Corn silk, the fine threads at the top of an ear of corn, is a gentle traditional tea for the bladder and puffiness in Chinese and Native American medicine. Here is its history, the draft EU monograph amounts, what the evidence does and does not show, and the potassium and medicine cautions.
Uva ursi, or bearberry, is one of the best-known traditional bladder herbs, and one with the strictest limits. Here is its history from Welsh physicians to kinnikinnick, what the EU monograph and a 382-woman trial say, the one-week amounts, and who should not use it.
Chanca piedra, the "stone breaker" herb of Brazil and India, is a popular tea for kidney, urinary and liver support. Here is its history, what the small studies on kidney stones and hepatitis B actually found, typical amounts, and the cautions to know first.
Danshen, the red root of a Chinese sage, is one of the most-used herbs in Chinese medicine for the heart and circulation. It also thins the blood, which makes it one of the riskiest herbs to mix with warfarin and other blood thinners.
Nutmeg is the warm baking spice in eggnog and pumpkin pie, and an old Ayurvedic and Unani remedy for the gut and for sleep. In kitchen amounts it is a food; in spoonfuls it is a poison, which is why this profile leads with safety.
Vidari is a sweet, cooling Ayurvedic root used as a strength-building rejuvenative, a traditional aid for new mothers' milk, and a pitta-soothing herb in acid-indigestion regimes. Here's what the tradition says, the (mostly animal) research on its isoflavones, why it's often mixed up with other "vidari" roots, and who should skip it.
Guggul is the fragrant resin at the heart of Ayurveda's "guggulu" tablets, used for centuries for joints, weight and skin. Here's what the tradition uses it for, why a well-known US trial surprised everyone, and the rash, thyroid and medicine cautions to know first. The tree is also critically endangered, so where it comes from matters.
Long before rose was a perfume, Persian, Greek and European healers used the petals for sore mouths, nervous hearts and slow bowels. Today the EU recognises rose flower infusions for mild mouth, throat and skin inflammation, and one study tested rose tea for period pain. Here's the tradition, the research, how to brew it, and the cautions that matter.
The tart red berry of Nordic kitchens and Newfoundland "partridgeberry" jam is also a folk urinary remedy, and its juice, blended with cranberry, is in some of the best-known bladder-infection trials. Here's what it's used for, what the studies show, and why the berry and the leaf are two very different safety stories.
Sweet flag is an aromatic marsh plant with a long history in Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and Indigenous North American medicine. It's also one of the few herbs banned from food in the US, because its oil contains beta-asarone, which caused cancer in rodent studies.
