The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Boneset

Episode Date: May 2, 2025

Today we discuss one of the best herbs for colds and flus.... and it is probably growing all around you!Please subscribe to my youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuBq5NsNkT5lVceFchZTtgThe Spring Foraging Cook Book is available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRP63R54Or you can buy the eBook as a .pdf directly from the author (me), for $9.99: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-spring-foraging-cookbook.htmlYou can read about the Medicinal Trees book here https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/06/paypal-safer-easier-way-to-pay-online.html or buy it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1005082936PS. New in the woodcraft Shop: Judson Carroll Woodcraft | SubstackRead about my new books:Medicinal Weeds and Grasses of the American Southeast, an Herbalist's Guidehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/medicinal-weeds-and-grasses-of-american.htmlAvailable in paperback on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47LHTTHandConfirmation, an Autobiography of Faithhttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/05/confirmation-autobiography-of-faith.htmlAvailable in paperback on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNKVisit my Substack and sign up for my free newsletter: https://judsoncarroll.substack.com/Read about my new other books:Medicinal Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/11/medicinal-ferns-and-fern-allies.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMSZSJPSThe Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking for Preppers, Homesteaders, Permaculture People and Everyone Else: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-omnivores-guide-to-home-cooking-for.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGKX37Q2Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast an Herbalist's Guidehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6andGrowing Your Survival Herb Garden for Preppers, Homesteaders and Everyone Elsehttps://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/04/growing-your-survival-herb-garden-for.htmlhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4LYV9RThe Encyclopedia of Medicinal Bitter Herbs: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-encyclopedia-of-bitter-medicina.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5MYJ35RandChristian Medicine, History and Practice: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/01/christian-herbal-medicine-history-and.htmlAvailable for purchase on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09P7RNCTBHerbal Medicine for Preppers, Homesteaders and Permaculture People: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2021/10/herbal-medicine-for-preppers.htmlAlso available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B09HMWXL25Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/southern-appalachian-herbsBlog: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/Free Video Lessons: https://rumble.com/c/c-618325

Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Today we're going to talk about really one of the most interesting, I guess, families of plants. This is one. We have some, okay, so there's a European version and that's one I'm going to talk about specifically today. Now it was brought over as medicine by so many immigrants that you're probably going to find it growing wild just about anywhere in the United States,

except for maybe a high desert, but really it could be cultivated even there. It's a weedy plant, and it's called Boneset, closely related to some of our native North American plants, such as Joe Pyeweed and Wild wild quinine. This is, let's see, there's the Eupatorium family and what's the one that's so close to it? Epilobium, they all used to be, I think it's epilobium, I'll double check that at some point, but you don't need to know that for the purposes of this show.

These are basically weeds, okay? They all used to be in the same family. And there's a segment of botany called taxonomy. And what they do is they like to reclassify the names of things. Now they use a lot of genetic information. And so in the last, I'll say 20 to 30 years, a lot of the plants that people have been referring to as one family of plants for like 500 years have been reclassified into new families and renamed. You know, it doesn't really

matter for our purposes. What matters for our purposes is these plants are fantastic for fevers. The name Boneset, and it's real popular herb, I mean, you know, herbalists have used it for literally hundreds if not thousands of years, and most herbalists today still use it. It's one of our go-to herbs, but the name of it kind of is a little confusing. You would think Boneset would have something to do with broken bones. No. Simply put, it's a strongly bitter herb

that is particularly good at reducing fevers. Boneset has other properties, and we'll get into those in just a minute, but it doesn't set bones or heal broken bones. The name Boneset comes from an old term for high fevers which were called break bone fevers. If you've ever had a really high bad fever and you get those awful aches like bone aches, that's what it refers to. So such fevers are experienced by most people I think in just real bad flus, particularly

nasty infections, and they feel like they're breaking your bones. So that's where it comes from. Now, Boneset is a Eupatorium. It is Eupatorium profoliatum. Other names include agueweed, ague is an old name for fever, feverwort, or sweating plant. This is one that helps break a fever,

