Author: Dara Dietz

Dara D Dietz is co-founder with her Husband of H.E.A.L. Marketplace, a private Natural Healing Association. As a teacher and counselor she has been supporting the members of H.E.A.L. with Natural Healing information and herbal supports since 1998. She continues to maintain strong ties to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Since healing her own kidney ailments she has assisted thousands of people in discovering and using natural herbal remedies. Dara has written and compiled numerous articles on a wide variety of natural healing topics. Drawing from her own healing experiences and borrowing from the vast wisdom of natural healers long departed, she continues to provide H.E.A.L.’s international membership with down to earth natural healing wisdom in H.E.A.L.’s bi-weekly newsletters. Dara and her husband currently reside in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
Linden flowers beside cayenne peppers
Heart, Blood & Circulation, Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them

Clearing What Drives Blood Pressure Up

Dara Dietz

Blood pressure is the pressure the blood puts on the walls of the arteries. It depends on the force of the heartbeat, how elastic the vessel walls are, the resistance in the tiny capillaries, and how thick the blood is. When the pressure climbs, the real question is what’s driving it up. Forcing the number down without clearing the cause doesn’t heal anything.

Four Things That Drive It Up

  1. Thick, sluggish blood. Excess cholesterol and other sticky, mucus-like waste load the circulatory system and thicken the blood. This usually goes hand in hand with a clogged bowel, which is why cleansing the bowel is part of purifying the blood.
  2. Clogged kidneys. The kidneys filter all of the blood; there’s no bypass. Their tiny vessels are about the width of a hair, and any sediment there makes the heart pump harder to push the blood through.
  3. Hardening of the arteries. When the body needs calcium, it will pull it from the walls of the veins and arteries as well as from the bones. The vessels grow hard and lose their give, and the heart is left pushing blood through a crimped straw.
  4. Emotional stress. Stress can kill. It’s important to find ways to unplug and relax.

The first three are brought on by a poor diet, too little rest and exercise, and a lack of vitality in the body. That’s why no formula works alone. You cannot be healthy while breaking the laws of health.

I keep three combinations for blood pressure. Each one goes after a different cause, and they can be used together.

Formula One: Calming the Stress

This one is built on Dr. Shook’s old Calming Herbal Food Compound, for when stress, physical or emotional, is pushing the numbers up.

  • Buckthorn Bark, 6 parts. Gently keeps the bowels moving, so the body has a way to carry off what it doesn’t need.
  • Speedwell Herb, 4 parts. An old European calming herb, long used to ease tension and support the blood vessels.
  • Valerian Root, 3 parts. Part of the calming backbone, easing an overactive nervous system without dulling you.
  • Licorice Root, 3 parts. Sweetens the formula and traditionally supports the adrenals, which take a real hit during chronic stress.
  • Linden Flowers, 3 parts. Another old European calming herb, gentle on the nerves and the blood vessels.
  • Rue Herb, 1 part. The other half of the calming backbone. Rue has traditionally been avoided during pregnancy, and that’s a genuine concern; leave it out if you’re pregnant or may become pregnant.
  • Goldenrod, 1 part. Supports the kidneys, helping clear what the body releases.

Formula Two: Clearing the Arteries

This one is built on Dr. Shook’s old arterial formula and goes after the vascular system itself, helping clear what has built up in the arteries.

  • Buckthorn Bark, 30 parts. By far the largest part. Because this formula clears waste out of the vascular system, waste the liver has to process and the bowels have to carry out, it needs strong bowel support.
  • Senna, 12 parts. Works with the Buckthorn to keep elimination moving. Together they also make this formula helpful for constipation.
  • Sassafras Bark, 3 parts. A traditional blood purifier with a long history in American herbalism.
  • Goldenrod, 3 parts. Supports the kidneys, helping clear fluid out of the vascular system.
  • Buckbean, 3 parts. A bitter tonic that supports digestion and the liver.
  • Black Cohosh, 3 parts. Traditional support for circulation.
  • Poke Root, 3 parts. Traditional support for lymphatic clearing.
  • Cassia Bark, 3 parts. Adds warmth and its own bit of circulatory support.

We make this one by the ounce: 30 ounces of Buckthorn and 12 ounces of Senna, with 3 ounces each of the other six herbs. Those big numbers are on purpose. This formula is all about clearing, and the bowels have to be kept moving for the rest of it to do its work. Those who use it find their bowels working better too.

Why Sassafras is still in it. Sassafras has centuries of traditional use behind it. In the 1960s the FDA restricted it after safrole, one of its natural compounds, was linked to cancer in laboratory animals given extremely high doses. My father was a biochemist, and he taught me to actually read studies like that one rather than just the headline. A finding from animals dosed at levels no one traditionally consumes doesn’t tell you much about generations of ordinary, moderate use. Dr. Christopher believed the same, and so do I. I’m not going to quietly drop an herb with this much tradition behind it.

Formula Three: Boosting the Circulation

This one is built on Dr. Christopher’s old circulation formula, and Cayenne runs the whole show. Cayenne equalizes blood pressure: if it’s high, Cayenne traditionally helps bring it down, and if it’s low, it helps bring it up. I’d like to see a drug that can do both at once. To me, that’s a gift straight out of God’s pharmacy.

  • Cayenne, 3 parts. The leader, increasing the power of the heart and moving the circulation.
  • Parsley Root, 3 parts. Supports fluid balance.
  • Ginger, 2 parts. Adds warmth and helps the circulation.
  • Goldenseal Root, 1 part. Supports the mucous membranes.
  • Garlic, 1 part. One of the oldest cardiovascular supports there is.
  • American Ginseng, ½ part, and Siberian Ginseng (Eleuthero), ½ part. Traditional tonics for overall vitality.

