Our Hildegard Ailments section contains posts relating to specific health conditions. We’d like to provide a resource for you to find natural remedies, according to Hildegard, for health challenges you may be experiencing, or answer questions you may have about certain common ailments. While our overall Remedies category is meant to address many of these issues through a holistic approach to wellness, Hildegard of Bingen medicine is replete with natural remedies for specific conditions that have since been incorporated into Traditional German Medicine. This section includes those problem-specific remedies that have survived the test of time.
St. John’s Wort Benefits: An Effective Medicinal Plant for Anxiety and Depression
The name St. John’s Wort originates from St. John the Baptist. The plant blooms from about the time of St. John’s Day, 24 June, until August. According to old legend, St. John’s Wort sprouted at the place of John the Baptist’s beheading. And, the devil, afraid of St. John’s Wort benefits, including the healing, protective…
Headache Natural Remedies
Headache natural remedies address different types of headaches in different ways. Consider the right herbal remedy for unique headache symptoms, while recognizing limitations. In some cases, a simple remedy like peppermint oil may beat painkillers for treating certain types of headache symptoms. The many forms of headache Headaches show up in many different forms. Whether it…
Surprising Ancient Methods For Dental Health and Wellness
Much like today, ancient cultures valued clean, healthy, and white teeth. In poetry and myth, the description of a noble lady included reference to dental health and wellness. The ideal Medieval image included descriptions like “white teeth and red mouth” or some reference to clean teeth and sweet breath. Conversely, villains were characterized by discolored…
Valerian Root for Anxiety and Sleep
Today, Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis) has a solid reputation (particularly, in Germany) for sleep inducing, stress relief. In the Middle Ages, Valerian was regarded as a panacea remedy. While anxiety had a different name, the common use of Valerian root for anxiety persisted. Perhaps because of its intense smell and flavor, the herb has fallen…
How to make Ginger Tea, but avoid these mistakes
When it comes to the question of how to make Ginger Tea, there are a handful of common mistakes that limit the efficacy of this age-old remedy. Few herbal remedies work as well as hot ginger tea for treating symptoms of the common cold. Here’s what to look for to get the very most out…
3 Natural Remedies for Anxiety and Nerves
Our fast-paced lives often come at the price of stress on our system. Ironically, the less time we have to calm down, the more we need respite. The pressure we place on ourselves creates stress on our body and soul, which plays itself out on our nervous system. Stress activates our nervous system with hormones, such as…
Benefits of rose tea and rose oil
We can all appreciate the beautiful appearance and pleasant smell of roses. Less recognized by most of us today are the healing properties benefits of rose tea and rose oil. Roses work on spirit, mind, and body and can be used in many ways. The oldest evidence of roses trace back to fossils found in…
Licorice Teas
Be cautious not to exceed safe licorice intake. See our post on the health benefits of Licorice Root to learn more about licorice and its medicinal uses. Traditional German Medicine also recommends caution using licorice remedies, specifically to limit medicinal teas containing licorice to no more than 4 consecutive weeks. (1) Basic Licorice Tea Combine 1/2…
11 Naturopathic Remedies for Common Health Problems
In our ongoing effort to research Hildegard’s various natural remedies, we’ve found the following 11 naturopathic remedies to address common health problems that seem to have stood the test of time. Hildegard of Bingen is widely recognized, in part for her naturopathic remedies, and her significant contributions to holistic health and wellness. Though her findings are almost…
The Doctrine of Signatures and Healing Plants
The doctrine of signatures is the age-old belief that plants resemble the very body parts they are intended to treat. The concept is perhaps as old as the history of mankind, but is believed to have taken its name from the book “The Signature of All Things” (1621) by German philosopher, mystic, and theologian Jakob…
Lungwort Remedy
The evergreen perennial plant, Lungwort (pulmonaria officinalis) derives from the genus of flowering plants in the Boraginaceae family known as the borage, or forget-me-not family. The plant takes its name from the Latin root Pulmoa, meaning lung. Records of a lungwort remedy first appear from Leonhart Fuchs (1501 – 1566), a German physician and one…
Natural Remedies for Gingivitis: Wormwood
Gingivitis is a common but mild form of gum disease (periodontal disease.) If you have irritation, redness and swelling (inflammation) of your gums, you may have gingivitis. Luckily, we have natural remedies for gingivitis for you. But first, we will look at the causes of gingivitis, the symptoms of gingivitis, and how to reverse gum…