herbal products for sale – support small, locally grown herbal medicine!

All herbs are locally grown, organic, and/or wildcrafted using sustainable, natural, chemical free growing practices. Most come from my gardens and land in Berea, KY, and I occasionally purchase fresh herbs from local growers whose growing practices are aligned with mine (such as Among the Oaks).  Everything is made by hand, in small batches, in a commercial kitchen, with focus on the optimal methods of extracting the full spectrum of medicine from the plants. A portion of the sales from these products go toward my free clinic and to providing sliding scale medicine to others in need.

All prices listed below are +tax, except for the dried herbs, which are considered food items and are exempt.

Shipping and handling is $10.

To order:

  1. Email product names and quantities (for tinctures, specify 1 oz, 2 oz, or 4 oz) to Lauren@ResilientRootsKY.com
  2. Send me your address if I’m shipping it to you (you may also pick up in Berea)
  3. I will send you an invoice or if you prefer to Venmo, I’ll email you the total amount with tax and shipping.

Product list

Special offeringWinter Wellness kit – $50: includes items I’ve used for many years to manage the various respiratory illnesses that we encounter this time of year. It will include: 

  • A loose leaf tea with anti-microbial, anti-viral, and decongesting properties
  • A immune supporting tincture (herbs extracted in alcohol and water) that helps kick the krud (2 oz bottle)
  • A fire cider oxymel (herbs extracted in vinegar and honey) to help clear your respiratory system and support your immune system (4 oz bottle)
  • Packaged in a gift box with an instructional card on how to use the items

Dried herbs/tea blends

Product Name Description Price
Holy basil Dried leaf, makes a great tea on its own or blended with other herbs.  1 oz. $10
Good Nite Designed to support your nervous systems for a relaxing nighttime tea.   Ingredients: lemongrass, catnip leaf and flower, anise hyssop, and Korean mint (Agastache rugosa) grown naturally on our farm   $12
“Pregnancy Tea” – raspberry leaf, alfalfa leaf, nettle leaf, oatstraw, lemon balm – all nourishing, mineral rich herbs to help support the body during pregnancy….But it is a useful blend for almost everyone, not just pregnant folks!   $15
     

Tinctures from the farm

Tincture: alcohol and water herbal extract from fresh plants unless otherwise noted

Suggested use: will be listed on bottle. Typically, people either squirt directly into mouth or add to water in a glass. 1 full squeeze of the dropper bulb = 1 dropper = 1 ml = approx. 20 drops

Most of these are also available in 2oz and 4oz quantities, offering a bit of a discount from the 1 oz price.

