The berry that flavours gin has a long second life as a European and North American folk herb for the bladder and the belly. This profile covers how traditions use it, why the evidence is thin, and the clear limits on how long and for whom it's used.
The feathery pickle herb is also one of the oldest "wind" seeds, brewed after meals, taken in Ayurveda for digestion and breast milk, and used as the original base of gripe water. Members can see what traditions use it for, what small studies show, and who should keep to kitchen amounts.
Frangula, or alder buckthorn bark, is a strong stimulant laxative herb used in Europe since the 1500s. It's for short-term use only, and the bark has to be properly aged first; here's what to know before reaching for it.
Chinese rhubarb root is a strong stimulant laxative herb with a 2,000-year history in Chinese medicine. Europe's herbal regulators allow it only for short-term use, and it isn't for everyone; here's what members need to know before trying it.
Caraway is the seed that flavours rye bread and sauerkraut, and Europe's classic after-dinner tea for wind and that over-full feeling. Here's what traditions use it for, what the studies on the caraway-plus-peppermint capsules show, how the EU says to brew it, and who should skip it.
A tall woodland plant with white flower spikes, used by Indigenous peoples of eastern North America and by 19th-century Eclectic doctors, and now one of the best-known herbs for hot flushes. Here's what the tradition used it for, what the menopause studies really show, the EU amounts, and why its rare liver warning matters.
Huang Qi, the yellow root behind Chinese "Jade Windscreen" formulas, is one of the best-known qi tonics in traditional Chinese medicine and a popular immune-season herb in the West. Here's what the tradition uses it for, what the (mostly small, Chinese) studies show, the Health Canada amounts, and why people with autoimmune disease or a transplant should steer clear.
A rare Himalayan fungus that grows out of moth caterpillars, cordyceps has been prized in Tibetan and Chinese medicine since at least the 1400s as an energy and lung–kidney tonic. Today almost all of it is grown in labs, and the research is far thinner than the marketing.
The bright red fruit left on wild roses after the petals fall has been brewed into a warming winter tea for generations, from Indigenous communities in British Columbia to European kitchens. This profile covers its traditional uses, the joint research that put rosehip powder on the map, and who should go easy on it.
Tart, ruby-red hibiscus tea is drunk hot or iced from Egypt to Mexico and is one of the most-studied herbal teas for heart wellness. Here's what traditions use it for, what the trials show, how people brew it, and who should check first.