How the Three Work Together

None of these formulas are designed to force blood pressure lower. They clear whatever is driving it up. When stress and a vascular system that needs clearing are both part of the picture, Formulas One and Two work well together. Formula Three adds a kick to either one when a program needs a bigger push.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one throughout a formula. I make each one as a tincture: put the dry herbs in a glass jar and pour in 80-proof vodka until, once settled, there’s about 60% herb sediment on the bottom and 40% liquid on top. Shake daily. The traditional timing follows the moon, from new moon to full moon, about two weeks; I prefer a full three months for a good, strong extract. Then strain and bottle.

A common amount is ½ to 1 teaspoon in water or juice, up to three times a day. This is not a quick fix. It normally takes two to three months for the pressure to begin to come down, and when it does, the numbers stay down, because the causes have been cleared. Keep taking whatever medication you’re on until your body shows you it no longer needs it.

Other Helps

  • Kelp is an arterial cleanser that tones the walls of the blood vessels. It is believed to help remove deposits from the artery walls and restore their elasticity, and it can help normalize low blood pressure too.
  • Cayenne on its own: work up to a teaspoon three times a day. A pinch with meals helps move the blood.
  • Garlic in the diet, regularly and generously.
  • Wheat Germ Oil, a traditional source of vitamin E, long used to support healthy blood vessels.
  • Cut back on liquor, tobacco and late hours, which all strain the circulatory system.

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

Comfrey in bloom beside a marshmallow flower
Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them, Skin, Wounds & First Aid

A Healing Salve to Keep on Hand

Dara Dietz

Every home should have a good healing salve within reach. This one is built on Dr. Christopher’s healing ointment: three soothing herbs and four essential oils that are calming and healing to inflamed skin. It’s the salve I reach for after a joint has been overused or injured, for dry, itchy skin, for lesions and eczema, for poison ivy, and for hemorrhoids.

What a Good Healing Salve Contains

The herbs, in equal parts:

  • Comfrey Root, 1 part. Known for its ability to knit flesh together, which makes it part of nearly any formula that supports the skin. One of its main constituents is allantoin, a cell proliferant that encourages healthy new cells to multiply.
  • Marshmallow Root, 1 part. Very soothing and healing to inflamed tissue. Its high mucilage content helps draw out irritation and impurities.
  • Marigold (Calendula), 1 part. One of the herbalist’s most reliable dressings for sores, burns and wounds, gentle and non-irritating. As a salve it’s excellent for chapped skin, and it has long been used to take the sting out of a bee or wasp sting.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for every herb. By weight, that’s simply equal ounces of all three.

The essential oils, added at the end:

  • Rosemary, valued for helping heal breaks in the skin and for calming inflammation.
  • Lavender, one of the most widely used essential oils, traditionally regarded as soothing to pain and inflammation and as an antiseptic, with a calming scent that rounds out the blend.
  • Frankincense, traditionally used for calming inflammation and for supporting skin regeneration and healing.
  • Helichrysum, with a long history of use for skin irritation and for supporting the skin’s healing process.

Making the Salve

The herbs are fully extracted in extra virgin olive oil. They go into a 150-degree oven for three hours, then the spent herbs are swapped out for fresh ones, three times through in all. The finished oil is thickened with beeswax, and the essential oils are stirred in at the end.

How It Works

This combination supports faster healing of the skin and flesh. It works as an antiseptic, helping to prevent or clear minor infections, and it calms inflammation, which eases the pain in the affected area. Remember, pain comes from blockage; clear the blockage, and the pain comes down.

How to Use It

Apply it directly to the area, or make a salve pack: spread on a good layer, cover it with flannel, and secure it over the area.

  • An overused or injured joint: Once any ice pack has done its job, or right away if there was no impact and no concern for internal bleeding (as with overuse), pack the joint with the salve for a couple of hours. It knocks down the inflammation around the damaged area so healing can happen more quickly, and it keeps the discomfort from building.
  • Itching: After hot and cold hydrotherapy on the itchy area, I like to finish with this salve to support the body in clearing whatever is behind the itch. When the itch is persistent or severe, the liver may need support too, since skin troubles like eczema and hives so often trace back to an overloaded liver.
  • Hemorrhoids: Apply as needed to soothe the swollen, irritated tissue, alongside changes to the food program. Junk foods that leach calcium from the body are a root cause.

For an overview of how I use herbal salves as topical applications, here is my video:

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

Echinacea in bloom and going to seed
Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them, Infection, Colds & Flu

Echinacea: Telling the Immune System to Gear Up

Dara Dietz

If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you already know Echinacea is where I start. It’s woven into nearly everything I do. It’s the immune-building foundation of my infection work, and it’s the first thing I reach for whenever someone’s immune system needs to gear up.

How Echinacea Works

Echinacea doesn’t work the way most formulas do. Most need to stay at a fairly steady level in the bloodstream so the body can draw on them whenever it needs to. Echinacea is different. It works by sending the immune system a signal to gear up and start producing more immune cells, and then by stirring those cells into readiness. That’s a command, not a supply, which is exactly why it can be taken all at once in a single daily dose instead of spread out through the day.

Over the years it has traditionally been reached for across a wide range of needs: feverish illness, respiratory infections, skin infections and wounds, insect bites and stings, and allergic reactions.

What a Good Echinacea Formula Contains

A good Echinacea formula uses more than one part of the plant, because each part brings something different. I use four forms of Echinacea in equal parts:

  • Echinacea Angustifolia Root, 1 part. Rich in alkylamides, the compounds behind Echinacea’s classic tongue-tingle and much of its immune-activating power.
  • Echinacea Purpurea Root, 1 part. Adds its own alkylamide strength alongside the Angustifolia Root.
  • Echinacea Purpurea Whole Herb, 1 part. The leaf, stem and flower, adding natural plant sugars that help wake up the immune system, and plant compounds that help protect the body’s cells and calm swelling.
  • Echinacea Purpurea Seed, 1 part. Carries its own distinct alkylamide profile, different compounds than the ones concentrated in the root.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for every herb. By weight, that’s simply equal ounces of all four.