1 oz = $15; 2 oz = $28; 4 oz = $50

1 oz = $13; 2 oz = $25; 4 oz = $45

1 oz = $20; 2 oz =$36; 4 oz = $70

Product Name Description 1 oz Price
Ashwaganda tincture So many medicinal uses, ashawaganda is a popular adaptogen (modulates HPA axis and stress response) and may also be helpful for muscle and joint pain, mood, and more! $15
Black cohosh tincture Very selectively wildcrafted roots with replanting of buds to ensure the plant survives, which is a labor-intensive process! This is a lower dose herb so a little goes a long way. Popularized as a menopausal tonic, it has many more virtues, including hormone balancing (for any age), anti-spasmodic (helpful for cramps and muscular tension), anti-inflammatory, nervous system nourishing, mood lifting. $20
CA Poppy  Calming, relaxing, pain relieving. A great sleep herb!  Made from the entire fresh plant. $15
Catnip tincture Has the opposite effect in humans vs. cats! Carminative (relaxes gut to expel gas), antispasmodic, nervine (soothing to nerves). Specific for stress induced gastric issues. Can be used with children in small amounts to help them with fevers, colic, insomnia and nausea. $13  
Dandelion root tincture Another herbal medicine chest! This makes a great base for a “bitters” blend, making it wonderful for digestion and liver support. Also anti-inflammatory and supports healthy joints. $15
Echinacea tincture Fresh Echinacea purpurea leaf and root extract. Contains all the tongue-tingly alkylamides that indicate good medicinal potency. Wonderful for the immune and lymph systems. Take in larger doses at the first sign of illness ~ 1tsp up to 5x/day or smaller doses more frequently. $13
Elderflower tincture Fresh extract of the flowers – many herbalists consider more medicinally useful than the berries. Similar antiviral properties and also aids in fever reduction through its ability to move heat out of the body. $16
Elecampane tincture Fresh extract from elecampane roots. Lung tonic and anti-inflammatory, consider for green mucus in congested lungs that is difficult to expel. Helpful as tonic for people with chronic respiratory issues. $15
Feverfew tincture Fresh leaf and flower extract. Super anti-inflammatory, often used for head pain and seasonal allergies. Bitter, aromatic, cooling. $13
Goldenrod tincture For acute respiratory issues it is helpful for clearing mucus and inflammation in the sinuses, making it popular for seasonal allergies. It is also nice in combination with lymphatic and antimicrobial herbs for infection.  For chronic allergies, its best used in combination with immunomodulating (ex: holy basil) and liver support herbs (ex: dandelion, docks, milk thistle).  Urinary antiseptic, tonic, and anti-inflammatory for infections, structural weakness $13
Goldenseal tincture Extraordinary mucus membrane tonic, anti-fungal, anti-viral anti-microbial, digestive bitter. Topical antiseptic. A little goes a long way! Sustainably harvested from my property. $20
Hawthorne Berry tincture Special extraction in Brandy, combination of fresh and dried berries. Physical and emotional heart support, good source of antioxidants.   $15
Holy Basil (aka tulsi) tincture Stress support (adaptogen), antibacterial, antiviral, mood enhancing, immune balancing, blood sugar stabilizing, supports healthy blood pressure, anti-inflammatory, brain and nervous system tonic (really its good for almost everything!) $13  
Holy Basil glycerite See above – extracted with glycerin instead of alcohol $13
Hops tincture Supremely sleep-inducing, calming, relaxing. Super bitter and great for digestion! $15
Kava tincture Fresh Hanakapai’ai Kava root extract. Supremely relaxing, helpful for easing tension, anxiety, and anger. Can also be used as a “social lubricant” in a similar way as alcohol, without the negative effects! I splurged and had this Kava shipped to me fresh from Hawaii – maybe a once in a lifetime medicine making experience!   $18
Lavender tincture fresh lavender flower, stem, and leaf (L. Angustifolia) extracted in grain alcohol All the relaxing benefits of lavender that you know and love😊 Great for sleep $15
Lemon balm tincture Anti-viral, mood boosting, nourishing to nervous system, relaxing to digestive system, full of antioxidants. Also makes a nice addition to cocktails or soda water. $13
Milky oats tincture Restorative to nervous system, this is made from fresh milky oat seed. A must for anyone with frazzled nerves. $15
Motherwort tincture Calming, analgesic, nervine, antispasmodic, emmenagogue (supports menstrual cycle), hypotensive, very supportive to female reproductive system across the life spectrum for menstrual-related issues, post-partum pain, hot flashes and peri-menopausal woes. Calms and nourishes the physicial and emotional heart. $13
Mullein leaf tincture Lung anti-inflammatory, it helps expectorate mucus and soothe irritated mucus membranes. $13
Nettle leaf tincture Superfood, anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine qualities. $15
Passionflower tincture Supreme sedative nervine and hypnotic (sleep inducing) $15
Reishi tincture From Ganoderma tsugae harvested in the Daniel Boone National forest, this is triple extract of alcohol, glycerin, and water to preserve all the medicinal goodness. So many uses, from a heart tonic to immune balancing. Also a good to use as an overall daily health tonic. $15
Respiratory ease tincture Fresh mullein and elecampane to support lung health, ease inflammation, and help expel mucus. $13
Rosemary tincture Supreme antioxidant, support liver, brain, mood, circulatory tonic, anti-inflammatory, etc…. Helps raise the spirit. $13
Sage tincture Many medicinal qualities…highlights include anti-infective, may help soothe sore throat, provides antioxidants, cool and dry the body in times of too much sweat or hot flashes, and so much more! $13
Skullcap tincture S. laterifolia Supremely relaxing nerve tonic, anti-spasmodic, may be helpful for restless legs, tremors, depleted nervous system, middle of the night wakefulness. $15
Spilanthes tincture  Aka “toothache” plant Mouth numbing, saliva-encouraging, and immune activating tincture from spilanthes flowers grown on Lauren’s farm. A little goes a long way!  – offering in 0.5 bottles $10 (0.5 oz) 
St. John’s Wort tincture Soothing and restoring to the nervous system.  Also a significant anti-viral and clinically studied for its anti-depressant effects. $15
Turmeric tincture Made with fresh rhizomes from an organic farm in Casey Co., KY, whole plant extract of turmeric is as effective (if not more) than those expensive curcumin (one of the chemicals in the plant) supplements! $15
Usnea double extract tincture Usnea is a special lichen with amazing medicinal benefits for the immune and respiratory systems.   $15
Valerian tincture Sedative, anti-spasmodic, anxiolytic, nervine. Helpful for restful sleep, pain, menstrual difficulties, and various nervous system issues. Valerian is warming and may excite (rather than sedate) people who have a warm-hot constitution. $15
Vervain V. hastata Tension-relieving anxiolytic and also very bitter, making it wonderful for people who have anxiety with anger and/or digestive issues. Cooling. This herb was grown by Among the Oaks in Beattyville and tinctured fresh at our farm.  $15
Wild Yam tincture D. villosa Dried root extraction. A wonderful one to have on hand, it has many uses! Antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, stimulates bile release for healthy digestion. Traditionally used as a remedy for menstrual cramps and as an anti-rheumatic. $15
Yarrow tincture Fresh leaves and flowers extracted in alcohol and water. Many uses as a blood regulator, antimicrobial for respiratory infections, digestive bitter (very bitter!). $13

