I’m a dental assistant and the oil that comes from cloves (Eugenol) is still in a lot of dental cements and over the counter toothache creams. Some dental office still have the faint scent of clove to bring the patient comfort and from the mixing of cements
Clove also works on the skin as an analgesic. I used it, along with iodine to clean the area, for self removal of a mole that was bothering me along the shirt collar area. It worked pretty well.
My notes 😀 Lavendar buds: disinfectant Yarrow: stops bleeding, fights infection Rosehip: 2x vitamin C as an orange, good for tea Calendula officialis (flowers): ointment for burns, cuts, abrasions Chamomile: upset stomach, trouble sleeping White willow bark: relieve pain, reduce fever after surgery, often used with chamomile Horehound: for colds, congestion, sore throat, and cough (teas and syrups used first, this was taken home) Valerian root: like chamomile, but also a sedative Cinnamon: for high blood pressure (relieves symptoms, though they didn't know the cause) Cloves: extracted oil used for dental work (rub it on gums) Cochineal: bright red dye, add lemon for orange and yellow
As a Botanist and Mycologist and I love this section of Towesends! I have a lot of books on herbs and flowers for first aid, monks and their herb gardens and I love collecting Apothecary jars!
We're Cherokee and still use our traditional medicine. It's effective and costs nothing more than the time it takes to gather and prepare the herbs. More people should use these old remedies but be cautious and seek training in the preparation as many of the plants are poisonous.
I’m more prone to believe that someone who uses the traditional medicine is actually Cherokee. Most people say they have it in their ancestry but how many live the lifestyle?
A lot of remidies and treatments that are naturally found haven't been utilized in western medicine, specifically because the "source" can't be quantified in scientific studies. It doesn't mean that certain herbs, plants and fungi don't have a direct influence on human biology. Understanding what IS a good remedy or treatment takes time and effort to fully understand, the pros/cons of each. If I were to stake my life on it, I'd still leave it to the advisement of my doctor. But we cannot forget what our ancestors learned, then what we can improve apon.
Townsends is the best example I know of just how good TH-cam can be, and not only has John Townsends and company created a great video series they've also come up with a textbook example of how to use social media in a positive way to help your small business.
Thank you for this series! As an EMT, I always hoped you would begin to do segments on what medicine and emergency medicine (battlefield medicine) would have been like in that time period. This is very enjoyable and informative!
I guess I'm telling my age. My grandmother Helen used to send me horehound bark to make tea with. This was because when I was very young gave me some tea and I told her I liked it. It was a bond between the two of us. Considering she had over 50 grandchildren this was special. So whenever I hear of horehound I think of her. Thanks for the warm memory
Is there horehound candy in your area? My Pap brought some home when I was little and I loved it. The local Shop 'N Save still sells it. We're in north central WV. 😊
I feel it is important to point out that, while silver is anti-microbial, it is used topically (on the skin), not really effective if ingested. It also is not excreted effectively by the body and gets stuck in tissue, leading to people who ingest it regularly to gain a blue tinge to their skin.
I've taken it internally at the first signs of illness (nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps). It has ALWAYS cleared up the bug by the next day. It's a miracle cure imo so I'm a fan of taking it internally. It was actually recommended to me by a medical doctor who was a customer of mine. My friend took it after I introduced her to it and it helped her also.
@@elmtree33 Those aren't the first signs of illness for me, more like the signs of a bad meal or weather-induced migraines that normally are gone the next day.
Quick correction from the chemist that I am, aspirin and willow bark are related though not the same chemical and the effects are slightly different. Willow bark contains salicylic acid, whereas aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid. The willow extract was very harsh on the stomach often leading to uclers. The addition of that acetyl group on the molecule tames down its acidic caracter and make it milder on the stomach epithelial. The addition of that acetyl group also gave the molecule another property: anti-pain. Whereas salicylic acid only has an effect on fevers. Acetlysalicylic acid is also more effective on fevers that salicylic acid.
I was having a similar thought about digitalis. Yes it's effective, but it's almost never used anymore because the side effects are so horrendous. It's nice to use natural remedies when possible, but it's also important to have modern alternatives that are more regulated (so your dose is the same every time) and hopefully have as few side effects as possible.
Vulgar is from the Latin vulgaris which means common or ordinary as in 'Vulgar Latin", the common speech of the day. Over time it has taken on a pejorative meaning.
This nice lady is very knowledgeable. We understand it's not her first demonstration, but she is packed with info and you can see her passion in what she does. Quality stuff, I could listen to her all day.
I've been to St. Augustine at least a dozen times in my 53 years, but I think I've learned more from Jon's few youtube videos than I have in all my trips in person combined.
Well, everything except towards the end when she says that plants are non-toxic and superior to modern medicine. That's just straight up harmful misinformation.
We still have an running apothecary here in the city near me. But he mainly sells burial stuff. Which i always found weird until i learned he was a certified mortician.
Its what was used before Rockefeller and his petroleum based pharmaceuticals took control in the 30’s. There used to be cures with plants and herbs, now theres just symptom management with toxic pharmaceutical chemicals ...no cures, all for profit and repeat customers. Im not surprised that you’re just now learning of this in your retirement because its prohibited to teach of proven cures from plants and herbs in med school.
My mom's a retired nurse, and her cousin's daughter is an herbalist. There are some conditions that the herbals work so much better for, without risk of addiction and without going into debt.
@@kimfleury I agree, but I would add that all conditions, not just some, can be treated using "natural" cures; even in some obscure cases, you would only need a very simple chemical solution.
I remember my Grandmother making mustard plaster when I was growing up. But I remember her setting the timer. They used it for Sprained back and somebody had or real bad chest cold or Bronchitis. That was in 70's she did this.She never put it right on skin, she used Cotton flannel then wrapped it with Ace bandage.
@@eldwinc9884 I think it was 15-30 minutes depending on what area of the skin and how sensitive the person was. If you Sunburn easily not as long. And she would check every few minutes. Hope that helps.
