and was used extensively, the roots in particular being chewed as a protection from the plague. Angelica root was said to actually cure even after infection had already taken place, and it was an ingredient in the “Four Thieves’ Vinegar”, a concoction of powerful herbs drunk by four robbers who pillaged the bodies of those dead from the plague, and maintained apparent immunity themselves.

In Norway, bread was often made using the dried powdered roots; but all parts of the plant are valuable, the leaves to use dried in pot-pourri (pick them before flowering commences), and the stems and bark stripped and candied, or cooked with rhubarb to take away its tart taste. The seeds are used to flavour liqueurs such as Chartreuse, and are also used commercially in perfumes.

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Samuel Hahnemann, the brilliant exponent of the homoeopathic school of natural medicine, found yet another principle relating to herb usage. He discovered that by giving massive doses at varying strengths of a particular herb certain symptoms could be produced in healthy people, and he formed the theory that a person showing this same set of symptoms in illness might be cured by an infinitesimal dose of the same herb. Application of his discoveries has provided some astonishingly effective results in the field of natural medicine. This is an over-simplification of a very complex theory, and further reading on the subject can be very rewarding.

I do not think any of us can scoff at something that works, and works not only on humans but on animals as well, thus confounding those who cry “Faith Healing!” and “If you believe in something hard enough, you will be cured.” Homoeopathic doses of herbs are even being used to activate the compost heap. Work done in England recently has shown that a concentration of one in ten thousand parts of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) added to the compost heap is the most effective “dose”. I have proved this myself, and the short time taken to produce rich well-decomposed compost has been very valuable to me in my herb nursery, where all the plants are organically grown and natural compost is one of their chief foods.

In 1927, in Baker Street, London, a Mrs Leyel started up a small shop selling dried herbs and herbal preparations, known as the “Society of Herbalists”. Interest in the use of herbs grew to such an extent that in 1936 a new Society of Herbalists was formed by admirers of her work, by those who had benefited by using herbs, and those who wished to gain more knowledge to help in healing others. The hundreds of members became thousands, and Mrs Leyel wrote many books that have become reference works for those studying natural medicine.

Another herbalist with a world-wide reputation is Juliette de Bairacli Levy, an Israeli lady who has spent a large part of her life living amongst some of the primitive peoples in so-called “under-developed” countries, learning from them their herbal lore and usage. The American Indians, the natives of several South American countries, and the gipsies all over the world, have given her a wealth of information on how they manage to raise their families and their live-stock under extremely poor conditions. In many cases, their health and vigour, even in old age, should bring shame on our affluent, enlightened society, with its increasing toll from asthma and obesity and early coronaries. Two of her books are listed in the bibliography at the end of this book, and I can recommend them to those wishing to raise livestock by natural methods or to care for the health and well-being of the family without recourse to unnatural products.

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Summer savory Satureia hortensis LABIATAE Winter savory Satureia montana

A beloved culinary herb of ancient Greece, savory has an annual variety, summer savory, as well as the perennial or winter savory. Both have similar flavour, and winter savory is the kind I have found best to grow. It is evergreen, of a spreading rather low habit of growth, with woody little stems on which appear tiny starry white flowers in spring and early summer. It has a pleasant aroma when the leaves are crushed, and a special affinity for beans, peas, and the squash and marrow family. A sprig added to the water when steaming chokos will make you wonder why they are still such a lowly vegetable. Remove the sprig after cooking, as the hard stem is not very palatable. The herb is used in sauces and to flavour herb vinegar and the softer leaves can be stripped from the stem and added sparingly to soups, too. It will stand longer cooking than most herbs, with no deterioration in flavour.

Open sun suits savory well, and moderate conditions, and it is easily grown either from seed or hard-wood cuttings, taken in summer or early autumn.

Often added to herbal medicines for its warming qualities and pleasant taste, disguising some of the more unpalatable herb flavours, it has been used also, like rue, to sharpen sight.

Savory was taken to America by early British settlers, and has naturalized well. Crushed leaves rubbed on a bee-sting alleviate the pain. Try a few well-bruised sprigs of savory steeped in white wine for a refreshing tonic drink. If the flavour of basil is too strong for you in a recipe, substitute savory. If you are partial to young button squash or the dark green zucchini, slice them thinly, saute quickly in butter to which a savory sprig has been added, and serve immediately.

An unusual conserve can be made using the herb. It goes equally well with cold meat as a garnishing jelly or on toast as a jam. Try it drizzled over ice-cream too, as a piquant sauce. Top the dish with a sprig of fresh applemint or pineapple mint.

