A deep dive into chamomile's amazing medicinal properties. Plus exciting announcements!

Links & resources from this episode

• Channel Zero Network
• Herbalism, PTSD & Traumatic Stress Course
• International Solidarity Movement Podcast
• Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais Crowdfunder

Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/

Support the show

Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism podcast with your host, Nicole Rose from the Solidarity Apothecary.

This is your place for all things plants and liberation.

Let's get started.

Hello everyone.

Thanks for tuning back in.

I'm really sorry for the delay in getting this podcast out.

Classic Nicole fashion things have been quite kind of intense and busy.

I was away for 10 days seeing one of my partners and have been working my ass off from morning till night on this Herbalism, PTSD and Traumatic Stress Course.

But I'm gonna talk about.

And yeah, just doing all the things and I'd learned my microphone to Comrades working on the International Solidarity Movement podcast, which I'm really happy to say has now been launched.

Can find it on all the main places like Spotify and on the ISM website, and it's kind of The interviews that we've recorded while I was in Palestine for three weeks in December.

Yeah, a lot of, a lot of work has gone into it, and I really hope that people listening to it are encouraged to go to Palestine and support ISM more broadly.

Unfortunately, since I left Palestine, things have yeah, escalated pretty hard there.

, I'm not gonna talk about it all without a content warning.

I'm sure people can read the news or see things on social media, but it's been really, really heavy.

Yeah, some of the people that we interviewed have kind of had like an escalation in hostility towards them in terms of settler violence and the army, , police attention, things like this.

So, , yeah, please check it out.

I'll put the link in the show notes.

, please leave a review for it, share it on your networks, et cetera, et cetera.

The other exciting announcement is that da la da.

I'm now an official member of the Channel Zero Network, so this is like an English-based radio kind of podcast network run by radical media makers.

I'm just gonna read you the about blurb from the website.

Okay, so we are here to present anarchist analysis and context to deepen people's understanding of the situation and broaden the struggle.

We share stories from the front lines, lessons from history and battle tested ideas to spread revolutionary practices.

During these days of late capitalism and rising nationalism.

We are constantly bombarded with right wing radio and shallow liberal analysis with the threat of fascism.

Everything in this framework falls within, parameters set by the state and offers no way out.

We present perspectives that exist outside of the paradigm through interviews, documentaries, panel discussions, and audio zines.

Fuck what you heard.

This is the resistance.

And now this is what I'm really excited about is I get to play a jingle for another show, , on my different episode.

Sir, I'm gonna play a jingle now.

You will never, ever surrender or compromise.

We occupied government buildings.

We blockaded highways, and we talked about not just marching but direct action to shut the shit down.

Here we what?

We invite you to join us for indigenous action.

A podcast where we dig deep into critical issues impacting our communities in the occupied lands, known as the so-called United States, or what many people recognize as Turtle Island.

This is an autonomous anti-colonial broadcast with unapologetic and claws out analysis.

Towards total liberation.

So take your seat by this fire and may the bridges we burn together light our way,

feel that fire so it's a game blazing fire that they can never stop.

Find us@indigenousaction.org and with the Channel Zero Network.

Like seriously, how cool was that?

, so yeah, I'll put the link in the show notes.

You can check out all the other podcasts.

There's like a whole bunch of them really cool ones.

And yeah, it's just like an anarchist crush for me.

Like these different projects, like I've been listening to them for a long time and it's been some of the inspiration of why I started this show.

So, , yeah, please check them out.

And the other big thing that was announced recently is we have launched a crowdfunder for our Mobile Herbal Clinic in Calais.

You've heard me mention the project like a few times on the show, but basically we've been unsuccessful for a couple of grants and we lost our main funder.

Yeah.

And it's just been really difficult.

We weren't able to go to Calais in February, like for other reasons other than funding.

Like it was like a clinical supervisor availability issue as.

But , yeah, it really got me down.

I hate not being there.

And yeah, I really want us to get out there in March.

So yeah, I'm just gonna read a little bit of text from the website so you know what I'm talking about.

So, for the last five years, the Mobile Herbal Clinic Calais, which is formally Herbalists without Borders UK-Calais has maintained a presence in Northern France supporting refugees and migrants risking their lives cross the British border.