and you know when your fever breaks you sweat profusely. So that's where it gets that name. All of those terms of course refer to its ability to break a fever and we call that in herbal medicine febri-fuge or dia-phoretic. So remember if I if I slip up and I don't define the word when I say it febri-fugeuge and diaphoretic both mean helps break a fever. Soaked herbs, they resolve a fever usually either by raising the body temperature slightly or inducing sweating or both. And raising a fever may seem counterintuitive in our era when we think you know the doctor's going to say take two Tylenol to reduce the fever but the fever is a way of the fever is one of the body's ways of fighting an infection. Breaking a fever or helping bring a fever to a peak aids

in the immune response. We make a big mistake when well especially Tylenol. Tylenol is horrible for the liver. I told you many times well I think I have I told said in many podcasts Whether it's this particular one or my herbal herbal medicine a podcast Southern Appalachian herbs podcast When I worked at a pharmacy, I worked at a pharmacy in my late teens or early 20s and Got got to know the pharmacist real well got along great with the pharmacist. Pharmacists are usually really cool guys actually. But they're real laid back and interested in a lot of the same kind of things as far

as the constituents and properties of herbs and medications and how they work with the body and all that. And most of them are some really interesting political ideologies considering some of the ones I knew. I think probably, I'm going to say 75% of them were very conservative, and the one or two that were liberal were really not the kind of liberals we think of today. You know, the fat purple haired women screaming at everybody. They were just like, you know, old hippies and into a lot of conspiracy theories and, you know, you find a lot more common ground than you would with, you know, an AOC or somebody like we would think of today But yeah, I got along great with them and one of the one of them was a good friend of mine

He was a mandolin player and and so we got you know going great He always said you can do one of two things if you want to have a not die of liver failure You can either Drink alcohol or you can take Tylenol, but you can't do both. And he said, honestly, Tylenol is much worse for the liver than except the heaviest binge drinking. So if you're a heavy drinker, never take alcohol. If you're a, never take Tylenol. If you're a moderate drinker, avoid Tylenol at all costs. And if you don't drink it all, I'd still avoid Tylenol.

It's actually banned in many European countries. It's made from petrochemicals. It's a byproduct of oil, essentially. And it is really, really hard on the liver. Probably more liver disease is caused by acetaminophen than is caused by alcohol. But the combo together is just deadly. So be real careful about that. And, you know, most actually all over the counter cold medicines use Tylenol as opposed to aspirin, which doesn't bother the liver at all. It actually has anti-inflammatory properties that can actually help the

liver a little bit. I don't know why. I don't know why when you're sick the over-the-counter drug industry wants you to damage your liver at the same time. The only one I found is actually a generic brand of Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus and you know not everything that's good for you but it is a cold medication that doesn't include Tylenol. So it's actually just the generic version and you can find that generic version as a store brand in most grocery stores and pharmacies. And you know just look at the back of the package and it will say you you know, salicylic acid or aspirin

as opposed to Tylenol or acetaminophen. It doesn't make any sense to me why that is, but it is what it is. So usually when the fever breaks, you sweat and not only does that help kill, the high temperature helps kill or stop the replication of the virus, but the sweating helps your body release toxins and it cools the body. And so bringing on the febri-fuge or diaphoretic effect rather than suppressing the fever and actually prolonging the illness makes a lot more sense in some cases. Now, obviously, small children can spike a fever

really quick and it can be really dangerous. Older, frail, very sick people, a high fever can be very dangerous. So you gotta weigh that out and use some common sense. There are, and usually after that, you just fall into a deep sleep, and when you wake up, you feel a whole lot better. You know, when that fever breaks and you sleep,

you just feel like, wow, I feel so much better afterwards. And that's because of that, your lymph purges, you sweat out a lot of toxins, and it does really help your body fight the virus. So many, many herbs and home remedies are used to break a fever. It could be hot yarrow tea, hot baths with ginger. Yeah, ginger in your bath water.

