The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Sarsaparilla

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, y'all. Welcome this week's show. Today's herb is very interesting. It's one of my favorites. We have talked about it a little bit in the past, but now we're going to really kind of dive into it in detail. It's officially Sasparilla. Spilled Sarsaparilla or S-A-R-S-A-P-A-R-I-L-A, and related adaptogen-type plants. And that's where it gets really interesting. Sassarilla is one of those legendary New World herbs that became so popular that fortunes were made exporting the herb, and stories telling its almost magical powers to increase health and vitality became a part of folklore. In tales of the Old West, a cowboy or gunfighter could walk into a rough saloon full of gamblers, prostitutes, thieves, and brawlers in order of Sasparilla without raising an eyebrow as to his masculinity or toughness.

Starting point is 00:00:55 sasperilla was believed like ginseng to increase sexual potency in testosterone. So rather than being a soft drink, the exhausted trail-worn cowboy may have just been gearing up for a night of revelry. However, the sasperilla beverage popular in early America often contain no sasperilla at all. This herb that was traditionally used for a wide variety of elements originates in Central America and parts of Mexico. so popular and legendary were its powers that it was often counterfeited in other herbs that had similar qualities native to the Americas substitute for it. The popular Sassbrile drink was generally made from birch oil and sassafras in its commercial form. Prior to that, the herbs used medicinally in place to Sassbriola and often labeled Saspirla trade. We were members of our native Aurelia and Smylax families, essentially Spike Nard and Briars.

Starting point is 00:01:49 Yes, common green briars. True sasperilla is Smilex or Nata. Smilex Aspera being the most similar. Smilex is the briar family, and all those sasperilla is believed to be the most potent member of the family most, if not all, Smilex can be used similar. This includes common green briar, cat briar, carrion flower, etc. The plants most gardeners and landscapers in America battle each year's weeds. And yes, it's that annoying briar that scratches your legs as you walk through the wood. and grows into your ornamental bushes.

Starting point is 00:02:25 It's actually an adaptogenic type of herbal herbal medicine. If it accomplishes anything similar to the legendary properties of Sassarola, it's a valuable herb indeed. Sashboralas are also adaptogen and are, I'm sorry, the Raleas are also adaptogens and are thorny-like briars, but usually grow in shrub forms instead of vines. The Euralia family is closely related to ginseng, yet several of its members are called sasperilla, such as wild sasperilla and bristly sasperilla.

Starting point is 00:02:57 The confusion caused by any discussion of sasperilla is that several plants with similar properties have been traditionally called and marketed as sasperilla, while true sasperula was probably the least used of the herbs known by its name. This can leave you down many rabbit holes and a lot of frustration. Meanwhile, this renders much of the literature of the 1900s in which researchers spent time, bunking, supposedly, many of the claims about sasperilla absolutely useless, because simply put, we don't know if they're investigating the same herb about which the original claim was made. One may suppose that this gives legitimacy to such legislation as the Pure Foods and Drug Act, but frankly, many counterfeit herbs are still in the market today, which is a major reason that

Starting point is 00:03:42 I encourage people to grow their own herbs and identify them in a while. Moreover, the actual result of most of this confused research has been to cause people, people to doubt that sassaparilla has any value of medicinal herb. In truth, it is a very useful herb, and so are at least most of the herbs that were once substituted for it. Let me just a sip of water here. So let's take a look at the modern use of true sasperilla and a few of the herbs that were used in its place as detailed by plants for future. Mediciable use of sasperilla, the root is alternative. That means gradually brings you back to health. De molse, it means softening. diaphoretic can break of fever, diuretic gets rid of excess fluid, stimulant and tonic.

Starting point is 00:04:29 It is one of the best of purative medicines and is used as a springtime tonic and general body cleanser. Usually with woody nightshade, that's Salonum Dalcamaura. It's an interesting combination, actually. The root has all the medicinal virtues of the widely used tropical herbs asperal, though to a lesser degree. It is more often used as adulterate to that plant. Fripe fruits are squeezed and applied to skin and the treatment of scabies. Medicinal use of greenbrier. The root is diuretic.

Starting point is 00:04:59 It is used to the treatment of dropsy and urinary complaints. The tea made from the roots is used to help the expelling of afterbirth. Reports that the roots contain the hormone testosterone have not been confirmed. Now, you're going to hear that a lot. Okay. And we'll talk about that in a minute. They may contain steroid precursors, however. The stem pricks have been rubbed on the skin as a count.