Why the Seed Stays

The seed is the hardest of the four to come by and the most expensive, and I once came close to pulling it out and putting more root in its place. The compounds most responsible for Echinacea’s immune-activating punch run far higher in the root, and on paper, more root looked like an upgrade.

But when I looked closer, the seed turned out not to be a weak echo of the root. One particular compound makes up nearly 90 percent of the alkylamides in the seed head, while it barely registers in the root. The seed is contributing something the root doesn’t carry much of at all. What that does in the body isn’t settled in the research yet.

The herbalists who first put seed into Echinacea formulas had no lab to tell them any of that. What they had was generations of watching the whole plant work, and they noticed the seed mattered. The chemistry is only now catching up to what they saw. So the seed stays.

A Stronger Version: With Cayenne and Garlic

I also make a second version, with Cayenne and Garlic Juice added after the extract is finished: about 1 ounce of Cayenne and 2 ounces of Garlic Juice to every 64 ounces of Echinacea extract. The Cayenne boosts blood and lymph circulation, helping carry the Echinacea throughout the body. The Garlic Juice adds a second, direct-acting layer of support; garlic has long been valued as one of the strongest natural antimicrobials.

Plain Echinacea is the better choice for children and for anyone who shouldn’t have Cayenne or Garlic. It’s also what I recommend for someone who is very toxic and just starting a healing program. You want to support and rebuild the immune system first, before you start detoxing. Adding the stronger version too early just piles extra die-off onto an immune system that’s already struggling. Get the immune system standing on its own feet first, then move into detox work.

Putting It Together

Put the dry herbs in a glass jar and pour in 80-proof vodka. Once the herbs have settled, you want about 60% herb sediment on the bottom and 40% liquid on top. Shake the jar every day. The traditional timing follows the moon, from the new moon to the full moon, about two weeks. I prefer to let my extracts sit a full three months, which makes them good and strong. Then strain and bottle the liquid.

How Much and How Often

  • Immune boosting, or a cold coming on: 1 oz once a day, four days in a row.
  • Serious disease work: 1 oz a day, six days a week. Always take the Lord’s day off, to let the body rest from that ongoing “make more” command. The old herbalists observed that the body heals better and faster with that day of rest built in, and that has held true in my experience too.
  • A strong infection program: when the two infection formulas (a garlic formula and a Plantain formula) are being taken every hour, step Echinacea up to 1 oz every 12 hours right alongside them. That pace usually only needs to hold for a day or two before dropping back to 1 oz once a day.

From there, step back down as your program eases, following your body’s own signals. There’s no harm in staying at these amounts for extended periods.

One thing worth knowing: if you start feeling flu-like, get a detoxing headache, or notice moodiness that isn’t like you, that’s usually a sign the body is getting too toxic from die-off being reabsorbed. The immune system doesn’t yet have the capacity to clear out everything that needs to go. Listen to your body, so you don’t end up feeling awful on the road to getting an infection out.

A Story I Still Think About

Years ago I supported a woman through a healing program for lymphoma. We worked up to 2.5 ounces of Echinacea a day, and she stayed there for around six months. The only side effect she ever had was that she got well. That program was back in 2002, and as I write this, she’s still alive and healthy.

The Gift Is in the Journey

Healing will happen, but you have to put in the effort yourself. No one else can do this work for you. It’s your body, and it’s your responsibility. Listen to your body, listen to your heart, and listen to the Holy Spirit; the truth is there. Take this time to really know yourself. The gift is in the journey, not the destination.

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

Mullein plant in bloom beside a lobelia flower
Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them, Pain, Joints & Injuries

Mullein and Lobelia: Letting Locked Muscles Go

Dara Dietz

Mullein and Lobelia is one of the simplest combinations I know, just two herbs, and one of the most surprising. Dr. Christopher called it his glandular formula, and we first made it into a salve for support of the glandular system. We had no idea what else it could do until our very first batch had just cooled in the jars.

What It Contains

This is a two-herb combination:

  • Mullein, 3 parts. Mullein has a special affinity for the glands and the respiratory organs. It calms and quiets inflamed, irritated tissue, and it supports the movement of excess lymph fluid out of an injured area.
  • Lobelia, 1 part. To my mind, the best antispasmodic there is. It works to release muscles and joints that have locked up.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for both herbs. By weight, 3 ounces of Mullein go with 1 ounce of Lobelia.

The same two herbs can be taken internally as an extract for glandular support, but the salve is where this combination really surprised me.

Making the Salve

The herbs are extracted in extra virgin olive oil in a 150-degree oven for three hours. With most salves I swap the spent herbs for fresh ones and run them through three times, but Mullein is the problem child. It’s a sponge and soaks up far too much of the oil, so this one only goes through once. The finished oil is thickened with beeswax.

The olive oil isn’t just a carrier. It is rich in vitamin E and antioxidants and nourishes the skin on its own. The beeswax adds vitamin A and forms a protective, moisturizing seal, so the salve stays put and does its work.

A Frozen Knee

I slid off our bed one morning to find my right knee locked. It was frozen, I was in a lot of pain, and I couldn’t get back up on the bed or move. I have no idea how a jar of our new Mullein and Lobelia salve happened to be on my night table, but there it was. I was strongly impressed to put a bit on my knee. I knew Lobelia was an antispasmodic, so the idea wasn’t completely out of left field.

What happened next can only be described as miraculous. I smeared a small amount over my knee, and instantly the knee released. I was able to walk away without pain. It just let go.

My husband Michael was his normal skeptical self when I told him, until the summer his own knee locked up. I handed him the jar, and his knee released instantly too. Now he sings its praises.

Other Ways We’ve Used It

  • Frozen fingers: A member in California had overused her hands until her fingers were frozen in a claw. She called five minutes after the salve arrived to say her fingers had released.
  • Massage support: Massage is an important part of any natural healing program, because toxins need to be encouraged out of the tissues. Apply the salve over the difficult areas and give the muscles a few minutes before the work begins. They relax quickly in response.
  • Stiff neck and tension headaches: The salve relaxes the muscle spasm in my neck and shoulders. When there’s nerve pain too, I pair it with a nerve-calming salve, and together they work like a charm.
  • Sore feet: One of our members uses it daily on her sore feet and finds that steady use keeps her foot pain away.