You know how ginger's hot on the tongue? Well, it actually increases the body temperature. Old fashioned mustard plasters, where they would take dry mustard and make a paste out of it, spread it on your chest, and put usually brown paper and some fat, lard or something, to kind of seal it in. And that mustard also, just like ginger,

will increase the body temperature, but so does that the fat and the covering of the skin. You know, obviously you wrap up in a warm blanket and it will help break the fever. Goose fat used to be used a lot in England especially, but even just drinking a hot beverage, hot tea, going to bed, laying under heavy blankets and sleeping under blankets is especially effective if you have the windows open and are breathing cool fresh air. That combination really helps the immune system quite a bit, keeping the

head cooler, which you know, keeping your head cool will help protect your brain in a high fever. You know, if someone has a really high fever, you get them in cold water and ice as quickly as you can. You've got to protect the brain from that, the high temperature. So it's a good combination. So Boneset, absolutely very important, useful herb. It is native to North America,

but most places you're gonna see it where it was planted in somebody's herb garden and it got out. Native American tribes, at least in the eastern half of North America, use it a lot, but it's very widespread. Other members of the Eupaterian family have been using European herbalism and and often called agrimonies. But agrimony we discussed a few weeks ago, different plant.

But D.S. Corrides going back over 2,000 years said that Eupatorium is an herb like a shrub, placing out one stem, thin and woody. And a way he goes on to describe describe it it's easier these days if you just Google Boneset, Eupatorium family and you can see you you'll start spotting these plants everywhere they're very very weedy and if you were to plant them which people used to do they are going to get out and you're going to have them forever okay so plant wants have them forever but Okay, so plant wants to have them forever, but you're probably actually growing

all around you. He said, this is an interesting use, he said that the leaves pounded fine and applied with swine's grease or lard help difficult scars and ulcers. The seed of the herb taken as a drink with wine helps dysentery and serpent bites. And at one point he said it was called an artemisia. So obviously these plants have been reclassified many times. Artemisia is very different. That's your wormwood, your mugwort, sweet Annie, also very good for viruses. So, so people probably were using them interchangeably. Okay.

So Cloverleaf Farm, Herbal Encyclopedia. This is a really interesting publication. It's online. If you ever want to just read some interesting history about herbs, Cloverleaf Farm says the Latin name Eupatorium is derived from Eupator, a first century king of Pontius, famed for his herbal skills. And the kings of Pontius were actually great herbalists from then that we get Mithridrate, the old bitters formula from King Mithrodites who was also a king of Pontius, Pontus I guess P-O-N-T-U-S, but according to Pliny the Elder, Eupator was the first used plant of this genus for

liver complaints. It is bitter and that helps the liver, you know, it stimulates bile and helps cleanse and purge the liver. Says, bone set attained popularity about 1800 when a particularly virulent flu swept the East Coast and was characterized by intense bone pain. A specific reference to this was made by early 19th century physician John Hempel who noted that the earth so singularly relieved the disease that it was familiarly called Boneset. Boneset was used by many tribes of North America for a

variety of ailments including cold, sore throat, fever, flu, chills, menstrual irregularity, epilepsy, gonorrhea, kidney trouble, rheumatism, and to induce vomiting. The Mesquackies, I'm not familiar with that tribe, N-E-S-Q-U-A-K-I-E-S, use the root to cure snake bite. One of their doctors named Macintosh used the leaf and flower to expel worms. That's interesting. Macintosh, a Scottish name supposedly in a Native American tribe. Hey, who knows, right? The Iroquois, Mohegan, Menominee, Delaware, and Cherokee have all used Boneset to treat colds and fevers. The Alabama relieves stomach ache with Boneset tea. It was also used by several

tribes including the Cherokees of Laxett. Boneset was named in all early American books on medicinal plants including Hans House Surgeon and Physician of 1820. During the 19th century very few homes did not have the herbs hung from rafters for the use of the onset of chills and fevers and that's true and that's why it's so widespread. People either planted it intentionally or they wild harvested, hung it up to dry, and the seeds were spread by the wind and birds

and all kinds of stuff like that. Boneset was used particularly in the 18th and 19th century, not only by Native Americans and pioneers, but also by Civil War troops. Before the coming of aspirin, Boneset was one of the remedies to treat aches and fevers that accompanied various ailments. Boneset, though, was unknown during the classic age of German and British herbalism. Seemingly, I'm not going to say it was unknown, but it wasn't written about a lot. It may have just been more of a home remedy. By Miss

Greaves' time, it was not listed in the British pharmacopoeia, so this is the 1930s, but she gave a description of it in a modern herbal. She wrote, bone set was a favorite of the North American Indians, so called by a name that is equivalent to aggouweed, or feverweed essentially, and has always been a popular remedy in the United States, probably no plant in American domestic practice having more extensive and frequent use. It is also in use to some extent in regular practice being official in the United States pharmacopoeia. So the pharmacopoeia of at least 1930s was still recommending Boneset as an herb.

