Weeds & Seeds Swap

This herb, which goes by the botanical name Valeriana Officinalis, is quite a favorite in our home as an aid to insomnia. We don’t take it on a regular basis, but when needed. It has been used safely for this purpose for over a thousand years. The herb has it’s origin in Britain, though it has been naturalized, and though it grows well in most soils, it prefers “loamy”, moist soil.

Some sources say that you may want to be careful using this herb it if you have liver disease, but again, this is not something to take on a daily basis, but is something to keep around in your “Herbal Medicine Cabinet” to use as needed.

When we use Valerian Root in capsule form, we take it about 1/2 to 1 hour before going to bed with some water. My husband is a large man, and has been known to take 2-3 capsules at bedtime. I am more sensitive to things, whether herbal or medicinal, and find that just 1/2 a capsule is enough for me, or in combination with other calming herbs.

I do have to say, though, that when opening a package, or in our case our bottle of encapsulated Valerian, the smell is intense, and most would say not pleasant. The volatile oils are powerful, and if you do decide to make a tea from the root itself, you don’t want to boil it, or the actives will be destroyed.

If you have cats, you’ll notice that they may respond to it much as they do catnip…but I’d be careful about their eating it, it is stronger than catnip.

There is no connection between the drug, valium and the herb, valerian in spite of the fact that both have a calming affect and similar names.

If you’d like to add this to your “Herbal Medicine Cabinet”, here’s some suggestions at reasonable prices:

• Valerian Root
• Herbal Sleep
• Valerian Time-Release
• APSII with White Willow Bark (Bayer derived Aspirin from the “actives” in White Willow Bark)

Have a RESTFUL day!