How to Use It

Apply directly to the area as needed.

Here I show how I use this salve for tight, spastic muscles:

For an overview of how I use herbal salves as topical applications, here is my video:

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

Comfrey plant with its large green leaves
Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them, Pain, Joints & Injuries, Skin, Wounds & First Aid

Knitting Bone, Flesh and Cartilage Back Together

Dara Dietz

When bone, connective tissue or skin has been injured, strained or broken down, the body needs more than time to knit itself back together. It needs concentrated nutrition for the rebuilding work. That’s what this combination provides. It is one of Dr. Christopher’s classic formulas, built around two lead herbs, White Oak Bark and Comfrey Root, with seven helpers that each bring something of their own.

It can be used two ways: taken by mouth as an extract, to nourish rebuilding from within, and made into a salve for cuts, bruises, burns and other surface injuries. The two are often used together, one from the inside and one from the outside.

What a Good Tissue-Rebuilding Formula Contains

Here is the combination I trust, with the proportions:

  • White Oak Bark, 6 parts. A co-lead herb and a strong traditional astringent, valued for toning and tightening tissue, from varicose veins to bleeding gums.
  • Comfrey Root, 6 parts. The other co-lead herb, the classic tissue-rebuilding herb. Traditionally it is the single most important herb for knitting bone, flesh and cartilage back together.
  • Mullein, 3 parts. A soothing, mucilaginous herb, traditionally paired with tissue-healing blends for its gentling, calming action on inflamed tissue.
  • Marshmallow Root, 3 parts. Another soothing, mucilaginous herb. It works alongside Mullein to protect the tissue while White Oak Bark and Comfrey do the rebuilding.
  • Black Walnut Hulls, 3 parts. Astringent, and long included in skin-healing blends for cuts, bruises and infection.
  • Gravel Root, 3 parts. Traditionally used to support healthy fluid balance and to help move deposits along, which is why this formula has been used for calcium spurs.
  • Wormwood, 2 parts. A traditional bitter herb, in a modest supporting amount.
  • Skullcap, 1 part. A traditional nervine, in a small amount to support the body through pain or tremor.
  • Lobelia, 1 part. A relaxant and circulatory herb, in the very small supporting role it plays in many of Dr. Christopher’s combinations.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for every herb. By weight, 6 ounces each of White Oak Bark and Comfrey Root go with 3 ounces each of Mullein, Marshmallow Root, Black Walnut Hulls and Gravel Root, 2 ounces of Wormwood, and 1 ounce each of Skullcap and Lobelia.

How It Works

White Oak Bark’s astringency tones and tightens tissue, while Comfrey Root supplies the nutrients traditionally credited with rebuilding bone, flesh and cartilage. Gravel Root helps move deposits along, Mullein and Marshmallow Root soothe and protect the tissue while the rebuilding happens, Black Walnut Hulls support the skin, and Wormwood, Skullcap and Lobelia round out the blend in small amounts.

Over the years this combination has traditionally been used for sprains, pulled muscles, varicose veins and calcium deposits, as well as for cuts, bruises and burns on the surface.

Putting It Together

As an extract: Put the dry herbs in a glass jar and pour in 80-proof vodka. Once the herbs have settled, you want about 60% herb sediment on the bottom and 40% liquid on top. Shake the jar every day. The traditional timing follows the moon, from the new moon to the full moon, about two weeks. I prefer to let my extracts sit a full three months, which makes them good and strong. Then strain and bottle the liquid.

As a salve: The same herbs are fully extracted in extra virgin olive oil. They go into a 150-degree oven for three hours, then the spent herbs are swapped out for fresh ones, three times through in all. The finished oil is thickened with beeswax.

How Much and How Often

For the extract, a common amount is 2 to 4 dropperfuls (½ to 1 teaspoon) three to five times a day. For something fresh and acute, like a new injury, it can be taken as often as every hour, then dropped back down once it’s healing well.

The salve is applied directly to the area as needed. For deeper injuries, use it alongside the extract, for support from both directions.

What I’ve Seen

Long before I ever made my first batch of the salve, a friend of mine, a piano teacher up in Michigan, was already after me to make one. She was thrilled when it finally existed, and her routine was to rub the salve into her hands at night and sleep in mittens. Years later, her boyfriend talked her into marrying him, and for a wedding present he gave her a dog. One afternoon she was coming inside and the dog caught her arm badly enough to leave a real injury. She called me the next day and opened with, “It’s like it never happened.” That was the first I’d even heard anything had happened at all. The salve had done its work overnight.

For an overview of how I use herbal salves as topical applications, here is my video:

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

Plantain plant with seed spikes
Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them, Infection, Colds & Flu

Getting the Herbs to Where the Infection Lives

Dara Dietz

When the body is fighting an infection, the question I always ask is: how do we get the herbs to where the infection is living? The answer is the blood and the lymph. The lymph and blood feed every area of the body, including the place where an infection has settled. Support the blood and lymph, and you carry the herbs right to where they’re needed.

There are two kinds of infection formulas I keep on hand, and they work very differently. One is built around garlic and is warming and circulating; it’s the one to reach for at the first sign of a cold or flu. The other, which this post is about, is built around Plantain and works through the blood and the lymph system. I didn’t fully appreciate what that difference meant until my husband showed me.

