Making Your Own Echinacea Or Herbal Tinctures

If you are spending a fortune buying echinacea pills or tincture these days to combat the flu and colds, here's a way to make your own herbal tincture at a fraction of the price: Take a small GLASS jar with a tight fitting lid (a small jelly canning jar will work nicely). Then take your dried echinacea (or other medical herb or herbs) and place in the glass jar, (if your grow your own fresh herbs, dry them first!) Then just barely cover the herbs in the glass jar with 100 proof Vodka.

Print the date you started the preparation and the kind of herb used on a label and tape it to the jar. Leave this to sit in a dark cool cupboard for 2 weeks to 1 month and shake the mixture every day. After it's sat for several weeks, strain the herbs out and pour the strained Herbal Tincture into a small glass jars with an attached eyedropper... (If you have extras, store these in a cool, dark place or the fridge. The dose used with echinacea (to combat flu and colds) is about 5 - 10 drops under the tongue several times a day. For other herbs, ask a professional herbalist. The tincture will keep it's strength for one year and up to 2 years. You can usually find the small glass eye-dropper bottles on E-Bay or online.

Herbal Information Center:

• http://www.kcweb.com/herb/coldflu.htm

Echinacea Fact Sheet:

• http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/

Source: I learned to make my own herbal preparations at a 2 week seminar back in the 1980's.

By Cyinda from Seattle

By Cyinda