Liver Cleanse Tea

My knee was hurting this morning so I decided to make a tea to help with that. Years ago, when my rheumatoid arthritis was severe, I fell, tearing my inner meniscus on my left knee. Many years earlier, I had done the same on the outside meniscus of that knee while teaching karate. So I have to be careful when I walk because my knee isn’t particularly stable.

I think my entire property is comprised of uneven ground. Cottonwood roots have decided they prefer above ground living in lieu of where they’re supposed to live. So I have constant opportunities to trash my knee on a daily basis. I think our daily five mile walk which we increased to between six and seven today took its toll. But that’s okay. It’s Friday and Ancient Aliens is on the History Channel for the next ten hours. I love Fridays.

I chose herbs with a liver alterative focus for my tea. Many of them are also diuretic and some are analgesic. The roots and bark were decocted first for 45 minutes after which the mixture was removed from the heat and the remainder of the herbs added and infused for another 30 minutes. I strained the mixture and sat down for a nice cup of cleansing tea.

The idea behind prevention is that we keep our bodies in balance so that we don’t become sick in the first place. So herbalists tend to choose herbs that deal with ground floor issues and our liver provides our bodies with their master cleanse system. If we’re ill, then odds are we can begin there when bringing things back to balance.

In autoimmune diseases like RA, the liver basically doesn’t function correctly, nor does anything else. The body begins attacking itself and there’s nothing in the body that’s not affected by the disease. So much of autoimmune based arthritis is this way. People hear the word arthritis and think osteoarthritis, but RA and other types of autoimmune based arthritis are all-consuming and so destructive.

Fluid retention is a problem with RA so I always include herbs with diuretic properties to keep my fluid level in balance. Due to the constant swelling in my feet, ankles, and legs during the years I was severe, my feet are somewhat numb from my toes back to about the middle of my feet. So half of each foot is partially numb all of the time. My doctors over the years did nothing about the fluid retention and now my feet feel so odd.

Because I’ve used herbs that require different processing, I decocted (simmered) the bark and roots first, and then added the more fragile herbs to the decoction after removing it from heat for the final infusion. Typically I decoct roots, bark, seeds and berries. Valerian is one root, however, that has high volatile oils so that one needs infusion because boiling it reduces its effectiveness. But in today’s tea, everything is fairly straightforward.

I have a bunch of yellow dock root that my husband keeps digging up and bringing me that I used in this morning’s tea. It’s a wonderful liver alterative, cleansing the blood and aiding in chronic skin disorders like psoriasis. Folks who suffer from psoriatic arthritis, another autoimmune arthritic disease, would benefit from teas that include this herb.

Dandelion root is another wonderful herb that I included that has both liver alterative and a diuretic properties. From Grimoire of a Crone, 

Dandelion contains vitamins and minerals including Vitamin s A, C, E, and K, and calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. It also contains glycosides, terpenes, flavonoids, and is bitter. (Wikipedia, Taraxacum officinale, 2016) If all we had were dandelion to use for medicine, we’d be just fine. It basically covers all the bases. It’s diuretic, laxative, antirheumatic, and tonic; you name it, it does it. It increases bile, and reduces fluid retention and fever. (Barton, 1844)¹

I have a lot of Oregon Grape Root growing around my home but I can’t bear to dig any of it to harvest the root so I buy it from Mountain Rose Herbs. Another liver alterative, Oregon Grape Root cleanses the blood and is extremely useful in rheumatic complaints. It’s also has anti-inflammatory properties. I include it in an RA tincture I formulate and use.

Various willow varieties grow on my property, but the white willow bark I harvested from my weeping willow trees. Because it’s a bark, I decocted it with the other roots. It contains salacin giving it analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties so I included it specifically for pain. It also has alterative properties as well.

After letting the roots and bark simmer for 45 minutes, I removed the pan and added the following herbs.

Dandelion leaf  has the same properties as dandelion root, but I threw in some fresh leaf for additional diuretic and alterative support. Yarrow is flowering all over my property and I’ve been gathering it daily for tincturing and salves. It heals wounds and has anti-inflammatory properties.

I include red clover in everything. I have almost three acres of it growing so it’s prolific. From Grimoire of a Crone, “red clover acts as an alterative, anti-spasmodic, expectorant, and anti-inflammatory”² so it’s perfect for rheumatic conditions like RA.

Another herb that grows everywhere is comfrey. I use the root for external oils and the leaf for tea and tincture. Comfrey heals. Period. And it does it both externally and internally. It’s mucilaginous nature is soothing, nourishing, and healing and I include it in many teas and tinctures.

California Poppy is a fun herb to use. It’s analgesic, sedative, and anti-neuralgic although not as much as its cousin the opium poppy so it’s safe to use. I grow a lot of it and its perennial nature makes it a favorite. I added white California Poppy in my medicinal herb garden this year at the tips of each point on the pentagram as well as various poppies over in the apiary. The bees love them and the fact that they’re medicinal is just awesome.

The last two herbs I included were chickweed and cleavers. Last year, I thought it would be nice if I could grow both herbs because they grow naturally over in the valley. That’s Oregon-speak for everything over on the west side of the state, typically along the I-5 corridor. But in Central Oregon, we live on the High Desert and I live at about 3000 feet above sea level and it only goes up in elevation from there. It’s volcanic and dry, hence the desert part. At least on my property, I’ve not seen chickweed in a long time, if ever.

And then this spring, I saw both chickweed and cleavers growing. It was odd. My husband says I call for certain plants and they show up. I had already ordered seeds from Strictly Medicinal Seeds (formerly called Horizon Herbs), a medicinal herbal seed source, thinking I would need to plant both, and then there they were. Now I have so much of both that I’ll have no need to order any. I hate ordering herbs that should be growing on their own. It’s like ordering dandelion root. For an herbalist, it’s embarrassing.

Both herbs are diuretic and alterative. I include them to control the fluid retention that comes with RA. As a salve, both cleavers and chickweed are also useful for skin conditions, burns and rashes.

After straining the tea, I poured myself a cup. The rest I poured into a quart mason jar which I’ll keep in the refrigerator to use over the next couple of days. It’s a fairly strong tea, so it’s fine to dilute it a bit with water before reheating. I don’t really use specific amounts when I make teas. I usually just gather up some herbs, throw them in and don’t look back as my husband would say.

So the next time you feel a little off, wander about and look for some dandelion leaf, some chickweed and cleavers. Maybe you grow some California Poppy as well. Even if you don’t have a veritable herbal materia medica growing around your home, you probably have at least these herbs. Gather them up. Put your fresh herbs in a jar and pour boiling water over them. Steep them at least 15 minutes or longer for a more intense brew. Then strain and enjoy. That’s all there is to it. And you do this often, you just might notice a change in how you feel. And I don’t know about the rest of you reading this, but after thirteen years of excruciating pain with my RA, I’ve had enough of that.

Blessings to all!

~ Jan

1. Erickson, Jan. Grimoire of a Crone (Kindle Locations 1666-1670). Kindle Direct Publishing. Kindle Edition.
2. Erickson, Jan. Grimoire of a Crone (Kindle Location 1858). Kindle Direct Publishing. Kindle Edition.