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Vegetable Hotpot

1/2 stick celery

4 medium carrots

2 small onions Chopped cabbage Mustard or cress sprouts 4 tablespoons oil

1 cup stock

2 tablespoons cornflour Small handful hyssop leaves Salt and cayenne pepper

Wash and dice all the vegetables (except the sprouts), and add to the hot oil, tossing to coat them evenly. Saute over moderate heat for several minutes. Add the hyssop and seasonings, then add the stock, cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the sprouts just at the last minute, heat through and serve immediately. Do not overcook, as the vegetables should be crisp and chewy.

It is frequently used in the perfume industry, its concentrated oils being blended with other fragrances in eau-de-Cologne.

Plant hyssop as a low hedge around the vegetable patch. Its flowers will bring the bees, and its roots have been found to cleanse the soil and keep many soil pests at bay. Don’t, however, grow it near radishes: the two plants are not compatible, and the radishes will have poor flavour.

Hyssop has also been found to improve the yield from grapevines if planted along the rows, particularly if the terrain is rocky or sandy, and the soil not as easy to work as it might be. So add another plant to the list of those that can improve the health and productivity of food crops. Some day soon, as man’s distrust of artificial growing methods forces him to turn back to Nature, all these green natural “chemical factories” will once again be given the opportunity to work for us.

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Allium schoenoprasum LILIACEAE

There is in every cook’s opinion

No savoury dish without an onion;

But lest your kissing should be spoiled

The onion must be thoroughly boiled! So said Jonathan Swift, and so at one time or another have all of us felt about the pungent smell of onions. This anti-social property is also shared by their small cousins, onion chives and garlic chives. But those of us who have any knowledge of natural medicine know that the onion family, with garlic at its head, is one of the greatest blessings to mankind in all the plant kingdom. I venture to say that if more people questioned their natureopathic physicians on the use of garlic in “miraculous” treatment of asthma and bronchitis, there would be an astonishing decrease in the misery caused by these diseases. Chest complaints cannot all be laid at the doorstep of smog and pollution. Some come from bad nutrition, causing imbalance and consequent bodily malfunction, which our foetid air only aggravates; and for most of these inherent bodily weaknesses garlic or one of its chive relatives can be of inestimable value.

I don’t propose in this book to deal with garlic itself. The study of all its cleansing properties would fill a very much larger volume; but I hope to write at length of it in a further book.

Chives have, to a lesser degree, very similar properties in the safeguarding of general good health and the warding off of disease. They contain, amongst other valuable constituents, iron, pectin and sulphur, and are a mild natural antibiotic. They help to strengthen the stomach and combat high blood pressure, and have a tonic effect on the kidneys. Every invalid recuperating from serious illness should have chives every day in the diet, for they have a stimulating effect on the appetite and, like all herbal medicine, have no troublesome side-effects. Chives also reduce the indigestibility of fats in food—a boon to those cholesterol-level watchers.

The herb came to Europe via the Asian cultures, and it is mentioned in early Chinese herbal writings. Marco Polo is credited by some with spreading its fame anew around the Mediterranean.

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Eye Problems

For conjunctivitis and styes and for tired, red or strained eyes generally, bathe the eyes 2-3 times daily with a soothing lotion:

3 parts Eyebright herb

1 part Marigold flowers

Infusion: apply warm as a compress or eye lotion

Fennel, Chamomile, Elder flowers, Plantain and Raspberry leaves may be used in the same way.

For chronic eye problems or weak eyes, bathe the eyes with Eyebright, 15 minutes at a time, twice a day, for several weeks. Internal treatment may be used as well:

4 parts Eyebright herb

1 part Fennel seed

1 part Dandelion root

Infusion: 3 cups per day

Repeat the course of treatment from time to time.

Hayfever and Sinusitis

For relief from acute attacks of hayfever and sinusitis:

2 parts Sage leaves

1 part Elder flowers

1 part Eyebright herb

Infusion: 1/2-1 ñèð every 2-4 hours, not exceeding 4 cups per day

Treatment should not be used for more than one week at a time. Sage is the primary ingredient and can be used alone if necessary. This is a highly effective treatment and the limitations on its use are based simply on the ability of Sage to reduce the secretion of fluids: some caution should be made against excessive use of the herb otherwise it may slow secretions to a degree more than required (see entry on Sage in Section 2: Herbs).

For recurrent hayfever or chronic sinusitis:

1 part Elder flowers

1 part Eyebright herb

Infusion: 3 cups per day for 4 weeks — repeat if necessary after suspending treatment for 2 weeks.