What a Good Blood and Lymph Formula Contains

Plantain is a classic alterative: it gradually cleanses and purifies the blood while toning the organs that aren’t eliminating properly. Build a formula around it, and add herbs that each bring their own strength. Here is a combination I trust, with the proportions:

  • Plantain, 4 parts. The heart of the formula. It cleanses the blood, is a natural germ fighter, and is famous for drawing out toxins.
  • Black Walnut, 4 parts. A powerful cleanser, especially the green hull. It is rich in natural organic iodine and has a long tradition with skin troubles, wounds, and the teeth and gums.
  • Goldenseal Root, 4 parts. One of the most valued herbs in the herbal kingdom. It supports the mucous membranes throughout the body and helps clear thick, stubborn secretions.
  • Bugle Weed, 2 parts. Long valued by early American doctors. It calms irritation and the nerves, and steadies and strengthens the heart while the body is under the strain of fighting.
  • Marshmallow Root, 1 part. Soothing to inflamed tissues of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary tracts, and it balances the drier herbs in the blend.
  • Lobelia, 1 part. Dr. Christopher’s great “thinking herb.” It opens obstructions and congestion, especially in the blood vessels, and helps carry the formula wherever it’s needed.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for every herb. By weight, 4 ounces each of Plantain, Black Walnut and Goldenseal would go with 2 ounces of Bugle Weed and 1 ounce each of Marshmallow Root and Lobelia.

These same six herbs also make a wonderful salve, so the two can work together inside and out. For a salve, the herbs are fully extracted in extra virgin olive oil: they go into a 150-degree oven for three hours, then the spent herbs are swapped out for fresh ones, three times through in all. The finished oil is thickened with beeswax.

Putting It Together

These herbs make a good tincture (an alcohol extract). Put the dry herbs in a glass jar and pour in 80-proof vodka. Once the herbs have settled, you want about 60% herb sediment on the bottom and 40% liquid on top. That proportion gives a nice, strong extract. Shake the jar every day. The traditional timing follows the moon: start at the new moon and strain at the full moon, about two weeks later. I prefer to let my extracts sit a full three months, which makes them good and strong. When it’s ready, strain and bottle the liquid.

How Much and How Often

One dose for a 150-lb adult is 1 teaspoon. Children and pets are dosed by weight, so a 75-lb child or dog gets half a dose. Formulas are never given directly to a baby; a nursing mother takes the full adult dose herself, and the baby receives what it needs through her milk. I usually take it in a little almond milk; honey is rarely needed with this one. Pick the level that best fits the situation:

  • Long-term blood cleansing: 1 teaspoon two or three times a day, continued over many months, to gradually cleanse the blood and tone the organs.
  • Preventive: 1 teaspoon two or three times a day when illness is going around or after an exposure.
  • Basic: 1 teaspoon every 3 waking hours, about 5 times a day, with Echinacea.
  • Moderate: 1 teaspoon every 2 waking hours, alternating with a garlic formula, with Echinacea.
  • Intense: 1 teaspoon every waking hour, switching between this formula and a garlic formula, with Echinacea.
  • Intensive: both formulas, 1 teaspoon each, ten minutes apart, every hour.

Which One When?

Reach for the garlic formula at the first sign of a cold or flu, when the throat, sinuses, and chest need warming support. Reach for the Plantain formula for stubborn or localized trouble: the skin, the teeth and gums, and anytime the blood needs deep cleansing. For more serious infections, the two are alternated.

The Real Answer for Teeth and Gums

My husband had tooth infections and got tired of the burn from the garlic formula, so he decided to try the Plantain formula instead. We had never thought about the lymph system feeding the infected area, but within a day the infection was nearly cleared. It’s so important to get the herbs to where the infection is living, and for the teeth and gums, this formula is the real answer.

I learned another lesson of my own after a broken tooth was removed. I had a very stubborn infection in my gum that nothing seemed to clear, even though I was using all my other infection supports. For a bit of comfort, I put a Charcoal and Flax poultice over both ears. It sounds strange, I know, but I was shocked to see the infection pimple on my gum gone after one application. The body just needed a bit of topical support too.

For Our Pets

This is the formula we reach for when our pets need infection help. It’s easy to dose by weight, and it has been very effective for them. We don’t give them the garlic formula, because it has the cayenne bite. A little creature doesn’t understand the heat and thinks it has done something wrong and is being punished. The exception is the pet that has picked up its family’s taste for hot food; it’s amazing how some of them do!

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

Green ginkgo leaves
Brain, Nerves & Sleep, Herbal Healing, Herbs & How to Use Them

Circulation Is Everything for a Clear Mind

Dara Dietz

Memory, mental clarity, and healthy hearing and eyesight all depend on one thing the brain can’t do without: good circulation. Brain cells need a steady supply of blood, oxygen and nourishment, and the waste they produce has to be carried away. When circulation is poor, the cells go hungry and the waste builds up. The result is congestion and a brain that simply can’t work the way it was made to.

So when I think about herbs for the brain, I think about circulation first. Dr. Christopher taught this principle for years, and I’ve seen it play out again and again in my own practice.

What a Good Brain Formula Contains

A good brain formula is built around one herb, Ginkgo, with a few helpers that each bring something of their own. Here is a combination I trust, with the proportions:

  • Ginkgo Leaf, 16 parts. The heart of the formula, and by far the largest part of it. Ginkgo is one of the most widely used herbs in the world for brain circulation. It helps open the small blood vessels so nourishment can reach the brain cells and waste can be cleared away.
  • Rosemary Leaf, 1 part. A traditional herb for memory and focus that also gets the blood moving.
  • Cayenne (African Bird Pepper), 1 part. The great circulation stimulant. Dr. Christopher used it throughout his formulas to carry the other herbs where they are needed.
  • Gotu Kola Herb, 1 part. A traditional herb for mental clarity, often paired with Ginkgo.
  • Calamus Root, 1 part. Traditionally used for digestion and mental alertness.
  • Kola Nut, 1 part. A small amount of natural caffeine for alertness. Caffeine narrows the blood vessels, so it may seem an odd choice for a circulation formula, but in this combination it plays an important supporting role. I don’t make the formula without it.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for every herb. By weight, 16 ounces of Ginkgo would go with 1 ounce of each of the other five herbs.

