Raspberry (Rubus idaeus). Tea made from raspberry leaves has been widely recommended for curbing the nausea of morning sickness. This use has not been investigated adequately enough. Still, I believe that folklore carries a good deal of weight, and the tea has a persistent reputation as a treatment for women's conditions, from menstrual cramps to morning sickness and labor pains. Raspberry leaf is said to contain a constituent, readily extracted with hot water, that relaxes the smooth muscles of the uterus. I'd suggest drinking up to three cups a day. Or combine it with ginger, mint and a little lemon for a very pleasant anti-queasiness tea.

...I'm sold on raspberry for complaints of pregnancy. One study identified a chemical in raspberry that relaxers the uterus. For centuries, women prone to miscarriage have been urged to drink raspberry leaf tea throughout their pregnancy to help them carry the baby to term. The herb is also reportedly useful in preventing many of the discomforts of pregnancy, including morning sickness.

Chances are that this herb's close botanical relatives, blackberries, dewberries and wineberries, would offer similar benefits.

...Many women herbalists I respect recommend raspberry leaf tea for easing menstrual cramps. One study showed that this herb helps relax the uterus. it's also popular for soothing the uterine irritability associated with pregnancy.

Researchers don't know the active compound in raspberry, but they speculate that it might be Pycnogenol (an oligomeric procyanidin, or OPC). That makes sense to me. In one study, taking 200 milligrams of OPC daily over two cycles eliminated or significantly relieved menstrual cramps and/or premenstrual syndrome in 50 to 60 percent of the women who took them. Among women who took OPCs for four cycles, the number who benefited was even higher--66 to 80 percent.

You can buy pure OPC in the form of Pycnogenol, but it's an expensive supplement. I'd suggest trying raspberry leaf tea instead.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) AND CASSIA (C. aromaticum)

What It Is:
These two different plants are virtually indistinguishable in looks, flavor, and chemistry. Spice dealers lump cinnamon and cassia together when they dry and powder the plants' bark; medical researchers probably haven't bothered to distinguish between the two either. To split hairs, cassia is also called Chinese cinnamon, false cinnamon, bastard cinnamon, and Canton cassia. It's native to southern China, Vietnam, and Burma. This plant has small flowers arranged in trios and a pea-size fruit. Its flowers, bark, and bark oil contain the medicinal wallop. "Real" cinnamon is indigenous to southwestern India and Sri Lanka. It features tiny, white green flowers with a disagreeable scent and oval fruit that resemble berries. The natural medicine is contained primarily in the bark of younger trees and the oil squeezed from the bark and leaves.

Therapeutic Uses:
@@Bronchitis, colds, coughing, fever, gas, indigestion, infections, intestinal spasms, lack of appetite, oral inflammation, sore throat.
@Colic, diarrhea, hemorrhage, intestinal pain, menstrual pain and irregularities, pain, ulcers, yeast infections.
X Folk Uses: Arthritis, chills, conjunctivitis, flu, nerve pain, orgasmic inability, toothache, uterine relaxation, vaginitis, worms, wounds.

Medicinal Properties:
The phytochemical compounds in cinnamon and cassia ease allergies, reduce pain, counteract bacteria and fungi (including candidas), disinfect wounds, quell spasms and help relax muscles, relieve gas, perk up the movement of food through your intestinal tract, and beat back bugs and other insects.

Dosage Options:
Besides a sprinkle in your applesauce or on top of your toast, try 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a cup of hot water two or three times a day with meals. Or try ¹/₂ to 1 milliliter of a liquid extract, ¹/₂ to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon tincture, or 0.3 to 1 gram of powdered bark.

Safety Rating: 3

Precautions:
Only a handful of extremely sensitive people will have a negative reaction to cinnamon, typically contact dermatitis (perhaps a rash, burning, itching, or swollen lips or tongue). If you're this sensitive, avoid perfumes, cosmetics, ointments, mouth-washes, and toothpastes that contain this spice. In one experiment, very high doses of cinnamon caused dogs to vomit. Cinnamon and one of its active ingredients, cinnamaldehyde, might weaken the effect of tetracycline.

ELDER, EUROPEAN; ELDERBERRY (Sambucus nigra)

What It Is:
Musical instruments, weaving needles, and, of course, elderberry wine all have come from this plant, a member of the honeysuckle family. People have been cultivating this small tree, with its clusters of tiny white flowers and blackish purple berries, probably since prehistoric times. Nine or so different species of elder grow in various parts of North America and Europe. The bark, berries, and flowers all have been used to make tonics said to do everything from induce sweating and treat colds to encourage excretion. Herbal distributors often confuse the different species and call them by different names, but the best (or at least best studied) of the bunch is S. nigra, known variously as elder, European elder, elderberry, and black elderberry. Native Americans used S. canadensis for the same medicinal purposes, but this species may have a different medicinal impact.

Therapeutic Uses:
@@Bronchitis, colds, coughing.
@Breathing problems, flu, herpes, mucous membrane inflammation, sinusitis, sore throat.
X Folk uses: Arthritis, boils, bruises, constipation, eczema, fever, headache, laryngitis, obesity, pain, sores, swelling.

Medicinal Properties:
The phytochemicals in European elder are good viral vanquishers, particularly in the respiratory system. In one clinical trial, a standardized herb extract alleviated symptoms and cured 90 percent of the people hit by a 1993 flu outbreak in Israel in just 3 days. Most of their elderberry-free counterparts in the study didn't get better for almost a week. The extract, some research suggest, binds to flu viruses, preventing them from invading cells and replicating. Bioflavonoids in the extract may contribute to the deterrent effect.

Prescription Counterparts:
The compound used in the Israeli study was refined extract of elderberry. The evidence is still sketchy, but it may work in a fashion similar to the prescription drug zanamivir (Relenza) and other neuraminidase inhibitors.

Dosage Options:
Put 2 teaspoons of dried European elder flowers in a cup of hot water, steep, strain, and drink several times a day. You can also take ¹/₂ to 1 teaspoon of a liquid flower extract three times a day or ¹/₂ to 2 teaspoons of a liquid whole-herb extract daily.

Safety Rating: 3

Precautions:
None reported with dried fruit and flowers. Raw or unripe parts of the plant contain a chemical called sambunigrin, which can induce diarrhea or vomiting if consumed in excess.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita), spearmint (M. spicata) and other mints. Mints have traditionally been used to treat gallstones. One stone-relieving mixture, a British over-the-counter "gallstone tea" preparation called Rowachol, contains chemicals from several members of the mint family. In one British study, this product helped a quarter of those who used it.

If I didn't have access to a doctor during a gallstone attack, I'd brew what I call Stone Tea from as many mints as I could gather from the garden or store, especially peppermint and spearmint, an old favorite. I'd add some cardamom, the richest source of borneol, another compound that is helpful.