Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a sweet, astringent, cooling herb that cleanses toxins from the system and controls bleeding. With the medieval Islamic expansion, Arabic herbalists, physicians and pharmacists brought this "father of all foods" to Spain where it spread to the rest of Europe. Alfalfa promotes solidity, weight gain and strength. It increases spleen energy and absorption with its nutrient content of minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and vitamins. Alfalfa regulates gastric acidity and helps to balance hormones, especially estrogen. The herb has also shown activity protective for the liver and small intestine, especially against chemical damage. High in soluble electrolytes, alfalfa is also effective with inflammatory states, overly acidic urine, metabolic stress, and during recuperation from illness.

Amla or Amalaki (Emblica offinalis), the Indian gooseberry, is the ingredient in Triphala that controls pitta energy. It is also the main ingredient in the rejuvenating Ayurvedic jam called Chyawanprash.

Angelica Root (Angelica polymorpha syn. A. sinensis) is a bittersweet, aromatic herb known in Chinese as dang gui. The most highly praised blood tonic in the East, angelica root tonifies, invigorates and harmonizes the blood. Millions of oriental women have used it to help with anemia and to regulate menstrual flow. It is used for abdominal pains, digestive disorders, traumatic injuries and skin disorders. In laboratory conditions, angelica has shown bactericidal action against such bacteria as bacillus dysenteriae and staphylococcus and has also shown, both in vitro and in vivo, anti-viral and anti-fungal activity. Angelica can help individuals deal with stress-related illnesses.

Cascara Sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana) is a bitter, astringent, cooling herb which must be dried for more than one year before use. Small doses have a restoring/stimulating effect, while medium doses exhibit laxative and detoxicant actions. It is good for a hard swollen abdomen, constipation, bursting headache, and febrile and inflammatory digestive conditions. Cascara sagrada also affects gallbladder, liver and stomach life-force energies, helping with swelling and pain, flatulence, indigestion, appetite loss, jaundice, and bad breath. Cascara sagrada bark forms a transition between two main types of laxatives. The first causes bowel movement by stimulating the colon directly. The second type, choleretic laxatives, causes bowel movement by increasing bile flow and quality. Cascara sagrada does some of both. While the herb affects chronic stagnant life forces in the intestines, it is also a liver-opening remedy which helps with renal detoxification and alleviating constipation, irregular bowel movement, and general toxicosis.

Calendula Flowers (Calendula officinalis) is a bittersweet, salty herb used medicinally by early Indian and Arabic cultures, as well as the ancient Greeks and Romans. Today its medicinal uses include gastric and gall bladder problems, duodenal ulcers, colitis, diverticulitis, hepatitis, and irritation of the stomach lining. During the Middle Ages, Agnes St. Hildegard and Albert the Great used it for intestinal troubles. Calendula’s anti-fungal properties make it a specific for candida and other yeast-related infections. Calendula also stimulates and detoxifies the immune system. Boils, abscesses, and swollen lymph nodes indicating toxicity elsewhere in the body respond well to it. Ulcers, another symptom of a non-efficient intestinal tract, respond to calendula’s astringent qualities. Calendula’s signature is to enhance the spoken word, particularly the creative word. It helps people who desire warmth in speaking with others to listen more compassionately and express caring in return.

Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile syn. Anthemis nobilis) is a bitter, aromatic herb. A soothing emotional sedative with no harmful side effects, chamomile is widely recognized by the orthodox medical profession as a valuable cold, stomach, and colic remedy and sleep-inducing herbal for babies and children. The German chamomile seems most reliable for relieving digestive headaches and blood congestion. This excellent, gentle relaxant can ease indigestion and inflammations, such as gastritis. As a carminative, chamomile eases flatulence and dyspeptic pain. A tendency toward deeper relaxation when taking chamomile helps a person gain greater clarity in relationships, life issues, and inner spiritual purpose. Taking chamomile can benefit individuals who are committed to each other but struggle with that commitment; however, too much can mask the clarity that each may have.