Starting point is 00:05:21 counter-irritant to relieve localized pain such as muscle cramping and twitching. A team made from the leaves and stems has been used as a general tonic and also in the treatment of rheumatism and stomach problems. The welded leaves are applied as a poultice for boils. Also those leaves and the young green stems of just about everything in the Smilax family, I think actually everything, is a wonderful wild food, one of my favorite foraged wild greens. Mediciual use of cat briar, this stem and prickles have been rubbed in the skin as a counter-irritin, etc. Tea made for the leaves has been used to the treatment of rheumatism and stomach problems.

Starting point is 00:05:58 The wilded leaves are applied as a poultice to boil. Tea made from the roots has been, okay, we got that. Reports that may contain testosterone and not been confirmed. Carrying flour, medicinal use. Eating the fruit is said to be effective in treating hoarseness. The parched and powdered leaves have been used as a dressing for burns. Weaded, wilded leaves used as a dressing on boils. The root is analgesic.

Starting point is 00:06:20 It means pain relieving. Decoction used the treatment of back pains, synonymous complaints, and lung disorders ain't kidney problems. I've got plenty of carrying flour in my property, and I mean, it's called that because the flower smells like rotting meat. Most people do their best try to get rid of it. Actually, a really useful and valuable herb. But the physician's desk reference for herbal medicine simply lists Sasparela as Smilak species. and of the Aurelia is called sassarolis, plants for future states, medicinal use of bristly sassarola, which he made from the leaves is diaphoretic. The root is alternative and tonic.

Starting point is 00:06:59 And infusion of the root bark has been used in the treatment of heart disease. The bark, especially the root, is diuretic and tonic. Homeopathic and remedy is made for the fresh root. It has alternative diaphoretic, diuretic properties, and it is considered to be good treatment for dropsy. This is the use of wild sasperal. Wild sasperil is a sweet, a tonic herb that acts as an alternative. It has a wide range of traditional uses amongst the North American

Starting point is 00:07:22 Indians in it. One time was widely used as a substitute for the tropical medicinal herb, sasperilla. The root is alternative, diuretic, diuretic, pectoral, and stimulant. The herb encourages sweating, is stimulating, and detoxifying, and is so used to the treatment of pulmonary disease. Asthma, rheumatism, stomach aches. externally, it is used as a pulsatist in treating rheumatism, burns, itchy skin. Ulters and skin problems such as exma, the root is collected in summer and dried, oh, and the autumn and dried for later use.

Starting point is 00:07:54 A drink made for the polarized root is a cough treatment. A poultice made for the roots and or the fruit is applied to sores, burns, itchy, skin, ulcers, swelling, etc. Homeopathic remedy made for the root is important treatment of cystitis. So those descriptions of the plant make them sound, well, somewhat similar and rather different. at the same time, but they're all adaptogens. Going back in my class notes from the Southwest School Botanical Medicine, it was listed. Aurelia includes devil's walking stick, America's Sasparilla,

Starting point is 00:08:29 not true Saspirilla, but the relative of Spiknard, and it looks more like a ginseng. Yes, it does. All Aurelias are adaptogens. All Aurelias are adaptogens, used as alternatives to build up weak people to stimulate diminished stress between brain, hypothalamus, limbic, system and pituitary minimizes limbic system stress, not as strong as ginseng or don't quay, but good long term. Basically, it quiets non-specific stress, so the body doesn't react, helps modulate blood sugar spites, adrenaline spikes, oh, and insulin as well. Adaptogen can lessen or mellow the adrenaline response somewhat.

Starting point is 00:09:10 Aurelia californica berries elevate mood and stimulate GI tract, also good for respiratory stress. specifically a bristly sasperilla or wild elder that's aurelia erralia hispida that really grows a lot in north Carolina let's see yeah I mean same uses I'm not going to repeat them but basically our ancestors have developed certain stress responses right due to the environments they lived in you might be being chased by a lion or the Vikings were invading or something right in our modern times we have those same stress responses, even though we don't have those same dangers. So basically, our brain and our bodies overreact to a lot of things. And adaptogens tend to calm and quiet that.

