A daily glass of tonic wine is a delightful way to take
herbal remedies. A crockery vinegar vat is best,
although a large rum pot or glass jar is also suitable.
Fill the vat with the chosen tonic herb-ideally using a
root remedy such as ginger, licorice, or Dang Gui
rather than leafy parts-then cover with a good-quality
red wine (preferably organic). Leave the mix for at
least two weeks before drawing the liquid off in a daily
sherry-glass dose (2-3f1 oz/60-75ml). Keep the herb
covered with more red wine to prevent it from going
moldy. The wine will continue to extract active
constituents from the roots for several months before
you need to replace the herbs.
Traditionaly ayurvedic remedies are taken
as fresh juices, pastes, or purees, generally
mixed with ghee or oil; as decoctions; as hot
and cold infusions; or as macerations. The
traditional proportion for decoctions
is one part herb to 16 parts water, which is then simmered
until the volume has reduced to one-quarter of the original
This process takes several hours to complete. Hot infusions use the
proportion of one part herb to eight parts boiling water,
with the infusion being left for up to 12 hours,
rather than the 10-15 minutes that are generally
allowed in the West. Some ayurvedic practitioners In the West
recommend increasing the dosage and cutting the
simmering or infusion time to Western proportions in
order to make the preparation more compatible with
Western lifestyles. Decoctions can be simmered until
three-quarters of the water is left and dosages doubled
or trebled, with a similar increase in dosages for a
minimum hot-infusion time of 30 minutes.
Milk decoctions are made…
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