Spring Tonic Herbs:

Why Adopting an Annual Spring Cleanse will put a Spring in Your Step!

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve not fully shrugged off winter yet. It seems somewhat warmer, but I’m still going out in a woolly hat.

Seeing the leaf buds start to swell and open, I can feel a rising eagerness that makes me want to chirrup like the birds.

I adore that nature presents us with exactly what we need to embrace life, and this is demonstrated perfectly with the re-emergence of Spring Tonic Herbs, just when we need them!

Remnants of Winter

The season of rest is behind us and we are re-emerging after our winters slumber. A bit creaky and stiff, slow and sluggish.

The extra rainfall this winter restricted my usual off-road running habit and so I feel like I’ve been more sedentary, and I’ve certainly eaten more richer heavier foods.

As much as we need a winters rest, we also need to return to our bouncy and energetic selves. Taking Spring Tonic Herbs throughout spring are a way to strengthen and invigorate in readiness for the fullness of summer.

Liver Burden

Winter can include being more sedentary, consuming heavier foods, drinking excess alcohol and the release of more stress hormones.

All this can mean that the liver can become over-burdened from the excess load of wastes that require detoxification. When it is unable to keep up with demand, toxins and hormones re-circulate through the bloodstream which can cause hormone disruption and even cellular destruction.

The body tries it’s best to keep up with the necessary level of waste excretion and does so by enlisting the skin as an additional excretory organ. This means that as wastes are pushed out through the skin, they can aggravate skin conditions.

Improve Our Waste Removal Systems

The body’s waste disposal systems are the liver, bowel, kidneys and skin.

Wastes accumulate from the remains of undigested food, dead bacteria, alcohol, air and foodborne environmental pollutants, used hormones, and the wastes of everyday cellular processes.

Not drinking enough water can be the simplest factor restricting waste removal, as can lack of fibre which bulks up the stools and keeps it flowing.

Spring Tonic Herbs are a class of herbs whose primary action is to improve detoxification.

Stagnation and Flow

Flow equates health. Picture the difference between a flowing river and stagnant pool. It’s the same within the body, and so any way we can improve flow leads to greater health.

Food that hangs around in the bowel too long can stagnate and create yet more toxic waste which is re-absorbed into the bloodstream. It causes local inflammation which can lead to the loss of gut wall integrity.

We can improve the flow of the gut, liver, and gall bladder with bitters, fibre and digestive tonics. The flow of the kidneys is improved by drinking water, movement, plus kidney and lymphatic tonics.

Joints have a poor blood supply with small vessels and so can be a place of congestion which contributes to pain and stiffness. Improving flow and excretion of wastes draws out toxins from around the joints and also brings in more nourishment.

Nourishment

We’re starting to form a picture of Spring Tonic Herbs.

They have the ability to improve the body’s detoxification processes, doing this through enhancing the function of cells, organs and systems, with each improved system having a positive knock-on effect to the others.

For example, any improvement in bowel function will reduce demand placed on the liver and kidneys.

Spring Tonic Herbs remove the wastes of everyday living and avoid the havoc of accumulation to areas such as the skin, joints and mood.

In addition to the removal of wastes and enhancing flow, they also provide deep nourishment. An array of phytonutrients that feed cells, organs and systems over time, each day drip-feeding to gradually build up strength and resilience.

Herbal Affinity

Each tonic herb has an affinity with a particular organ or system:

-            Birch: has a chemical make-up favoured by the urinary system. It is diuretic which increases flow and volume of urine, (reducing water retention), it is antimicrobial so can treat an infection, (such as cystitis), a febrifuge which helps bring down a fever, it’s also an anodyne so can reduce pain, and an anti-inflammatory and detoxifier so will support healthy joints and skin. As a it is a tonic it is strengthening and invigorating.

-            Cleavers: encourage flow of lymph. This is especially important during and after an infection. The lymphatic system connects a series of glands which are responsible for mounting an immune response to kill off invading pathogens. These dead cells can take time to clear out and glands can remain swollen and less effective. Cleavers have been likened to a broom clearing out the cobwebs. They are gently astringent and toning both internally and externally, so can be used to treat skin issues as internal medicine and external application, simply by drinking a cold infusion or applying a cold toner wash. They are also diuretic and so support the cleansing action of the kidneys.

-            Dandelion: is a bitter liver tonic and diuretic, both in leaves and root. Simply tasting the bitter stimulates receptors on the tongue improve digestion and absorption of nutrients. It also increases gut motility and flow, reducing toxic waste reabsorption, boating and constipation.

-            Hawthorn: is known as the “nurse of the heart”. It is a cardiovascular tonic that is amphoteric. What that means is that it will tone vessels where they are too lax, or relax them where they are too tight, (as in high blood pressure). It also directly feeds the heart muscle with what it needs for optimum function, the result being stronger force of contraction effecting more blood per pump which fosters a lower heart rate, and less vascular tension. (CAUTION: If you take prescribed heart drugs, you must consult a herbalist before taking this herb).

-            Nettle: the health-giving profile of nettle is so extensive it astounds me every time I think about it, and more importantly when I am taking it. This reflects its extensive root system including deep tap roots that access minerals from deep within the soil. It can treat deep seated issues such as anaemia, eczema, hay fever, arthritis and recovery from illness, (convalescence).

Bitters & the Mood

A body under stress from its internal condition can affect the mood.

This can be a combination of circulatory toxins affecting clarity of thought, the disruptions of re-circulating hormones and a lack of nutrients involved in creating our natural happy hormones, (endorphins).

This can all come about from ineffective digestion. Indeed, the liver was long referred to as the “seat of melancholy”.

One sure way to improve digestion is to include bitter herbs in the diet, especially before a meal. This is because they act to prepare the digestive system to receive food.

Simply tasting a bitter food on our tongue means that bitter taste receptors have been stimulated which sends a message to via the nervous system directly to the liver, gall bladder, stomach, duodenum, and pancreas to release their digestive juices. This preparation means that food is far better broken down so that more nutrients can be absorbed.

The gall bladder is stimulated to release bile which digests fats involved in brain and nerve health, pancreatic juices are released which are involved in blood sugar regulation, the action of the liver is stimulated to carryout its blood filtration and avoid re-circulation of wastes.

Bitters are one of the simplest ways to improve digestion and all it takes is a taste.

This is why I encourage you to get blowing dandelion clocks into your garden so you can eat your magnificent weeds!

Convalescence

We can see that Spring Tonic Herbs bring the body into a much more favourable condition, which means they also lend themselves to the re-strengthening period of convalescence.

After a period of ill-health, injury, or extreme or sustained stress, we can end up feeling depleted or exhausted. That feeling of being ‘spent’.

I’m a firm believer of making a conscious effort to re-build strength, resources, and health resilience through taking a period of convalescence.

Our modern western lifestyle may not allow for the historical vision of convalescence; complete retreat with prescribed rest, however, we can still foster a spirit of convalescence until we feel our strength returning.

We can mindfully enjoy nourishing easy to digest foods and plant medicines, plus gentle walks in nature.

The dense nutrition found in nettles and dandelions means they are capable of gently building up resources to restore what has been lost through illness or disease.

Tonics Tonify

Spring tonics are safe to be drank freely for long periods, and especially great whilst fresh over their natural growing season. They offer us the perfect way to go about a delicious spring clean.

When they are drunk or eaten daily, they supply regular nutrients that build up the body over time. This allows the return of energy and strength without taxing resources in a way that stimulants such as coffee do.

Tonic herbs are those which tone and invigorate. They stimulate flow and strengthen tissues, therefore improving overall function. They are very giving, restorative and energizing. They can even sharpen the mind.