Starting point is 00:10:06 That's one of them, you know, with recovery and immune system and all that. But that's one of the main uses of adaptogens. And the Aurelias are particularly good for that. So, sasperilla proper is Smylex. And the smylaxes are very similar to the Aurelias, which include the better known adaptions, such as ginseng, Spike Nard, and Opopanex. Opelopanex, devil's walking stick, devil's club, or anyway. Between the Smilex and Aurelia families, or at least a couple dozen herbs that share

Starting point is 00:10:43 adaptogenic properties and have their own. individual medicinal specifics. And it's no wonder why they were used their exchangingly and folk use, but I mean, they're kind of hit and miss when it comes to clinical research. By the 1600, Sesperil was being exported from the Americas and became popular in England. And let's see, Cole Pepper wrote about them. They believe a lot of things about being good for poisons and venom and such as that. Good for procuring urine when it is stopped.

Starting point is 00:11:22 The distilled waters when drank had the same effect, cleansing the reins and assuaging inflated inflammation. So good for the kidneys. If the eyes be washed there with it, heals them thoroughly. The sasparilla is held generally not to heat, but rather to dry the humors. They're dry in eucous and such.

Starting point is 00:11:41 But it also promotes sweating, and that's good for colds and flus. fevers, good for the stomach, griefs of the stomach, and expels winds very powerfully. So, yeah, interesting. But he had a lot of different plants kind of confused. He was even referencing one that was from Greece, a certain sassarilla. Not really sure what that is. The European variety was probably actually Smilik-Saspera or Aspera, Aspera.

Starting point is 00:12:21 True Sasparola was introduced from Europe from the Honduras around 1536. But as we said, the Smilex family is pretty much interchangeable in a lot of ways. So Maude Greve 1930s really tried to straighten out the confusion. She said Saspirala American is a really a nudicalis. Medicinal actions uses alternative pectoral, diaphoretic, pseudorific, uses a substitute for Smilic Sassarilla, is useful in pulmonary diseases and externally as a wash for indolent ulcers. It is said to be used by the Crees under the name of rabbit root for syphilis and shingles. And as an application to recent wounds, Jamaican sasperilla, she called Smilik's Ornata,

Starting point is 00:13:08 said it was introduced to England in the middle of the 16th century. It was a remedy for syphilis and cane to be used for chronic diseases, especially rheumatism, but was a mild gastric irritant, good for asthma, tonic, diaphragic, diaphrate, diuretic. Alternative tonic using skin diseases, rheumatism, passive dropsy. Indian sasperilla, which is actually from India, is another, well, another very similar plant. She says more like sassapras, actually, than sassarola. Very, very interesting there. Smilich's Medica.

Starting point is 00:13:49 Oh, that one came from Mexico. That's one of, yeah, Sessbrila, Mexican sasperilla, Veracruz sassarola. There's also one from Honduras. She goes through all of them. So further compounding the confusion over the herbs is the term of adaptogen was virtually unknown to recent decades. So basically the Soviet government really wanted to emphasis research into Russian herbal medicine. And they did that, well, the result of it was a strong promotion of Siberian ginsing, and they said it would help one adapt to environmental immune and emotional stress.

Starting point is 00:14:29 And that was sort of like an aha moment. It's like these, what they used to call tonics are we're going to call them adaptogens because they help you adapt. So before, that would be the 80s, maybe the late 70s, early 80s. There was no such word as an adaptogen. So people didn't really know how to classify these plants that don't really have a direct effect, but kind of strengthen the system, you know, improve the immune system, help with exhaustion. So in the early 80s and 90s, when I was actually working in a health food and vitamin shop

Starting point is 00:15:05 that I won't mention the name of because they fired me, the jackasses. So here's the deal. I was a trained herbalist, even at that time. I started my herbal apprenticeship at the age of 15. I already had hundreds of hours of classroom study and research and everything under my belt. And I took this job, and they said, oh, it's great. You can tell everybody about the herbs and everything that would carry and what they do for them. And I did.

Starting point is 00:15:34 And then they said, wait a minute, it's the law for you to tell people what herbs can do for you. You can't make any medical claims. And they fired me. And that was not fun. But it was what it was. But anyway, at that point, Sanisaparillo was really popular among weightlifters and bodybuilders because it was believed it can increase testosterone. And, you know, I can't guarantee that it will put hair on your chest.

Starting point is 00:16:00 But the old cowboys of the old west sure thought it had. some properties. So just remember the old quote from John Wayne, life's tough, it's tougher where you're stupid. Be careful about marketing claims and all that. But, you know, we can obviously see that these plants are very useful and don't just look at them as backyard weeds. All right, y'all, have a good one, and I'll talk to you next time. The information this podcast is not intended to diagnosed or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor.

Starting point is 00:16:43 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 cannot, nor would I tell you.

Starting point is 00:17:05 you 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.

The Prepper Broadcasting Network - Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Sarsaparilla

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