After getting a respiratory infection several summers ago and not having any of my favorite herbs with me, I was shocked to find that none of the stores or health food stores had what I needed. I was stuck without my favorite medicines, and I was quite sick. Since that time, my mantra is, if I am going to be out of the house for more than 8 hours, I bring with me my favorite herbs for coughs and colds and anything bronchial: my top three: Hyssop, Licorice, Wild Cherry Bark, and the next two on the list are echinacea and sage. I like to try to have them all as teas and tinctures. Hot tea is very therapeutic if you have a cold, but tinctures are good if you can’t boil water easily, such as if you were on a road trip or camping.

So, just last week I broke my golden rule, I traveled without my herbs and as luck would have it, I got a nasty cold. I was able to buy peppermint tea easily, which is great for opening up the whole respiratory system. It is aromatic and cooling in nature, so if you have a cough that is tight and painful, it will ease that. As soon as I got home, I was simmering licorice, wild cherry and echinacea, with hyssop added at the end. That, and a little acupuncture has put me back on my feet!

These are great herbs to have on your shelf during winter. If you have high blood pressure, avoid licorice. Avoid echinacea if you have auto-immune illnesses.

I buy my bulk herbs from either Jeans Greens (jeansgreens.com) or Healing Spirits Herb Farm. (healingspiritherbfarm.com). I have many articles posted on my site about how to prepare tea, dosages, etc. Thanks for reading, and be well!