Rosemary is one herb you can easily grow yourself. A rosemary bush practically raises itself. I planted one in spite of my black thumb, and it’s still going strong after more than ten years. When I need some, I cut a few branches and let them air-dry for a week or so, then run my fingers down the branches and the green spikes fall right off.

Putting It Together

The herbs can be taken as a tea, or made into a tincture (an alcohol extract), which is how I prefer them. To make a tincture, put the dry herbs in a glass jar and pour in 80-proof vodka. Once the herbs have settled, you want about 60% herb sediment on the bottom and 40% liquid on top. That proportion gives a nice, strong extract, and it’s a good rule to follow when setting any herb or herb mix. Shake the jar every day. The traditional timing follows the moon: start the tincture at the new moon and strain it at the full moon, about two weeks later, a rhythm herbalists have used from the very beginning. I prefer to let my extracts sit a full three months, which makes them good and strong. When it’s ready, strain and bottle the liquid.

Taken as a tincture, a common amount is 2 dropperfuls three times a day, and up to double that. As a tea, use one teaspoon of the herbs to a cup of hot water, up to six cups a day.

What I’ve Seen

A worried son-in-law once called me about his wife’s mother, who had lost touch with reality: memory loss, confusion, the kind of decline that frightens a whole family. I sent over a brain formula along these lines, and within a week she had turned around enough that the family could hardly believe it. This isn’t a miracle or a magic formula. I believe her turnaround came so quickly because the decline had only just begun, and there was still a lot to work with.

There is a lighter, everyday side too. Many people take a combination like this with nothing wrong at all, simply for the boost in focus and mental energy. I take it every day for that myself.

I also know this formula from my own life. Over the years I’ve had three concussions and one case of whiplash, and vertigo is not unusual for someone with a history like mine. When it comes on, the whole world turns upside down. A brain formula like this one is a vasodilator: it opens the blood vessels and gets the circulation moving, and it quickly ends that upside-down feeling along with everything that comes with it. Over long-term use, my symptoms have improved.

I learned this during one bad episode, when the paramedics came out to the house. One of them was truly sent from God. He walked in, saw the Cayenne on my side table and said, “Cayenne not working?” That told me right away that he understood herbs. He mentioned that if he took me in, they would give me a vasodilator, and asked whether I knew of an herb that could do that. Yes, I did: Ginkgo. I took a generous dose of my brain formula, and in less than five minutes I was back to myself.

A Note on Ginkgo

Ginkgo has mild blood-thinning properties, so anyone on blood-thinning medication, with a bleeding disorder, or scheduled for surgery should take that into account.

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

1 Corinthians, Bible Studies

One Cup, One Loaf, One Body

Dara Dietz

Reflections on 1 Corinthians 10:16–17

Two symbols, one Christ

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16–17, KJV)

In one breath Paul gives us two symbols of Christ: the cup and the bread. Both point to him, yet they are not saying the same thing. The blood is his life poured out for us. The bread is his overcoming life given to us, and it is also the body we become when we eat it together.

The Remedy draws the line clearly. It calls the cup a symbolic ingestion of the life of Christ, and the bread a symbolic internalization of his character, methods and principles. Those two ideas carry this whole study.

The cup: Love poured out

Scripture tells us that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Blood poured out means a life given up. So the cup speaks first of Christ surrendering his life, and of the new covenant sealed in it (1 Corinthians 11:25).

Why did he pour it out? Love. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). God commends his love toward us in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). The blood is his life, and Love is what moved him to pour it out. That is why I have always read the blood as the Love of Christ poured out freely for the benefit of fallen humanity.

When we drink the cup, we celebrate a staggering truth. Think of the God who created this entire universe, the vastness of all he is and all he has. Then look at our existence, no more lasting than a blade of grass that springs up for a moment, thrives a few hours in the sun, and gives way to the next. How could the God of eternity find this sinful, lost, hopelessly deluded little dot in the Milky Way worth his attention, much less his amazing Love?

Yet he knew our brokenness. He knew that many of this fallen race would choose eternal nonexistence over the Love-filled existence he offers. None of it discouraged his Love in the slightest. He remains constant, drawing us into his healing Love as quickly as our hearts can accept the truth about him. His Love was poured out so we could be made right and healed of our terminal, sin-sick condition.

The bread: the life that overcame

The bread is the body of Christ, and it points to the life he now has to give us. That is the life he lived and perfected in our humanity, carried all the way through Calvary.

This matters because the fix humanity needed was not complete until the cross. Adam broke faith with God when he believed a lie: that God did not have his best interest at heart. When you believe a lie about someone, your heart toward them changes, even if they are completely innocent. The circle of love and trust is broken. The serpent’s lie in Eden did exactly that, and Adam’s first response was fear and hiding (Genesis 3:10).

Christ came to heal that break. Every day he trusted his Father under pressure was part of building the remedy. At the cross he held onto that trust even while feeling forsaken, the very opposite of Adam’s choice. His earthly life was not wasted; it was unfinished until Calvary. We are reconciled by his death and saved by his life (Romans 5:10). And the bread is explicitly “broken for you” (1 Corinthians 11:24). It is the life that came through the cross.

Perfection is maturity

Hebrews says Christ was made “perfect through sufferings” (2:10) and, being made perfect, became the author of eternal salvation (5:8–9). The Greek word, teleios, means complete, mature, full-grown. Paul uses it for the mature as opposed to babes (1 Corinthians 2:6, 14:20).

For us, biblical perfection is maturity: knowing ourselves well enough to see a wrong turn, repent, and head the other way. Christ never took a wrong turn. His direction ran straight to the cross, and there he cried “It is finished” (John 19:30). That word, tetelestai, comes from the same root as teleios. His perfection and his finished mission are one idea: the work brought to its intended end.

So sharing in his body is sharing in his victory over the disease of sin. It is the only cure for our terminal sin condition, the only answer to our lost state of body, mind and spirit.