In the veterinary office I worked at, we had a medication made from a herb for extensive bleeding (particularly for spleen issues) called Yunnan Baiyo We weren’t a holistic office, but the led vet did have a few she preferred to use, like for anxiety, calming, and naturally NSAIDs, and of course to stop bleeding. The Yunnan Baiyo I’ve seen in PLENTY of other vet offices that I know do not use herbs and nutricueticals otherwise. (Lead/owner vet also kept some traditional Chinese formulas in stock, but most of the other vets were not fond of them.) The YB is a Chinese traditional blend. Unfortunately it’s a proprietary blend, but dang is it one of the more effective ones.
Actual medicinal books on herbalism that go back hundred years and naturopathic doctors writings and actual medical research studies state it was used medicinally. There was just a recent study showing it has use in treating neurological disorders , anxiety and is a smooth muscle relaxant.
Lavender is wonderful! One of my favorite plants. The smell is calming, both to humans and many animals. It also attracts bees and other cool beasties. However, to my knowledge, it doesn't cure anything. You can use it to diagnose issues, because if you don't like the smell, then there's something wrong with you 🤪
omg I love this content with her!! I would love to see her actually make some of these DIY, like the cleaning liquid using boiled lavender (how much to put in, how to use, etc.)
I'm glad you came to my neck of the woods. I live about an hour and a half or so from St Augustine. I've been there more times than I can count over the last 15 or so years and it's STILL one of my favorite places to go. I love to learn about history. Keep the videos coming. They're so informative and educational!
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
My husband's 2nd great grandfather was an Apothecary/Pharmacist in Eustice Florida. His daughter was the first born baby after the town was established. He was called Doc Guy Hutching.
3:18 Rose hips better for you because "no sugar". 3:34 Add sugar because rose hips are soooo tart. 5:16 Vulgare means "common". 15:28 *LOL NO.* Plants, being natural, have (1) variable concentrations of the active chemicals, and (2) the active chemicals usually had worse side effects than what we use now. *That's why we don't use the plants now.* For example, the concentration of salicylic acid in willow bark is variable, and can cause headaches, upset stomach and rashes. acetylsalicylic acid works faster and has fewer side effects.
I'm weird. Chamomile, the number one herbal remedy for stomach upsets of all kinds, insomnia, and anxiety, gives me terrible stomach cramps. Not intestinal cramps, just stomach cramps. I'm not the only person who experiences this. Other people who are allergic to ragweed and other plants in the chrysanthemum family can experience stomach cramps or other symptoms of allergies when ingesting chamomile as well as ragweed marigold (calendula).
i get bad stomach cramps when i try to use ashwaghanda. starting to think i might be allergic to it because the #1 allergic reaction i see with herbs like these is stomach cramps
I have to balance my chamomile with mint and ginger. Then i can drink it, but only if the chamomile is in small small quantities. Otherwise yeah i get the stomach cramps.
@TheMacel66 yeah I guess it would be difficult to figure out precisely which foods, if you include them in your diet of bread-and-just-bread-and-maybe-sometimes-a-fish, keep you from getting scurvy.. they just hit on citrus and stuck with it. Also apparently lemon and lime were not as solidly defined as they are today (whiiich makes sense) so it was kinda lemons OR limes.
pine needles too have a ton of vitC. I had just recently learned this one from a channel that was discussing how early settlers were deficient and asked the natives how they got vitC, and they pointed to the pine trees above them . I am going to be trying to make a tea from them and see how it helps.
I’m fairly certain I read that when Captain Cook voyaged to Australia he made his officers and men eat sauerkraut. They all hated it (don’t know why as I love it), but he knew it kept them healthy. It’s a great way to get vitamin C in a shelf stable capacity.
@@teresab2009, I think it was in one of the beer episode they did on this channel they mentioned that the Native American’s showed settlers how to gain vitamin c from pine, but the settlers boiled it instead and that destroys the vitamin c 🤦🏻♀️😅 But they didn’t know.
US government should give you a cultural award, your passion deserve official recognition I feel! Great job since years, compliments compliments compliments!
Pretty much everything here is stuff I keep in my medicinal tea kit only thing missing is anise seed. Valerian is a favorite of mine I use it to help sleep when I'm having a bad night
@@eldwinc9884 Anise seed is good for sore throats and sinus infections and I typically prepare it with a bit of raw honey it also contains a lot of vitamins as well. Though I do have to say eating the seeds is not advised because it has fat soluble vitamins that can be hazardous in large quantities. And it tastes like licorice and I think it's quite pleasant.
05:00 I had NO idea salicylic acid was the same as aspirin! My husband is allergic to aspirin, now I know to keep him away from some of my skin care products as well!
Author Diane Gabaldon’s main character Clare in the Outlander series is a healer. There are numerous stories where herbs and apothecary remedies were used. It was fascinating how she cared for sick and injured people.
@@jusjuicebox - 'scuse me, the WHAT? In Townsends? What?? I can also recommend a good book or two if you really want to get in depth into it, as herbal healing is a lot more than "take this for that". You really have to match the herb to the person, as well as the complaint they have. This is why people say that herbal medicines don't work. Of course they don't if you fail to take into account the individual's unique constitution!
@@TheMurlocKeeper haha i think he meant he watched the Outlander series, its not something youd watch with your mother. Can you tell me the books you would recommend? That sounds fascinating about matching to the person. Seems more traditional Chinese medicine than western.
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
8:00 - This is partially true. The British used Cochineal for officer coats only. It was far to expensive to dye the uniforms of the rank and file - the entire reason the British adopted red as their colour was due to the abundance and relative cheapness of red dye - something cochineal most definately wasn't. The traditional scarlett colour seen on the coats of the rank and file redcoat was derived from Rose Madder, a much cheaper and more available dye.
As a practicing ecologist who comes across these or other medicinal plants this was a fantastic reminder of some of their uses. I love how she describes both how there were used and the modern understanding of why they worked!
