Raspberry Leaf provides adjunctive support for the anti-diarrheal aspect of many herbal blends. This effect is primarily due to the astringent nature of the leaves.
One scientific study showed that a principle in the Raspberry Leaf is responsible for relaxing the smooth muscles of the uterus and intestine when they are in tone, and that same principle causes contraction of the uterus when it is not in tone. This relaxation effect probably accounts for the traditional therapeutic value of Raspberry leaves in aiding parturition. The contracting effect explains the ability of the leaves to remedy extreme laxity of the bowels.
Red Raspberry leaf has an affinity for the female reproductive system. It aids the menstruating woman as it helps to bring balance into the menstrual cycle and will help alleviate excessive bleeding. The fruit is rich in nutrients and iron and is helpful in the treatment of anemia.
Red Raspberry Leaf Teas has been used in England for many generations to help the strength of contractions in childbirth and to allay miscarriage. It is full of b vitamins and folic acid which are essential to the growth of uterine cells in pregnancy. For last trimester...take a cup three times per day with lemon and honey...
Raw Bee Honey is an instant energy building food with all minerals necessary for life: seven vitamins of the B-complex group, amino acids, enzymes and other vital factors. Most processed honey has been heated and filtered, which destroys its nutritional value. If Raw Honey is left in its natural state, it retains all the vitamins, minerals and enzymes inherent in this healthful food product. And, for example, a 50 mg. tablet of Raw Honey would equate to less than three dietary calories. If you follow a low sugar meal plan, you can benefit by supplementing your diet with a daily intake of Raw Honey. Raw Bee Honey is also a good antiseptic and salve for burns.
Red Clover has been used in America for over 100 years to treat and prevent cancer, and also as a sedative for whooping cough. In Europe, Red Clover has been used as a diuretic to treat gout, and also as an expectorant.
Because of its high content of several important nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, Red Clover has become a dependable nutritive supplement in all forms of degenerative disease. Antibiotic tests on Red Clover have shown it to possess activity against several bacteria, the most significant of which is the pathogen that causes tuberculosis.
Red clover has also been used effectively as a blood purifier, an antibiotic (used for tuberculosis and to fight other bacteria), a relaxant, and an appetite suppressant.
Red Root (Ceanothus americanus) is a half-hardy shrub growing to 4 or 5 feet high. It has downy leaves and stems and small ornamental white flowers in great numbers, coming into bloom June or July, followed by bluntly triangular seedvessels. It is usually called 'New Jersey Tea' in America because its leaves were used as a substitute for tea during the War of Independence. In Canada, it is used to dye wool a cinnamon color. It takes its name from its large red roots. Its wood is tough, pale brown red, with fine rays - taste bitter and astringent with no odor. Fracture hard, tough, splintering. Its bark is brittle, dark-colored and thin.
The leaves of Red Root are said to contain tannin, a soft resin and bitter extract, a green coloring matter similar to green tea in color and taste, gum a volatile substance, lignin, and a principle called Ceanothine.
Red Root exhibits astringent, antispasmodic, anti-syphilitic expectorant and sedative properties, used in asthma, chronic bronchitis, whooping-cough, consumption, and dysentery; also as a mouth-wash and gargle, and as an injection in gonorrhea, gleet and leucorrhoea.
Reishi Mushroom, also known as Ling-Zhi (Chinese), has shown in recent studies to be helpful for treating high cholesterol, normalizing blood pressure, regulating circulatory system and help cure on allergies. Reishi mushroom contains a high amount of polysaccharides which are essential for proper functioning of the immune system, and are known as effective tumor fighters.
Reishi Mushroom is used as a tonic and a sedative. It is useful in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, sugar disorders, liver disorders, hypertension, arthritis, and nervous exhaustion. It has a strong antihistamine action that can help control allergies. Reishi Mushroom can also lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, help prevent the growth of tumors, and increase the body's ability to fight unwanted invaders.
Rhubarb Root, cultivated in China and Tibet, has an illustrious history of inclusion in many laxative preparations. It is generally considered a mild laxative that produces a soft stool 6-10 hours after ingestion.
This herb is an important ingredient because the A-factors (anthraquinones) of this herb differ somewhat from those of Cascara - only some of them reach the large intestines intact, while others are re-absorbed in the small intestine, and later released into the large intestine. The timing of the absorption of Rhubarb is thus displaced to some degree from the other laxative agents in this formulation, thereby promoting longer and smoother activity of the whole.
Rhubarb is especially well suited for children since it is very mild in action.
Rose Hips are good for all infections and bladder problems. This herb also helps combat stress. Rose hips are rich in Vitamin C. Taken with chamomile and mint tea together is very relaxing and soothing for digestion and the chamomile eliminates gas.
ROSEMARY
You wouldn't think of storing meat anywhere but in fridge, would you? Makes you wonder what folks did before those cooling contraptions came to be. Well, before there were refrigerators - even before there were refrigerator magnets-people wrapped meats in crushed rosemary leaves to make them last longer. As a bonus, the herb imparted a fresh, piquant flavor to the food.
So what does this have to do with healing? Rosemary oil is a strong antioxidant, which means it protects fats from being attacked by oxygen molecules that can turn it rancid. Because oxygen damage is also a factor in the development of cancer, researchers have been investigating rosemary's ability to protect us from the disease.