Since October, 2009, we have seen 10,000 people with upper respiratory conditions, skin complaints, digestive issues and more, as well as injuries from police violence.

Our medicines are made by a dedicated network of grassroots medicine makers and growers.

Together we made and distributed more than 6,000 medicines at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic, and I actually.

, I'm like the, in this like field coordinator role for the trips.

So I like crunch our clinical data.

So while we're working in the field, we have this like piece of paper on a clipboard and we don't, you know, we don't record anyone's name or age or anything like that.

We just put a little dash if it's, you know, an upper respiratory infection or if it's, you know, like an atopic skin thing or if it's like a sprain or if we've referred them and it just helps us

For example, if we see, okay, there's like 50 people with scabies, we've got that data to share with other groups working there and you know, can develop responses.

So it's a really useful tool and , I type up the numbers like every single trip and yeah, I just like couldn't believe it, like putting everything together since 2019 and realizing it's like 10,000.

Yeah, basically like it's really hard crowdfunding, like it's a really hard climate for fundraising in general.

Like I know people are broke.

I know there's like a cost of living crisis.

I know everyone struggles in capitalism, but like even just like five pounds would be amazing.

Really appreciate like everyone who's donated so far.

Yeah, you can see like much more information on the crowdfunder, but like our main costs are medicine making, basically like, you know, if someone is presenting with kind of like a cold or a cough and it's, you know, it.

They haven't had it for like over a week and it's nothing more serious, then we'll give them like a cough syrup.

We'll give them an immune tonic, we'll give them a chest rub, maybe we'll give them some salt water depending on their symptoms.

And every single one of those medicines is made from like stuff that we've made ourselves, plants that we've grown ourselves, or we've bought them, like from organic suppliers.

You know, we have to pay for the packaging, the glycerin, like all of the things.

And then we also have like our external medicine station, which is, you know, for wounds and dressings and foot care and like all of that stuff's like super expensive, like dressings and you know, even

So, yeah.

And then, you know, just the cost of getting to France.

Yeah, it's a lot.

And.

I just, yeah, I really appreciate everyone's donation and, , I don't wanna sound like I'm begging, but I am literally like at that point now where I don't know if we're gonna go much like if, unless we get kind of more support.

So yeah, if you could share that around, if you could donate, like, we'd appreciate it so much.

All right.

Thank you.

. Okay.

So I think that's it in terms of updates.

I'm gonna record like a second show about the herbalism PTSD and traumatic stress course.

But for now, this show is all about Chamomile and I think Chamomile is just like the most, like underestimated amazing nervine.

So like a nervine is a plant with an affinity for the nervous system.

And you know, like chamomile one of the most drunk teas in the whole world and we completely take it for granted.

We kind of like.

You know, just, I used to being like, oh yeah, I'll have a chamomile tea.

Yeah, yeah, it's fine.

But actually like, has such an amazing effect on the nervous system.

It's really anti-inflammatory.

It has loads of amazing qualities for like longer term, , gut healing and gut health.

Like just, yeah.

Yep.

Absolute mega babe when it comes to plants.

So please have a listen.

It's from my book.

And if you didn't know from the Prisoner's herbal book, which is a book that gets sent for free to people inside all around the world, and it was one of the plants that I found in prison.

I found the wild chamomile, the pineapple weed in the like cracks of the concrete.

And we also were able, fortunately, to get chamomile, like from the prison canteen.

So it was definitely like a plant that I worked with a lot and I experimented with a lot, and I think it's like really beautiful and accessible as a hub.

So yeah, enjoy the content about chamomile and take care.

Speak to you soon.

Hello.

Okay, so let's talk about Chamomile.

So we have Roman Chamomile and German Chamomile, and there's also wild Chamomile, , which is also called pineapple weed.

And the plant family is the Asteraceae family, the Daisy family.

In terms of identification, German Chamomile is the annual plant that self-seeds and it can grow kind of 10 to 80.

High.

It has white flowers with a little yellow disc in the middle, surrounded by evenly spaced white floret, and it generally flowers in June and July, but obviously, you know it's shifting with climate change and it smells pleasant and sweet.

