The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition

ways to maintain and support bone health will become more important.

nutrition

The well-being of our muscles, bones, tissues, and joints doesn’t just

depend on how much wear and tear or stagnation they receive in daily

walking, running, lifting, bending, sitting, or lying. It also relies on our

internal health and the food we use to create and support this moving

structure. Sugar, sweet drinks, processed foods, tea, and coffee will strip

magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C from the body. All of these elements

are vital for the formation and repair of bone, muscle, cartilage, and

synovial ﬂuid. Magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C can be found in dark

greens, seaweeds, and whole grains and should be eaten daily. Also note

that iron is vital to structural well-being. Night twitching can be a result

of a lack of iron, so the nettle leaves and red raspberry leaves used to

meet calcium requirements will also provide copious and assimilable

amounts of iron. Vitamins A, E, B₆, and B complex and zinc are all

important for the synthesis and maintenance of good structure. Ensure

that you eat foods that are rich in zinc and the vitamins listed above, such

as red peppers, whole grains, pumpkin seeds, and carrots. Essential fatty

acids and water are also vitally important lubricants.

For postmenopausal women, kidney health and estrogen and

progesterone levels should be maintained in order to guard against

osteoporosis and brittle bone disease.

For serious injury, stop all food immediately and switch to superfood,

juices, and herb teas in order to allow the healing process to begin

quickly.

herbs

Use lobelia leaf tincture both internally (if legally possible) and externally

for muscle strains, broken bones, and the like; it will quickly relieve the

associated spasms and pain. Pau d’arco inner bark, oat straw, and nettle

leaf, which are rich in both calcium and magnesium, make ideal choices,

while skullcap leaf and peppermint leaf, rich in zinc, will give general

support to the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems. Echinacea root

and the zinc herbs listed above, along with vitamin C, will help the

immune system ﬁght any breaks, strains, or bone porosity.

Elasticity and mobility can be a problem with diseases like

osteoarthritis or simply old age. Devil’s claw root and both the European

and Chinese angelica roots (Angelica archangelica and Angelica sinensis) will

greatly help here. So will pau d’arco inner bark and black cohosh root.

Turmeric rhizome and meadowsweet leaf and ﬂower will soothe joints

and muscles— both can be used internally and externally for painful

Home Guide to Herbs - davies