But can the amount we use to cook with provide this protective benefit? Luckily, yes, "We've done studies and found benefits even with small amounts," says Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., a professor in the department of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Rosemary leaf has been effectively used in Europe and China to treat headaches and stomach pains. A few years ago, Italian researchers demonstrated moderate analgesic activity in this herb. The oil contributes substantially to the calming and soothing of tense nerves and muscles. In China, Rosemary leaf is used as an analgesic, muscle stimulant, headache remedy and anti-malarial.
Healing with Rosemary:
Rosemary imparts a wonderful flavor to pork, lamb, beef and chicken can turn an ordinary pizza into a delicious healthful masterpiece, especially when it's paired with a nice dose of garlic. "Even using a fraction of a teaspoon a day could help," says Dr. Ho. If you prefer to take rosemary tea, brew 1 teaspoon of crushed dried leaves in a cup of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 minutes. Use this herb to:
Fight cancerous tumor growth: "In the few studies done so far, rosemary has proven to be a strong inhibitor of the development and growth of cancerous tumors," says Dr. Ho. In animal studies, both applying rosemary oil to the skin and adding the herb to the animals' feed reduced their risk of cancer by half. Further research will demonstrate whether rosemary offers cancer protection to humans as well, he adds.
Prevent food poisoning: Rosemary's preservative power compares favorably with commercial food preservatives BHA and BHT. Want to keep foods fresh on your next picnic? Mix a generous amount of the crushed leaves into the hamburger meat or your tuna pasta or potato salad.
Aid digestion and relieve cramps: Like many culinary herbs, rosemary helps relax muscles, including the stomach muscles of the digestive tract and uterus. That's why it's sometimes used to soothe upset stomach and menstrual cramps.
Safety Considerations:
In the amounts normally used in cooking or in teas, rosemary is perfectly safe. In large amounts, however, it may cause intestinal irritation and cramping. (In fact, larger doses of rosemary oil and other rosemary preparations can put pregnancy at risk.) For this reason, avoid using rosemary oil in any amount. Even small does can cause stomach, kidney and intestinal problems, and large amounts may be poisonous. If you're pregnant, avoid using the herb altogether medicinally, although it's okay to use as a seasoning.
Rue (Ruta graveolens),
also known as Herb-of-Grace, Herbygrass, and Garden Rue, is a hardy, evergreen, somewhat shrubby plant, is a native of Southern Europe. The stem is woody in the lower part, the leaves are alternate, bluish-green, bi- or tripinnate, which emit a powerful, disagreeable odor and have an exceedingly bitter, acrid and nauseous taste. The greenish-yellow flowers are in terminal panicles, blossoming from June to September. The first flower that opens has usually ten stamens, the others eight only.
Rue is first mentioned by Turner, 1562, in his "Herbal", and has since become one of the best known and most widely grown simples for medicinal and homely uses.
The name Ruta is from the Greek reuo (to set free), because this herb is so helpful in various diseases. It was much used by the Ancients; Hippocrates specially commended it, and it constituted a chief ingredient of the famous antidote to poison used by Mithridates.
Piperno, a Neapolitan physician, in 1625, commended Rue as a specific against epilepsy and vertigo, and for the former malady, at one time, some of this herb used to be suspended round the neck of the sufferer.
Pliny, John Evelyn tells us, reported Rue to be of such effect for the preservation of sight that the painters of his time used to devour a great quantity of it, and the herb is still eaten by the Italians in their salads. It was supposed to make the sight both sharp and clear, especially when the vision had become dim through over-exertion of the eyes.
At one time the holy water was sprinkled from brushes made of Rue at the ceremony usually preceding the Sunday celebration of High Mass, for which reason it is supposed it was named the Herb of Repentance and the Herb of Grace. 'There's rue for you and here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays.'
The whole herb is used, the drug consisting of both the fresh and the dried herb. The tops of the young shoots contain the greatest virtues of any part of the plant. The shoots are gathered before the plant flowers.
The volatile oil is contained in glands distributed over the whole plant and contains caprinic, plagonic, caprylic and oenanthylic acids - also a yellow crystalline body, called rutin. Oil of Rue is distilled from the fresh herb. Water serves to extract the virtues of the plant better than spirits of wine. Decoctions and infusions are usually made from the fresh plant, or the oil may be given in a dose of from 1 to 5 drops. The dried herb - which is a grayish green - has similar taste and odor, but is less powerful. It is used, powdered, for making tea.
Rue is strongly stimulating and anti-spasmodic - often employed, in form of a warm infusion, as an emmenagogue. In excessive doses, Rue is an acro-narcotic poison, and on account of its emetic tendencies should not be administered immediately after eating.
Rue forms a useful medicine in hysterical affections, in coughs, croupy affections, colic and flatulence, being a mild stomachic. The oil may be given on sugar, or in hot water.
Externally, Rue is an active irritant, being employed as a rubefacient. If bruised and applied, the leaves will ease the severe pain of sciatica. The expressed juice, in small quantities, was a noted remedy for nervous nightmare, and the fresh leaves applied to the temples are said to relieve headache. Compresses saturated with a strong decoction of the plant, when applied to the chest, have been used beneficially for chronic bronchitis.
