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Healing & Alternative Health
Oatstraw:
Medicine from the Hills
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by Kami McBride |
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The hills surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area are a vibrant green. In the coming months this beautiful green will turn to gold. As summer rolls in, the green and gold of the hills give way to a darker brown. The ‘golden rolling hills of California’ are honored in paintings, songs, and poems. Have you ever wondered which plants give us this wonderful display of changing colors? The two main plants that cover the hills in the greater Bay Area are star thistle and oatstraw, both invasive weeds from Europe.
Oatstraw (Avena sativa) is highly medicinal and star thistle has no redeeming value that I can think of. Star thistle has actually become the most common weed in the state. In 1985 star thistle occupied 7.9 million acres in California and now it covers more than 20 million acres. Star thistle is one of the few plants that can withstand cattle grazing and pesticide use. Its’ widespread thorns have become a major problem in California.
Oatstraw is also a plant that has colonized millions of acres. It escaped the farmer’s oat fields and has naturalized throughout California. It chokes out native plants and can literally take over entire hillsides. The good thing about it is that almost everyone can benefit from drinking oatstraw tea. It grows in such abundance that unlike many other medicinal plants, it does not matter how much of it you harvest. You can pick as much oatstraw as you want without having to worry about the environmental impact of your harvest.
If you live on the west coast and are reading this article in March it is most likely that there is some ripe oatstraw growing near you. It is usually ready to harvest from mid February through mid April depending on its’ exposure to sun and access to water. As with harvesting any herb, do not pick any plants unless you are absolutely sure that you have identified the correct plant. It is best to attend an herb walk or have a knowledgeable person introduce you to a plant. When harvesting any herb you want to make sure that you pick them in a place that is as clean as possible. Never harvest near a road, from an area that may have been sprayed with pesticides, or from a place where dogs or cats frequent.
Oatstraw needs to be harvested while it is still green. If the plant is beginning to turn gold, it is past the harvesting stage and you need to wait until next year. It is important to harvest oatstraw while there is still a milk like substance in the seed pods. Squeeze the seed pods, if they are milky, then harvest the top seven inches of the plant including the milky seed pods. Let the plant dry in a cool, dark place and then store it in a jar or a paper bag in a dark cabinet. If you are not able to harvest the herb yourself, dried oatstraw is readily available in health food and herb stores.
Why would you want to go through all of this trouble to have a bunch of dried oat grass around your house? Oatstraw is a wonderful nourishing herb that is one of the best remedies that I know of for stress, emotional challenges, and a burned out nervous system.
Oatstraw Infusion
Add four tablespoons of dried oatstraw to one quart of water. Bring it to a boil, turn off the heat, let it sit in the pot with the lid on for four hours, then strain the herb from the infusion. Drink at room temperature throughout the day or re-heat your infusion as desired. Another way to receive the benefits of an oatstraw infusion is to pour it into your evening bath. Make four quarts of oatstraw infusion and add it to your bath water. Soaking your entire body in an oatstraw bath helps to wipe off a stressful day, relieve anxiety, and relax the nervous system.
Oatstraw helps with insomnia, a chattering mind, anxiety, nervous exhaustion, nerve pain, recovery from substance abuse, emotional trauma, tension, depression, P.M.S., and nervous headaches. When someone seems overwrought, on the edge, overdone, frazzled, and generally worn out, I suggest oatstraw. Oatstraw helps to regenerate and nourish the nervous system. It is gentle, calming and soothing. Oatstraw is not a quick fix herb; it is an herb that can be quite effective if used on a regular basis over time. Every person and every situation is different, but a general guideline could be to drink two to three cups of infusion, three or four times a week for several weeks.
Oatstraw is also well known to be useful for all stages of a woman’s life. It can help with anxiety, insomnia, pain, and nervousness during menstruation and menopause. The ability of oatstraw to help regenerate the nervous system can have a very beneficial effect on a woman’s hormone cycle. Oatstraw helps to balance the nervous system and the endocrine system. It is also gentle enough to use during pregnancy and is found in many pregnancy tonic formulas.
Oatstraw is one of my favorite herbal remedies for emotional challenges and stress and it actually has a very nice taste! Hardly a week goes by in my practice without suggesting that someone use this gentle healing medicine from my surrounding hills.
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Kami McBride,
Teacher of Herbal Medicine
& Women's Health
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Kami McBride has taught herbal medicine and women’s health since 1988. She has studied medicinal plants for almost 20 years and has taught Herbology at the University of California School of Nursing and Stanford Hospital. Her popular course, Cultivating the Herbal Medicine Woman Within is an experiential earth awareness and herbal studies program that is taught at her beautiful school and herb gardens in Vacaville, California.
An intuitive and inspiring teacher, Kami has helped thousands of people learn to use healing plants in their daily lives in ways that are healthy, safe and fun. Her extensive knowledge of herbal medicine along with a focus on teaching herbology as a relationship with the Earth and a way of life, help to fulfill her mission of reviving the cultural art of home herbal care.
Kami is an herbal consultant and an expert in the field of holistic health specializing in women’s issues. Her herbal consultations empower women to discover sacredness and pleasure in their healing process. Her educational courses provide a sanctuary for women to transform their relationship with their body and reclaim their heritage as healers and herbalists.
Kami is the author of 105 Ways to Celebrate Menstruation, available at www.amazon.com.
Visit Kami’s website at:
www.livingawareness.
com
Sign up for her free quarterly herbal e-newsletter.
kami@livingawarness.
com
For Classes, Books & Consultations:
Phone: 707-446-1290
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