Detox: lymphatic and liver support
Detox: lymphatic and liver support
Helps support the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system. It helps to get your lymphatic system moving so your body can process and eliminate toxins. Can be used with Lyme herbs to help flush the system.
Take 1-2 dropper morning and night for 4-6 weeks. Can repeat every 3 months. If you are sensitive to herbs start slow with 10 drops and work your way up if you need to.
Made with organic gluten free sugar-cane alcohol, and organic herb blend of milk thistle, horsetail, cleavers, calendula, dandelion root, yellow dock, fennel, and cayenne pepper.
Horsetail (equisetum arvense), also referred to as shave-grass, comes up in the early spring. They have a prehistoric look to them as they date back to the times of the dinosaurs, when it is said that horsetail grew the size of small trees. Now they are much smaller, but some can still reach 1-2 feet tall when fully grown. I think they look like something that the fairies live under. Horsetail in the medieval days were used as scouring tools to clean and polish metal and wood due to the abrasiveness of the silica.
Horsetail has two stems that grow. The first asparagus-like shoot that sprouts in the early spring is a fertile spore bearing stem and the second is the sterile green stem that is mostly hollow, except at the joints where it holds water. We use the green stem before it unfurls for medicine. The key is harvesting it early, before the green fringes droop more than 45 degrees (like an upside-down umbrella) because at that point the silica in it can become less bio-available and harsher on the kidneys, essentially making it toxic. Horsetail can bio-accumulate toxins and heavy metals from the soil so a person should take precautions where they harvest from. I have it growing on our property and have been harvesting it almost daily. I like to tincture it fresh and also dry it to use as tea. I typically harvest it during the first few weeks of May. It can be quite invasive as it spreads underground through its rhizome. Unfortunately, I have it growing next to my greenhouses (not by choice as I didn’t plant it). So, if you do decide to plant them just be cautious about where you put them.
Horsetail is great because of its high mineral content, mostly silica and calcium. This makes it great to use for things like tendon repair, sprains, cartilage, broken bones, and connective tissue. The silica helps to strengthen the muscular skeletal system by building up elasticity in the connective tissue. I used horsetail with a combination of other herbs after foot surgery in tea form to help with the healing process of the bones and tendons. For that same reason horsetail helps strengthen the cardiovascular system by building up the elasticity in connective tissue that makes up our arteries, heart, and veins. There have been some studies that have suggested using horsetail supplementation to help reduce the incidence of osteoporosis and some have seen benefits of using horsetail for brittle nails and hair loss. The silica in horsetail can also help to restore a worn out and depleted nervous system similar to that of milky oat tops (which is also high in silica).
Horsetail has many other uses.It is an excellent wound healer and can be used as a poultice or a wound wash and it can stop both internal and external bleeding. It can help with the expulsion of metabolic waste primarily through the kidneys. I have used it successfully in getting rid of some stubborn skin rashes - I think primarily because of its ability to move stagnation and get rid of the waste. Horsetail has astringent properties helping it to tone tissue and it helps to drain fluid from tissues by increasing urine output. It can be used in bed-wetting for children and also for weak bladder and dribbling. Some herbalists like Matthew Wood like to combine it with other herbs like gravel root for kidney stones. Horsetail is really great for the whole urinary system with its ability to tone and strengthen and it helps to add vitality back to depleted organs.
The silica in horsetail can be irritating on the GI system and the kidneys especially with long term use. It is recommended to use it in shorter duration or at a very low dose or pulse-dosing where you take it for 4 weeks and then take a week off. It is recommended not to eat the plant itself but to have it in tinctured form or in tea. It shouldn’t be used in children under the age of 2, by those with impaired renal and cardiac function, by those with prostate cancer, or by those that are suffering edema due to impaired kidney and heart function. It can deplete thiamine levels in people and livestock, especially horses that eat large amounts of it. You can take a b1 supplement to help with that and also give a B supplement to your livestock to avoid any issues.
Cleavers (Galium aparine). Anyone who has come in contact with cleavers knows it - maybe you aren’t familiar with it by name but the whole plant is extremely sticky and will attach to you like Velcro as you walk by. The small green balls of fruit are sticky, and I can always tell when my dog has found the cleavers patch. They are considered an annual but reseed easily. They are like vines and grow up the stems of other plants and fences. They can be invasive and choke out other plants. They grow in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Cleavers have many uses and benefits.It is considered an alterative which means it helps with elimination and detoxification. Cleavers help to clear and move stagnation, fluid, and waste from the body. It is considered a diuretic - moving fluid through the kidneys and the urinary tract. It is a cooling, soothing plant which soothes the burning pain of cystitis and urinary tract infections. It is also used to help with the swelling of the prostate gland. It helps with edema and high blood pressure when the kidneys are involved. It is a lymphagogue which helps to clear stagnation, swelling, and swollen glands from the lymphatic system. It helps to clear metabolic waste. Cleavers have alterative effects on the skin and help with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and it can also be used for mouth and throat ulcers.
Cleavers can be recommended for hypothyroidism; when the body becomes slow, cold, sluggish, and low metabolism. When you have what in the past was referred to as bad blood syndrome because our blood isn’t moving and isn’t able to move, waste makes you more susceptible to infection. Using an alterative such as cleavers can help with those symptoms though it isn’t considered a cure by any means.
Cleavers have also been used for fibrocystic breasts, tumors, hardened lymph nodes, and calcifications (stones). Matthew Wood talks about cleavers being able to break up and dissolve calcifications and fibrous tumors.
Using cleavers for a long period of time isn’t recommended due to its drying effects. Cleavers are more effective when used fresh. So that would include tincturing the plant fresh or making a fresh cold-water decoction.You can also juice the plant fresh and then preserve the juice by adding alcohol. Cleavers can be made into compresses and poultices for wounds, burns, and skin inflammation. I have personally made fresh oil out of cleavers (not easily because it wants to mold but it can be done).
Cleavers should not be used if you have diabetes due to its diuretic effects. There are no known drug interactions.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) isn’t just used for wound care but is an excellent herb to use for things like sluggish liver, GI problems such as leaky gut, food intolerances, and problems with the gallbladder. It acts as lymphagogue which helps to clean the lymphatic system. It is a bitter so helps to stimulate digestion and helps move stagnation and cellular debris - it essentially helps to clear metabolic waste. If you think about what it does to our skin, it is very similar to what it does to our GI system. It has those same vulnerary, anti-inflammatory, and astringent properties that we see for the skin.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) has been used medicinally for skin problems, jaundice, blood disorders, liver problems, hepatitis, fluid retention, as a diuretic, breast milk production, kidney problems, stomach disorders, and a mild laxative. Dandelion encourages proper elimination of uric acid, thus clearing out metabolic wastes from our bodies. It clears stagnation and heat which is what makes it so useful for the liver. Dandelion is also beneficial for prostate infections, gout, arthritis by relieving inflammation, urinary tract infections, and water retention - the list goes on and on. I love dandelion as it truly helps with stagnation in the body, so it helps to get all your fluids and juices moving; that is what makes it so useful for some many problems. Sometimes just that build up and stagnation in our bodies is where a lot of our problems can come from.
This is a dietary supplement.
I recommend that with all the herbal tinctures you start of small in dosing and work your way up to recommended dosage. Some people only need a small amount to notice a difference.
Disclaimer: Earthly Remedies is not responsible for any individual’s use of our products. Each person’s response to herbs may differ. Consult a qualified health care practitioner or herbalist for guidance.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.