Harvesting, drying, and using the herbs growing in our community herb patch at the Berea Urban (Herban) Farm

  • Anise hyssop filled with pollinators with Sustainable Berea sign in the background

Pictured at left: Anise hyssop at the Berea Urban Farm

I taught a harvesting workshop today for the Berea Herb Club and wanted to share some follow ups for the folks who attended the workshop….there was a lot to cover!

 

 Herbs growing for community use in the Berea Urban Farm:

Mint (Lamiaceae) family herbs

  1. Holy basil/tulsi – Ocimum africanum
    • link to monograph
    • annual but will self seed and can pop up in random places throughout your garden, but its very low key about it and not invasive

2. Anise hyssop – Agastache foeniculum

    • link to monograph
    • Note that this plant is a native perennial, which in my opinion means everyone should have it growing in their garden for pollinators

3. Rose agastache – Agastache pallidiflora subsp. neomexicana

    • Link with more info (I misspoke in the workshop, I thought this was a cultivar, but turns out its actually a southwestern native).
    • I have had patches of this act as both perennials and annuals in our KY soil.

4. Catnip – Nepeta cataria

    • link to monograph
    • This will both act as a perennial in the spot its grow and self seed to other areas. Its an awesome plant for medicine and pollinators, so I let it spread! It is not invasive.

5. Bee balm – Monarda fistulosa

    • Was not in bloom as of 7/15/23, but should be soon. In the meantime, leaves can be harvested, especially since the plant has downy mildew that gradually works it way up the stem. Take care to harvest leaves without the downy mildew!
    • link to monograph

All of these mint family plants make wonderful tea, tinctures, honey extracts, and more! To make a tea, you can make it as strong as you like – to taste. Experiment!

To harvest all of the above plants, give them a good haircut once they start blooming and it will encourage them to bloom more. You can use both leaves and flowers.

