The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Medicinal Trees - Abies

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey y'all, welcome to today's show. I hope you're all keeping safe and warm and have everything you need for a wonderful Christmas. Speaking of which, I'm not taking any further orders for the spoons and baskets I carve for Christmas gifts. I mean, obviously, this is Wednesday. I cannot guarantee that the U.S. Post Office is going to get them to anybody on time. My special I'm running on the newsletter, you buy at least a one-month subscription, I send you two free e-books. If you need a last-minute gift, that's the one I would recommend. You can give somebody a subscription for $8, and they get $20 worth of free e-books.

Starting point is 00:00:40 You don't have to pay shipping, and I'm going to run that all the way through January 1, so in case you forgot anybody on your list. I don't know, pay shipping. And I'm going to run that all the way through January 1. So in case you forgot anybody on your list. I don't know if you got Amazon Prime, you could probably still get one of my paperbacks from them. But I'm not guaranteeing any kind of shipping. Well, I stood in line a lot at the post office yesterday. No, let me think it was Monday. Yeah, I stood in line a very long time at the post office Monday getting that last gift item out to a lady who needed some spoons as a Christmas gift. And I mean, it was crazy. It was crazy. start the series on the medicinal uses of trees today. Now this one we'll spend a couple of months on probably, two, three months. This to me is really the essential starting place for herbal medicine. You know, people think herbs, they think a lot of little green things. I mean,

Starting point is 00:01:37 they're thinking everything from mints to, oh, I don't even know what everybody thinks of herbs. I mean, for me, it's going to start with dandelions and plantains and such as that. But for most people, that's as far as they go with their thinking about herbal medicine. They never think that trees have medicinal uses. Well, here's the thing. As preppers, I would definitely start with trees because they tend to be fairly powerful herbal medicine. And they're easy to identify. They're all around us, whether they're on your own property

Starting point is 00:02:10 or in a city park or a state forest or just, I mean, anywhere you spot some woods, you're looking at a medicine cabinet. Easy to identify. Trees are actually more easy to use than most many I would say herbal medicine formulas and preparations and you know no matter where you are if you learn to identify the basic trees of that region no matter what happens you're gonna have the medicine you need at hand I mean I really think especially as preppers we should start with the medicinal uses of trees I mean for obvious reasons if you were you know lost in the woods if you

Starting point is 00:02:57 know the trees around you well some of them have food value as well I mean many parts of a pine tree for instance instance, are edible, but all of them have medicinal value. So really good thing to prioritize. And of course, you know, wood for food, fuel and shelter and everything you can use wood for. We should always pay attention to the woods around us. So let's start with, we're going to go in alphabetical order. So let's start with really going in alphabetical order and this one is one of the more powerful actually. It's A-B's. That's the fir family of trees. Only the Fraser fir grows in my region and it's been brought in to grow Christmas trees with for growing Christmas trees. Really this is more of a northern tree. Now most don't worry if you live in the southern part of the country and you don't have access to fir because there's several other trees that are going to be really interchangeable. We do have plenty of spruce. Spruce is very similar and certainly pines. Pines are very similar similar really a lot of the evergreens but fur is particularly particularly

Starting point is 00:04:07 potent and actually this is one that could save your life so let's just run through the 24 varieties of a b's or fur used medicinally uh abc uh alba that's silver fur i'm not gonna give you all the latin names we're gonna have silver for red for balsam for that that's a that's another one just going around here for Christmas Rees and such it's very wonderfully scented you know Grecian for Colorado for Mooney for I guess Fraser for I don't know how to pronounce all these so i'll probably skip around a little bit californian red fur caucasian fur i guess it doesn't mean it's white it means it comes from the caucus um let's see west himalayan fur oh sacred fur wonder why that guy says that name I don't know maybe it's using incense probably was Siberian for Himalayan for flaky fur and vetch for interestingly enough so as I said we got free mostly Fraser for Christmas trees

Starting point is 00:05:18 and we some people do grow some balsam, I believe. But the needles, resin, bark, and branches are all used in herbal medicine. The tree grows in only nine counties in North Carolina and has been planted in two each in Virginia and Tennessee and only one county in Georgia. So if you're any further north and you live in the south,'re out of luck on this one but we'll get into you know well heck you probably have one in your house right now actually this is perfectly appropriate for the last show before Christmas isn't it because after you're through with your Christmas tree if you keep it nice and fresh you know

Starting point is 00:06:02 keep some water in the the base under the tree and actually if you add a couple vitamin c and some aspirin in there it'll keep the tree a little fresher and healthier longer that's just a christmas tree growers trick bottom line is when you're through using that tree for your christmas decorations you can cut it up and keep parts of it to use for medicine. All those needles that are always falling off, you know, just keep them clean, and you'll have plenty of the needle tea. You'll have plenty of the resin from it, the way a Christmas tree produces a lot of resin. You know, they're pretty darn sticky.

