With the main goal of helping you maintain fantastic health, today we want to talk about how you can craft your own ultimate herbal thyroid poultice. For those of you who don’t know, your thyroid is a very important gland located in your body, one that is responsible for many different functions.
Thyroid health is extremely important, and no, this doesn’t mean having to exercise or eat a ton of different medications. In fact, one of the best ways to help maintain good thyroid health is by using what is known as a herbal poultice.
For anyone who doesn’t know what a poultice is, no worries, because this is something we’ll take a closer look at further below. Right now, we’re going to teach you how to craft the ultimate herbal thyroid poultice at home using herbs that you can find growing around your house and in your local grocery store.
What is the Thyroid?
Your thyroid is a small gland in the shape of a butterfly located below your voice box. Although it is very small, it plays an important role in many different bodily functions. First and foremost, its main purpose is to release two hormones, and these are composed mainly of iodine, and are responsible for many different functions throughout the body.
Temperature Regulation
One of these functions is body temperature regulation. The hormones produced by the thyroid influence how your body generates heat so you can maintain a stable body temperature.
Metabolic Regulation
Furthermore, another main function of the thyroid hormones is to regulate your metabolism. These thyroid hormones dictate how fast your body turns calories into fuel. For the record, people who have low thyroid hormone levels often have a slower metabolism, which is often associated with weight gain.
Natural Development
Thyroid hormones are also very important for the development of children and adolescents. They play important roles in the maturation of various tissues and organs, bone growth, brain development, and more.
Cardiovascular Health
On that note, these hormones also dictate how well our nervous system and hearts function. They can influence neuromuscular function, blood pressure, heart rate, and more.
Menstrual Cycle Regularity
As far as women are concerned, the thyroid hormones also dictate the menstrual cycle.
What is a Poultice?
Now that we know what a thyroid is, let’s figure out what a poultice is. A poultice is a traditional type of medicine made by grinding, crushing, and mashing together the leaves, stems, seeds, and other components of various plants, including a variety of herbs.
Poultices are designed to take advantage of the therapeutic benefits that many of these herbs have to offer.
More often than not, poultices are used for topical applications, such as for healing wounds, drawing poison out of the skin, relieving surface pain, controlling inflammation, and for relieving skin irritation.
However, poultices can do more than just at the surface, because all of those beneficial ingredients do pull in through the skin.
Yes, there are many different herbs out there that can benefit your thyroid health, and these are all herbs that can be mashed into a poultice. So, let’s move on and find out what some of the best herbs for a homemade thyroid poultice are.
Best Herbs for a Homemade Thyroid Poultice
Let’s take a quick look at some of the best herbs to add into any homemade thyroid poultice.
Lemon Balm
If you happen to be suffering from hyperthyroidism, which is when your thyroid makes too many hormones, you might feel anxious and nervous. Lemon balm is well known for having anti-anxiety and calming effects, which may help alleviate symptoms associated with this condition. Lemon balm may actually reduce thyroid hormone levels. It helps regulate those hormones.
Ashwagandha
Whereas lemon balm is known for being able to help treat hyperthyroidism, ashwagandha is a natural herb that can help to treat hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormones, and ashwagandha is something that may help to increase natural thyroid hormone levels. It’s a great thyroid regulator.
Sage
Although sage has many different benefits, one recent study showed that sage was able to help decrease the incidence of both non-cancerous and cancerous thyroid disease in people who drank it many times per week. It is also shown that sage is full of rosmarinic acid, which helps to stop immunoglobulin effects on the thyroid stimulating hormones receptor.
Lemongrass
If you happen to have an overactive or inflamed thyroid, another great herb to add into your poultice is lemongrass. Lemongrass is full of anti inflammatories that can help prevent or reduce the swelling of your thyroid.
Rosemary
As mentioned above, rosmarinic acid is beneficial for the health of your thyroid. However, Rosemary also has other benefits for your thyroid, including the fact that it acts as both an antioxidant and a circulatory stimulant. This helps provide your thyroid with more oxygen and blood flow, while simultaneously reducing the effects of free radicals.
Peppermint
Peppermint is another substance that may help to reduce symptoms associated with an underactive thyroid, mainly a slow metabolism and nausea.
Nettle
Nettle, otherwise known as the common nettle or stinging nettle, contains a variety of compounds that may help to regulate thyroid hormone levels and improve the overall function of the thyroid gland.
How to Make a Herbal Thyroid Poultice at Home
The good thing about making your own herbal poultice at home is that it’s very easy to do, as well as cost-effective. Follow the simple steps listed below to make your own herbal thyroid poultice from the comfort of your own home.
- Gather all of the necessary herbs, including nettle, peppermint, rosemary, lemongrass, sage, ashwagandha, and lemon balm.
- The best way to process all of the ingredients to make a high-quality poultice is by using a mortar and pestle. Yes, you could use a food processor or simply chop the ingredients up, but to get the most out of them, grinding them is best.
- The poultice is likely to be too dry without any extra liquid, so it is recommended that you add some Castor oil to the mix. Castor oil actually has its own benefits for the thyroid, including relieving inflammation and reducing toxins. Add enough to make a thick paste, but no more.
- Although you could technically apply your newly made poultice to any part of your body, if you plan on it benefiting the thyroid, it’s best to apply it as close to the thyroid gland as possible, out the front of your neck, under your voice box.
- You can use gauze, an old towel, or any other kind of wrapping to keep your poultice covered and in place. As long as you don’t experience any adverse side effects from any of the ingredients, you can leave the poultice on your skin for as long as you choose.
Conclusion
Although the thyroid may be relatively complicated, keeping it healthy doesn’t have to be, especially with a homemade herbal poultice such as the one discussed above.
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