Aster (Asteraceae) family plants

  1. Chamomile – Matricaria recutita
      • flowers must be harvested regularly in order for the plant to keep making more flowers
      • It will self-seed and often grows best when allowed to do this
      • Link to monograph 
  1. Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium

    • Link to monograph and research summary
    • Also makes a nice cut flower
    • Flowers and leaves are used, but most of the research has been done using the leaf
    • This one is bitter and better to eat fresh or tincture vs. use in tea 

Marshmallow (Malvaceae) family plants

1. Marshmallow – Althea officinalis

    • link to monograph
    • We are harvesting the leaf right now; this fall we can harvest the root
    • The leaf has a neutral taste, but provides an important nutritive and moistening quality, so its great to blend with almost any other herb in tea

2. Roselle hybiscus – Hibiscus sabdariffa

    • link to monograph
    • This one hasn’t started blooming yet, but when it does, we will need to harvest the calyces regularly!

Drying herbs

Dry herbs with temperature and humidity in mind – we are trying to remove the water content from the herbs as quickly as possible, while preserving the medicinal components

    • Herbs can be dried in a room with a dehumidifier to help remove moisture

    • Ideal drying temp for most herbs is between 95-105 degrees
        • Especially aromatic herbs, take care to not dry with too much heat – it will evaporate the aromatic constituents where most of the medicine lies
        • Sometimes dehydrators are too hot, but you may be able to use a dimmer plug to reduce the heat

This mesh herb drying rack is the best item I have found to dry a larger quantity of herbs in a smaller space.

 Drying in paper bags, especially herbs with tiny flowers (like the Rose Agastache) also works well – just remember to shake the bag regularly to move the herbs around and make sure they have enough room for airflow

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Herbal Clinic Grand Opening!

December 11th from 3-5 pm we are having a Grand Opening Celebration at my new office that I share with two other amazing, female practitioners – a home birth midwife and a behavioral health nurse practitioner.

You can check out my extensive supply of tinctures, many of which are produced from herbs on my farm. Sip on hot tea, taste herbal concoctions, chat about herbs, and learn more about how I help people with their health goals. 
Berea office address: 210 N Broadway St., Suite #1. 

Herbal CSH sign ups happening now!!

All Seasons Community Supported Herbalism

I partner with fellow herbalist/dear friend melissa calhoun to offer shares of The All Seasons Community Supported Herbalism (CSH) subscription. The CSH is a spin-off of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model. We grow the herbs on our respective farms (Camp Pleasant = Melissa/Frankfort and Resilient Roots  = Lauren/Berea) and come together for this offering!

How it works:

Bring the ‘backyard healthcare’ movement right into your own home by supporting locally grown, high quality, handcrafted herbal products that have been carefully selected to support your wellbeing. The CSH includes:

  • 4 Boxes per year with 3-4 handmade herbal products in each box to prepare for the season ahead
  • Delivery/pickup Nov 15 (Winter), Feb 15 (Spring), May 15 (Summer), Aug 15 (Fall)
  • Products will establish your home apothecary – tinctures, syrups, tea blends, infused oils, salves, vinegars and more!
  • Educational information and suggestions for use
  • Broadly applicable for common needs like digestion and immune support
  • Support local farms in Central and Eastern KY using ecologically-based growing practices
  • Our CSH subscription is wonderful for people who are just getting into herbs, as we will teach you the basics about how to use various forms of medicinal products. Likewise, it’s also great for the more advanced herbal enthusiast who enjoys trying out new products and supporting local medicine! 

Cost:

Annual subscription: $200+tax  

(If you need a payment plan, please do not buy online – email us and we will set you up)

Shipping*: $40/year

*Pickup: FREE. Pick up at Lauren’s farm or office in Berea or a central location in Frankfort. It is your responsibility to pick up your box on the pickup date or coordinate with us to retrieve it at another mutually agreeable time/location. We will always communicate with you ahead of time on what to expect. 

If you have questions or would like to be on our email list for when we have extra products, please let us know! email AllSeasonsHerbs@gmail.com

A Vision for Holistic Community Wellness

A wellness clinic for all Kentuckians….this is the dream I’ve been sorting through in my head for several years, and its time to commit words to paper and share my dream with the world, in hopes that it will resonate with enough people to make it a reality! 

