Today people are deficient in health due to poor diet or poor absorption to the body. Here are 3 nourishing herbs that can boast the minerals in your body.
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Unfortunately, today a lot people are deficient in minerals. There are many reasons for this from poor diet or poor absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body. There are things like consumption of modern pharmaceuticals to the fact that our cultivated vegetables no longer contain as many nutrients as their wild counterparts. This can manifest in the body as tiredness, lethargy, brain fog, sleeplessness, brittle hair and nails, irritability, increased anxiety and poor immune function. Often when people are experiencing those types of symptoms, diet is one of the first places we should look.
When most folks want to increase their mineral levels, such as iron intake, they tend to look at increasing meat consumption, especially red meat. However, plants are an excellent option for this purpose. And drinking your minerals is a great alternative to sneak in extra nutrients, giving you extra energy and mental clarity throughout the day. Read on to hear about my top 3 nourishing herbs that are easily available from either your garden or health food store and a recipe for a nourishing infusion!
Nettles Urtica dioica
Yes, the stinging kind! Stinging nettles are a powerhouse of nutrition and one of my personal favorites for helping to restore minerals in my body and for making me feel strong! Nettles are a traditional spring tonic and are an excellent herbal ally for pregnancy and nursing. It helps to restore iron levels in a gentler way than some supplements and also helps to promote the production of breastmilk.
Nettles contain vitamins A, C, E and K, and minerals chromium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, silica, iron, zinc. You can harvest nettles before they come into flower using thick gloves to protect your hands from the stinging hairs that line the leaf and stem. They can then be dried in bunches (note that once nettles are dried or cooked, they no longer sting!) and stored in a mason jar. Alternatively, you can find dried nettles in most health food stores or your local apothecary.
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Raspberry leaf Rubus spp.
Raspberry leaf has gained popularity through the years as an herb for pregnancy and postpartum, helping to prepare the uterus for childbirth and restore its elasticity following the birth. However, it is also highly nutritious containing vitamins B, C, and E as well as the minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, niacin, magnesium. Raspberry leaf is also helpful for regulating the menstrual cycle and can be used to help lessen heavy menstrual bleeding. If you grow raspberries organically at home, you can gather the spring leaves before the plant blossoms and dry them on screens or in baskets to use throughout the year. Raspberry leaf is readily available in most health food stores.
Oatstraw Avena sativa
Oatstraw is essentially the leaves and stem of the oat plant. Once dried it makes a delicious and nourishing tea and contains silica, magnesium, phosphorus, chromium, iron, calcium, as well as vitamins B, A, C, E and K. Aside from being deeply nourishing, oatstraw also supports the nervous system and can be helpful for feelings of overwhelm or feeling frazzled and exhausted. Oatstraw gently nourishes our bodies and is a great tonic to promote balance in both the body and the mind. Oatstraw is often used by farmers as a cover crop to help restore nutrients in the soil – ask at your local organic farm if they have oatstraw for sale or find it in your health food store.
Remember if you are harvesting plants from the wild to make sure you are 100% on your identification. And only harvest from clean areas away from places like roadsides or railways or areas that you suspect have been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides.
Recipe for nourishing herbal infusion
- ½ cup Oatstraw
- ½ cup Nettles
- ½ cup Raspberry leaf
- Add your herbs to a 1-quart mason jar.
- Fill to the top with boiling water (In my experience I have found it’s best to do this in a sink!) and stir gently.
- Once cool enough to touch put the lid on and leave in the fridge for at least four hours but preferably overnight.
- Strain and compost the herbs or give them to your chickens.
- Keep the infusion in the fridge and drink around 8oz per day. Your infusion will stay good in the fridge for 4 days.
Note that folks with a dry constitution (i.e. if you suffer from dry skin) may find this infusion too drying for them. If so, you can add ¼ cup of marshmallow root to balance the blend and make it less drying.
Becky is a mother, herbalist, Reiki practitioner and owner/creator of Cedar Hill Herbs where she creates herbal remedies and organic botanical skincare products from homegrown and ethically wildcrafted ingredients. She is also the founder and coordinator of the One World Herbal Community. Based out of the Okanagan Valley in the interior of British Columbia, she is passionate about organic gardening, inspiring and educating folks about plants and their uses and serving her community.