Chamomile helps in easing the Psora miasm. Use of chamomile opens the heart chakra, strengthens the fifth and sixth chakras, and adds energy in the root and third chakras. Chamomile slightly strengthens the gall bladder meridian and energizes the nadis in the buttocks and abdomen. As the etheric, mental, and physical bodies are strengthened, a deeper appreciation of energy on an emotional level occurs. Thus, when the emotional body opens, with some practice, an individual can absorb energy from the etheric body. (All this from what you thought was just tea!)

Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a soothing, cooling, slightly saline herb that acts as a demulcent, expectorant, and laxative, reduces gastric secretions, works on lymphatic congestion (swollen glands), benefits the skin, and helps relieve constipation. Chickweed has a significant nutritive component that addresses blood deficient conditions such as anemia and demineralization, as well as malabsorption syndromes in general. With its abundance of minerals, acids, and vitamins, Chickweed is a deep nourisher for states of chronic exhaustion, whether metabolic, nutritional, or glandular.

Chickweed grows all over the world, and its signature reveals an ancient plant. This herb’s survival through many civilizations and its karma show that, worldwide, humankind is one. Chickweed offers the ability to know one’s brother, ease racial prejudices, and facilitate forgiveness at the deepest levels. It helps an individual understand and obtain release from another’s energy field. A great deal of toxicity and illness - especially cancer and immune-system breakdowns - result from lack of forgiveness, and Chickweed helps release old tapes of negative emotions, attitudes and habits and deal with forgiveness and inner cleansing.

Dandelion (Taraxacum offininale) is a bittersweet, cooling herb and is most well known as a gentle, detoxifying bitter tonic which increases elimination of toxins, wastes, and pollutants through the liver and kidneys, thereby cleansing the blood. As a result, dandelion has been known for centuries to move liver and gallbladder stagnation. It restores liver tissue and, partly through its insulin content, restores pancreatic functioning. It is especially useful for enriching liver, Yin and blood, generating physical stamina, weight gain, and immune strength. The root stimulates bile and works both as a laxative and liver tonic, but without the irritation caused by most bile stimulants. The root’s high mineral content detoxifies and regulates the whole organism while addressing chronic and degenerative toxic conditions involving the connective tissue and interstitial fluids. Systemic conditions such as excess uric acid, depositions (such as stones), and eczema are improved by its radical resolvent activity. Chinese herbalism uses dandelion for boils, internal abscesses, and throat inflammations, underscoring its use in acute local infections as well as in chronic viral conditions such as herpes simplex cold sores. In Ayurvedic herbalism, dandelion is used to stimulate digestive functions, remove accumulations, and promote detoxification.

Dandelion benefits people who have a tendency to cram far too much into their lives - "doers" who over-structure their lives and leave so little room for reflection that they no longer know how to relax, unwind, or be inwardly quiet. Pushing the body beyond its limits creates stress, especially in the neck, shoulders, and lower back, while the unexpressed inner life also creates stress and life force-blocking disorders. Dandelion helps release this tension and enables a person to listen more closely to emotional messages and bodily needs, helping make the willing shift from doing to being. Life’s rhythms of energy and quiet become more balanced with dandelion, supporting an increase sense of inner ease.

Dates (Phoenix dactyhifera) have been cultivated as a staple food crop for over 5000 years and there are over 800 recorded uses of the plant, from rope and baskets to liquors and oil. The sweet fruit, which contains vitamin B6 and has a slight laxative action, is used as a binder in Renew. The essence of the date palm is to rejuvenate the body on a cellular level, helping to distribute life force throughout the organism; the plant’s clinical effects are especially pronounced in those who age too fast, or who are fearful of aging.

Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is one of the nine species of perennials that make up this genus. Devil’s claw is a bitter, astringent, sedative, painkilling herb that reduces inflammation and stimulates the lymphatic system. It grows wild in Namibia, Africa, in arid conditions, and the roots must be collected at the end of the rainy season. The plant aids in liver, pancreas, spondylosis, neuralgia, and digestive problems involving the gall bladder and pancreas. It has been found effective in the treatment of some cases of arthritis, due to the presence of a glycoside called harpagoside that reduces inflammation in the joints.

