Page 193 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

Identification: This herb grows to heights of 6 to 7 an expectorant. It helps expel mucus that clogs the res-
feet (1.8 meters to 2.1 meters). The parsley-like leaves piratory tract. It also relieves inflammation in the
have a unique reddish tint at the bases where they at- bronchial tracts making it easier for people with
tach and visually have a fern-like quality. asthma and bronchitis to breathe. It promotes sweat-
ing, which gets rid of toxins and helps bring down fe-
The flowers have the classic white carrot-family um- vers. To soothe sore throats try sucking on the root,
bels with many small 5-petaled flowers. Be careful not drinking an osha root tea, taking a tincture, or extract-
to confuse this plant with poison hemlock or water ing it with raw honey. It is used to manage herpes out-
hemlock!
breaks and HIV due to its strong anti-viral properties.
The roots of Osha are very hairy and fibrous with a Use at the first sign of an outbreak and at the first sign
wrinkled, black or chocolate-brown outer skin. When of a cold or flu.
the outer root is peeled off, the inner root tissue is yel-
lowish-white and highly fragrant. Its greenery dies Headaches, Altitude Sickness, and Eleva-
down every winter to its hairy-topped brown root tion Changes: Osha helps people breathe better by
stock. opening up the bronchial tubes. Chewing the root
helps with the symptoms of altitude sickness and as-
sists people performing athletically at higher eleva-
tions than they are used to. Osha often gives almost im-
mediate headache relief when the smoke is breathed in
deeply. Osha root also has diaphoretic properties,
which promote sweating, thus helping to remove tox-
ins from the body.

Skin Wounds, Infections, Boils: Apply Osha
Tincture directly on to wounds if it is readily available
or dust the area heavily with the powdered root. Osha’s
antibacterial properties are effective in helping the
skin heal.
Arthritis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: The anti-in-
flammatory effects of osha act on the joints to relieve
swelling and the pain of arthritis. It also acts on the
nerves to relieve the pressure and swelling that causes
carpal tunnel syndrome. For these problems, I usually
Jerry Friedman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 use Osha Tincture, but you can also simply chew on the
osha root.
Edible Use: The leaves and seeds are used as a sea-
soning and for flavoring various drinks such as mead. Nicotine
The seeds dry well and have a celery-parsley flavor. Addiction:
Smoking is a
Medicinal Use: Osha is one of my favorite medici- very addictive
nal plants. The root is chewed, smoked, powdered, or habit. Osha
tinctured. It has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, hemostatic, helps relieve
and anti-inflammatory properties and is best used at nicotine crav-
the first sign of illness. Osha is my #1 go to for head- ings. Try chew-
aches - I light a piece of the dried root and inhale the ing on a piece
smoke strongly into each nostril. I always carry it with of osha root or
me in my medicine bag. adding it to a

Asthma, Colds, Flu, Viral Infections, Sore non-nicotine-
Throats, and Bronchial Infections: Osha root based smoking
is a very good anti-bacterial and anti-viral, Osha is also mixture.

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