Starting point is 00:06:37 Yeah, all of it. The bark, yeah. I did not even plan this. How perfect is that? You know, I don't believe there's any such thing as coincidence. The primary medical use of fur is as an astringent. As such, it is extremely useful because it both tightens tissue and increases blood flow. That's very important.

Starting point is 00:06:56 Those two specific qualities can actually save your life. We'll discuss the astringency of several trees, but this is one that's particularly effective against anything from sore throats to dysentery, especially when there's danger of the tissue becoming boggy. In cases of severe, chronic, or intense inflammation, the inflamed tissue can suffer serious damage. Boggy tissue occurs when the tissue loses its tone. It often develops a purplish hue and loses its ability to tighten back up its flaccid and filtered fluid. When this happens, for instance, in the throat, the results can be deadly. You can choke on your own throat. You can suffocate to death.

Starting point is 00:07:37 So when I say this tree could actually save your life, I mean this tree could actually save your life. The astringency of this tree not only tightens the tissue and reduces swelling, but its ability to increase blood circulation to the affected area both helps transport the fluid away from the site of inflammation and speeds healing. Obviously, this is going to have so many uses, from arthritis to sprained ankles to anything. I mean, really. sprained ankles to anything. I mean really. Until modern taxonomy, abies was often included under pine. That's why I'm just saying,

Starting point is 00:08:15 if you don't have fur in your area, don't worry. Pine is very similar in like probably 99% of the uses of fur. If you're in the south, you got plenty of pine. I mean that's one thing And if you're in the South, you've got plenty of pine. I mean, you know, that's one thing we do not lack in the South is pine. From, gosh, North Carolina to Texas, we've got more pines than you can shake a stick at. All right, Sudeus Korides, the ancient Greek herbalist, said, moist resin also comes out of the pine and pitch tree brought from, well you don't need to

Starting point is 00:08:46 know about all the history of how they got it to ancient Greece. He said it was particularly good taken in a syrup for lasting coughs. They are also different in color for one is white and the other of oil color and one looks like honey such as that of the larch tree. Larch is another one that can be used interchangeably. Moist resin also comes out of the cypress tree good for the same purposes so if you live in Florida the bayous Louisiana you know you're set. Of that which is dry there is some called strobolina from oh that's actually from pine cones you know they grow a lot of pine nuts and such in that part of the world.

Starting point is 00:09:28 So he just went through a whole bunch of them. He says, those of the pitch tree and the fir tree excel. And the fir is what he's talking about, A-B's. For they have the sweet smell and resemble frankincense in their odor. The best are brought from Spain, etc. Frankincense was, of course, one of the gifts given to the Christ child. It wasn't just because it was a nice-smelling incense,

Starting point is 00:09:55 which it really is. If you've ever gone to a Catholic church or an Anglican church, you've probably smelled that incense, frankincense, or myrrh before. Also, antibacterial, good against infections and parasites. So would have been, and for dental health actually, would have been incredibly valuable medicinally. Around 1100 or so, St. Hildegard von Bingen, probably the greatest

Starting point is 00:10:16 herbalist of all time, really the founder of the German's folk school tradition, said of fur, specifically, when the tree is green and has not yet lost its sap as in March or May, take the bark and leaves off the tree and even some of its wood and cut it into tiny bits. Add half as much sage and then boil until it thickens. Add cow's butter and strain it through a cloth making an ointment. if someone ails in his head. And she used a term a lot called vergettegette, which is old German for basically what we call in the South, stoved up. It can be anything from paralysis to like really crippling arthritis. Anything, you know, just a lot of stiffness and weakness and even palsy.

Starting point is 00:11:01 She would use this as an ointment. She would use it as an ointment over the heart for chest pains and weak heart for headaches. She said, you know, anoint the head with some of the ointment. And by the third day, by the second or third day, the head will recover its health and he will return to his senses. So talking to someone who's probably got some, you know, maybe some serious inner ear pressure or serious, you know. So, anyway, if someone ails in his spleen, first anoint his heart with this ointment because of the weakness of the heart. Soon afterward, anoint his stomach if that is where the pain is or his spleen if he is ailing there.

