All Extracts Are Not Alike| Herbal Goodness
Why Glycerin is Above All Other Extracts
What is the benefit of taking an extract?
The success of herbal products as agents for your body is dependent upon how active their ingredients are when you ingest them.
For the maximum benefit, it is important to take herbs in the form that best captures and preserves their active constituents. Liquid herbal extracts achieve this, so they are the most beneficial form of herbs available on the market today.
Extracts aren’t exposed to oxygen and light the way some capsules and tablets are, therefore their potency remains firm. There are fewer fillers and inactive ingredients in extracts as well.
Liquids are digested and more immediately available into your glands, organs, and bloodstream when compared to tablets and capsules. Tinctures and extracts maintain their freshness longer too.
When trying to decide what form of a product is best for you to consider a tincture or extract for maximum absorption, potency, and your greatest advantage. Although the science is there many have questions they would like answered before taking such strong herbal medicine. In this article, we will touch on a few basic questions on tinctures and how they are made.
How are tinctures made?
A tincture, or liquid extract, is the preservation of herbs in alcohol and/or water or with vegetable glycerin. These are the most common forms of herbal medicines, along with capsules and tea.
Some herbs require an alcohol extraction process so that certain medicinal constituents are pulled out of the plant and made available to the user. Tinctures are extracts made by soaking herbs in solutions designed to draw out their virtues.
Alcohol is the most common soaking solution for tinctures. Tincture manufacturers must have recipe books to guide them, as the exact method will differ for each herb. Tinctures are valuable because they are easy to digest, assimilate, and absorb.
Some herbs can only be used in this form. The strength of a tincture should be listed on the bottle in the form of a ratio, such as 1:5 or 1:2. The first number tells you how much of the herb is present, and the second number tells you how much of the liquid was used to dissolve the herb that is in the preparation. Not all liquids are comparable though. Water, alcohol, and glycerin each do different things and process at different levels.
Taste, How Can I Take It?
Some people do not like the taste, due to the alcohol, and that is why a non-alcoholic tincture can be a great option for some.
Herbal Goodness has a completely alcohol-free extract. You can order at www.herbalgoodnessco.com.
Our glycerin extract is the only papaya leaf extract that you can add to any liquid and not have the extract be altered or changed. Most children, including mine, can take this extract straight and will ask for more. For picky children, try adding to juice. Grape juice works well or you can try mixing it in their jelly sandwich.
What About The Quality, Does It Matter?
Quality is always a concern with herbs. Make sure you are getting the best for you buck. Many herbs might be cheaper but you get what you pay for. When you can make sure to purchase tinctures that are organic, non-GMO, wildcrafted, local, sustainably grown and without fillers or preservatives.
Herbal Papaya is non-GMO sourced, USDA organic, fair trade sourced, certified Kosher and Vegan and the best quality of the freshest papaya leaves. Take a small amount the first time you take it to make sure you don’t have an allergy to the herb or the ingredients.
If you have any itching, a rash or vomiting discontinue using the supplement to see if you get better.
You can consult a doctor, a naturopath or a skilled herbalist for help in increasing or decreasing dosage and other questions regarding treatment.
Chances are high that there won’t be any issue, but listen to your body and pay attention to any symptoms. Our extracts are made according to the highest standards of excellence, using only freshly harvested plants.
Dosage, Is it Safe?
At most, tinctures can be taken two to three times daily, usually with a meal or snack. If you are prone to digestive discomfort it is important not to take herbs on an empty stomach.
Children can take tinctures also, please consult an herbalist or a naturopath pediatrician for dosage. Usually, most children can take ¼ to 1/5 of an adult dose.
How Should I Store My Tinctures?
Storage is always an issue for tinctures as well. Make sure you store your tinctures in a cupboard or the fridge so that they aren’t exposed to extreme light or heat. This isn’t always necessary, especially if the bottle is stored in a dark glass or plastic which blocks out most light. BPA free glass and plastic are the best choices for herbal tinctures so you won’t have to worry about leaching.
Related: How to Make Effective and Potent Herbal Tinctures
A Little About Glycerin Extracts
Every step of the Herbal Goodness’s Extract process is totally alcohol-free. Alcohol is NEVER used anywhere in the process. This exclusive process preserves extracted water-soluble and alcohol/heat sensitive components such as aromatics, vitamins, enzymes, and other important constituents, that are diminished, denatured, rendered inert or altered in alcohol-based processes.
Herbal Papaya Liquid Extract can be taken straight, with water, in juices and even sprinkled over foods, all without tainting the taste or quality of the medium to which Herbal Papaya’s Liquid Extract is added.
Unlike sugar or alcohol, glycerin is processed very slowly in the body, utilizing a special enzyme pathway called the 'gluconeogenic cycle'. This kind of extract is a processed liquid herbal glyceride.
Due to the succulent nature of glycerin, it possesses a high degree of absorption and bioavailability. One indicator of this is that glycerin initiates an immediate salivation response which draws the blood and lymph vascularity of the mouth to the surface and brings enzymes essential to absorption into action, an effect completely the opposite of alcohol.
Written by Jessica Oren, Certified Family Herbalist & Certified Childbirth Doula
For Herbal Goodness
Suggested Read:
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II The best 5 supplement for men.
III Difference between whole herbs and isolate.
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