Roman chamomile, this is the one that's like very low growing.

Kind of like six to 10 centimeters in his perennial.

, and the flowers are much smaller than the German chamomile.

And then wild chamomile, , a low growing herb as well.

, hairless with, , leaves deeply and intricately cut into very thin lobes.

, the main lobes are divided further into smaller ones, , which then divided again.

, and it has a really strong pineapple smell.

So the flower headss are, yeah, 30 to 45 millimeters across with yellow centers and no white petals.

, and you can see pictures of these in the prisoner's, herbal book, and obviously Googling is search them.

But yeah, you can kind of tell the differences I think quite easily between the different chamomiles.

Are there species?

So there's like a corn chamomile, which has no.

And there's also sea Mayweed, , which is found at the sea site.

Some of the folk names in English, Maythen, Manzanilla, Whig Plant, ground apple.

The Latin name is actually derived from the Greek, uh, khamaelon, meaning earth apple.

Okay.

Chemical constituents.

This is the embarrassing bit.

I'm gonna have a bash.

Okay.

German chamomile, uh, terpenoids.

, sesco, turpin, cumins, flavonoids.

And I'm just, you know what, I'm just not gonna say some of the long words and other components such as tannins, erythema, acid, choline, polysaccharides, and phytoestrogens.

and Roman chamomile also has Terpenoids Coine, which says like amazing blue essential oil flavonoids and other components like acid, Esthers, anthemic acid, fass acids, and choli.

All right, food and nutrition.

chamomile is used as a flavoring agent in alcohol beverages, Bittons and teas is also been used to flavor desserts and sweets herbalist.

Mark Patterson writes that test show that chamomile is commonly high.

In fact, magnesium phos.

Rib flavin and sodium and very high in niacin.

Ecological role.

Chamomile is often found on well drained soil on waste ground and around field margins.

You can find Chamomile across Europe in Tempera Asia and North Africa, as well as some parts of Australia and Argentina.

, and obviously, you know, it's also cultivated much kind of beyond that.

Chamomile was used as a stewing hub in the middle Ages to help keep insects away, so they were hung in bundles or placed on the floor and in the furniture.

Chamomile is currently grown and imported from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Hungary, and Egypt.

Okay, cultivation.

So medicinal herb growers, Jeff and Melanie Carpenter, say Chamomile likes full sun and well drained sandy alone with good fertility and organic matter.

This annual will readily selfs seed.

However, selfs seeded beds are often interspersed with weeds that Chamomile will not outcompete, and I've grown Chamomile a bunch.

And yeah, it's definitely like such a fuss pot and you kind of have to like have this like real.

So I'm totally adlibbing here, but you have to have this like real, like annual approach to it, if that makes sense.

Like you're growing a vegetable, like it's not like all the other amazing perennials where you just kind of like stick them in the ground.

Maybe you rescue them from some grass now and again, it's like al needs like its own little bird.

Lots of sun, like, yeah.

Anyway, energetics.

So temperature, cooling.

Moisture drying tissue, state wind tension and heat excitation, and the taste is aromatic, bitter, and sweet.

Herbal actions, Analgesic, anti-allergenic, anti-anaemic, anti-inflammatory, anti parasitic antiseptic antispasmodic.

, bactericidal, calming, carminative cholagogue.

Digestive, emmenagogue, hepatic hypnotic, immuno stimulant, nerve sedative, ophthalmic.

Sudorific and vulnerary.

Wow.

You know, it's just, that's what I'm talking about.

It's a very special herb.

Okay.

Health challenges supported by Chamomile.

Chamomile has a very long history of traditional use in every region.

It is found.

It was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo-Saxons.

Nervous system.

Chamomile is a mild to moderate nervous sedative.

It can help us switch from a sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system state.

It will help calm the nervous system and relax the muscles.

It can also really help with troubled sleep that is attributed to restlessness, indigestion.

It's a bit of a catch-all phrase for a variety of digestive system complaints, including belching, bloating, gas, et cetera, herbalist, Sajah Popham.

Chamomile is unique in the way it contains both bitter compounds as well as aromatic volatile oils, which leads to a nice combination of our two primary digestive actions.