Starting point is 00:11:43 The ointment will pass through the skin with its strength and he'll be cured quickly it's that increasing the circulation remember i said that's the quality i mean she speaks in a very old way from 1100 a.d you know but think of it well for the next year she'll understand this for one who's congested in his chest who coughs and who ails in his lungs so they are swollen use that same ointment on the chest well that's the way we use vicks vapor rub right i mean it's sort of that camphorous type of quality and she also recommended using the ashes of the plant and all that and cooked the the wood the actually twigs of it cooked in honey and wine as a good throat and chest remedy would purge the chest restore the lungs to health and therefore cure

Starting point is 00:12:35 the person yeah we'll get into like 1500s england bear with me on the elizabethan english for just a second john gerard, the liquid resin of the fir tree called turpentine, well, now we get our turpentine from pines, but in 1500s England, it was fir resin, looseth the belly, driveth forth hot choleric humors, cleanseth and mundifieth the kidneys, provoke urine, and driveth forth the stone and gravel another property of fur is that it is diuretic and it can help get rid of bladder and kidney stones he said the same taken with sugar and the powder of nutmeg cureth the strangury stayeth the gonorrhea and the involuntary issue of man's nature called the running of the reins and the white flux in women.

Starting point is 00:13:34 So here we're talking about everything from a venereal disease to the reins as kidney problems, some issues with the semen and a vaginal discharge. So like I said it's astringent. It tightens the tissue. So, anything that's kind of leaky on the body, in other words. It's very profitable for all green and fresh wounds, especially wounds of the head, for it healeth and cleanseth mightily, especially if it be washed in plantain water and afterwards rose water. And, well, they also use mastic and and such which we can't really get anymore and a little saffron so but anyway it does have some very good antibacterial antimicrobial properties very good for helping disinfect wounds about a hundred years later, Culpepper wrote of it. He gives a long

Starting point is 00:14:29 description of the plant, but you know, we now have the internet. If you don't know what a fir tree looks like, and you don't know what a Christmas tree looks like, which is a fir tree, look it up online. He said it's of course a bitters taste, and it is bitter, which makes it good for the stomach, by the way, and a pleasant smell and a little like a lemon peel. That's actually the volatile oils. And I kind of know what he means when he says that, you know, we often really in our Christmas traditions include citrus with our fur. I mean, those are smells we think of around Christmas.

Starting point is 00:15:03 And, you know, yeah, they do kind of complement each other and a lot of old like incenses that people would burn in a house to fumigate it and you know people didn't really bathe or brush their teeth much until recent times so those plants like that that had a pleasant smell were really very valuable I mean we had you know and they didn't have indoor plumbing you know they had chamber pots and such. You know, we're pretty lucky not to live in as stinking a time as our ancestors did. He said it is mollifying, it's been soothing and moistening, healing and cleansing, and has a cleansing nature. And besides its uses outwardly in wounds and ulcers is a good diuretic and of great use in gonorrhea and given mixed with the yolk of an egg is serviceable against the stone and gravel so

Starting point is 00:15:52 again kidney and bladder stones it is likewise a good pectoral means good for the chest and often given in affections of the breasts and lungs and breast breast he meant chest. He doesn't mean like breasts, you know, old English way of saying things. He said, tar produced of these trees cut into pieces, piled in a heap and being set on fire at the top. The resinous liquor is driven out by the heat of the fire and running down is received into trenches made for it. And so put into casks and by boiling hardened into a pitch. so that's how the resin was actually obtained that's really how turpentines made actually or used to be you know in colonial times the tar is accounted by some as a good pectoral or chest medicine and used for the obstruction

Starting point is 00:16:37 of lungs and shortness of breath from the young branches of this tree has produced this famous spruce beer. And that is true. Our ancestors made a lot of beer out of fir and spruce. And it was used for drinking purposes. It was used medicinally. It's full of vitamin C. So in a time when people worried about scurvy and water was not clean, our ancestors drank beer. They didn't drink water the uh this was one that would have been you know spruce beer fur beer birch beer those were the

Starting point is 00:17:12 go-tos i mean people drank that far more uh in england and you know the celtic countries the british isles as they're called than they ever did wine. They had cider from apples, and then they had tons of beers, whether from barley or from these trees. And they were very good for the immune system. And, you know, they have astringent properties, they have those diuretic properties, and they help prevent scurvy. And by this time, the 1600s, he was taking the tops of fir and boiling it with molasses and making a beer out of that and it was actually known as balm of Gilead now balm of Gilead is actually a resin from trees such as fir but the beer itself was used as balm of Gilead and you know has some relationship to the balm of Gilead mentioned in the Bible.

