This morning I found three Black Walnut Trees on my property!

Last night I was reading a friend’s blog and she made her Black Walnut almost exactly one year ago – which means the time is ripe NOW to make this tincture (which I just realized). Then, this morning a young girl stopped by wanting to pick some of my Walnut to make a tincture! haha Good timing, since I was literally heading out to door to pick. We found a tree at the end of the driveway that had already started dropping the green balls. Good thing I knew to pick the green ones (not black) and how to make them. It was so fun!

Here are the (copied) directions on how to make your own homemade Black Walnut Hull tincture (store bought it is very expensive):

Black Walnut

The medicine of the Black Walnut tree is found in it’s fruit — mainly the HULL of the fruit.  The walnut hull is a thick, hard, rough, green skin that surrounds the actual walnut (shell and all).   When it falls off the tree the hull begins to turn black.

The medicinal properties of the Black Walnut hull are mainly anti-fungal and anthelmitic (kill parasites), and these properties are not mild, if I do say so, myself.  …Yowza!

A tincture is a great way to draw out and preserve the properties of Black Walnut hull.  Don’t bother trying to make this into a syrup or otherwise improve the taste.  It refuses to be improved without LOTS of sweetener, and if you’re going to be using this to help kill off something like Candida albicans (yeast), lots of sweetener is just what you don’t need.  So when you  take some of this tincture, just dump it down the hatch and follow up with ginger kombucha (what?  what is kombucha?  …that news will break later)  or some other equally good goodness.

Below I’ve spelled out a recipe (from Hulda Clark) for making a Black Walnut hull tincture.  When you are collecting the walnuts for this recipe, it’s important that the hulls be at least 50% green in order to get the most out of them.  Don’t peel the hulls off of the walnuts.  This tincture is made with the whole “walnut ball” intact — hull and kernel.

Happy tincturing, and may your parasites shake in their boots.

Black Walnut Hull Tincture Extra Strength

Your largest enamel or ceramic (not stainless steel, not aluminum) cooking pot,

Preferably at least 10 quarts Black Walnuts, in the hull, each one still at least 50% green, enough to fill the pot to the top

Grain alcohol, about 50% strength, enough to cover the walnuts

1/2 tsp. vitamin C

Plastic wrap or cellophane

Glass jars or bottles

The black walnut tree produces large green balls in the fall. The walnut is inside, but we will use the whole ball, uncracked, since the active ingredient is in the green outer hull.

Rinse the walnuts carefully, put them in the pot, and cover them with alcohol. Sprinkle on half the vitamin C. Seal with plastic wrap and cover. Let sit for three days. Pour into glass jars or bottles, discarding walnuts, and divide the remaining vitamin C amongst the jars. If the glass jar has a metal lid, first put plastic wrap over the top before screwing on the lid. Potency is strong for several years if unopened, even if it darkens.

(taken from page 543 The Cure For All Diseases by Hulda Clark)

Take 2 tsp., all together in 1/4 cup water. Sip it, don’t gulp it. Get it down within 15 minutes. (If you are over 150 pounds, take 2 1/2  tsp. Do not take more than 3 tsp. because no additional value has been observed.)

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A couple extras:

– Instead of ceramic/enamel pot, I used a glass gallon jar for the tincturing process.

– The vitamin C is to preserve the green color of the tincture.  If you don’t care what it looks like, you can make it without.

– The less oxygen in the tincture, the better.  The jars in which the tincture is stored should be filled almost to the brim, leaving very little air-room.

– The storage jars, if possible, should be amber glass.  Store in a dark, cool place — refrigeration not necessary.

– If you don’t want to ingest 2 tsp. vodka every day, put the tincture in some warm (110 degree)  water to get rid of some of the alcohol.  Make sure the water isn’t too hot or it could damage the parasite/yeast killing properties.

– Black walnuts are a great source of iodine, so there’s lots of iodine in this tincture.

–  Black walnuts stain like crazy.  Be warned.

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The one thing that keeps popping up in my research is our immune system and how it relates to inflammation. Basically, our immune system is our body’s defense system, and when exposed to something like a harmful bacteria or virus it will attack it with antibodies (along with other things). That’s why you can’t “get” the same exact virus twice – it’s because your body has the antibodies that will kill the virus, it’s like it remembers! That’s what vaccines are based on, and why you don’t keep passing the same exact cold around to family members. Once you got it – you got it. That’s all well and good – but what if your body senses something that is not actually a bacteria or virus and then attacks it?

Inflammation is another part of the body’s natural healing process. For example, when you cut yourself, the area around the cut gets red, warm, and swollen. This is your body’s natural response which enables your cells to travel to the area and repair it. Inflammation also happens internally – which is a good thing – if all is working properly.

When the body is not working properly people can develop a chronic inflammatory disease – because the immune system reacts to something that is not actually a disease. In some cases the person will develop an autoimmune disease (where the body starts attacking itself). In other instances a person can “just” experience chronic inflammation in response to something they are eating, breathing, putting on their skin – basically just exposing themselves to. Examples of chronic inflammatory diseases are: celiac disease, hypothyroidism, lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, psoriasis, and fibromyalgia!!

Chronic inflammation can cause considerable damage to the tissues of the body (think arthritis). Chronic inflammation can also be in the intestinal tract and be the cause of irritable bowel syndrome. When it gets in the intestines it’s really bad because that messes with people’s brains. People get depressed, tired, emotional, and can totally change a personality!