Yeah, your doctor used to prescribe you herbal medicine and your pharmacist used to dispense it. Wasn't that long ago. It was actually probably when your grandparents were alive. But at her time, 1930s, was not included in the British pharmacopoeia. Medicinal action used a stimulant, febrile fusion laxative. It acts slowly and persistently, and its greatest powers manifested

upon the stomach, liver, valves, and uterus. It is regarded as a mild tonic and moderate doses. that would probably be an appetite stimulator, helpful digestion, also diaphoretic fever breaking. More especially when taken as a warm infusion, in which form it is used in attacks of muscular rheumatism and general cold. In large doses, it's a medic and purgative, meaning it would make you throw up and have diarrhea. So you don't want to have a very large dose. Many of the earlier works allude to this species as diuretic and therefore it was used in Dropsy. But this is an error. This property being possessed by the Eupatorium purpureum, the purple flowered bone set or gravel root.

Yes, another member of the bone set family, that one has purple flowers, much like the Joe Pye weed, but the two plants, one shorter than the other and they do look a little different. You know what, you're gonna have to look them up. It's just really too hard to describe this verbally. But yes, gravel root we'll discuss another day. Very useful, very good for kidney and bladder stones. I believe it's still in the same family, upitory and purpureum. So we'll get into that another day. But the regular bone set has been esteemed as a popular febrifuge, especially in intermittent fever, and has been employed

in typhoid and yellow fever, largely used by the Negroes in the southern United States as a remedy in all cases of fever. That she's English, that's the way they wrote, but apparently it was a folk remedy, especially among southern black folk. So I've known a lot of black herbalists, they've never really mentioned it, so I don't know. It was apparently in the 1930s or at least something she read led her to believe that. As a mild tonic, it is useful in dyspepsia and general debility, and particularly serviceable in indigestion of old people.

And she recommended infusion of one ounce of the dried herb to a pint of boiling water, given in wine glass full doses, hot or cold, better for fevers when given hot to induce perspiration. Yarrow is much the same way. Yarrow should be taken hot if you want to break a fever. That's probably why it fell out of use in European herbal medicine was because Yarrow

was so very popular and much more written of. So but turning to the herbal traditions of the Southern United States, we get to the Southern Fields of forest in the 1860s. Let's see, they use both bone set and, yeah, thorough wort, oh, that's another name, thorough wort bone set, that's another name for bone set, and again, that's upitorium perfoliatum. A warm infusion of this plant is emetic, means it makes you throw up. Pseudorific,, that means induces sleep, and diaphoretic, release excess fluids, but Ms. Grieve said that's more of the perpureum, so who knows.

Employed cold as a tonic and febrile fuse, a hot decoction may be given in the hot stage of fever without exciting the system. Small quantities of cold infusion given repeatedly will, it is said, purge and are described in constipation. The leaves and flowers and powder also purge in larger doses, 10 to 20 grams. The discharge of bile is promoted by it and it has been prescribed with advantage in rheumatism, typhoid, pneumonia, cataract, that's congestion, drop C, that's fluid retention, and influenza, which prevailed in the North and which was prescribed by Dr. Rush. Dr. Rush was a famous early American doctor and he used it with great success in the yellow fever epidemic of 1798. Benjamin Rush, you can almost call him the father

of medicine in America. He was one of our signers of the Declaration of Independence. So yeah, really much used. Oh, this is where Mrs. Grave got her information. She said that it was used by Negroes in South America, black folk. And Southern Fields of Forest 1865 said, this plant is extensively employed among the Negroes in the plantations of South Carolina as a tonic and diaphoretic in colds and fevers. I don't know, maybe that was lost because like I said I haven't really heard it used a lot in modern, by modern black herbalists. But yeah, it's interesting. It's more known, used by Appalachian and New England herbalists.