Starting point is 00:18:07 An Irish herbal 1735 states the leaves and tops of these trees this tree can be used against scurvy that's you know just lack of vitamin c in your diet that was like the main thing sailors had to worry about but so did people in you know with longters, and they didn't have a lot of fresh produce. The turpentine or liquid resin is extracted from the tree is somewhat purgative and also provoking the urine and is beneficial to the bladders, kidneys, and arthritic conditions. It is good for wounds, being healing, and cleansing. Excellent summary. John Kehoe wrote an Irish herbal. He was probably the least talkative Irishman in the world. Father Kunzel, the great German herbalist, wrote in 1911, Finally chop green fir twigs, or if you can't get them, European spruce. It will also do if you finally chop it.

Starting point is 00:19:00 Fill baskets with them and put them in a patient's bedroom. If there's not enough space, hang them up like lamps. Stir and shake the baskets so the scent comes out. He was using it to fumigate, essentially, and disinfect it for the air. The twigs no longer smell after three weeks, and he said they need to be switched out. But he found that fur was specifically good in treating tuberculosis. But just the scent of it, breathing the inhalations, the fumes off of it really seemed to help his patients tuberculosis. So it wasn't just an old fashioned idea of fumigation. If you

Starting point is 00:19:43 ever take that fur and breathe it in, you're breathing in all those essential volatile oils and yeah, such as that really does help with lung and sinus issues. He used it for kidneys and bladders and lungs especially. Good for mucus in the urine and a tea made for the lungs patients drink for two to three weeks and also helps with kidney and bladder functions furthermore warm warm herbs such as marjoram thyme and nettles are placed as a poultice as close to the kidneys and bladder as possible and worn during the cold season continuously. So, used it, you know, in various ways. 1905, Thompsonians were using fur. The Thompsonians were, you know, a school of, well, actually a legitimate school of medicine in America that kind of competed with what we

Starting point is 00:20:41 now know as modern medicine or allopathic, the chemical stuff, essentially. Under their 1905 book, The Thompsonian System of Medicine, they said the balsam fir is obtained from a tree or, no, this, yeah, the balsam fir, a tree known in all parts of the country, and the product balsam, I guess a distillation of the tree, is taken from small blisters which form in the bark. It is of, well, it's the resin. That's what it is. It's the resin. It is of a very healing nature and is good to remove internal soreness. In cases where the mucous membrane is irritated, it should not be given, but it's very good in relaxed and torpid cases, as in cystitis and renal congestion, gleet, etc. In bronchial and pulmonary congestion, it is a stimulating expectorant and is an excellent remedy for aged

Starting point is 00:21:38 persons suffering from congestion of the kidneys as it acts as a kidney tonic in old coughs it is excellent he recommended mixing it with glycerin and honey and not using a ton of it in the eclectic school which was the great rival to the Thompsonians 1898 this was medical dispensatory this would have been used in pharmacies. They said of Aedes canadensis, Canadian fir, also known, and well, they said it was interchangeable with hemlock and spruce. Actions, medicinal uses, and dosages. Strong decoction of the bark of this tree is beneficial in leukorrhea, prolapsus of the uteri, prolapsus of the anus, diarrhea. Okay let's see if I can get this right. A strong decoction of this tree is beneficial in leucorrhea, uterine prolapse, anal prolapse, diarrhea, etc. administered internally

Starting point is 00:22:39 and used in as an enema. It is likewise of service as a local application to gangrene and other alterations so again this is one that could save your life the essential oil of this tree like oil hemlock has occasionally been used well worry about that do not use the essential oil any herb during pregnancy this one could be especially dangerous. Tincture or alcoholic preparation of the drug was widely used. It was called Pinus canadensis at the time. Such preparations are of much value where a mild stimulant and astringent is required, and especially for catarrhal disorders of the mucus tissue. Catarrhal means

Starting point is 00:23:25 congested, congested with mucus, with marked pallidity and relaxation. It is likewise of value in passive hemorrhages and useful topically in scalds and burns. Specific indication uses, general, let's see, febrile digestion digestion vascular weakness pale mucous membranes bronchopulmonary irritation profuse secretions coughs and colds renal torpor pyrosis and gastro irritation vomiting and diarrhea some cutaneous infections of skin and skin disorders missve, who wrote a wonderful herbal in 1931, used black spruce. That was the common name for Albee's Nigro, which we would now call black fir. She used a decoction, just essentially a tea, of the young branches strained and concentrated, form the well-known essence of spruce, which

