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Page 28
uents. You might need a tablespoon of alfalfa tincture to be effectiveenough alcohol to get some of us tipsy.
In each section below, I have listed my favorite herbs first. These are generally those I know best; you may find another herb works just fine.
1. Urinary Antimicrobials.
These herbs are all related and contain similar constituents that are excreted in the urine and inhibit bacteria. They are generally most effective when the urine is alkaline. Those high in tannins are best used in short-term acute treatment. Those low in tannins can be used either short-term or in formulas.
High in Tannins
Uva Ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), tea or tincture.
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp., bushes native to California and the Southwest), tea or tincture.
Low in Tannins
Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), tea or tincture.
Huckleberry or blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), tea.
Aromatic Antimicrobials
These are effective primarily because they contain essential oils or oleoresins that are excreted in the urine and variously inhibit organisms adhering to the mucosa or have involved the cell layers below. Some are rather safe for either short-term or formula use ("general use"); others are strong and potentially irritating to either the stomach, kidneys or the bladder mucosa itself ("industrial strength") and are best used in small quantities as part of a formula.
General Use
Yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica), tea or tincture.
Cubeb berries (Piper cubeba), tea or tincture.

 
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