Steven Horne's Newsletter Articles

September 6, 2022

Willow: Nature's Original Pain Reliever

What to do about pain has always been one of my major concerns. Modern medicine affords people so many options for pain relief that people take it for granted that they can take something to ease pain. But what if these medicines weren’t available? How could we help ease the suffering of others? My interest in herbs began with an interest in outdoor survival and emergency preparedness. So when I write about the health benefits of herbs, the emergency preparedness aspect of herbalism is always…

August 23, 2022

Purslane

My introduction to herbs came in my teens, studying outdoor survival. I became fascinated with edible and medicinal wild plants. While sampling edible wild plants I quickly learned that there was a huge difference between plants that are edible and plants that are palatable. There are some wild foods that I would never eat unless I was starving, but others are quite delicious and I’m happy to eat them when I find. One plant in the latter category is purslane Because purslane is a common garden…

August 23, 2022

Night Blooming Cereus

In the spirit of the article I wrote last week about arjuna, I'd like to share another herb that can be used for the heart besides the well-known Western herb, hawthorn. This potential heart remedy is night blooming cereus, a species of cactus that blooms at night. This species of cactus is used for all types of cardiopulmonary disorders, including angina, tachycardia, palpitations, and valvular disease. It has an effect like digitalis, but milder, which puts it in a similar category of heart…

August 16, 2022

Arjuna

A while back I wrote about the most prominent cardiac herb in Western herbalism, hawthorn. Many of you are probably familiar with hawthorn, yet, you might not know that there is another equally valuable herb for the heart that comes from Ayurvedic medicine. It’s arjuna, the bark of a tree used to treat heart problems for over 3,000 years in India. Arjuna, like hawthorn, helps the heart and improves cardiovascular health in broad ways. It is a traditional remedy for heart failure and angina. It…

August 9, 2022

Scotch Broom

I first learned about Scotch broom from medical herbalist Chanchal Cabrera, who also introduced me to the use of toxic botanicals like lily of the valley and belladonna. She shared a formula with me for inducing labor that contains the herb. I’ve used it successfully a couple of times to help induce labor after the due date has passed. The formula contains:2 parts Scotch Broom2 parts Blue Cohosh1 part Motherwort1 part LobeliaThe Scotch broom and blue cohosh have oxytocic effects and oxytocin is…

August 8, 2022

Balancing the Nervous System

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year your nervous system is active, managing all of the processes of your body. It regulates your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, elimination, and cycles of rest and activity.Your central nervous system (CNS), is busy carrying information from your senses to your brain. This allows you to observe, listen and interact with your external environment. As you process this information in your brain and make decisions, the CNS…

August 3, 2022

Nattokinase and Nattozymes

Nattokinase has been used in Japan to treat heart and inflammatory diseases for over twenty years. It is a protease (protein digesting) enzyme extracted from the traditional Japanese food, natto. Natto made by the fermentation of boiled soybeans by the bacteria Bacillus natto. Natto has a strong taste and smell and texture that can be an acquired taste. Nattokinase is similar to plasmin, an enzyme present in the blood that degrades certain plasma proteins, notably fibrin, the protein responsible…

July 25, 2022

Motherwort

As you gain knowledge and experience using herbs, there are some remedies you’ll only use occasionally because you don’t have much need for them and others that you’ll use a lot because they have very clear indications for problems you encounter frequently. Motherwort is one of the latter remedies that I find I use frequently. I've used it with many people for a variety of health issues, and I've found it a reliable and effective remedy. Both the common and Latin names for this plant give…

Willow: Nature's Original Pain Reliever

Purslane

Night Blooming Cereus

Arjuna

Scotch Broom

Balancing the Nervous System

Nattokinase and Nattozymes

Motherwort

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