Starting point is 00:24:26 enters into the formulation of spruce beer, as we mentioned, of course. Spruce beer may be made as follows. Here, I'll give you a recipe for it, thanks to Miss Greve. She said it may be made as follows. Take of ginger, sassafras bark, two ounces each, hops four ounces, essence of spruce ten ounces, each, hops 4 ounces, essence of spruce 10 ounces, 4 gallons water, mix them to boil for 10 or 15 minutes and strain, add 10 gallons more water to cool it down, 3 quarts of molasses, 12 fluid ounces of yeast, we use more dry yeast these days, and allow them to ferment. You know that's uh it's gonna be a pretty big batch actually I think if I was cut that down for home use say you're making five gallons at a time I would probably cut that down well obviously by 2 thirds and if you just

Starting point is 00:25:18 wanted to make a gallon to try it you know honestly I just get a pot of water grab some spruce tips or something I mean for tips whichever boil them up make a strong tea to your taste add maybe pine molasses you know just a pint jar of store from molasses if you want to do hops something that's cool any bittering herb would be good a little bit of ginger a little bit of sassafras just make a good strong sweet tea let it cool to room temperature add a little water if it seems a little too sweet or you know if you want to cool it down a little bit faster put it in a jug and when it comes to like room temp body temp put some dry active yeast in there whether it's a beer yeast or you just want to use some bread yeast and let it ferment and just one thing I learned making pine beer is don't make it too sweet

Starting point is 00:26:11 it just can really taste very sweet to the taste so I'd go on kind of the you know be a little skimpy I wouldn't use any extra sugar other than those molasses and that should be about the right amount of molasses for a gallon and some bittering agent probably would be good because it can be a little sweet and so hops are really any other bitter herb of your choice there's a whole book by stephen harrod buehner called sacred and healing herbal beers which really gets into all these old beer recipes and all the plants they used before they had hops and see mugwort would be actually probably the most common before hops came along. And hops were actually introduced by St. Hildegard von Bingen.

Starting point is 00:26:49 So it's another thing we owe her for. In, let's see, more modern use, Plants for a Future says, the resin obtained from the balsam fir has been used throughout the world and is a very effective antiseptic and healing agent. It is used as a healing and analgesic protective for covering burns, bruises, wounds, and sores. It is also used to treat sore nipples and is said to be one of the best curatives for a sore throat. The buds, resin, and sap are used in folk remedies for treating cancers, corns, and warts. The resin is also anti-scorbutic, diaphoretic, diuretic, stimulating tonic. Anti-scorbutic, diaphoretic, diuretic,

Starting point is 00:27:25 stimulate, and tonic. Anti-scorbutic just means it has vitamin C. It helps with scurvy. Diaphoretic means it breaks a fever. Diuretic removes excess fluid. Stimulant means it stimulates. And tonic means it tones that tissue and is also good for digestion. It is used internally and properly in proprietary mixtures to treat cough and diarrhea. Though taken in excess, it is purgative, means it'll give you diarrhea. A warm liquid of the gummy sap was drunk as a treatment for gonorrhea. A tea made from the leaves is anti-scorbutic and is used as a treatment of coughs, colds, and fevers. The leaves and young shoots are best harvested in the spring and dried for later use.

Starting point is 00:28:07 This plant was widely used medicinally by North American Indian tribes. The resin was used as an antiseptic healing agent applied to wounds, sores, bites, etc. It was also used as an inhalant to treat headaches and taken internally to treat colds, sore throats, and various other complaints. It's often used in sweat lodges as well often used in saunas and from Sweden to Russia for the very same purposes very good for the lungs helps induce sweating I think you know we'll wrap it up there I got a lot more information in the book. This is The Medicinal Trees of the American Southeast, an Herbalist Guide.

Starting point is 00:28:52 The link will be in the show notes. Yeah, I'm just, you know, I'm seeing the same things repeated over and over in various traditions from Native Americans. The only other thing I think botany today talks about how externally it can be used as a rubifacient. That means sort of like a liniment, a heating liniment for sore joints and such, arthritis. I think it'll do it. As you can see, these trees are extremely potent herbal medicine and now you probably got one sitting in your living room covered in lights that you look at a completely different way so y'all I'll wrap it up here I'll talk to you next week have a

Starting point is 00:29:40 wonderful Christmas I hope it's everything you hope it to be. And remember the real reason we celebrate this season. So have a good one. I'll 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,

Starting point is 00:30:11 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 an herb has helped me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself.

Starting point is 00:30:34 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, do your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.

The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Medicinal Trees - Abies

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