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Haemorrhoids

3 parts Shepherd’s Purse herb

3 parts Plantain leaves

3 parts Marigold flowers

1 part Fennel seed

Infusion: 3 cups per day

 

2 parts Witch Hazel leaves

2 parts Marigold flowers

2 parts Plantain leaves

2 parts Dandelion root

1 part Liquorice root

2 parts Marshmallow root

Infusion: 3 cups per day

Blackberry root bark

Decoction: 3 cups per day

For excessive haemorrhoidal bleeding:

2 parts Shepherd’s Purse herb

1 part Plantain leaves

1 part Yarrow herb

1 part Marshmallow root

Infusion: 1/2-1 ñèð every hour for acute conditions, otherwise 3 cups per day

 

As with many chronic conditions, extended treatment (with suitable breaks) may be required. For external use, Distilled Witch Hazel, combined 50/50 with an infusion of Marigold flowers and/or Plantain leaves, can be applied as a soothing and astringent lotion. Mullein oil is also useful, and an excellent all-purpose ointment may be prepared as follows:

1 part Witch Hazel leaves

1 part Plantain leaves

1 part Marigold flowers

1 part St John’s Wort herb

1 part Comfrey root

Ointment or oil: apply locally, renewing several times per day

Heartburn

12 parts Meadowsweet herb

1 part Fennel seed

1 part Anise seed

1 part Cinnamon bark

1 part Lemon Balm leaves

Infusion: 1 cup after every meal

Used for treating heartburn or hyperacid stomach, the above remedy is taken for its long-term effects rather than for immediate relief — hence treatment should extend over several weeks.

Alfalfa can also be taken long-term for its beneficial effect on hyperacidity of the stomach:

Alfalfa herb

Infusion: 1 cup after every meal

For more immediate relief:

6 parts Marshmallow root

2 parts Alfalfa herb

1 part Cinnamon bark

1 part Peppermint leaves

Infusion: 1/2 cup every hour, not to exceed 3 cups per day

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Mentha spicata

Action: Aromatic, diaphoretic, stimulant, stomachic, carminative, cholagogue, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, local analgesic, anti-emetic, diuretic.

Systems Affected: Stomach, intestines, kidneys, bladder, uterus, circulation, nerves.

Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried leaves, dose 1-5 grams by infusion.

Spearmint has been known and used for culinary and medicinal purposes since ancient times. Native to the Mediterranean region, the Romans were responsible for its distribution throughout northern and western Europe. It is now cultivated commercially and as a garden plant and is probably the most widely used of all mints. The plant was formerly classified as Mentha viridis, a reference to its bright green colour, whereas the modern botanical name and the common name both reflect the spear-like shape of its leaves.

The medicinal properties of Spearmint are similar to those of Peppermint (stimulant, carminative, antispasmodic, etc.) but less powerful. The taste is also milder and more pleasant than Peppermint, and for these reasons it is better adapted to children’s ailments.

Spearmint is particularly valued for its anti-emetic properties and is considered by many a specific for nausea and vomiting. It also relieves hiccough, flatulence and colic.

Unlike Peppermint it possesses some diuretic action and is a weak emmenagogue. It is used to treat inflammation of the kidneys and bladder and suppressed or painful urination.

A strong infusion of the herb was traditionally used as a local application for chapped hands. Long used as a culinary herb, Spearmint aids digestion, hence its use as a garnish, sauce, jelly or vinegar with such foods as lamb, peas and new potatoes.

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Melissa officinalis

Action: Sedative, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, carminative.

Systems Affected: Nerves, circulation.

Preparation and Dosage (thrice daily): Dried leaves, dose 2-5 grams by infusion.

Lemon Balm is native to the Mediterranean region and has been cultivated in the area for over 2000 years. For almost half this period, however, it was used primarily as a bee plant. The Arabs introduced it as a medicinal plant, extolling its merits in treating anxiety and depression (Avicenna said that ‘it makes the heart merry, and strengthens the vital spirits’), and it has been used as a sedative or tonic tea ever since.

Lemon Balm is used mainly for treating nervous conditions such as anxiety and depression. As the American herbalist Michael Tierra states: ‘This herb is widely used to cure melancholy and diseases that are the result of finding ourselves in places and life situations we are not ready to accept.’

The infusion is recommended for poor digestion, flatulent dyspepsia, colic, dizziness and buzzing in the ears, palpitations, insomnia, headaches and many of the various disorders (even nightmares) common to nervous states of mind.

It is particularly recommended (up to 5 cups of the infusion per day) for premenstrual tension and period pain. It is an excellent-tasting diaphoretic or anti-fever tea, and is useful at the first signs of a cold, flu or fever. It is a safe and effective herb for treating infants and young children. The plant is used as a poultice or ointment to dress open wounds and the fresh leaf is soothing when rubbed on insect bites.

Lemon Balm possesses a pungent oil from which the Arabs make a perfume. It is a common monastery herb in Europe and monks and nuns prepare from it fragrant colognes and healing salves. In France it is the main ingredient of the well-known Carmelite tonic waters. It is an important constituent of several liqueurs, including Benedictine and Chartreuse, and is used for its aromatic properties in potpourris. It may be used for culinary purposes where a delicate lemon flavour is required.

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