Two important points which the good lady omitted. (1) Modern pharmaceuticals are made with known percentages of the essential ingredient. Until the advent of modern chemistry, it was impossible for anyone to know this. Depending on how a plant is grown, in what soil, amount of sunlight, and water, and how long and under what conditions it is stored before use, or even ground up before use, the quantity of the essential ingredient is a mystery. (2) Along with the herbal remedies which have some efficacy (subject to the above provisos), medicine in the 17th and 18th century, and well into the 19th century, included such harmful treatments as bloodletting and purgatives. These were more likely to sicken - or even kill- the patient. George Washington suffered numerous bloodlettings in his final illness. These only served to weaken him.
I had stomach problem for few years, pills didn't work as good as it should. Then I started to drink chamomile tea. After some time I could stop taking pills. And there's many others herbs that I use, but this one is the most common one for me.
the other interesting use of bug bits is "confectioners glaze" which is made from the secretions of the lac beetle; pretty much any candy with a glossy appearance, like jelly beans, will contain it they also used to use it to make things like records
The Chinese been using plants for longer than mentioned. In fact plants have been used for longer than people think many actually work, some don't and others work but they do have problems with them.
@@johnree6106 Yeah some of the specific facts she mentioned were a bit off, especially the 5000 year thing. Throughout pretty much the entire world the office of an 'apothecary' has existed in some form likely since pre-history. Nonetheless, it was a great video and much of the info was really interesting!
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
fun fact about the cochineal bug - Starbucks *was* using it in their 'pink' drink to make it pink... but people complained about the 'iron' taste and the fake coloring, so they removed it. Funny how bug food coloring doesn't seem to bother too many people. But yeah, it does taste a bit funny.
Carmine is one of the few red dyes/food colorings that isn't a confirmed toxin (vermilion & minium) or a suspected, but not confirmed one (azo dyes like Red #40).
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
I saw this tour yesterday and SHE RAN IT! Made me interested in this stuff. First video I click on, it’s the same building and person. Crazy coincidence… loved it, and money well spent!
this has been an amazing video and I am an MD and I wished they still taught us about these plants, I learn a lot about our history and feel very connected to it thru your cooking ,building and readings, thanks for all you do helping us learn.
As a qualified and practicing Medical Herbalist, I can say that all this knowledge is correct, though I found myself making little additions to her narrative (just because I like to get deep into the subject). For anyone who wants to go a bit deeper and have a fascinating, real-life read, try "Of Men and Plants" by Maurice Messegue. (1972) This book is just amazing and I have often referred to his practices to add them to my own. BTW, I do have a facsimile copy of Culpepper!
This was a great video except for one statement. The woman said a plant can take the place of any modern pill and do the same thing without the side effects. This is completely untrue. It is promoted by herbalist but is just untrue. Most of our medication were derived from plants. We found the active compounds and found a way to extract and standardized the dosage. It would be going backwards to start all over with plants and administer unknown dosages. We used herbal knowledge to develop medications. Would anyone really want to have surgery while a herbalist gives you opium? If your child have a fever would you really use willow bark that has a very variable amount of aspirin in it? I don’t think we need to go backwards 200 years in our use of medicine.
Agreed, although for minor ailments you probably could get away with herbal remedies. It's the extreme statements like that ("plants can replace modern medicine") that lead parents to kill their kids with essential oils when a trip to a doctor could've saved their life. I personally use valerian as a mild sedative and it doesn't have the "hangover" that diphenhydramine has. But, if I've got a UTI or illness I'll go see my primary care doctor, because that's the responsible thing to do.
@@casondrastinson8525 also on that front is fish antibiotics. In some places it is now illegal to sell bottles of fish antibiotics. You can still purchase a few pills on a card , but the price per does is higher. That’s really no problem if you are treating fish, but it is a problem when you are self diagnosing your children’s illnesses and treating them with fish antibiotics. This seem like the height of stupidity to me. So they banned sales of large bottles to discourage the practice.
She's a Tourist Guide/Actor. I live in a town with one of these kinds of places. It's sort of a script. You learn about the objects of your museum and the history and then teach it to people. All the schools where I live go to these living museums but we also go to museums like the ones in Chicago. I mean when I was a kid, I don't know about now days.
This is so awesome! Love learning how they did things back then and how advanced they were in that area and didn't even know half the reason why some of the stuff actually worked
One of the most informative episodes yet. Love knowing how advanced old medicine could be. We think these days it used to be so archaic, but it was just natural.
These same people thought that bloodletting was an effective medical treatment. That thousands of years of stumbling yielded a few effective treatments doesn't change the fact that most pre-modern medicine was bunk.
Keep in mind that in a previous video she said that they were actually keeping track of what they tried and what worked (or didn't). Not everyone did (or does). Also, if the apothecary was growing the plants himself, he KNEW what plants he had and probably got a consistent crop. The problem with plants is that there are always variations - and expensive plants may be "faked" (see cassia and ceylon cinnamon). I don't think this represents the usual standard.
What a lovely lady! I couldn't imagine anyone better to co-host this episode. Very enjoyable and informative. Well done, Townsends! Another excellent video.
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
I'm stoked Townsends is visiting St. Augustine! So much early history and valuable lessons that not everybody gets the chance to see. Most folks stop at the ramparts or glass-blowing shop and call it a day, but there is just so much more to behold!
I mean, no, we do not extract ACC from willowbark anymore, thats terribly inefficient. Forget the name, but a pre-ww2 german chemist invented a synthesis, which is now used to make ACC / Aspirin (and the other brand names, same stuff) at scale. Otherwise though, much of the information is spot on and very useful indeed!
You'd also be insane to use foxglove instead of digoxin. Digoxin has a pretty narrow therapeutic window. Guessing with foxglove could be pretty dangerous.
@@travis8674 Exactly. This is one of the issues with “well it’s natural so it’s fine” - one of the reasons we moved to processing things more and synthesizing stuff is because the amount of active compounds in plants can vary significantly depending on the growing conditions of the plant so it makes it hard to properly dose.
@@TrappedinSLC It is not always synthesized if plants produce it more efficiently, but medicinal compounds often are extracted from plants that make them. Quinine is one of those compounds which can be synthesized, but it is cheaper to just extract it from plant.
