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| Tonic Herbs : Supplemental therapy - Page 6
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BLOOD TONICS
The next category of tonics are blood builders. Blood has a moistening quality and helps to keep the organs nourished and vital. The blood also removes waste from every cell of the body. Strong, healthy abundant blood whose constituents are properly balanced is essential to health. Blood tonics generally regulate the menstrual cycle and benefit pregnancy. However, blood tonics are not just used by women. Men, too need an abundant blood supply and the same blood tonics used by women are used by men to build blood and to strengthen the male reproductive functions.
The main organs for the blood are the heart which pumps the blood and the liver and spleen which store blood.
Some of the herbs in this category work indirectly in building the blood by improving the general health of the whole body and deeply nourishing the tissues. Some also promote improved blood circulation.
As mentioned earlier, the vital energy tonics can work in conjunction with the blood builders and often times are put in formulas with one another.
The Western herbalist is most familiar with the cleansing herbs or what is termed "blood purifiers." What we are looking for here are substances that will build the blood not just clear it of metabolic wastes.
Blood tonic herbs:
- Dong quai
- Jujubee Dates
- Lycii berries
- Rehmannia (prepared or steamed)
- Tienchi ginseng
- Peony root
- Hawthorn ( moves blood)
- Figwort (Scrophularia nodosa)
Blood tonic foods:
- Blackstrap Molasses
- Figs
- Raisins
- Bone marrow soup
- Red meat
- Beets
- Dark grapes
- Onion (cooked)
- Blackberries and raspberries
- Bilberry ( huckleberry)
- Black currents
- Mulberries
- Cherries and juice
- gelatin
The herbs and the foods listed above for the blood can be used in conjunction with one another to make a paste, food or formula. Remember, the food is just as big a part of the rebuilding of tissue as the herbs are.
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Nettles
Yellow Dock
These two herbs are cooling to the system and clearing to the blood. They have minerals and are said to "brighten the vital essence" through their clearing process but they do not build in the same way as the above herbs/foods do. I sometimes add these two herbs to the formulas that contain for example rehmannia or dong quai.
I many times make a strong decoction of rehmannia, dong quai, and yellow dock and then infuse the nettles after they are done. I strain out the herbs, measure out the liquid in a measuring cup and then add an equal amount of molasses. One teaspoon three times a day with meals is a moderate amount for rebuilding blood.
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