Thus, we see an increase in gut secretions, local circulation to the digestive organs, and an overall relaxant and antispasmodic effect.

Herbalist, David Hoffman writes, because Chamomile is rich in essential oil, it acts on their digestive system promoting proper function.

This usually involves soothing the walls of the intestines, easing griping pains, and facilitating the elimination of gas.

A cup of hot Chamomile tea is a simple, effective way to relieve indigestion.

It calms inflammation such as gastritis and helps prevent.

Chamomile can also help with stomach aches, nausea, heartburn, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and constipation.

Ulcers, ulcers are sadly all too common in our stress out world.

These include stomach ulcers, peptic ulcers, small intestine ulcers, duodenal ulcers, and in their esophagus.

They're often caused by the prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, as well as food allergens, irritating the.

Sajah just says Chamomile helps via its vulnerary and inflammation, modulating properties as well as gently helping to support digestion, joint pain, tendonitis, repetitive strain injury, and skin conditions.

These can be helped by applying diluted Chamomile essential oil topically.

Chamomile has a stunning blue essential oil that is high in Colin and Aine.

It can be diluted and used topically for conditions like, , eczema and psoriasis to bring new symptomatic.

It can also be used for rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic pain, and fibromyalgia.

When I was unwell with Costochondritis, chronic inflammation in the cartilage of the ribs, I would use Chamomile essential oil with coconut oil and rub it all over my ribs as I was going to bed.

It helped me fall asleep when I was in a lot of pain and also reduce the inflammation, joint pain, tendonitis, R rsi, and skin inflammation can also be relieved by adding a Chamomile infusion into your bathtub or making and using a compress on the, so,

. Gum problems.

A mouth rinse of Chamomile tea can help with gingivitis, as well as other gum, inflammations and sores in the mouth.

Fungal infections, Chamomile can help internal and topical fungal infections.

Topical applications, including pots and baths, can help with skin rashes and inflammation, including those from a fungus.

I once had an acute fungal infection in my toenail while on a speaking tour that affected my ability to walk.

The people where I was staying didn't have many herbs, but they did have camel tea bags, so I made a very strong infusion with lots of bags and gave myself an impromptu foot bath.

I also wrapped the nail with the garlic and oil, and thankfully it healed up quite fast.

My friends were surprised that my embarrassing limp went.

, that was at this, uh, tattoo circus in Switzerland, and it was just like so ridiculous.

Like I literal, honestly, I swear down, like I couldn't walk on.

It was so inflamed.

And, , the day before I, I went there, like, we had a demo in London for my friend Kevin in prison and , it was like the first time one of, I think it was maybe the first time I was meeting his parents.

I can't remember.

It was like years ago.

Yeah, it's kind of like hopped there, like just like hobbled.

With this like terrible toe and like his family was looking at me like, who is this girl?

She's so weird.

, but yeah, managed to heal it with, uh, chamomile.

Okay.

Pink eye, uh, Sr.

Writes how Chamomile can be useful for pink eye and conjunctivitis.

Chamomile is very helpful by either applying a teabag topically on the eye, only used once by the way, meaning one tea bag for each eye.

Or making a tea with a bag or a loose tea, straining it super well and being used as an eye wash for conjunctivitis.

The tea can be applied by depending a cotton ball into tepid cool tea, and applying it from what?

By wiping from the inner eye to the outer eye in one sweep.

When this is done, make sure to discard the cotton ball after each eye and be sure to wash hands in between.

Pre-menstrual tension chamomile can be a really great ally for people who menstruate, who would like some relief from nervousness, tension, irritability, and all the other feelings that can be experienced in that time before coming.

It can help calm folks down, but can also support by dispersing stagnation and draining fluids, which will help ease.

Menstrual pain, can also act as an ague to help bring on any bleeding.

Chamomile can help calm menstrual cramps by its pain, killing anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic actions, upper respiratory tract infections and allergies.

Conditions such as bronchitis, catarrh, asthma and spasmodic coughing can all be helped by Chamomile.

These conditions are best helped with steam inhaled through the nose and mouth.

Sajah says the mucus membranes of the mouth, sinus, throat, and lungs, all benefit from the oils within Chamomile.