Given hot, it acts as diuretic. Cold as a tonic. Thorough word or bone set used as used hot in the cold stages of malarial fever. Or, you know, it could be that the the black herbalists have known just take it for granted if it's that much of their folk tradition. Much as did the folks in Europe just kind of take it for granted and talk more about yarrow. I don't know why, but anyway, yeah, probably could be. Next time I'm down in Charleston, there's some really great Gullah Geechee herbalists and I'll talk with them about it. Of course, they're coastal and it's not necessarily a beachside plant. I may have to wait till I can get back over to Georgia.

Used to know some really great ones down in Catawba County. You know, around the Hickory-Morganton area. Well, you probably don't know if you're not from North Carolina. But there's a really, there was a great black community down there. Etta Baker, the great blues guitarist, was one of my teachers, so.

You know, I used to hang around there a lot. And they're very, you know, rural country folk, much like mountain folk, and a lot of the same traditions. So maybe, yeah, if I can get down to Morganton, maybe I can find an herbalist who can let me know about that. So, he says, he has been used since the beginning of the war and has been found to be the very best of our indigenous antipyreotics as a substitute for quinine. Now, at this point, he's referring to antipyreotics not as a menstrual period but as the fevers

caused by malaria that come on in regular intervals. So, they were called periodic fe, as a substitute for quinine. It is thought to be superior in this respect to either poplar bark, and that's tulip poplar, or willow or even dogwood, which are great substitutes for quinine. The tulip poplar and dogwood especially, the willow has aspirin properties. It is also an excellent stimulating diaphoretic and low fevers. The Indian doctors make a pill of it to act upon the liver which they call the hepatic pill. And they do that by boiling thorough work leaves until their strength is extracted and then strain the decoction, boiling until it becomes thick. An extract is made in other words and it is

rolled in starch to form pills. They're given that way. Yeah, alright, let's go and see if I can get a little more modern here. He gives a lot of different formulas combining it with blackberry leaves and different things for different stomach conditions. Using cottonwood, is it the buds of the cottonwood? They're very much like willow and the aspen properties. Combined with synchofoil or potentilla, good liver tonic, I can definitely see that. 1898, King's American Medical Dispensatory says, this well-known plant growing in low woods

at the borders of swamps and streams throughout the United States, flowering in August and September, the tops and leaves are the parts used. And they recommend a tincture or a tea, an infusion or extract, however you want to call it. Actions, medicinal uses, and dosage. This is a very valuable medical agent.

The cold infusion or extract is tonic and apparent. The warm infusion is diaphoretic and emetic. As a tonic, it is useful in remittent, intermittent, and typhoid fevers, dyspepsia, and general debility and confined with camphor and potassium. The powered leaves have been serviceable in some forms of cutaneous disease that we use topically for skin conditions. In intermittent fever, a strong infusion, as hot as can be comfortably swallowed, is administered for the purpose of vomiting freely.

And also, if you throw up, it often helps break a fever. So that's, well, especially the Thompsonian School of Herbal Medicine, they used a medics or herbs that would make you vomit as a way to help break a fever as well. So taken hot, apparently it can help you throw up and has a diaphoretic quality. So that's why it was so popular for that cause. It says, this is also attended with profuse diaphoresis and sooner or later by the evacuation of the bowel. So if you've got food poisoning or something's making you sick that you've eaten, again,

that would be very useful. Let's see. During the intermission, the cold infusion or extract is given every hour as a tonic and anti-periodic or febrilefuge. It is not well adapted to ordinary cases of ague, which may be cured better with quinine, but is particularly useful in irregular cases, which that drug does not seem to reach. The chill and succeeding fever is slight, followed by perspiration. And let's see, anything we haven't covered here.

We got the diaphoretic properties, we have the febrile, the feverish issues, the catarose. Yep, yep, yep. Apparently it was used for bone pain caused by syphilis. Good for pneumonia, especially if a medic is indicated, good for digestion, irritable cough, weakened stomach caused by heavy alcoholism, severe alcoholism, it was found useful in that, kind of helps tonify the stomach. Specific indication and use. Use during fevers, pain in the chest, help with urination, deep seated aching pains in the muscles. Alright, let's get up to modern use. Now remember I studied in the Southwestern School of Botanical Herbalism with the herbalist

