What is in Tincture?
Herbs come in many different forms and there are many ways to take the; in the raw form, as a powder, diffused as a tea, in an herbal wine, with honey or ghee, as a medicinal extract and so forth. The best medium for your herb depends on what you are trying to accomplish, what tissue you are targeting, the strength of your digestion, your dosha, prakriti and vikriti (balanced nature and imbalanced nature) and it is important to consider all of these in order to achieve the best results from your herbs.
Herbal mediums vary depending on the treatment.
One of my favorite ways to take herbs is as an herbal extract, also called a Tincture. Tinctures are potent medicinal extracts of herbs, plants, roots, barks and such normally extracted in alcohol or glycerin taken with a dropper. On a structural level, the cell membrane of herbs needs to be opened up in order to extract the medicinal juju inside of them, and if they happen to be a root or a bark, extra heat (and time) is needed because this cell structure will be tougher and stronger. Heat from alcohol or from cooking the herbs on the stove (called a decoction, a stronger form of a tea) will do this. Because tinctures are extracted in alcoholic heat are already in a liquid form, there is no need to steep or cook them which makes this medium very convenient and efficient. They are easy to carry with you for on-the-go wellness. Tinctures impact the liver quickly since the liver processes everything, but because alcohol is heating and the liver manages the body's heat, the extract reaches your tissues faster. Ghee is another medium that drives the medicinal properties of herbs deep into your tissues. This is an important detail to understand when wanting to help your body heal or manage a symptom in the most efficient way.
To get rid of the "heat" from tinctures, simply boil water and drop in your formulation to make a tea. The hot water will evaporate the alcohol so you're left with the extract itself minus the heating qualitites. Voala!
All of the tinctures in the WBH herb shop are on sale. Use the code HERBALSALE and stock up on your favorite formulations for overall or targeted wellness.
Email me directly for any questions or for suggestions on which formulation to choose for yourself.
hello@wellnessbyhelen.com
To your health! xo