How to Use Feverfew for Healing
Feverfew is the herb that has been given eleven different names. References to the plant were found in the works of ancient Greek physicians.
Numerous studies, conducted over the past several years, have shown that feverfew has numerous healing properties. One of its most common benefits is the ability to reduce the frequency and severity of recurring headaches, such as migraines. This is due to the presence of tanetin and parthenolide. One of its active ingredients is borneol which improves general circulation and also helps to stimulate the production of gastric juices. Feverfew also contains camphor, which is an expectorant.
Growing feverfew is easy and although the plant originates in Europe, it will grow in most climate zones except for where it is really cold. In these cases it can simply be grown indoors. . It has attractive light green leaves with a pungent scent and many clusters of pretty white flowers. Feverfew favours full sunlight in well drained soil and will flower from early spring through to the first frost. Flowers, leaves and stems can be harvested for medicinal use. The most simple and the fastest way of getting the most out of the medicinal benefits of Feverfew is to make an herbal tea.
Tea
Simply add an ounce of the fresh or dried flowers to a pint of boiling water.
Allow to steep for 5 to 10 minutes then strain.
It can be drunk either warm or cool and can be taken as a general tonic to boost well being or to ease anxiety or depression. If you drink half a cup twice a day, you should begin to notice the benefits within a week.
Another way to use feverfew is by making a tincture.
Tincture
To use this method you will need a large jar and fill it with either 300 grams of fresh chopped flowers, leaves and stems or 200 grams of the dried herb.
To this, add 1 liter of liquid – usually a 25 percent alcohol/ water solution is used made with vodka, which helps with preservation and also sweetens the taste.
If you prefer to make a non-alcoholic tincture then you will need to replace the vodka with distilled water or vinegar.
Cover the jar with a brown paper bag and leave it to steep in a cool place for 2 to 3 weeks.
Feverfew tincture can be taken in a dose of 4 to 6 drops every half hour.
You can also make an organic cream from feverfew, for topical use.
Cream/ointment
Mix together
- 25 g of beeswax and
- 25 g of water-free lanolin
- 100 ml grape seed oil,
- 25 ml of glycerine and
- 75 ml. of distilled water
gently heat the blend
- add 50 g of dried herb
stir into the mix to obtain an even distribution.
allow to stand for a few minutes
Strain the mixture and pour the cream into an airtight jar, sealing the lid once it has cooled.
Use caution when eating the fresh leaves as they can cause inflammation of the mouth. To prevent this problem, you can sauté the leaves before eating them.
Do not use feverfew while you are pregnant or if you are on blood thinning medication.
Recommendations from users
- I recently won a thirty year battle with migranes. Feverfew works miracles, and everyone with headaches should try it., but first make sure you have taken your magnesium citrate, calcium citrate, and riboflavin(b-2) – this acts as a cytalyst for the herb, as with migranes your blood vessles are spasming and need the muscle relaxtion that magnesium provides, also your cells tend to work better together. Taken all together, it will make you believe you are working on the cause.
- My 8 year old son had horrible migranes almost everyday. Someone told me about this miracle cure and I am so glad they did! My son hasn’t had one migrane since he started taking a supplement with feverfew, magnesium, and riboflavin. He is a completely different child now and I am so so happy I met the woman who told me about feverfew.
Related Articles
- The Benefits of Feverfew (brighthub.com)
- Can Herbs Help Heal My Headaches? (everydayhealth.com)
- Herbal Remedies for Headache Pain (everydayhealth.com)
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I’ve got this growing in my garden, but haven’t tried using it. The insecticidal qualities are the reason I grow it, and for its cheery blooms. It’s a tough little plant too, and useful to provide shelter to softer plants.
Hope that you weren’t offended by my email re: feverfew.
I didn’t get an email yet Lisa? – hehe – thanks for forewarning me
I sent it on Tuesday, so it might be in your spam folder! Basically said that feverfew didn’t work for me at all. And that I’m generally wary of herbal meds because of the side effects I’ve experienced.
aaah ok – I have a memory of reading that – dont know why its not in my mailbox – was it not a comment rather than an email?
Many people dont realise that most pharmaceutical drugs originally come from plants and some really horrific poisons too. One must always be careful when trying anything new. I see that for migraines they suggest using it with a few other products to improve uptake – I would like to try it out sometime.
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The fact that Feverfew will grow anywhere is an understatement we broght some dried seeds down with us when we moved to mexico 3 years ago and it has literally taken up a good part of our garden but its neat to have a touch of what we had back home. and it truly is medicinal.
Yeah – mine is doing so well with almost no water this winter. Thanks for popping by to read my blog.