Echinacea root (Echinacea augustifolia) is a bitter, slightly aromatic, alternative herb used as a digestive aid and blood purifier. Native to the United States, echinacea is a prime herbal that helps the body rid itself of microbial infections, both bacterial and viral. In conjunction with other herbs, it amplifies their properties and can be used for any infection anywhere in the body. Echinacea is an effective treatment where conditions of intestinal toxicity, boils and septicemia or other infections are prevalent.

Finding pure Echinacea is an almost impossible task. Independent research has revealed that up to 80 percent of echinacea augustifolia obtained through normal crude drug sources is actually prairie dock! Much wildcrafted Echinacea is not acceptable, as it is usually found along roadsides and is full of heavy metal pollution. Many have asked why our herbal formulas are so expensive. The answer lies in purity – we use a well known organic source, with impeccable credentials, and we pay premium prices for pure, fresh, unadulterated herbs.

While stresses of everyday life constantly bombard the immune system, echinacea helps release this negative energy and assists in regaining immune system balance. Love and openness enhance the deeper functions of the immune system, and echinacea fosters an increased acceptance of life, individual realization of karmic tasks, and personal change on a subtle vibrational level. As the upper chakras are brought into higher states of energy, the etheric body is strengthened. Old and negative thought forms must be replaced with new ones that are greater and vaster in scope if we are to change the individual and ultimately the planet, our universe and the supersensible world. Spiritually this is very important, for to change oneself for the better enables one to influence others that they may also change.

Elderflower berries (Sambucus nigra) are a bitter, pungent, cooling herb. Elderflower berries act as a diaphoretic, diuretic, and laxative. Excess mucus conditions and rheumatic complaints respond well to elderflower berries, while elderflowers assist in ridding the body of inflammation. This "medicine chest of the people" provides many remedies for common complaints, and modern usage favors the flowers and berries for their anti-inflammatory acids and flavonoids. Elder enhances the action of the kidneys and so relieves fluid retention in the body, eliminating toxins and clearing heat from the system via the urinary system. It reduces inflammation in rheumatism, gout and arthritis. Inflammations such as sinusitis and hayfever often have their root in food allergies or malabsorption of nutrients. Elder contains the important flavonoids, quercetin and rutin, noted for their anti-inflammatory ant anti-allergic actions. The resulting decongestant and mucus-moving qualities make it useful for inflammatory conditions such as sinusitis, asthma (the polar equivalent to constipation), and boils. Elder’s moderate bitterness helps move fluid and waste through hepatic, intestinal, and renal stimulation.

Elder helps impart calmness, courage, and fortitude in the face of fears and anxieties, making it ideal for strengthening life forces and engendering a sense of being nurtured and supported by a strong and stable inner energy.

Fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare) is a sweet, aromatic, diuretic herb that grows wild and abundantly along the west coast of California and up through Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Best-known for its culinary aspects, fennel has great value for its use in indigestion, dyspepsia, abdominal distention, simple stomachache, and flatulence, and its anti-spasmodic action eases colic in children. Fennel’s reputation as a urinary stimulant and resolvent comes partly from the fact that it acts along the lines of acupuncture points connected with bladder Chi deficiency.

Fennel helps us through transition phases, especially when used with meditation and visualization. In the Lemurian epoch, fennel was used to revel in the joy that could be achieved by uniting certain earth forces with specific rituals. Most people today have absolutely no joyous relationship to the earth, and many suffer illnesses that directly result from this lack of connection. Especially when used with meditation and visualization, fennel gives us back our sense of connection with the earth, offering us security and enabling the heart to open and the body to accept the free flow of healing energies. Ultimately, the personal pain and suffering we feel needs to yield to the spiritual understanding of suffering and pain felt by others around the world, and fennel enhances the ability of the heart to open to this acceptance. Fennel also stimulates chakras in the abdominal regions, including kidney, liver and pancreas.

Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canadensis) is a bitter, fetid, alterative herb. It is very important to note that in our formula only the very minutest amount is used. That is because in strong dosages golden seal is a type of herbal wide spectrum anti-biotic. We do not advocate the use of antibiotics, unless absolutely necessary, because antibiotics (including golden seal) affect the entire system of the body. This has a negative aspect, since the things you are focusing on gather strength. When the micro-organisms are not specifically addressed, toxins may reform into a more robust state. It is an undisputed fact that many toxins are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Further, like any drug, antibiotics short-circuit the natural defense processes of the body. It is harder and harder for the physical and subtle bodies to recognize its signature.

