Herbal Teas and Extracts: How Much Should I Use?

Determining how much of an herb to use is fairly straightforward, especially for acute and first aid uses.

  

Most of the time, herbs are measured in drops for liquid extracts and cups for teas.Capsules are another popular choice, but I don't cover them here because, although empty capsules can be filled at home, they have to be manufactured elsewhere. Extracts, on the other hand, can be made at home from start to finish with homemade fruit-based alcohol or apple cider vinegar. Herbal teas can also be grown at home from seed to harvest, so we will look at those as well. 

To determine how much of an herb to give, first determine whether or not it is considered safe for normal use or if it is a low dose botanical. A low dose botanical is an herb that has a traditional record of use in small quantities, but may or may not be considered safe according to modern research. Lobelia is one example. It is potentially toxic and can induce vomiting in large doses, but in small doses was traditionally used as an effective lung support herb for asthma. Normal herbs are given in 15-30 drop quantities, while the dose for lobelia was traditionally started at 5 drops. This is where it is important to have several good books on hand when you are becoming acquainted with a new herb, and it also pays to look up the herb in a more historical work as well. At least one of your reference books should be written by a fairly technical herbalist who likes to go into nitty gritty details such as dosage rather than simply leaving it to be implied. One excellent resource for this is Michael Tierra's book, Planetary Herbology, which briefly covers hundreds of herbs from several traditions around the world.

  

As stated above, most herbal extracts are given in 15-30 drop quantities. This is usually assuming a body weight of 150 lbs, or one to two drops per ten lbs of body weight. One drop per ten lbs is a good place to start for children, and it can be increased to two if needed.

It's been my experience that homemade extracts can have higher levels of sediment than store bought ones, so I'm not really a fan of storing my extracts with dropper top bottles. I use screw on caps but keep clean droppers stored separately- the droppers are convenient, just not when they clog repeatedly. Which they will do, especially on extracts you don't use everyday.

 

So, either store the dropper separately, or learn to use a quarter teaspoon measuring spoon. 1/4 teaspoon of extract equals roughly 30 drops. By adding the extract to a small amount of water and dividing the water in half, you will have approximately 15 drops, and in half again will yield about seven.

Teas are just as straightforward as extracts. One cup (8oz) of tea is enough for one serving for a person weighing approximately 150 pounds. Since there are 16 tablespoons in a cup, estimate one tablespoon of tea for every ten pounds of body weight, and adjust upward as needed

Frequency of use is another consideration. If you know that the herb you are planning to use falls under the category of normal use, next consider what type of problem you are addressing.

If it is an acute imbalance, such as a cold or something else that comes on suddenly, herbs can be taken every hour as needed for a few days. If the imbalance is chronic- something that has been around for months or years, it is generally best to use the herbs two or three times a day, and expect that they will need to be continued for one month to every year the imbalance has been experienced.