Kim, again! What a wonderful presenter. I very, very much enjoyed this -- again, one of my special interests, but seeing the historical context behind it? Super cool. Thank you, Kim, thank you John! Y'all have a great day.
I own exactly the same mortar and pestle as yours on set. Mine is from the carrara region of Italy. great for grinding and mushing things. These are different, from Spain I suspect.
This is very interesting! It’s amazing how much people knew about using various herbs, even though they didn’t know why they worked. One thing not mentioned is that these apothecaries likely knew which parts of the plants were valuable, and when to harvest them, as potency can change depending on if the plant is harvested in the morning, full day, or at night, as well as the season. The presenter clearly is very knowledgeable and not only has the knowledge, but can impart it to others well. Thanks for sharing!
Collagen, keratin, calcium, magnesium....all the building blocks of strong bones. Best to consume this with source of vitamin c to optimize absorption.
Man it would be amazing if you did a meet and greet, st augustine is only a few hours from my house I would gladly make the drive to meet you guys. This is bar none my favorite youtube channel
What a fascinating episode! This lady certainly knows her stuff. I am hoping to get to St. Augustine soon and I'll definitely be visiting this place. Thank you for posting this Townsends!
Cinnamon sugar is really the trickiest delish seasoning. It has sugar in it, but the cinnamon balances the blood sugar level out. Genius. My fav seasoning for Hungarian style pancakes.
I’m a dental assistant and the oil that comes from cloves (Eugenol) is still in a lot of dental cements and over the counter toothache creams. Some dental office still have the faint scent of clove to bring the patient comfort and from the mixing of cements
That's fascinating!
My sister uses clove oil for her dental problems in the interim while waiting for dentist appointments. It helped her with an abscess.
Clove also works on the skin as an analgesic. I used it, along with iodine to clean the area, for self removal of a mole that was bothering me along the shirt collar area. It worked pretty well.
Red cross clove oil (available at the drugstore) works great for a broken tooth, abscess, cavity or anything else until you can get to a dentist.
clove oil is also an aquarium eugenic. if you gotta painlessly kill a super sick fish you can use clove oil
My notes 😀
Lavendar buds: disinfectant
Yarrow: stops bleeding, fights infection
Rosehip: 2x vitamin C as an orange, good for tea
Calendula officialis (flowers): ointment for burns, cuts, abrasions
Chamomile: upset stomach, trouble sleeping
White willow bark: relieve pain, reduce fever after surgery, often used with chamomile
Horehound: for colds, congestion, sore throat, and cough (teas and syrups used first, this was taken home)
Valerian root: like chamomile, but also a sedative
Cinnamon: for high blood pressure (relieves symptoms, though they didn't know the cause)
Cloves: extracted oil used for dental work (rub it on gums)
Cochineal: bright red dye, add lemon for orange and yellow
When we making teams for surviving the apocalypse we get Kim on our team.
You know other people have this knowledge too. Not many though I would imagine.
If she's on your team then so am I.
Im going wherever Kim goes
She is in Florida, we keeping her😂
We are gonna abduct her from your team!
@@sumanngon 😆🤣
As a Botanist and Mycologist and I love this section of Towesends! I have a lot of books on herbs and flowers for first aid, monks and their herb gardens and I love collecting Apothecary jars!
Could you please list a few of your books? I'm very interested in natural medicine
"I hope you have a wonderful day"
John's so nice about it how could you not?
We're Cherokee and still use our traditional medicine. It's effective and costs nothing more than the time it takes to gather and prepare the herbs. More people should use these old remedies but be cautious and seek training in the preparation as many of the plants are poisonous.
Everyone says they're Cherokee and 90% of the people saying they are, really aren't.
I’m more prone to believe that someone who uses the traditional medicine is actually Cherokee.
Most people say they have it in their ancestry but how many live the lifestyle?
I’ve never once said I’m Cherokee. 😂
Good for you, keeping your traditions alive.
@@ericc5749 My geat-grandmother for darned sure isn't a Cherokee princess...
A lot of remidies and treatments that are naturally found haven't been utilized in western medicine, specifically because the "source" can't be quantified in scientific studies.
It doesn't mean that certain herbs, plants and fungi don't have a direct influence on human biology.
Understanding what IS a good remedy or treatment takes time and effort to fully understand, the pros/cons of each. If I were to stake my life on it, I'd still leave it to the advisement of my doctor. But we cannot forget what our ancestors learned, then what we can improve apon.
*Apothecary here*
Townsends shall forever be remembered as TH-cam's finest.
Computer programmer guy who spends 95% of his week in front of a computer here
I agree
Ah a man of culture as well I see I was thinking the same thing Brother ;)
Yep
Townsends is the best example I know of just how good TH-cam can be, and not only has John Townsends and company created a great video series they've also come up with a textbook example of how to use social media in a positive way to help your small business.
Can you recommend any books? The older the better. I'm looking to learn about pre-industrial medicine.
Thank you for this series! As an EMT, I always hoped you would begin to do segments on what medicine and emergency medicine (battlefield medicine) would have been like in that time period. This is very enjoyable and informative!
ooo, that'd actually be a great video series idea
probably just opiates booze and bandages
I have heard a "good doctor" was fast....no real anesthesia and most battle field injuries were treated with amputations.
Thanks for your service as a first responder!
And you're not horrified at the medical advice issued? Claims that plants do anything modern medicines can do, even better, and without side effects?
I guess I'm telling my age. My grandmother Helen used to send me horehound bark to make tea with. This was because when I was very young gave me some tea and I told her I liked it. It was a bond between the two of us. Considering she had over 50 grandchildren this was special. So whenever I hear of horehound I think of her. Thanks for the warm memory
That is so sweet.
Is there horehound candy in your area? My Pap brought some home when I was little and I loved it. The local Shop 'N Save still sells it. We're in north central WV. 😊
I feel it is important to point out that, while silver is anti-microbial, it is used topically (on the skin), not really effective if ingested. It also is not excreted effectively by the body and gets stuck in tissue, leading to people who ingest it regularly to gain a blue tinge to their skin.