Communion means participation

The word Paul uses for “communion” is koinonia: sharing, fellowship, participation. The translations bring this out. NIV and Knox say “a participation in” the blood and body. NCV says “a sharing in.” Berkeley says “a fellowship in.” Goodspeed says that in drinking and eating “we share in” Christ. The Supper is not only remembering him; it is taking part in him.

That makes the Lord’s table all about community. It is a place and time to come together in our agreement to honor the faith we hold in what the Love of Christ secured for us. And it carries a responsibility: to keep showing this love to each other and to the larger society we affect.

When we love as Christ did, the cost of claiming another soul for him will never be beyond what we are willing to give of ourselves. That is our work: convincing a person, in the deepest part of their heart and mind, that this is truth and that this truth matters. This is not knowledge you can lightly handle. It will change the way you view your entire existence.

One loaf, many individuals

Verse 17 is Paul’s own application of the bread: because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body. The Remedy puts it this way: when we partake of Christ, we partake of the only genuine Bread that gives life, and so become united into one body, because we all assimilate the same character of Love.

Notice the order in verse 16. Paul names the cup first and the bread second, the reverse of the Supper itself. It seems deliberate, because it lets him move straight from the bread into the one body.

We who have accepted the gift of salvation all ingest the same life. But each of us, being an individual, will be affected differently. Christians are not cookie-cutter people, all thinking the same thoughts, doing the same things, wearing the same clothes. If you are part of a group that appears identical in every way, you are not looking at the body of Christ.

Christ encourages our individuality and our personal development into who we can be. Each one in the vast family of God will be a unique, one-of-a-kind person. Why? Because Christ will take you down paths where you will grow and become more. You will stretch your mind, spirit and physical body past all the limits of your past life. The truth of Christ is the truth of you as an individual, the truth that will expand you beyond the limits you have put on yourself.

So yes, eat!

So yes! Partake of the one loaf. It carries all the power flowing from the throne of the universe, the Fires of Truth and Love, the nutrients from the fruit of the tree of life. His body flows with every nutrient for our physical, emotional and spiritual being. So eat up; each day eat your fill. This is the food that truly nourishes and heals.

The healing for humanity was accomplished at Calvary. Christ overcame every last selfish, me-first tendency when he surrendered his life to his own created beings. He demonstrated as no other intelligence could that God is Love. He had created humanity free, able to choose what they would be. At the cross he overcame, healed humanity, and showed us who our God truly is, all at the same time.

Every question was answered there. Satan’s lies about God no longer hold any credibility; he was proven a liar, and Christ showed who God truly is. The universe has its answers. Only here do the questions remain, and only here are intelligent beings still deluded.

Through the valley

To take in that life, we must die to the old one: the selfish, self-serving habits and protections we learned over a lifetime of sinful living. This is the valley of the shadow of death, where Christ leads us down the path he had to walk alone. It is where you let go of all that is false and grab hold of the true with both hands.

It will take both hands to hold onto Christ as he draws us through the valley and up the steep, rugged path. At the peaks the view is beautiful, the air is pure, and we can see forever. Let it all go. Discover the true joy of reaching beyond the wildest dreams you ever had. You are more, and it is truly you, because you have surrendered the lies and are living the life of Christ within you.

The reward is worth any and every sacrifice.

Sep 30, 2026 · @Dara Dietz

Herbal Healing, Infection, Colds & Flu

Getting Ready for Flu Season

Dara Dietz
A cup of tea with a cinnamon stick among autumn leaves

The cool mornings are here, and with them comes flu season. The best time to build up your defenses is now, before illness arrives rather than after.

Why We Have a Flu Season

Why does a flu season come around every year? As the weather cools, we bundle up, close the windows and drapes, and stop going outside into the fresh, cleansing air. Our homes become closed boxes, and our bodies slowly become clogged with waste. Germs, viruses, and bacteria love a closed-up, stagnant system.

Then the holidays arrive. The sweet, rich treats clog our systems further, and the emotional drama of the season weakens us even more. Add tightly closed homes and very little sunshine, and you have the perfect recipe for sickness every fall and winter.

The good news is that each of these causes has a simple answer.

Open Up Your Home and Your Body

Prevention starts with keeping both your home and your body open, clean, and moving.

  • Air out your home. On the warmer days, open the windows for a few minutes and let fresh air circulate. In very cold weather this isn’t always easy, but even a few minutes helps.
  • Let the sunshine in. Open the curtains. Sunlight purifies your rooms, and a morning walk in the sun does the same for you.
  • Keep clean. Take a daily bath, and change your bed sheets on a regular weekly schedule.
  • Go easy on the sweets. Sugar clogs up the immune system just when we need it most. Enjoy the holidays, but keep the treats in their place.
  • Stay warm. Keep your feet and neck warm so your circulation stays strong.
  • Rest. The shorter days are nature’s cue to slow down. Early nights give the body time to repair and rebuild.

My Fall and Winter Herbal Routine

Through the fall and winter months, I suggest adding these to your daily routine:

  • Vitamin C: 3,000 mg time-release, at least once a day.
  • Echinacea: 1 oz a day, 4 days each week. Echinacea strengthens the immune system and helps the body clear out what doesn’t belong.
  • Garlic: When everyone around you is starting to get sick, add the Super Tonic or Herbal Aid 1 to your day. Both of these formulas are all about garlic, one of our strongest infection fighters. Use garlic and onions freely in your cooking too.

When You Think You’ve Been Exposed

If you’ve been around someone who is sick, or you feel something coming on, rest comes first. Your body needs its strength to fight off the incoming invaders. Then step up your program right away:

  • Echinacea: 1 oz each day, 4 to 6 days each week
  • Super Tonic: 1 tablespoon, 3 times a day
  • Vitamin C: 3,000 mg, twice a day
  • Lobelia: 1 dropperful a couple of times a day

Lobelia as a Preventive

Dr. Christopher called Lobelia one of the greatest herbs in the world. It is a relaxant and an anti-infection herb, and its greatest gift is that it removes obstructions and congestion in the body.