Reducing internal inflammation can be as easy as removing the irritants. It is almost like removing a splinter from the skin. While the splinter is there, the body will create more and more inflammation until the splinter is pushed out. As soon as the splinter is gone, the healing process can begin. Toxins and waste products are irritating to the body. Decreasing the toxins brought into the body and assisting the body in eliminating waste products can lead to a reduction in pain and inflammation.

Even though I am healthy, I know that inflammation is one thing that can get me. I have familial history of hypothyroid problems and arthritis. And I definitely don’t want any of these to get a foothold.

So, I found a pretty good beginner list of how to stop/prevent inflammation. It’s not exhaustive, but it covers a lot of ground and is basic enough for someone just starting to examine natural health to understand.

Here is it:

Tips to reduce internal inflammation

1. Drink water to carry away waste products

The body needs water to carry away waste products. Clean water instead of coffee or soda gives the body clean water in the bucket to do its cleaning with. Drink plenty of water everyday.

2. Avoid foods that cause allergies or sensitivities that cause inflammation

These foods, which vary person to person, cause inflammation in the intestinal tract by stimulating the immune system. By eliminating the foods the body has made antibodies to, the inflammatory chemicals decrease and there are fewer toxins in the body.

3. Regulate the immune system with proboitics and calm down inflammation

Sixty percent of our immune system is based in our intestines. By tonifying the immune system in the intestines, inflammation calms down.

4. Increase your intake of essential fatty acids

Deep water fish (or wild fish) are a great source of essential fatty acids.

5. Eat hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, poultry and fish to avoid toxins

Meats that are raised with hormones and antibiotics retain these chemicals even when cooked. The body then needs to process and eliminate them while digesting the food. By avoiding these toxins, you lessen the burden on your body.

6. Eat a whole foods diet high in vegetables, fish and whole grains to detox and heal

Vegetables contain natural antioxidants and minerals that are necessary to decrease inflammation. Brightly colored vegetables are very high in vitamins and minerals that the body can use to detoxify and heal.

7. Avoid inflammatory foods

These foods include coffee, chocolate, dairy, sugar, potatoes, corn, peanuts, and wheat. All these foods are difficult for the body to digest and create inflammation.

See what happens. With less inflammation, your pain will decrease and your body will heal more effectively. And you will experience numerous additional benefits from these simple dietary changes.

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My husband and I are in the final stages of production for our second DVD with Bulk Herb Store – actually it is already at the “presses”. Making Herbs Simple  II is a fabulous addition for anyone’s herbal collection, especially beginners. It’s funny, but everyone time I watch it, whether to edit, spell check, or some other project – I learn something and am inspired all over again!

I’ve uploaded two excerpts from the video for you to see – and really excited about it.

Herbal Art Project – Excerpt from “Making Herbs Simple: Volume 2 (HD)

Poison Ivy Remedy – Excerpt from “Making Herbs Simple: Volume 2 (HD)

It really was a fun project to work on, I remember shooting the Mullein Steam segment and the sun being so incredibly bright and then my husband added a light reflector, which only makes it more bright! My eyes were tearing and I could hardly open them. All while he is impatiently saying “No, you can’t wear sunglasses in a video…..if you can’t do it that’s fine, we’ll just get someone else.” Have you ever worked with or for your husband before? Do you notice how it doesn’t quite mesh when he treats you like a minimum wage worker? Well – it only fired me up, thinking “If someone else could do it, then I’m definitely going to have to do it, even if my eye makeup is totally smudged.”

But, seriously this is a great DVD because it incorporates herbs into our daily life; like cooking, the perfect brew for women, making salves, homemade cards, what herbs you can find in your yard. Oh – and I forgot the extras of the video – they are absolutely hilarious. At one point the ladies on camera (Debi and Shoshanna) did not know we were rolling and we just let them go at it – so so so funny! Can’t wait for everyone to see it.

Coming Soon!

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-Kristen

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First, she would spread out her feathers and rush the vehicle. Wisely, she discovered the van would win and run away from her nest pretending her wing was broken.
I’ll admit- it was a little more intimidating while walking by the nest. The Killdeer would immediately try to draw you away from the nest by acting wounded. Once you got close she would fly away. It was a little sad when they hatched and I no longer see my little buddies.
Aren’t the details amazing? How can that be an accident?

Here is someone’s YouTube example:

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Congratulations Chloe – you are the chosen subscriber!

Thanks for the great response everyone! Subscribers will get special email updates with tips, information, and hopefully coupon codes for natural resources and products.

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Subscribe to my blog <look, top right>  and enter to win the Best Selling Beginner Herb DVD! You’ll even see me in there making garlic poultices and learning how to dry herbs. The winner will be randomly chosen Monday, April 13th. Keep checking in!

Making Herbs Simple DVD is a fabulous way to have fun with your kids and learn at the same time!

Shoshanna will teach you to identify the herbs in your own back yard and how to use them. Viewers will be taken step-by -step to find, wash, dry, and store herbs, along with many practical tips.

The video begins with a ‘How To Find Herbs’ segment. Ten common herbs are found in the wild and information on how to use each herb is presented. How-to segments follow with: How to Dry Herbs, Making Glycerin Tinctures, Alcohol Tinctures, Vinegar Tinctures, Garlic Poultices, and a Plantain Poultice. There is also a hilarious bonus section that demonstrates a beautiful hair treatment.

A companion guide is included that is packed full of facts, images, and written directions to jump start your herbal experience. We have heard over and over again that kids LOVE this video. Parents can use it as a fun summer project or an addition to homeschooling curriculum.

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