Michael Moore, not the fat communist Michael Moore. Even though the herbalist Michael Moore was somewhat of a fat communist, he was quite the expert in herbal medicine. Real arrestable character you might say. But he said that it should be used for head cold, moist with fever, aches, acute dry bronchitis with muscular weakness, influenza with malaise and ache, acute bronchial pneumonia with dyspepsia, I can't pronounce that word, D-Y-S-P-N-E-A. And it has to do with acute bronchial pneumonia and to stimulate innate immunity. Now Plants for a Future says, a bone set, they use the English term thorough wart. Thorough wart is one of the most popular domestic medicines in North America where it was used

in the treatment of influenza colds, acute bronchitis, cataract and skin diseases. It has been shown to stimulate resistance to viral and bacterial infections and reduces fevers by encouraging sweating. The plant, however, should be used with some caution since large doses are laxative, anemetic, and the plant might contain potentially liver-harming alkaloids.

The leaves and flowering stems are antispasmodic, coliogog, diaphoretic, emetic, febri-fused, laxative, purgative, stimulant, and vasodilator. A hot infusion of the dry leaves and flowers is used as a very effective treatment to bring relief to symptoms of common cold and other similar fevers. It loosens phlegm and promotes its removal through coughing. The herb is practically unequaled in its effectiveness against colds. It is also used in the treatment of rheumatic illness, skin conditions, and worms. The

leaves and flowering stems are harvested in the summer before the buds open and are dried for later use. A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh plant when harvested and first comes into flower and is used in the treatment of illnesses such as flus and fever. So same way there. Homeopathic remedies are very complex so we're not going to get into that. I think we'll wrap it up here. But it is interesting to note that the National Center for Homeopathy lists many, many uses for their concoction and say that it is much safer than over-the-counter insets, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Did I get that right? Probably got it out of order. But anyway, incest, yes, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including Tylenol. In fact, Tylenol is the, well,

officially it's the second leading cause of liver disease in the world. Now you may think, what's the leading cause? Well, you might say, well, it's probably alcohol. Well, only to a point. Only to a point. There are many industrial solvents that can be absorbed through the skin. There are many industrial solvents and such and other chemicals that get into our water and in our air. So when you consider that those are generally because alcohol is also a solvent and most people do have a drink or two and they go in their doctors gonna say well you have liver disease you know you're drinking too much well it may actually be solvents that you're absorbing

through your skin it may be genetic fatty liver disorder liver disease or disorder it may be diet or environmental toxins induced fatty liver. So when you consider that probably, I don't know, many, many, many cases of liver disease and inflamed liver and congested liver, fatty liver and all that are attributed to alcohol that are probably due to the addition of alcohol with many environmental toxins and factors or even genetics. When you say Tylenol or acetaminophen, I should say Tylenol is a name brand, but acetaminophen is the second leading cause. If you were to separate out

all those other environmental factors, it could be and probably is the leading cause of liver disease, especially considering that most doctors don't sit and no longer say to take two aspirin, call me in the morning. They say to take two Tylenol because they are so worried the aspirin is gonna upset your stomach. Pretty ridiculous in my opinion.

I take aspirin frequently, so it would harm me a bit. But I don't take Tylenol. But when you consider that even those that are diagnosed with alcohol-caused liver disease probably have been taking a lot of Tylenol on a regular basis too, whether on its own or through cold medicines or through prescription medicines. Most of your prescription pain medicines

will combine an opiate with Tylenol. Tylenol is a huge factor, or acetaminophen is a huge factor in probably most liver disorders. Probably most. So, try to avoid acetaminophen. I think aspirin is safer, but I don't have ulcers or any kind of stomach issues like that. But there are many good herbs. And really the willow bark and mastrowort and violets and other ways we can get salicin

generally do not have the stomach upset issues of aspirin. And you know, doctors also are worried that aspirin can increase blood pressure because it thins the blood or they may be worried you might be on a blood thinner cumodin or whatever that could thin your blood. There are various reasons that they think that Tylenol or acetaminophen is safer. The pharmacists I've known and the herbalists I've known, and the natural health practitioners I've known definitely do not agree. Definitely do not agree.

And in fact, acetaminophen is banned in many countries. And why it's not banned in the United States probably has more to do with lobbying Congress and the FDA than it has to do with any legitimate medical research. So that's my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. Take it for what it is. Y'all have a great week and I will talk to you next time. The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal

medicine and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for, I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs, help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself.

You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, to your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.