Queen Anne's Lace Tincture
Queen Anne's Lace Tincture
This "weed" has some pretty amazing benefits! It has some poisonous lookalikes but is easy to identify once you know what to look for! It is a lookalike to hemlock, which is poisonous. Hemlock has a blotchy purple stem, whereas Queen Anne's Lace has a fuzzy stem! QAL has a tiny red flower in the center of the white cluster which helped to name the plants. Legend says that the Queen of England (1665-1714) pricked herself with a needle while making lace, and the flower resembles lace and a blood droplet. The fresh seeds and some leaves are used for this tincture.
The tincture acts as a diuretic, helping to flush the kidneys and liver and promote urination. It can help to counter kidney stone formation and help to flush those that have already formed. As a liver support, it can stimulate the flow of urine which can help to then remove the waste via the kidneys.
It can help to soothe the digestive tract and can help with stomach cramps from eating.
It was used historically as a contraceptive aid when taken in large, intentional, frequent amounts. It can also often help to encourage delayed menstruation that is not due to pregnancy.
It has some uterine-stimulating properties, so pregnant women might choose to avoid this during pregnancy in larger doses. I recommend taking small doses and seeing how your body responds! To cause "harm" to baby, LARGE amounts would have to be consumed (like, if you buy out my whole stock and drink them all at once!) but it is amazing when used medicinally!