HERB - Feverfew & bitter tonics

[Gaylin Walli]

Mistress Christianna wrote about Feverfew, saying:

>It has indeed been in use for centuries, and is specifically mentioned in
>Greek texts (Dioscoridies, I think) for migraine treatment.

I have a handwritten note in my notebooks to this effect, if
that helps any. No point-to-it references, though, so probably
not. :)

>I have also read work by Dr. James Duke, corroborrating the
>fact that there are no known long-term side effects from taking daily
>feverfew.

Have there actually *been* any long term studies? I've not been
able to find any (doesn't mean they don't exist) that lasted
longer than 2 or 3 months.

>I have never eaten it, but I was having a discussion with a
>customer at the health food store I work in regarding the benefits of
>bitter herbs.

Do we have any discussions of the creation of bitters in particular
other than those included in works of plant authors? What I'm
thinking of here in particular is a period cookbook or recipe book for
drinks that discusses the makings of bitter tonics. There are
plenty of references in herbals and such about stimulating bile
production and the appetite, but do we have any very specific recipes
that say "take a handful of this and a handful of that other thing
over there, make sure a virgin touches it, dance a little dance,
and pray"? (That last part was meant to make everyone smile.)

Jasmine "Migraine Sufferer in the Extreme" de Cordoba
jasmine at infoengine.com
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.