Introducing… Bidens Pilosa A Weed with Lots of Potential

BS"D

It’s amazing how the most useful necessities in life are free or very close to it. Air, water, sunshine, to name a few. A lot of effective and healing herbs are wild weeds! If you take precautions not to pick them close to roads and other polluted areas, you’ve got yourself free medicine!

I’d like to talk about Bidens Pilosa.

In a wonderful book called Herbal Antibiotics, Stephen Buhner explains how more and more, people are becoming resistant to antibiotics. We take too much of it! We need to live in a healthy symbiosis with bacteria. We need enough healthy bacteria to ward off the dangerous ones. Since destroying so much bad along with good bacteria, we now experience nutrient deficiencies, allergies, chronic immune suppression, candida overgrowth--all these directly related to antibiotics overuse messing up our internal landscapes.

The nice thing about Hashem’s world is that He put in it so many natural, pain-free cures. There are herbs like Bidens, which is a natural antibiotic that can treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. And because plants contain hundreds of complex compounds unlike manmade antibiotics that contain only a few, the bacteria can’t develop an immunity to the herbs.

What is so good about this weed (called beggar-ticks or Spanish needles, with seeds that stick and annoy people!) Bidens? In lots of countries people use it successfully for many ailments: its astringency, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial nature help it heal UTI’s, diarrhea, ulcers, colds, flu, sore throats, and gout. It lowers glucose levels and stimulates insulin (so use with caution if taking insulin). Bidens in large doses made with fresh leaves can inhibit malaria; Bidens can lower blood pressure and relax the heart. Natives in other countries have also used this plant for ear infections, headaches, kidney problems, jaundice, burns, arthritis, abdominal problems, rheumatism, boils, infected wounds, rashes, as a poison antidote and for pain in childbirth. There are cultures that infuse its seeds and mix it with honey to treat whooping cough. In Chinese medicine they also use it for itching, hemorrhoids, tonsillitis, hepatitis, abscesses, fever, joint pain, sprains, gastric and esophageal cancer, epilepsy in children, malnutrition and fever in infants, allergies, and pneumonia… to name some! Studies show it has antitumor properties by stimulating apoptosis and normalizing cellular function and growth. Studies in mice showed that Bidens reversed type 2 diabetes. It is also shown to be an immune modulator, increasing or decreasing immune action as necessary.

As an antibiotic, Bidens is not as strong as some other antibiotic herbs like Sida or Cryptolepis but is definitely a good one to try. Take it generously.

In our home, we’ve used it for colds, strep, UTI, abscesses, and, diluted, to put on scrapes or cuts. It is supposed to help UTI’s that don’t respond to antibiotics.

In short, give Bidens a try. It grows all over. You can juice the fresh leaves, make a fresh leaf tincture (much more powerful than the dry-leaf one), or buy ready-made tinctures.

I make two batches of tinctures, one with ginger and black pepper as synergists, to increase the power of Bidens, and one with plain Bidens for people with gastric and diarrhea problems that should be avoiding black pepper. I’m happy to sell you either one:) Choose plain or with ginger and black pepper.

Of course, this is all meant for your reading pleasure, not to take the place of advice from your health professional!

But I do hope it makes you appreciate even more Hashem’s incredible world.

Have a wonderful day!

Nechama Dina Smith