Catnip

Catnip or Catmint, as it is called, has been used worldwide for thousands of years as a medicinal herb. It was an emigrant from Europe where it was used as a beverage. In Old England it was the beverage of choice until the trade routes made green tea and black tea more prevalent. David Christopher, director of the School of Natural Healing, tells about a Mrs. Bardwell who writes in her book THE HERB GARDEN, "Catnip tea was more wholesome to the British Empire than the Black tea with all the sugar that they needed to make it palatable. Catnip has a mildly sweet flavor all by itself."

On page 260 of his book, THE SCHOOL OF NATURAL HEALING, Dr. John Christopher lists the therapeutic actions of Catnip as: "aromatic, relaxant, diffusive, stimulant, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, antispasmodic, nervine, sedative, carminative, anodyne, refrigerant, antacid." From all of that you can imagine that this little plant can handle a lot of problems. How do plants do this? They do this because they don't contain one compound like a drug would to handle just one thing; they are composed of a balance of nutriments. No, the active ingredient might not be in the amount that the pharmacist would prefer, but in its own subtle way it gets the job done. It might not do what it is supposed to do in 10 minutes but it will work without the side effects of inorganic chemicals.

This plant is so mild that it has been used by mothers of children for a very long time. By making a tea of Catnip and giving it to a baby even though it is only days or weeks old, it will relieve Colic. It can be given with a teaspoon to do its work. Mom and Dad can go back to sleep and so will baby. Dr. Christopher, found that by adding a little fennel, this tea worked even better for adults at dispelling gas.

Another use for Catnip tea is to rub some on the gums of babies when they are teething.

As much as it has a relaxing effect on people, it seems to have the opposite effect on cats. It is almost like a "fix" for cats but research has shown that only 2/3 of all cats are affected. This includes all of the cat family from house cats to tigers and lions. I dried some catnip in a plant press and found the press torn apart and the catnip broken into pieces by my cats. I guess mine are in that 2/3 percent.

According to David, the American Medical Association in JAMA 1969 (Their major publication) claimed that Catnip produced Marijuana-like effects. The wire service picked up this story and according to David, pet stores had a run on cat toys. Contrary to this claim, Catnip is not hallucinogenic.

Catnip was registered from 1842 to 1882 in the US Pharmacopia, thus registering it as a medicinal herb, as it should be. According the Daniel Mowrey in THE SCIENTIFIC VALIDATION OF HERBAL MEDICINE, it has been found to have antibiotic properties.

This is why it is so useful for Colds and Flu, but according to the Globalherb V2.0 computer program it can even be used to prevent Chicken Pox. This was a little strong for me but their reference for this came from Steven Horne's NATURE'S FIELD book published in 1991. David Christopher has suggested mixing it with Saffron to handle Smallpox and Scarlet Fever. Looks like Catnip is more powerful than we give it credit.

Another thing that Catnip tea is good for is to cut phlegm in the bronchial system. Native Americans smoked Catnip for asthma and bronchial problems. In Europe they would mix it with honey to create a cough medicine.

Catnip can be used to expel worms from the intestine by making an enema of the tea. Dr. John Christopher called this an injection.

Herbalist do not puncture the skin with needles. Once you break the hematic seal, your body is exposed to substances that are not in its best interest. (It is the job of the skin to seal the blood from foreign matter.) The premise is that the vaccines will get the immune system to "kick" in and try to get rid of the invaders. The bad part is that foreign proteins along with other things are introduced beyond the skin barrier and into the blood system. (For interesting reading on what is in vaccines read Dr. Leonard G. Horowitz's book called EMERGING VIRUSES, AIDs & EBOLA- NATURE, ACCIDENT OR INTENTIONAL?)

The foreign substances that are introduced into the blood system are not all killed. Some are parked or find their way to a specific organ and we have the beginnings of autoimmune diseases.

One of the cautions that I ran into regarding Catnip was that is shouldn't be taken during pregnancy as it promotes menses. According to David Christopher that is what all the books say but his wife, Fawn said that because it is a relaxant, when she was pregnant and started spotting, she made a cup of Catnip Tea and sat back to relax. The anti-spasmodic effects "Will calm the uterus and stop cramping during menstruation," according to the Christophers.

Along with all that we have mentioned about this little wild mint, (and it grows everywhere) it will also aid digestion. Many years ago a friend of mine from England told me that the way the British stay slim is to follow a meal with a nice mint tea. I guess that is because Catnip relaxes the body along with assisting with the meal. I have an idea that Catnip is now on the dinner mint list.