Yes, on the skin or in surgery, in wounds and so on.
I've taken it internally at the first signs of illness (nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps). It has ALWAYS cleared up the bug by the next day. It's a miracle cure imo so I'm a fan of taking it internally. It was actually recommended to me by a medical doctor who was a customer of mine. My friend took it after I introduced her to it and it helped her also.
@@elmtree33 Those aren't the first signs of illness for me, more like the signs of a bad meal or weather-induced migraines that normally are gone the next day.
Smurfs!
I could be blue? AWESOME!
Quick correction from the chemist that I am, aspirin and willow bark are related though not the same chemical and the effects are slightly different. Willow bark contains salicylic acid, whereas aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid. The willow extract was very harsh on the stomach often leading to uclers. The addition of that acetyl group on the molecule tames down its acidic caracter and make it milder on the stomach epithelial. The addition of that acetyl group also gave the molecule another property: anti-pain. Whereas salicylic acid only has an effect on fevers.
Acetlysalicylic acid is also more effective on fevers that salicylic acid.
Nice to know. I really like chemistry to this was cool to read
Retired health care worker, thanks for the addition information 😊
I was having a similar thought about digitalis. Yes it's effective, but it's almost never used anymore because the side effects are so horrendous. It's nice to use natural remedies when possible, but it's also important to have modern alternatives that are more regulated (so your dose is the same every time) and hopefully have as few side effects as possible.
As a Nurse, I found this very interesting. People were so resourceful back in the day. Thanks!
Vulgar is from the Latin vulgaris which means common or ordinary as in 'Vulgar Latin", the common speech of the day. Over time it has taken on a pejorative meaning.
which says a lot about societal attitudes
Now the term generally applies to all medication- when you get the bill.
@@KairuHakubi We live in a society
Same with mediocre. Just means common or average, but people ascribe sub-par to it.
word use does change over time as words acquire new meanings or begin to be used in a new way. some even end up meaning their opposite.
Isn't that the same lady who gave us the last tour? My goodness, she's a font of knowledge.
I get the feeling she has some medical background as well. The way she slips between modern and 18th century equivalents so seamlessly indicates that.
She is fantastic. The other Florida tour was great as well.
She’s awesome
@@m2hmghb she doesn't have a medical background she just really loves her job and history lol oh she is my mom
@@michellemain3324 Do you also work at the museum?
This nice lady is very knowledgeable. We understand it's not her first demonstration, but she is packed with info and you can see her passion in what she does. Quality stuff, I could listen to her all day.
I've been to St. Augustine at least a dozen times in my 53 years, but I think I've learned more from Jon's few youtube videos than I have in all my trips in person combined.
What a charming charismatic woman. People like that make me happy.
peak humanity
I wanna be her when I grow up lol.
Well, everything except towards the end when she says that plants are non-toxic and superior to modern medicine. That's just straight up harmful misinformation.
We still have an running apothecary here in the city near me. But he mainly sells burial stuff. Which i always found weird until i learned he was a certified mortician.
This 1700s medicine series is pretty awesome.
I love this series! I am a retired Registered Nurse and am fascinated! I am learning how to use plants as medicine.
Its what was used before Rockefeller and his petroleum based pharmaceuticals took control in the 30’s. There used to be cures with plants and herbs, now theres just symptom management with toxic pharmaceutical chemicals ...no cures, all for profit and repeat customers.
Im not surprised that you’re just now learning of this in your retirement because its prohibited to teach of proven cures from plants and herbs in med school.
@@Yahootie Exactly, I would like to shake your hand, at least virtually *shakes*
@@Yahootie 🎯 exactly.
My mom's a retired nurse, and her cousin's daughter is an herbalist. There are some conditions that the herbals work so much better for, without risk of addiction and without going into debt.
@@kimfleury I agree, but I would add that all conditions, not just some, can be treated using "natural" cures; even in some obscure cases, you would only need a very simple chemical solution.
I remember my Grandmother making mustard plaster when I was growing up. But I remember her setting the timer. They used it for Sprained back and somebody had or real bad
chest cold or Bronchitis. That was in 70's she did this.She never put it right on skin, she used Cotton flannel then wrapped it with Ace bandage.
how long would she keep it on for before taking it off?
@@eldwinc9884 I think it was 15-30 minutes depending on what area of the skin and how sensitive the person was. If you Sunburn easily not as long. And she would check every few minutes. Hope that helps.
In the veterinary office I worked at, we had a medication made from a herb for extensive bleeding (particularly for spleen issues) called Yunnan Baiyo We weren’t a holistic office, but the led vet did have a few she preferred to use, like for anxiety, calming, and naturally NSAIDs, and of course to stop bleeding. The Yunnan Baiyo I’ve seen in PLENTY of other vet offices that I know do not use herbs and nutricueticals otherwise. (Lead/owner vet also kept some traditional Chinese formulas in stock, but most of the other vets were not fond of them.)
The YB is a Chinese traditional blend. Unfortunately it’s a proprietary blend, but dang is it one of the more effective ones.
“Lavender was not used medicinally.”
Essential oils salespersons have led me to believe differently.
Just goes to show, we don't always move forward just because information is easily accessible.
An apothecary with a lifetime of experience vs snake oil salesmen? Not exactly a contest.
The scent of lavender is good for anxiety, something that I use in smelling salts form.
Actual medicinal books on herbalism that go back hundred years and naturopathic doctors writings and actual medical research studies state it was used medicinally.
There was just a recent study showing it has use in treating neurological disorders , anxiety and is a smooth muscle relaxant.
Lavender is wonderful! One of my favorite plants. The smell is calming, both to humans and many animals. It also attracts bees and other cool beasties. However, to my knowledge, it doesn't cure anything.
You can use it to diagnose issues, because if you don't like the smell, then there's something wrong with you 🤪
Townsends and Forgotten Weapons are my favorite history TH-cam channels.
I hope they do a collaboration at some point, it'd be wild to see Ian in 18th-century garb talking about muskets and cannons.
