Today's Daily Health Tip

Goldenrod - A Natural Kidney & Bladder Remedy?
by Jennifer Good

There are between 60 and 130 different varieties of our featured herb, goldenrod. According to old folk lore, finding some near your house meant the people who resided there would have good fortune. In fact, one variety was even known as the “Liberty tea.” After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the only good alternative for tea was goldenrod tea.

Often falsely accused as being responsible for annual allergies, goldenrod is more than just a common garden herb, it also serves as an herbal remedy that has been used to treat people across three continents with a variety of medical conditions related to the kidney and bladder for centuries.

In addition, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, historically, goldenrod (Solidago canadensis or Solidago virgaurea) has been used on the skin to heal wounds. It has also been used to treat tuberculosis, diabetes, enlargement of the liver, gout, hemorrhoids, internal bleeding, asthma, and arthritis. In folk medicine, it is used as a mouth rinse to treat inflammation of the mouth and throat.

Most commonly however, Goldenrod is used as an aquaretic agent, meaning that it promotes the loss of water from the body (as compared to a diuretic, which promotes the loss of both water and electrolytes such as salt). It is used frequently in Europe to treat urinary tract inflammation and to prevent or treat kidney stones.

In fact, goldenrod has received official recognition in Germany for its effectiveness in getting rid of kidney stones, and it is commonly found in teas and tinctures to help "flush out" kidney stones and stop inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract. Goldenrod is said to wash out bacteria and kidney stones by increasing the flow of urine, and also, soothe inflamed tissues and calm muscle spasms in the urinary tract. It isn't used as a cure in itself, but rather as an adjunct to other, more definitive treatments such as (in the case of bladder infections) antibiotics. Several studies have found that goldenrod does in fact increase urine flow.

Typically goldenrod is ingested in a dried form, but it's also commonly used in tinctures and fluid extracts. For example, Jon Barron uses goldenrod in his kidney flush formula that can be used when needed, or as a kidney detox to cleanse the kidney and bladder when undergoing a full body detox.

For more great topics on natural health visit the website, JonBarron.org!

Sources:
http://www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/goldenrod.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenrod
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/goldenrod
http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail365.php
http://www.livestrong.com/article/511750-herbal-benefits-of-goldenrod/

http://jonbarron.org/