Further, it is unwise to reduce one’s general spiritual health by focusing on microbes that will eventually reject the antibiotic activity anyway. As one becomes more finely tuned to one’s own spirituality it is important to keep it strong through meditation and visualization.

Goldenseal fosters clear-sightedness and deeper understanding of an individual’s karma, purpose, and direction. Fortunately, Golden Seal is more mutable by thought than any other antibiotic, as long as its physical dosage is not too large. Whereas formerly you were looking through layers of onion skin at the world, one by one the layers begin to come off, allowing you clear understanding and vision to be realized. I mention all these rather intangible parts of transforming health, because they are inseparable from the total healing process.

Most of goldenseal’s reputation as a healer lies in its powerful tonic qualities shown towards the mucous membranes of the body. Thus, many metabolic and digestive disorders respond well to its actions. In addition to being an anti-catarrhal, astringent, and hepatic, goldenseal destroys pathogenic intestinal micro-organisms.

Green Papaya Powder (Carica papaya) is an enzyme-rich herb. In addition to being nutritive, the unripe fruits, leaves, and seeds of papaya contain papain, an enzyme that breaks down protein, reduces scarring, and expels intestinal worms. Used for digestive disorders, papaya’s leaves and seeds help expel threadworms and roundworms. Papaya’s signature is to help remind people of their innate ability to work directly with the higher spiritual energies, thought forms, and application of teachings. The root chakra is directly affected, yielding greater energy to the heart chakra and, in turn, pours directly into the third eye. As obstacles are brought to the surface and released, assimilation is enhanced.

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is a bittersweet, astringent herb used as a diuretic and kidney tonic and to strengthen the mesenchyme in the kidneys, lungs, and liver, horsetail is excellent in helping tissue regeneration. High in silica, it also promotes cellular flexibility and calms hemorrhages and inflammation. Horsetail contains minute portions of gold within its tissues, making it an excellent bridge when emotional balance and higher thoughts are needed. Gold, the balancer of the heart chakra, also is connected with the thymus. The heart and thymus work together balancing the mental, emotional, and physical. Through their healthful activity, the entire endocrine system can be rejuvenated. The affinity of gold to the circulation system helps blood permeate tissue. Since gold actually aids the absorption of certain other minerals, too little gold can have highly adverse affects upon the body, causing an inability to absorb minerals and vitamins into the muscular and nervous system.

Iris Moss (Chondrus crispus) is a mucilaginous, sweet, salty herb that helps control the thyroid and regulate metabolism associated with proper food digestion. It reputedly helps speed up the burning of excess calories and nourishes the body by stimulating and controlling this metabolism. Irish moss contains all the minerals considered vital to health and helps sustain the nervous system and proper brain function. It also helps with adrenal gland function, arterial cleansing, asthma, colitis, skin problems, constipation, diabetes, eczema, gallbladder problems, flatulence, headaches, pancreatic and pituitary gland problems, toning of the prostate, and low vitality.

Emotional tensions, angers, and in particular, negative thought forms, increase a person’s predisposition to receive radiation; Irish Moss helps radiation release from the body and fosters harmony with the earth, spiritual ecology, deep love, forgiveness, and understanding. Irish Moss promotes a temporary enhancement of the ego, etheric and astral (emotional) bodies.

Red Raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus) is an astringent used by the Greeks to treat gout. The Romans used the herb for sore mouths and inflammation of the bowel. Various species were used by Native Americans to cure diarrhea and dysentery. Raspberry leaves cleanse the liver and kidney meridians, and the herb is often recommended for pregnant women. Raspberry’s signature is assistance in the education of children. Its energy helps create joy, admiration, curiosity, and openness to all levels of knowledge. It fosters intimate relationships and loving devotion and bonding, even to old age. When ingesting raspberry tea during pregnancy, the spiritual properties of the developing fetus are transferred to the mother, and a deeper sense of joyfulness and bonding is supported.

