McVeigh - Treat yourself natural : over 50 easy-to-make homemade remedies gathered from nature

For Evie my lotions and potions girl.

The information presented here in this book is not intended to replace professional medical treatment or advice; nor is it a medical reference book. The information is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease. The information in this book has not been evaluated by the MHRA, the FDA or any other health body.

Individual sensitivity varies, and before using any supplements, herbal remedies or homeopathic remedies it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider. If you are on any medication, pregnant, breastfeeding or have specific health concerns you must seek advice from your own health care provider, especially as some herbs interact with medication.

The author or the publishers cannot be held responsible for any loss, harm or damage or any adverse reactions to the recipes, recommendations and instructions contained herein. You are advised to do a skin test on a small patch of skin 24 hours prior to full use. The use of any plant, remedy or derivative is entirely at the readers own risk.

This is not a coffee table book Ive never really understood that concept anyway when I buy a book I want to learn something from it, within weeks I want it to be slightly grubby from use, and this is just such a book. It is practical, straightforward and easy to use. Sof is a great friend of mine and an inspiration; her understanding of a hedgerow and how its treasures can be husbanded is extraordinary.

I know that making things yourself has enormous benefits, but making things from the fields or your garden, which you can then use on your skin, feed to your friends and family or keep your blankets moth-free seems to be doubly beneficial.

This book is full of brilliant ideas for things to make for yourself, or as wonderful gifts. Year in year out this will be an invaluable resource for a rainy day or a country walk, written by someone who really knows what she is talking about as well as living the same busy life as you and I.

Within this book I hope you will discover how easy it is to harness the natural goodness of plants that can help us feel better, look better and have a healthy year. Sprinkled throughout youll find lashings of common sense and a splash of fun, seasoned with a healthy love of nature and all that it can offer us. Not to mention many wonderful and easy recipes, so you can see just what Mother Nature has in her store cupboard.

I think creating things is hard-wired into us, whether this may be making a delicious meal, writing a song or painting a beautiful picture; making something leaves us with a sense of contentment that is hard to beat. I love making things but I know how busy all our lives can be, so these recipes are simple and straightforward, enabling you to achieve maximum results with a great sense of satisfaction yet you wont have to spend all day on them.

A large part of this book is about using plants that are readily available or free, such as nettles, dandelions and hawthorn berries. I hope it will encourage you to get out there and to keep your eyes open, so you can discover the many widely available plants that you can use for your health with the added bonus that theyre not costing you anything.

With this in mind I have laid the book out Season by Season, so you will know at a glance what to gather and when to gather it. So in the bountiful spring months you can pick abundant fresh leaves, in the summer its the pretty flowers, then in autumn comes lush berries and hips. Even in the cold, quiet winter months there are bulbs and evergreen herbs to use.

Within each season youll find useful tips on using nature for your wellbeing relevant to that season. So in summer there are ideas about travelling, and in winter there are suggestions on what you can do to beat the common cold. In autumn I cover burns as its the bonfire season, and in spring I touch on the benefits of bees and their produce as they sleepily re-emerge.

I hope you will feel empowered to explore the wonderful world of making remedies, either for yourself or as gifts for your friends and family; I think there is nothing nicer than a lovingly made homemade present. Some gift ideas youll find in here include ginger chocolates, lavender bath salts and, for some lip-licking goodness, try making the chocolate lip balms.

Or just treat yourself to a soothing chamomile bath, followed by a rose oil body balm; what else could be more relaxing? Why dont you give it a go, and while soaking in the bath, see what other remedies youd like to make. I think youll be surprised at just how easy they are and how much fun youll have.

In every culture across the world you will find a long history of using plants for health and wellbeing, and many of the common medicines we use today are derived from them. This is because plants contain many active compounds and chemicals known as phytochemicals: some of these are beneficial to our health, some are not, and others are poison. Moreover, different parts of a plant can contain different phytochemicals: so the root of a plant could be used for one thing, the berries of the same plant for another, while the leaves may have no use at all.

Most of the plants I have chosen for this book are common and plentiful, so it is easy to forage for them, like dandelions and nettles. Others are well known plants and easily available, like mint and lavender. I have also included a few berries that you can gather, such as the classic blackberry and the abundant elderberry. Finally, there are a few less recognizable plants, like lemon verbena or ladys mantle; these are easy to grow and make lovely additions to a garden or a windowsill.

Over the past 10 years I have become an avid gardener in order to grow a ready supply of plants from which to create my natural remedies. I enjoy the cycle of nature, marvelling at its resilience and its ability to bounce back from whatever is thrown at it. Nature will tell you what will work in your garden, not the other way round, and I love this refusal on the part of nature to be controlled. I garden organically, so using weeds comes naturally to me I actually have rather a lot of these in my garden!

If you like gardening, I recommend keeping a small patch of your garden for healing plants grown specifically for treatments. Ive created my own area grandly naming it my Medicinal Garden in Devon in south-west England; this has been a great source of information on plants, along with a hefty dose of trial and error. Some plants have flourished, such as pot marigold and chamomile; some have taken over, such as wormwood; while some have not fared so well, like my rather sad-looking arnica.

If you are not a gardener dont worry, most of the plants in this book can be found on common ground where you can forage for them (see ) or most of the herbs can be bought in pots in supermarkets. For the other plants, a trip to a local garden centre is a good idea, or you can buy dry herbs from most health stores.