Usnea is one of my all-time favorite herbs. It’s one of those versatile remedies for all kinds of life’s health curveballs. This lichen that has the appearance of a radical old man’s fancy green beard is one heck of an infection fighter and a natural antibiotic. It can help draw out infection if used as a poultice and helps your immune system do its natural job of fighting if you do get an infection. Usnea is often called “old man’s beard” and is a cool plant because it’s actually two plants that grow together, an algae and a fungus that have a unique and deeply beneficial relationship. The fungus basically encloses the algae, keeping it safe, providing protection as well as giving it some structure. The alga pulls its weight by providing the nutrition for both. Symbiosis at its finest right?
This lovely lichen grows in cool damp climates, you have probably seen quite a lot of it if you have spent any amount of time in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a very slow growing plant so something increasingly common is lab produced usnea for the sake of speeding up production. Personally, that sounds like a bad idea to me. The usnea I harvest is off of local Alaskan trees that have plenty to spare, and I only take what I need. Fortunately, we have no shortage of usnea up here! Not to mention, the air is significantly cleaner than many other places, as well as the ground and environment around us. We do not struggle with as much pollution, chemtrails, and environmental hazards as much as forests near cities. Wild crafted herbs from Alaska are something quite unique and special in quality because of how clean the environment really is in the rural places.
So what gives usnea all of its goodness? Well, first and foremost God is who we should be thanking for creating such amazing plants! He created and put the compounds all together and made it do what it does. The main constituents in usnea are the usnic acid and polyphenols, these are the most active compounds. There are other antioxidants (think free radical protection) that do a mighty fine job as well.
There are cooling and drying energetic properties to usnea. This is a whole interesting concept that is fun to look into. If you typically are a cold, dry person, usnea might actually increase that bodily atmosphere. If you run hot and often find yourself to be moist, usnea can help dry you out and cool you down. If you start an herbal regimen and notice that your body’s “atmosphere” has changed, something to look into is which herbs have what energetic function as far as heating/drying/cooling/moistening etc.
So are you wondering what usnea is used for? Here’s a fancy list I’ve put together for you of things that it can help with:
Pain relief, fever, swelling, inflammation, infections, coughs, skin wounds to increase healing speed, weight loss.
In test tube studies, usnea was shown to target and destroy cancer cells while leaving the healthy cells alone. Not saying it can cure cancer, according to the government cancer can’t be cured with herbs- but here is yet another herb that also may help fight against harmful & dangerous cell growth. More studies definitely need to be done on this herb and many, many more.
For dosing: 1-3ml (about a half dropper full) 1-3 times per day is the recommended dose for this tincture, taken either straight or diluted in 2 oz of juice or water. Or talk to your health care provider about dosing for your specific needs.
Please always make sure to research an herb before adding it to your herbal regimen. Know what you are and aren’t allergic to and pay attention to what your body needs. If you have any allergic reactions or any negative side effects, stop use immediately. Always consult your health care practitioner before adding new herbs to your remedy cabinet. If you have access to a clinical herbalist, its deeply recommended that you consult with them to get a full rundown of what herbs would benefit you most for your specific health needs. Please make sure that you choose one with solid credentials because this IS an unregulated industry and there are a lot of scam programs out there that send out herbalists believing they are “certified” and ready to be clinicians with no real knowledge and understanding. Most herbs are generally safe and effective, but not every herb is for every person and we are not responsible for any side effects that you may experience if you take an herb that is not meant for your body. I’m just an herbalist, not a doctor and this is not medical advice.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and this product is not intended to treat, diagnose, or cure any diseases.
UsneaMonograph_BotanoLogos_updated12.29.19 (wildhealingherbs.com)
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