Sicky Syrup: Immune-Boosting Herbal Syrup for Cold Season

Mar 15, 2020

by

Rachel B

Sicky Syrup: Immune-Boosting Herbal Syrup for Cold Season

Because herbal medicine is our core, founder and herbalist Rachel Budde will be sharing a spectrum of herbal recipes so you can layer your life with medicine. May your creativity be sparked in making these recipes, may their plant properties align with the innate healing capacity of your body, and may your time at home be restful and introspective.

This re-share expands on the previous Sicky Syrup recipe. It addresses the specificities of the creature COVID-19.

As a reminder: our immune system is INCREDIBLE. It even has its own memory. It learns about the world, and prepares itself accordingly- like a badass Girl Scout.

The beauty, and magic, of plant medicine is that it collaborates with the systems and functions of our human bodies. Our chemistry evolved with plant chemistry, and plant chemistry evolved with bacteria, fungi and viri. We borrow from the plants well practiced techniques of dealing with unfriendly microbes.

Herbal medicine supports our bod’s ability to heal itself.

Sicky Syrup helps stoke the fire of our immune systems. This recipe is a starting point. I’ve added variations depending on what you have on hand. This will make a giant batch.

Ingredients:

1 handful dried Astragalus roots/ elder twigs/ reishi slices/ burdock root/ licorice root

1 cup Rosehips- if you don’t have rosehips, sub with the non-sprayed peels of lemon or oranges

2 tablespoons cordyceps (usually available in powder)

1 cup Goji berries/ blueberries/ blackberries/ cranberries/ rooibos tea

If you have: Small handful osha root/ rhodiola/ elecampane

¼ cup Cardamom seeds/ cinnamon sticks or ⅛ cup powdered cinnamon

2 whole oranges/ lemons

Simmer the mixture in a big pot of water for at least 2 hours. Or slow cook overnight in your crockpot if you’re midwestern like that.

Meanwhile, juice or blend in a blender with just a bit of water to make a potent slurry:

2 handfuls of fresh ginger

1 handful fresh turmeric

2-3 whole lemons

Once the tea has cooled, mix in the juice. If you go the slurry route, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth lined sieve, squeezing out every last bit.

To this mixture of tea and juice, add honey to taste then bottle up. I also add a bit of brandy to extend the life of the syrup- it’s your call to do so or not. Keep refrigerated.

Take a shot glass full, 2-3 times everyday to keep your system strong, 4-8 shot glasses full if you’re ill. Best if used within a month.

More info:

If you are already working with a dry cough, thicken the liquid with more honey and add ½ teas powdered marshmallow per ½ cup of Sicky syrup.

Keep the lungs tonified with teas or tinctures of elecampane root, ginkgo, or teas of mullein leaf.

Note on elderberries: elderberries are great as a preventive if you’re in good health. Their actions make your cells ‘slippery’ and harder for viri to gain purchase, but elder bark, twigs and leaves are stronger.

Keep your flora and fauna strong, your microbiome is your first defense against unsavory microorganisms. Support with fermented and prebiotic rich foods, and getting your hands in the earth.

A regulated nervous system is the foundation for good health. A balanced nervous system is when the body has balance between active states and rest and repair states. This is a time for nourishment. Eat well, rest well, tap into the parasympathetic well of creativity and repair.

Fat and the Moon will be continuing to provide potions that nourish via the interwebs.

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