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a healing space a person could visit to meet their wellness needs? A community of practitioners that actually communicated with each other and collaborated on care? And it was affordable? 

Here’s a common example. People often turn to herbs for psychological support – depression, insomnia, etc. And don’t get me wrong, herbs can be extremely healing to the nervous system. But sometimes herbs can’t address the root cause, which may be linked to trauma, but could also be nutrition-related. Wouldn’t it be great if your herbalist, nutritionist, and therapist were all working together to help you heal? And the same place could offer therapy sessions, an herbal apothecary, and perhaps a cooking class? 

One issue that I have with our mainstream medical system is that doctors don’t have enough time to talk to each other to truly collaborate on patient care.  And even more rare is a patient visit that lasts longer than 5-10 minutes…making it impossible to holistically address a person’s health.  

I want to collaborate as a healthcare team, and that includes the person seeking care! Healing often requires an investment of time, both on the part of the practitioner(s) AND the client/patient.  We work together for holistic care that addresses the root cause.

Collaborative wellness clinic

As a practitioner and small business owner, the “sole proprietor” model does not fulfill me. I do my best work in collaboration with other people, and I want to work with my wellness peers to help our communities thrive! 

This is just a small sketch of my big dream. Do you see downfalls to this approach? Does it resonate with you? I would love your feedback! And if you are a practitioner interested in collaborating on this type of model, please contact me!

Glutathione 

Pronounced “Gloot-a-thigh-own” = Glutathione

The most important molecule you’ve never heard of….and how herbs can help!  Here’s a quick TikTok video I made (and that computer voice-over always gives me a chuckle!): 

My recent surgery had me hospitalized for 3 days and taking a heavy cocktail of drugs. I couldn’t wait to get home to start my healing process with herbs, and liver and antioxidant support was at the top of my list! Any time our bodies are bombarded with toxins or drugs (like during surgery), it can place a heavy burden on the liver (our organ of detoxification), depleting one of the most important molecules in our body, glutathione. Everyone should be familiar with glutathione and its critical role in our health, so please keep reading for a quick summary….

Glutathione:

  • A “master molecule” in the body
  • Major antioxidant in cells/tissues = helps prevent cellular damage
  • Helps maintain mitochondrial function and thus production of ATP (energy for your cells)
  • Helps clear environmental toxins in liver
  • All of the above are REALLY IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS IN YOUR BODY!!!

Diseases/conditions associated with low glutathione  (1):

  • Chemical sensitivities
  • Aging
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Diabetes/metabolic syndrome
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Cancer
  • Asthma and allergy
  • Parkinson’s
  • Possibly autism
  • Some autoimmune diseases
  • Some mental health disorders

And now, a brief rant about acetaminophen… Glutathione is used to detoxify acetaminophen in our liver, so when we take acetaminophen it depletes glutathione. When liver cells lack glutathione, the antioxidant capacity is diminished. When we take a lot of acetaminophen, it can lead to liver cell death, and it is much more likely to do so in the presence of alcohol or other situations where the liver is presented with a toxin at the same time. NEVER take acetaminophen while drinking alcohol!  We have had evidence of the liver damaging effects since at least 1977, yet it took the FDA over 30 years to add a liver injury warning to the label!!

In short, acetaminophen hurts our glutathione production. Side note, there may be other reasons not to take acetaminophen regularly, read more here.

In the rare situations when I resort to acetaminophen and other drugs that might be taxing to my liver, I like to supplement with glutathione-promoting foods, herbs, and supplements. I also take general liver support herbs such as dandelion root. And I know from experience that when I support my liver, I feel better!  Likewise, many of these substances below also help allergies. The liver/allergy connection is a subject for another day, or perhaps a great reason to book an appointment with me!

