http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2007/04/29/invitation-to-an-herbal-blog-party/ Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:52:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2007/04/29/invitation-to-an-herbal-blog-party/#comment-4168 Jan S. Fri, 25 May 2007 20:29:16 +0000 http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2007/04/29/invitation-to-an-herbal-blog-party/#comment-4168 How about Sassafrass? I don't see it listed in your list of herbs in this site and I would be surprised to find it on a health food store shelf, but yet I do believe it has had some medicinal uses. I actually experimented with making tea from the root a long time ago. As I recall, the tea was reddish and mixed with some honey was not bad. I used a potato peeler to shave the roots that I then steeped in hot water. It seems to me that I have since heard that it has some harmful properties, but I do not recall any unpleasant side effects. I also remember when I was a kid picking huckleberries (wild blueberries so those in New England) in Western Pa with my mom, that in addition to huckleberries, I would munch on the sassafrass leaves and don't recall any adverse reaction to those either. So, from your knowledge of Appalachian herbal history, does Sassafras have any medicinal value? Is the tea good for anything? I suppose it's more or less irrelevant in New England, but it would be nice to know for future trips to PA. How about Sassafrass? I don’t see it listed in your list of herbs in this site and I would be surprised to find it on a health food store shelf, but yet I do believe it has had some medicinal uses. I actually experimented with making tea from the root a long time ago. As I recall, the tea was reddish and mixed with some honey was not bad. I used a potato peeler to shave the roots that I then steeped in hot water. It seems to me that I have since heard that it has some harmful properties, but I do not recall any unpleasant side effects. I also remember when I was a kid picking huckleberries (wild blueberries so those in New England) in Western Pa with my mom, that in addition to huckleberries, I would munch on the sassafrass leaves and don’t recall any adverse reaction to those either. So, from your knowledge of Appalachian herbal history, does Sassafras have any medicinal value? Is the tea good for anything? I suppose it’s more or less irrelevant in New England, but it would be nice to know for future trips to PA.

]]> http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2007/04/29/invitation-to-an-herbal-blog-party/#comment-4233 crabappleherbs Sat, 26 May 2007 17:23:36 +0000 http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2007/04/29/invitation-to-an-herbal-blog-party/#comment-4233 Ah, sassafras. So much to say about that lovely little tree. As you know sassafras tea is an old Appalachian tradition. It's not legal to sell it these days, because one of the constituents (safrole), if purified and fed to rats for extended periods of time, causes cancer. Right. They say that a cup of sassafras tea is about as carcinogenic as a can of beer. But the regulation of these things is not particularly logical. If you're interested in learning more about the medicinal uses and history of sassafras, check out the <a href="http://www.henriettesherbal.com/php/get.php?id=8691" target ="_blank" rel="nofollow">articles about it on Henriette's site.</a> Ah, sassafras. So much to say about that lovely little tree. As you know sassafras tea is an old Appalachian tradition. It’s not legal to sell it these days, because one of the constituents (safrole), if purified and fed to rats for extended periods of time, causes cancer. Right. They say that a cup of sassafras tea is about as carcinogenic as a can of beer. But the regulation of these things is not particularly logical. If you’re interested in learning more about the medicinal uses and history of sassafras, check out the articles about it on Henriette’s site.

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