Thanks for that tip. Didn’t know about forgotten weapons
You guys might also like Tasting History with Max Miller
@@2DevilliveD That's a really good one
Algorithm did right for once. I have to tip the hat to In Range . They do historical vignettes covering interesting contretemps and brouhaharum.
omg I love this content with her!! I would love to see her actually make some of these DIY, like the cleaning liquid using boiled lavender (how much to put in, how to use, etc.)
I’ve used clove-water for toothache- I didn’t have the $ for clove oil, but I did have whole cloves in my spice rack - it definitely works...
I'm glad you came to my neck of the woods. I live about an hour and a half or so from St Augustine. I've been there more times than I can count over the last 15 or so years and it's STILL one of my favorite places to go. I love to learn about history. Keep the videos coming. They're so informative and educational!
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
This was so fascinating. I wanna start my own apothecary garden now!
"...without the toxic side effects". I love how they never break out of their 18th century personas.
That lady is so cool and a really good speaker. How fascinating.
My husband's 2nd great grandfather was an Apothecary/Pharmacist in Eustice Florida. His daughter was the first born baby after the town was established. He was called Doc Guy Hutching.
I always thought Apothecary was the shop, and the person managing it would be an Apothocare
If you are French. The apothecary is both the shop and the person in English.
@Billy William "Pulls out the Narthecium for your toothache."
3:18 Rose hips better for you because "no sugar".
3:34 Add sugar because rose hips are soooo tart.
5:16 Vulgare means "common".
15:28 *LOL NO.* Plants, being natural, have (1) variable concentrations of the active chemicals, and (2) the active chemicals usually had worse side effects than what we use now. *That's why we don't use the plants now.*
For example, the concentration of salicylic acid in willow bark is variable, and can cause headaches, upset stomach and rashes. acetylsalicylic acid works faster and has fewer side effects.
Very much this. Just because something is "natural" doesn't make it automatically better.
I could listen to her all day , what an sweet well spoken lady
I'm weird. Chamomile, the number one herbal remedy for stomach upsets of all kinds, insomnia, and anxiety, gives me terrible stomach cramps. Not intestinal cramps, just stomach cramps. I'm not the only person who experiences this. Other people who are allergic to ragweed and other plants in the chrysanthemum family can experience stomach cramps or other symptoms of allergies when ingesting chamomile as well as ragweed marigold (calendula).
i get bad stomach cramps when i try to use ashwaghanda. starting to think i might be allergic to it because the #1 allergic reaction i see with herbs like these is stomach cramps
Try drinking fennel tea.
Chamomile bothers my stomach too, though not as bad as it does yours. Green tea-brewed kind-also bothers my GI tract too. And coffee, too. Sigh!!!
I have to balance my chamomile with mint and ginger. Then i can drink it, but only if the chamomile is in small small quantities. Otherwise yeah i get the stomach cramps.
Really enjoyed this one. Literally getting back to our roots.
rosehips have that much vitamin C?? man, sailors should have carried them. theyd keep a lot better than limes.
@TheMacel66 yeah I guess it would be difficult to figure out precisely which foods, if you include them in your diet of bread-and-just-bread-and-maybe-sometimes-a-fish, keep you from getting scurvy.. they just hit on citrus and stuck with it. Also apparently lemon and lime were not as solidly defined as they are today (whiiich makes sense) so it was kinda lemons OR limes.
pine needles too have a ton of vitC. I had just recently learned this one from a channel that was discussing how early settlers were deficient and asked the natives how they got vitC, and they pointed to the pine trees above them . I am going to be trying to make a tea from them and see how it helps.
I’m fairly certain I read that when Captain Cook voyaged to Australia he made his officers and men eat sauerkraut. They all hated it (don’t know why as I love it), but he knew it kept them healthy. It’s a great way to get vitamin C in a shelf stable capacity.
@@teresab2009, I think it was in one of the beer episode they did on this channel they mentioned that the Native American’s showed settlers how to gain vitamin c from pine, but the settlers boiled it instead and that destroys the vitamin c 🤦🏻♀️😅 But they didn’t know.
@@Pandorash8 Idk about that but I know they were told about pine needles preventing scurvy. You almost repeated what I said.
you can find cochineal on nopal (prickly pear). they're white-to-gray in color and usually congregate in clusters.
This women is a gem of knowledge!
Thank you for this presentation.
US government should give you a cultural award, your passion deserve official recognition I feel! Great job since years, compliments compliments compliments!
Went here for the in person tour with my wife while we were in St. Augustine the last few days. It's a great little tour!
Pretty much everything here is stuff I keep in my medicinal tea kit only thing missing is anise seed. Valerian is a favorite of mine I use it to help sleep when I'm having a bad night
what does anise seed do? and can u tell us about herbs they didnt cover? please be our teacher :')
@@eldwinc9884 Anise seed is good for sore throats and sinus infections and I typically prepare it with a bit of raw honey it also contains a lot of vitamins as well. Though I do have to say eating the seeds is not advised because it has fat soluble vitamins that can be hazardous in large quantities. And it tastes like licorice and I think it's quite pleasant.
05:00 I had NO idea salicylic acid was the same as aspirin! My husband is allergic to aspirin, now I know to keep him away from some of my skin care products as well!
Author Diane Gabaldon’s main character Clare in the Outlander series is a healer. There are numerous stories where herbs and apothecary remedies were used. It was fascinating how she cared for sick and injured people.
I play a physician in my LARP and started watching the series to try and learn some more herbal remedies, ended up distracted by all the love-making
@@jusjuicebox - 'scuse me, the WHAT?
In Townsends? What??
I can also recommend a good book or two if you really want to get in depth into it, as herbal healing is a lot more than "take this for that". You really have to match the herb to the person, as well as the complaint they have. This is why people say that herbal medicines don't work. Of course they don't if you fail to take into account the individual's unique constitution!
Hello my friend
@@TheMurlocKeeper haha i think he meant he watched the Outlander series, its not something youd watch with your mother.
Can you tell me the books you would recommend? That sounds fascinating about matching to the person. Seems more traditional Chinese medicine than western.
