Join us every Friday in July and August and learn about the Decoda staff’s summer reading picks. Today Trish Weatherall, Communications Specialist, is sharing her summer reading pick.

This spring, while searching for relief for my sore joints, I learned about the benefits of nettle tea for inflammation. Nettle is a superfood. It is good source of Vitamins K, A, B2, B6, B1, C and also contains protein, iron, calcium and other minerals. Among its many benefits, it is said to be anti-inflammatory (the Arthritis Foundation recommends it), anti-bacterial, and it also helps to support the immune system and ease allergy symptoms.

I started foraging wild stinging nettle (wearing gloves!) and drinking nettle tea a few times daily. I did notice reduced pain in my joints.

That made me wonder what else I could find, in nature and in my garden, to make herbal teas (officially called tisanes). What other health benefits might I find? I’ve since been foraging wild rose petals, red clover and hawthorn flowers; plus collecting nasturtiums, lavender, echinacea, mint, basil, rosemary from my garden, and making my own herbal tea blends.

Google had been my research partner so far. But, in a case of “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear”, I found a book in my “to-read-someday” stack, that I had picked up several years ago at a used book sale.

Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar explains the properties of specific herbs and how to prepare them for teas, tinctures, salves and ointments. It’s a book you can read in parts to find specific information (I focused on the “Women of the Waning Moon” section). But you could easily read it cover to cover. It has a beautiful introduction to herbalism, encouraging the reader to connect with thousands of years of wisdom passed on through generations of women around the world. This wisdom survived 300 years of witch-hunts, when women were tortured or burned at the stake for their medicinal knowledge. Today, herbalism is making a resurgence as a wonderful way to connect to the land and to your health with simple home remedies.

Best-selling author Rosemary Gladstar is an internationally known herbal expert. She’s written many more books about herbal healing, including Medicinal Herbs: A beginner’s Guide, Herbs for Children’s Health, Herbs for Stress & Anxiety and Herbal Healing for Men. You can also find videos on Youtube and books, courses and blogs on the website Rosemany Gladstar’s The Science & Art of Herbalism.