That is why it works so well as a preventive. Between the time a virus is contracted and the time symptoms appear, the virus is busy blocking up the system so it can take hold. Keeping the body open, so normal waste is properly removed, keeps that blockage from getting established.

Dr. Christopher told of an elderly student who worked at a nursery where mononucleosis swept through the staff. She kept a bottle of Lobelia tincture at work and took small, regular doses in a little water through the day. She was the only employee who did not come down with it.

Lobelia is a powerful herb and deserves respect. It is not for everyday minor complaints, and larger doses can cause vomiting. If you haven’t used Lobelia before, call me first and we’ll work out the right amount for you.

If You Do Get Sick

Rest right away rather than pushing through, drink plenty of warm fluids, and reach out to me. Please get medical care promptly for a high or lasting fever, trouble breathing, or symptoms that keep getting worse.

I’m here to help you put together a fall wellness plan that fits you. Wishing you a healthy season!

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Sun rays breaking through
1 Corinthians, Bible Studies, Spiritual Healing

Flee from False God-Concepts

Dara Dietz

A study of 1 Corinthians 10:14–15

Paul has spent the whole chapter laying out his case about idolatry. He has walked the Corinthians back through Israel’s history in the wilderness, given his reasons, and let the Scriptures speak for themselves. Now, in two short verses, he does two things. He gives a warning, and then he hands the decision back to his readers.

Flee

The translators reach for strong words here. The NIV has Paul telling them to flee, and the NCV says run away. Knox says keep far away, the Jerusalem Bible says keep clear, and Moffatt and the Twentieth Century New Testament say shun it. Phillips puts it most urgently of all: avoid it at all costs. This is not a gentle suggestion. Paul is telling them to put real distance between themselves and anything that takes the place of the true God.

The Living Bible widens the warning to idol worship of every kind, and The Remedy carries that thought all the way home: flee from false gods and all false God-concepts. That takes us past the carved images of Corinth to something far closer to us. An idol does not have to be made of wood or stone. It can be a picture of God that we carry in our minds. A person can be in the right church, keep the right day, and read the right books, and still be bowing before a false God-concept.

Judge for Yourselves

Then Paul says something remarkable. He speaks to them as sensible people, men of good sense, intelligent people, men of discernment, and he tells them to weigh his words and decide for themselves. He has laid out the facts and given his reasons. Now he is saying, in effect, “You need to apply your God-given intelligence to what I have shared, and decide for yourself whether you find it to be the truth.”

We each must decide this for ourselves. No one else can believe for you, not the pastor, not the books you study. All of these contain facts or opinions, and you must apply your own mind to understanding them. Yet we cannot even understand truth without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Our study must be approached with a mind open and ready to follow the Truth wherever it leads. A heart filled with the Fires of Truth and Love will be eager to know and follow the Truth.

Can Facts Lead You Away from God?

So the question is, how do you know the truth? It is possible to follow a line of facts that leads you away from God. Yes, it is. You have to know by personal relationship, by your time spent in communion with Christ, who this Being is and who God is in your life.

A Testimony

My own study of the Shepherd’s Rod movement, founded by Victor Houteff, is the story of being completely convinced that a lie was truth. The God presented in that movement is a vengeful God who is going to destroy those who refuse to accept the truth as given in the writings of the Shepherd’s Rod. I studied each and every lesson, followed every line of thought, and could not find any error. All the Bible texts appeared to say exactly what Victor Houteff said they said. I read every word the man wrote. My Spirit of Prophecy books were read cover to cover, and I could find no error in the way the material was used.

But there was a problem. The people in the movement were cold and vindictive. There was a serious lack of true brotherly love among all the different factions of the movement. There was the need to lord the truth over the women, telling them what they could wear, applying a dress code to women beyond what the men followed. Little things I noticed.

At the same time I was introduced to the writings of the Shepherd’s Rod, I was also made aware of the 1888 material from Jones and Waggoner, and I read everything I could find on this truth that Ellen White supported completely. The more I read, the more I became aware of a different God. This one had a love for fallen humanity. The need to do all the rules perfectly was replaced with a relationship with a personal Christ who had always been my friend.

I moved through the Rod movement still unable to find flaws in the line of truth. Then, somewhere along my journey, I discovered Graham Maxwell’s Conversations About God video series, and that was the truth that began to shift my understanding of the character of God. Still, I did not see clearly enough that the Law lens I was trying to view God through was wrong. Then I came across the Through the 66 series with Graham Maxwell, taking every book of the Bible and asking the question, “What does this tell us about God?”

I could finally see a God who was Love. I understood the missing link: our choices either refine or destroy us. God does not have to destroy us; we do it to ourselves. It was as if all the years of reading the Spirit of Prophecy, the 1888 writings of Jones and Waggoner, and the beautiful way Maxwell presented Christ and the Father finally made sense. My spiritual vision became clearer.

Looking back at the Rod studies, it was now easy to see the lens Houteff had viewed God through. The facts were all there, but the spirit of the God being presented was a lie. Satan’s hand was in that message, putting out the same lies about Christ and the Father that he had been spreading in heaven among the angels.

Later, around 2014, my brother discovered Dr. Tim Jennings and shared his find with me. The message Dr. Jennings brings out in his Bible study classes has given me the tools to go back through all my years of study and refocus on the truth of God: seeing Him as my Healer, the One who is truly for me, never against me.

God Can Be Trusted

The Truth is that God is Love. God can be trusted, and He has poured out every resource heaven has to give for the salvation of humanity. The one thing He cannot do is make up our minds for us. That is exactly why Paul says, “Judge for yourselves.” God will not force belief, and Paul will not either. They set out the evidence and trust us to weigh it.

For me, I discovered that the Bible is truth, and “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). So flee, not only from idols of wood and stone, but from every false picture of God. Examine the evidence, draw your own conclusion, and do it in communion with Christ. Ask of every book and every teaching the same question: what does this tell us about God?