I enjoy your channel, and I loved this video. Our family always tries to do things as naturally as possible. Thank you for bringing this to us. 👍
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
She is a true wealth of knowledge! What a delightful woman!
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
8:00 - This is partially true. The British used Cochineal for officer coats only. It was far to expensive to dye the uniforms of the rank and file - the entire reason the British adopted red as their colour was due to the abundance and relative cheapness of red dye - something cochineal most definately wasn't.
The traditional scarlett colour seen on the coats of the rank and file redcoat was derived from Rose Madder, a much cheaper and more available dye.
As a practicing ecologist who comes across these or other medicinal plants this was a fantastic reminder of some of their uses. I love how she describes both how there were used and the modern understanding of why they worked!
Fantastic episode, it brought me back to the channel
Two important points which the good lady omitted. (1) Modern pharmaceuticals are made with known percentages of the essential ingredient. Until the advent of modern chemistry, it was impossible for anyone to know this. Depending on how a plant is grown, in what soil, amount of sunlight, and water, and how long and under what conditions it is stored before use, or even ground up before use, the quantity of the essential ingredient is a mystery. (2) Along with the herbal remedies which have some efficacy (subject to the above provisos), medicine in the 17th and 18th century, and well into the 19th century, included such harmful treatments as bloodletting and purgatives. These were more likely to sicken - or even kill- the patient. George Washington suffered numerous bloodlettings in his final illness. These only served to weaken him.
Good points, modern medicine has replaced traditional ones for good reasons.
I had stomach problem for few years, pills didn't work as good as it should. Then I started to drink chamomile tea. After some time I could stop taking pills.
And there's many others herbs that I use, but this one is the most common one for me.
Yay! Been waiting for THIS!! Thank you, thank you! Ms. Kim is a timeless treasure. Great work, Jon.
St Augustine is my favorite tourist city. So much history in every step and location. I loved touring the fort, and other destinations.
Plants offer us so much, excellent video yet again.
and not just plants
maybe I need more antler in my diet..
@no or maybe yes oh I hadn't thought of that..
the other interesting use of bug bits is "confectioners glaze" which is made from the secretions of the lac beetle; pretty much any candy with a glossy appearance, like jelly beans, will contain it
they also used to use it to make things like records
I so love her! She truly enjoys her job. Would love to study the medicinal side of plants more. Great video, as always.
I would recommend Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss.
@@Arbeedubya thank you!
@@katrinaneal1305 You're welcome.
We go to St Augustine all the time! Im so happy you're highlighting this gem of a town! Thank you both!
Oh yes! The subject of Apothecaries have always interested me! The idea of harnessing medicinal values of nature is super exciting.
The Chinese been using plants for longer than mentioned. In fact plants have been used for longer than people think many actually work, some don't and others work but they do have problems with them.
I've adjusts thought so as well
@@johnree6106 Yeah some of the specific facts she mentioned were a bit off, especially the 5000 year thing. Throughout pretty much the entire world the office of an 'apothecary' has existed in some form likely since pre-history. Nonetheless, it was a great video and much of the info was really interesting!
@@aidanc4719 I agree great video pretty informative. It also something that may spark people using natural medicine or at least learning about them.
A lot of modern medicines are based on the specific chemicals in the plants that work. Aspirin being the obvious example.
Super sweet video, great music. Just pleasant to watch:)
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
fun fact about the cochineal bug - Starbucks *was* using it in their 'pink' drink to make it pink... but people complained about the 'iron' taste and the fake coloring, so they removed it. Funny how bug food coloring doesn't seem to bother too many people. But yeah, it does taste a bit funny.
Carmine is one of the few red dyes/food colorings that isn't a confirmed toxin (vermilion & minium) or a suspected, but not confirmed one (azo dyes like Red #40).
The Warhammer 40K fans are gonna love this one, BATTLE BROTHER
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
Great video. really interesting you should make this into a series in the future.
I saw this tour yesterday and SHE RAN IT! Made me interested in this stuff. First video I click on, it’s the same building and person. Crazy coincidence… loved it, and money well spent!
Im loving this series on medicine and hospital's! keep it up.
this has been an amazing video and I am an MD and I wished they still taught us about these plants, I learn a lot about our history and feel very connected to it thru your cooking ,building and readings, thanks for all you do helping us learn.
That was eye opening for sure! Well done.
As a qualified and practicing Medical Herbalist, I can say that all this knowledge is correct, though I found myself making little additions to her narrative (just because I like to get deep into the subject). For anyone who wants to go a bit deeper and have a fascinating, real-life read, try "Of Men and Plants" by Maurice Messegue. (1972) This book is just amazing and I have often referred to his practices to add them to my own. BTW, I do have a facsimile copy of Culpepper!
I like to put old time and medieval folk medicines to practice in my own herbalism practice. So I really love videos such as this one. Very nice.
This has been a great series. Thanks!!
This was a great video except for one statement. The woman said a plant can take the place of any modern pill and do the same thing without the side effects. This is completely untrue. It is promoted by herbalist but is just untrue. Most of our medication were derived from plants. We found the active compounds and found a way to extract and standardized the dosage. It would be going backwards to start all over with plants and administer unknown dosages. We used herbal knowledge to develop medications. Would anyone really want to have surgery while a herbalist gives you opium? If your child have a fever would you really use willow bark that has a very variable amount of aspirin in it? I don’t think we need to go backwards 200 years in our use of medicine.
Agreed, although for minor ailments you probably could get away with herbal remedies. It's the extreme statements like that ("plants can replace modern medicine") that lead parents to kill their kids with essential oils when a trip to a doctor could've saved their life. I personally use valerian as a mild sedative and it doesn't have the "hangover" that diphenhydramine has. But, if I've got a UTI or illness I'll go see my primary care doctor, because that's the responsible thing to do.
@@casondrastinson8525 also on that front is fish antibiotics. In some places it is now illegal to sell bottles of fish antibiotics. You can still purchase a few pills on a card , but the price per does is higher. That’s really no problem if you are treating fish, but it is a problem when you are self diagnosing your children’s illnesses and treating them with fish antibiotics. This seem like the height of stupidity to me. So they banned sales of large bottles to discourage the practice.