Herbs/foods/supplements that may help body make new glutathione:

  • Curcumin (2)
  • Rosemary (3)
  • Green tea (4)
  • Schisandra berry (5)
  • Milk thistle (6)
  • Roobios tea – with optimal steeping time of at least 10 mins (7,8)
  • Brassica family and Allium (onion family) vegs  both of which are rich in sulfur….sulfur is a precursor to glutathione
  • Selenium – acts as cofactor in glutathione production
  • N-acetyl cysteine (or Whey protein, which is high in amino acid cysteine) – precursor to glutathione, an easy supplement to purchase, its also in a lot of allergy and sinus supplements, along with quercetin
  • Quercetin

I want to acknowledge that most of the research cited is not human clinical trials, it’s a mix of human cells in the lab (in vitro) and animal studies. But if we take the research we do have, coupled with traditional use, we can start to see why some of these substances are so incredibly healthy for us. Many of the above are classic “antioxidants,” and looking at them in the context of glutathione promoters helps understand why they can be impactful on multiple areas of the body.

Bottom line: I make it at point to incorporate many of these healing herbs into my diet and would love to teach you how you can use them to improve your health! Please consider booking a consultation with me!

Further reading:

More in-depth explanation of glutathione https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/19/glutathione-the-mother-of-all-antioxidants/

Dangers of acetaminophen:  https://chriskresser.com/the-dangers-of-acetaminophen/

FDA safety information on acetaminophen: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-drug-safety-communication-prescription-acetaminophen-products-be-limited-325-mg-dosage-unit

In the midst of my research, I found this interesting paper by Harvard and Duke researchers/doctors on the possible link between autism and acetaminophen (9): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28415925/

References:

  1. Minich, D. M., & Brown, B. I. (2019). A Review of Dietary (Phyto)Nutrients for Glutathione Support. Nutrients, 11(9), 2073. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092073
  2. Biswas SK, McClure D, Jimenez LA, Megson IL, Rahman I. Curcumin induces glutathione biosynthesis and inhibits NF-kappaB activation and interleukin-8 release in alveolar epithelial cells: mechanism of free radical scavenging activity. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2005 Jan-Feb;7(1-2):32-41. doi: 10.1089/ars.2005.7.32. PMID: 15650394.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15650394/
  3. Hassanen NHM, Fahmi A, Shams-Eldin E, Abdur-Rahman M. Protective effect of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) against diethylnitrosamine-induced renal injury in rats. Biomarkers. 2020 May;25(3):281-289. doi: 10.1080/1354750X.2020.1737734. Epub 2020 Mar 12. PMID: 32118487. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32118487/
  4. Basu, A., Betts, N. M., Mulugeta, A., Tong, C., Newman, E., & Lyons, T. J. (2013). Green tea supplementation increases glutathione and plasma antioxidant capacity in adults with the metabolic syndrome. Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.), 33(3), 180–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2012.12.010
  5. Chiu, H.-F., Chen, T.-Y., Tzeng, Y.-T., & Wang, C.-K. (2013). Improvement of liver function in humans using a mixture of schisandra fruit extract and sesamin. Phytotherapy Research: PTR, 27(3), 368–373. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.4702
  6. Vargas-Mendoza N., Madrigal-Santillán E., Morales-González A., Esquivel-Soto J., Esquivel-Chirino C., García-Luna Y., González-Rubio M., Gayosso-de-Lucio J.A., Morales-González J.A. Hepatoprotective effect of silymarin. World J. Hepatol. 2014;6:144–149. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i3.144.
  7. Piek, H., Venter, I., Rautenbach, F., & Marnewick, J. L. (2019). Rooibos herbal tea: An optimal cup and its consumers. Health SA = SA Gesondheid, 24, 1090. https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v24i0.1090
  8. Marnewick, J. L., Rautenbach, F., Venter, I., Neethling, H., Blackhurst, D. M., Wolmarans, P., & Macharia, M. (2011). Effects of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) on oxidative stress and biochemical parameters in adults at risk for cardiovascular disease. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 133(1), 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2010.08.061
  9. Parker, W., Hornik, C. D., Bilbo, S., Holzknecht, Z. E., Gentry, L., Rao, R., Lin, S. S., Herbert, M. R., & Nevison, C. D. (2017). The role of oxidative stress, inflammation and acetaminophen exposure from birth to early childhood in the induction of autism. The Journal of international medical research, 45(2), 407–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/0300060517693423