Horsetail
Natural Healing Herbs
Horsetail is the ancestor of a large 30 meter trees that grew abundantly in Paleozoic forests. Now these much smaller plants are used as natural healing herbs to treat a variety of conditions.
Other Names
It is also known as own as equisetum arvense, candock, bottle-brush, horse willow, toadpipe, or scouring-rush.
Appearance
This plant has hallow stems and shoots that resemble asparagus. The leaves are small and grow in a spiral pattern. It is a non-flowering plant.
Origins
It can be found in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East.
Part Used
The stems and leaves are used dried or fresh.
Medicinal Uses
This herb is a diurectic. It can be used both internally and externally. It's used by herbalists to treat the following conditions:
- kidney stones
- urinary tract infections
- sprains
- fractures
- first degree burns
- rheumatoid arthritis
- osteoporosis
You can by this herb and many others at Mountain Rose Herbs.
Side Effects and Warnings
This herb contains nicotine. Ingesting large amounts of it can cause nicotine toxicity. If you smoke don't take this herb because you could overdose on nicotine.
It can cause a depletion of thiamin. Take a quality B complex vitamin with it to make sure you have enough thiamin in your system. It also may react with certain medications. If you take prescription medication consult your doctor before taking it.
This herb should be avoided by people with kidney or heart problems.
You should not take this herb if you are pregnant or nursing.
If you found this information useful, check out my complete listing of herbs at my Herb Index. You can find a listing of ailments and their natural treatments on my Free Home Remedies page.
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