Q: I don't use alcohol. Do you have a substitute for the Herbal Kit?

21 Nov 2009

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	Q: I don't use alcohol. Do you have a substitute for the Herbal Kit?

Solution The purpose of this kit is educational, so we try our best to keep it super simple and teach one method of tincture making. Using glycerine is a very different process, and it is also not nearly as effective of a solvent as alcohol.

I know people who choose not to have alcohol do so for different reasons, and also have different levels of tolerance for alcohol even being "around." Here are some ideas that may help.

1) If it is something that you do not want in the home, but are tolerant of using in a remedy, you may consider having a friend purchase it and keep the left over in their home.

2) If it is something that can be in the home or you are open to making the remedy, you can simply ONLY use it topically. Echinacea tincture is great for cleaning wounds for example. We keep it in our first aid kit. You can just buy a small bottle of vodka (like a flask size) and keep it around for medicine making.

3) If you have gone ahead and made it, you can evaporate the alcohol by putting the tincture in some hot water or tea. The chemical constituents of the Echinacea stay, the alcohol goes. This is also a great way to administer to small kids who you may think this is an issue for.

I am not sure if the above three ideas meet you needs, but they are all solutions that have worked for others in the past who were also concerned about alcohol.

Now, whatever your choice is about our Kit, just know that tinctures are just one small way herbs can be used. Teas, infusions, decoctions, syrups, salves, lotions, etc... all do not need or use alcohol.

If you want to "skip" the Kit and go to our Herbal Basics course, you can check that out on HerbMentor.com. It has several lessons (video) that are just as user friendly and basic as the Kit.

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28 Jul 2009 03:57 AM