Fighting off invading pathogens and helping to soothe the tissue and heal the mucosa and reducing inflammation can help calm down allergic reactions, and it has been used as an old treatment for hay.

Hemorrhoids.

Chamomile can be added to a sits bath to help cool down, itchy, irritated hemorrhoids, children's complaints.

Chamomile is super safe for children, which makes it a very well used remedy for fevers.

It can be combined with peppermint and lemon balm.

It's also good for colic and diarrhea.

Overall.

It can just help an irritable child chill out due to its action on the nervous.

For teething, a traditional remedy is soaking a cloth in the tea or infusion, letting it cool, and then applying it to the sore area.

A cloth can also be soaked and then put in the freezer to become a feasible chew that the baby can chew on for relief.

chamomile has also been made into all sorts of gels for teething kids, as well as creams and ointments for nappy rash.

Be aware that children will need less than adults.

Haircare for folks with blonde or golden hair.

chamomile has been used as a hair wash to keep hair light, seasonal allergies.

Chamomile can also be extremely useful for hay fever sufferers, especially if mixed with nettle and plantain that are detailed in this book.

Cautions.

Do not take during pregnancy.

Be careful using and therapeutic doses in combination with orthodox anticoagulants.

Sajah says caution with central nervous system depressants such as opiates, alcohol, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, Anas anesthetics or anti-epileptic.

Avoid with warfarin and related anticoagulant medications.

Avoid if allergic or sensitive to the Asteraceae family plants.

So that's the Daisy family.

Okay.

How to practically use chamomile while in prison where you might find chamomile.

German chamomile does grow in the world, but it is increasingly hard to find and I would be very surprised to find it in prison unless it was somehow introduced into a prison garden intentionally.

When I was inside Roman chamomile was planted in one of the gardens and German chamomile was planted in a new mother and baby unit garden, which is where I harvested them from.

However, wild Chamomile pineapple weed is often the most abundant, which is why I included it in this profile.

You can find it growing on gravel and in paths.

However, this tenacious weed often comes up in the most unexpected places.

Stress.

Drink the tea whenever you feel tense and stressed.

It is particularly good if you're trying to wind down after a particularly hard day.

I used to drink it after emotional visit.

Insomnia and poor sleep.

Try drinking the tea before you go to bed.

Better to have a stronger smaller cup than to be half the night needing the loo.

Leave for at least 30 minutes for a strong brew, indigestion, drink a cup of Chamomile tea.

Joint pain, and inflammation.

Now sadly, you're not gonna be able to access the concentrated essential oil in prison.

However, drinking the tea will still help.

If you only have access to the canteen brought tea bags, then you can still place the warm tea bags on sore joints for.

. You can also soak fabric in the strong tea and wraparound sore areas.

If you have access to the plants, then simply make a strong infusion and do the same gum inflammation and mouth sores.

Make a cup of Chamomile tea and then swish it in your mouth and rinse skin rashes and inflammation.

Make a super strong infusion and add it to a warm bath if possible.

If you do not have access to a bath, then you can soak some material in the infusion and wrap it around the affected area toenail infection.

Either do a foot bath in a strong infusion of Chamomile, or if this is not possible.

You can also place a warm teabag directly on the affected toe conjunctivitis or pink eye.

Place a warm not hot teabag over each eye and leave on for at least 10 minutes.

Make sure to throw away the teabags afterwards to not spread infection.

Can also make an eye wash for some Chamomile tea that has cooled down.

If you have access to cotton wool, then dipping it in the cool tea, wiping your eye from the inside to the outer eye can also.

Premenstrual tension and period pains.

Drink Chamomile tea, upper, or respiratory infections such as sore throat or block sinuses.

Make a strong infusion of Chamomile ideally in a bowl and place your face over it with a towel over your head so that you can inhale the steam allergies, drink the tea and use a strong tea as an eye bath for hay fever or other allergic inflammation.

Hemorrhoids, add Chamomile to a sits bath.

All right.

That is all for Chamomile this week and the next time we talk about a plant, it's gonna be self-heal.

I'm very excited about.

Okay.

I hope you're good.

Take care.

Thanks for listen.

Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.