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum Lauraceae) grows in thickly wooded areas of North America. It is a carminative, diaphoretic, and diuretic historically used as a tonic blood purifier, and was likely one of the first native new world herbs exported to Europe. This herb’s disinfectant action is effective against skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis (often in combination with burdock, yellow dock, or nettles), and is a useful dentifrice; it also combats head lice ant other infestations.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is astringent, diuretic, and tonic. It is a long-lived, common herb with varieties found throughout North America and Western Europe, and would benefit everyone’s diet. Nettle is rich in vitamins A and C, iron, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, silica, and also in chlorophyll. The plant’s nitrogen affinity increases the transport and excretion of blood nitrogen waste products, making it useful for arthritis, eczema, and psoriasis- particularly that exacerbated by emotional stress or eating poorly combined foods or junk foods. Nettle helps excrete uric acid from the kidneys and calms even the most aggravated state of diarrhea. Do not use nettle that grows near the run-off wastes of agribusiness, since nettle’s particular affinity for heavy metals causes it to absorb and accumulate excess nitrogen.

Turkey Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) is a bitter, astringent, cooling herb whose written history of medicinal use appears first in northern China, then in Ayurveda on the Indian subcontinent. It later appears in Greece and the Islamic empire, and finally arrived at its modern European and American use. Rarely has any botanical been so widely used by humankind. The art of causing bowel movement, helping flatulence, and remedying weaknesses of the stomach would be inconceivable without it. Rhubarb is so effective for the liver that Galenic (after the Roman physician, Galen) herbalists called it the Life, Soul and Treacle of the Liver, purging Choler, Phlegm and other liver excesses. This herb greatly aids intestinal cleansing since liver stagnation is so closely linked to intestinal stagnation. Combining rhubarb with other assisting herbs, such as cascara sagrada, helps balance the warming and cooling properties of both herbs.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an aromatic, bitter, astringent herb that reduces inflammation, relieves indigestion, and is effective in lowering blood pressure, relaxing spasms, and arresting hemorrhage. Useful for colds and influenza, it nourishes the mucous membranes and quells inflammations. Yarrow is found all over the world, and over 40 different constituents have been isolated from this plant. One of the most significant for intestinal cleansing is azulene, an anti-inflammatory. This excellent tonic and blood builder also improves the elasticity of blood vessels and is helpful with gallbladder, gastritis, eneritis, and liver problems.

Yarrow was closely associated with divination, giving rise to sayings and verses in many parts of the world. In China its stalks are used in throwing the I Ching and are used to awaken the spiritual forces or higher mind. The name yarrow probably derives from heiros, meaning sacred. Yarrow, thought to be richly endowed with spiritual properties, was preserved in temples and treated with special reverence; it was often used in amulets as a conductor of benevolent forces.

Yarrow helps to clarify boundaries between people, and it is especially useful for those who easily absorb negative energies from others. Cleaning the boundaries around a person, yarrow helps set appropriate boundaries, strengthening and solidifying the self and life forces to allow for a greater healing and strength of purpose.

Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus) is a bitter, astringent, cooling herb. Culpeper, the great English herbalist, regarded yellow dock as "exceedingly strengthening to the liver… and as wholesome a pot herb as any." (The English Physician Enlarged, 1653). Yellow dock gently stimulates the peristaltic action of the bowel to help remedy sluggish digestion, malabsorption, or constipation. It also promotes the flow of bile, helping with jaundice and acting as a blood purifier and detoxifier. Less well-known is yellow dock’s ability to stimulate kidney actions that reduce acidosis and bladder deposits. This detoxicant, diuretic action reinforces the digestive detoxicant effects and results in an effective remedy for congestive lymph and skin disorders. High in minerals and iron, yellow dock has a strong affinity to dandelion, with each synergistically helping the other.

Triphala, used extensively in Ayurveda, is a combination of three ancient fruits belonging to the myrobalam family: amalaki, haritaki, and bibhitaki. Although triphala has a laxative effect, it does not create laxative dependency nor disturb healthy intestinal flora. Rather, it regulates and rejuvenates the colon as it normalizes digestion and metabolism and helps expel gases from the intestines. Triphala aids weight reduction by assisting the removal of cellular toxins and fat. It is also a good source of vitamin C.