What is an Herbal Tincture Anyway?

By Kami McBride Tinctures are also called herbal extracts or liquid herbal extracts. Tinctures are concentrated herbal preparations where the medicinal qualities of an herb are extracted into a liquid form. The most common liquids used for the extraction process of tinctures are a combination of water and grain alcohol and sometimes glycerin. Some tinctures contain a single herb. Other tinctures are a combination of several herbs and are usually labeled with a name that represents the possible benefits of that combination of herbs. An example of this would be a tincture called Stress-Ease that contains relaxing herbs such as skullcap, St. John's wort and oatstraw. Tinctures usually come in one or two ounce brown bottles with a glass dropper lid. Herbal medicines break down more rapidly when exposed to light so the brown glass helps maintain the quality of your tincture. It is important to store your tinctures out of direct light. It is also a good idea to keep your tinctures out of extreme temperatures such as keeping it in your car when it is 100 degrees outside.

Why use tinctures?

There are many ways to take herbs. Each method of herbal preparation has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of taking herbs in a tincture form is that they are quickly absorbed into your system and are easy to take. Tinctures come in small bottles that are convenient for carrying with you wherever you go and since the alcohol has preserved the extract you don't have to do anything to prepare your dosage except count out the drops. Tinctures are very stable; they do not need refrigeration and can hold their potency for three years or longer. Tinctures are concentrated herbal medicines and are very useful in situations where you want to get a good strong dose of herbs into your system such as during times of colds, coughs, etc. The disadvantage of tinctures is that most of them contain alcohol. The small amount of alcohol is fine most of the time but some people are more sensitive to alcohol than others. Alcohol is very hot in nature, so if you are already hot, tinctures may exacerbate your condition. If you experience hot flashes, have rashes or flush easily, tinctures are probably not the best form of herbal preparation for you. Capsules and teas work better with this type of person.

How do I take a tincture?

Most tinctures have a suggested dosage written on the label. This dosage is usually a guideline for a 150-pound person. Adjust your dosage according to your weight. One dropperful from a one ounce bottle is about thirty drops. You can drop the recommended dose into cup of water, juice, or tea and drink it. Many tinctures are very strong tasting and some people find the flavor bitter or unpleasant. In this case it helps to just put it in a little bit of water, guzzle it down and have another glass of water nearby to get rid of the taste. If you are concerned about the alcohol content, you can remove a good portion of it by putting the recommended dosage in cup of recently boiled water and let it sit for five minutes. A good percentage of the alcohol precipitates off when you do this, but not all of it. Once you remove some of the alcohol content with this method there is nothing to continue to preserve the herbs so it is important to take that dosage right away.

Tinctures vs. capsules?

Tinctures preserve better and are easier to digest than capsules. For maximum therapeutic benefit from herbs it is important that they break down in your system. If a person has difficulty with their digestion, herbs in capsules and tablets may be difficult to digest and assimilate. The problem with taking herbs in capsule form is that first the herb must be powdered before being put into a capsule. Once an herb is ground into a powder it quickly begins loosing its properties. Some herbs have a very short shelf life once they are powdered. If you want to take herbs in capsule form, I recommend buying the herbs in as whole of a form as possible, powder them yourself, and then put them into a capsule so you know how long the herbs have been powdered. In general, I prefer tinctures over capsules, but you have to take the alcohol factor discussed above into consideration.

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