One of my favorite episodes, yet! Thank you!
I freaking LOVE this woman!
She's awesome in this video and the other one 😊
Very interesting series. This lady is so knowledgeable!
She's a Tourist Guide/Actor. I live in a town with one of these kinds of places. It's sort of a script. You learn about the objects of your museum and the history and then teach it to people. All the schools where I live go to these living museums but we also go to museums like the ones in Chicago. I mean when I was a kid, I don't know about now days.
Him: Hmmmm i will make my best guess and say this one is lavender!
Camera: zooms in on the container label which reads in big letters: LAVENDER
Such insight.
This is so awesome! Love learning how they did things back then and how advanced they were in that area and didn't even know half the reason why some of the stuff actually worked
One of the most informative episodes yet. Love knowing how advanced old medicine could be. We think these days it used to be so archaic, but it was just natural.
These same people thought that bloodletting was an effective medical treatment. That thousands of years of stumbling yielded a few effective treatments doesn't change the fact that most pre-modern medicine was bunk.
@@chancekahle2214 I think you are just ignorant to the workings of herbal medicine and are quick to speak when you should be quiet.
Keep in mind that in a previous video she said that they were actually keeping track of what they tried and what worked (or didn't). Not everyone did (or does).
Also, if the apothecary was growing the plants himself, he KNEW what plants he had and probably got a consistent crop.
The problem with plants is that there are always variations - and expensive plants may be "faked" (see cassia and ceylon cinnamon).
I don't think this represents the usual standard.
What a lovely lady! I couldn't imagine anyone better to co-host this episode. Very enjoyable and informative. Well done, Townsends! Another excellent video.
The medicine before is so amazing. thanks for this video.♥
Thanks to everyone here for recommending me to Dr bigherm williams Here on TH-cam. I was able to contact him and he cured me completely from cancer and type 2 diabetes. His indeed a great herbalist.
I'm stoked Townsends is visiting St. Augustine! So much early history and valuable lessons that not everybody gets the chance to see. Most folks stop at the ramparts or glass-blowing shop and call it a day, but there is just so much more to behold!
I mean, no, we do not extract ACC from willowbark anymore, thats terribly inefficient.
Forget the name, but a pre-ww2 german chemist invented a synthesis, which is now used to make ACC / Aspirin (and the other brand names, same stuff) at scale.
Otherwise though, much of the information is spot on and very useful indeed!
Agreed but we used to do that before it was developed, IIRC it was the Bayer company who figured it out.
Most of the medications are synthetic now
You'd also be insane to use foxglove instead of digoxin. Digoxin has a pretty narrow therapeutic window. Guessing with foxglove could be pretty dangerous.
@@travis8674 Exactly. This is one of the issues with “well it’s natural so it’s fine” - one of the reasons we moved to processing things more and synthesizing stuff is because the amount of active compounds in plants can vary significantly depending on the growing conditions of the plant so it makes it hard to properly dose.
@@TrappedinSLC It is not always synthesized if plants produce it more efficiently, but medicinal compounds often are extracted from plants that make them. Quinine is one of those compounds which can be synthesized, but it is cheaper to just extract it from plant.
Loved this ! I’m starting my own drying & making tinctures … and saving & drying herbs ! Putting them in a big cabinet in my dining room. ♥️
I love going to St Augustine, the history there is amazing. Going to see the fort as well is surreal.
So excited to see all this from my favorite historical town!
Yarrow is also known as All Heal.
Here in western pa, there is a different plant entirely that we call Heal-all
Yes, prunella vulgaris @@frithar
Kim, again! What a wonderful presenter. I very, very much enjoyed this -- again, one of my special interests, but seeing the historical context behind it? Super cool. Thank you, Kim, thank you John! Y'all have a great day.
As an ex-medic I love this series
The medicine of this era has always been fascinating to me, thanks for all you do John and keep up the good work!
Cochineal is the original color used (and still used many places) for Campari if I remember right
This is truly useful and beautiful. Amazing work!
I own exactly the same mortar and pestle as yours on set. Mine is from the carrara region of Italy. great for grinding and mushing things. These are different, from Spain I suspect.
This is very interesting! It’s amazing how much people knew about using various herbs, even though they didn’t know why they worked. One thing not mentioned is that these apothecaries likely knew which parts of the plants were valuable, and when to harvest them, as potency can change depending on if the plant is harvested in the morning, full day, or at night, as well as the season. The presenter clearly is very knowledgeable and not only has the knowledge, but can impart it to others well. Thanks for sharing!
The Antler ground up into oatmeal/gruel, has Collagen in it... and Collagen is a protein that strengthens the bone.
Collagen, keratin, calcium, magnesium....all the building blocks of strong bones. Best to consume this with source of vitamin c to optimize absorption.
A great series. Very informative and I just love the way she explains everything.
Man it would be amazing if you did a meet and greet, st augustine is only a few hours from my house I would gladly make the drive to meet you guys. This is bar none my favorite youtube channel
What a fascinating episode! This lady certainly knows her stuff. I am hoping to get to St. Augustine soon and I'll definitely be visiting this place. Thank you for posting this Townsends!
I used to destress watching tv, now im an adult and destress by moving back in time and watching Townsend n Sons, (not to mention Tasting History)
Thanks for sharing your adventures out of the kitchen, this side history is just as fascinating!
Cinnamon sugar is really the trickiest delish seasoning. It has sugar in it, but the cinnamon balances the blood sugar level out. Genius. My fav seasoning for Hungarian style pancakes.
why does the cinnamon balance the sugar out?
Only Ceylon Cinnamon lowers blood sugar
Cinnamon is actually bad for you dude. Look, th-cam.com/video/ub82Xb1C8os/w-d-xo.html
@@MrFrog-rc3zx where's that trap-door lever?.......
let me see...... THERE IT IS!..... Don't 😭 the ride's quick!
I'd love to visit this museum! The guide is so knowledgable and gives a great presentation.