Herbal Infusions

Herbal infusions (along with herbal teas) are, probably, the easiest type of herbal preparations though they still should be considered a state of art. They are water-based type of preparations which can be used for extracting all benefits and curative powers of medicinal herbs. Usually, herbal infusions are received as a result of steeping dried or fresh plants or their parts (stems, leaves, roots, blossoms and so on) in boiled water. At that, steeping process for preparing the best herbal infusions can take from 15-20 minutes up to several hours.

Specialists and herbalists would suggest using such type of herbal preparations as herbal infusions for the most fragile and tender parts of herbs and plants which should rather be steeped in boiling water than boiled for giving most of their benefits. That is how herbal infusions are different from herbal teas: the infusions are steeped and they usually are prepared using larger amounts of herbal material.

Therefore, for preparing a herbal infusion all you need to do is just take necessary amount of herbal material, steep it for a certain period of time and then strain from the liquid. Certainly, proportions and dosages vary depending on every particular type of herbs and plants. However,  if there are no specifications or directions for preparing herbal infusion, you can take the proportions corresponding to using 1 cup of water for every 1 tablespoon of herbal material. Remember that the more you keep your herbs steeped in water, the stronger infusion you’ll receive (within due limits, of course).

Herbal infusions can be used internally in the form of tea or as a part of therapeutic beverages, as well as externally in the form of skin, hair or mouth washes, compresses, poultices, herbal baths and so on. If you want to use a combination of herbal materials for your infusion, remember that it is recommended to steep together only the same type of parts. In other words, you can combine various sorts of dried leaves, or flowers, or berries and seeds, or roots, etc., but it may not be a good idea to steep all of them together as different proportions and steeping time are usually required for different types of herbal materials.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

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