Tonic herbs are planted remedies that strengthen and enliven specific organs or the whole body. They are truly gifts of Nature to humanity. Whole plants that enliven whole human bodies, to ask how they work is to ask how life itself works. If anyone knows the answer, please let me know!

So writes herbalist David Hoffmann in explanation of what a "tonic" is and how it works. Obviously, even modem herbalists are hardpressed to define "tonics" and yet everyone seems to intuitively know that a "tonic" does: it makes us feel better! Right?

According to Hoffmann, most herbs work as "tonics" in the right time and place. Mother Nature is abundant in the number of herbs which have a tonic action on the body.

TONICS ARE LEGENDARY

The concept of a "tonic" or elixir of herbs for the seasonal onset of Spring goes back many centuries and most likely had it origins in the days when people truly needed a "pick me up" after long hard winters on short rations and confinement indoors. Even in the tropical regions, a regimen of "cleansing" was considered desirable and a periodic necessity in most cultures.

Around the world, folk culture records many famous "tonics". One of the oldest folk - medical traditions still at work today is the Ayurveda of India. "Tonics" in Ayurvedic medicine are called rasayana and the term applies to any herbal preparation used for rejuvenation and revitalization.

A legendary Rasayana (tonic) is one called the "Royal" or Chyavanprash and is made only from the selected fruits of fresh Indian Gooseberries called amla. Amla fruit tonics are considered the major health food herb throughout India and they contain the highest known amount of easily assimilated Vitamin C.

Vitamin C is a powerful detoxifier for the body, even hastening the excretion of toxic metals, so it is not surprising the Ayurvedic masters understood the tonic effect of the Amla fruit.

TONICS USED WORLDWIDE

Chinese herbalists have specialised in "tonic" herbs equally as long as their Indian counterparts. One only has to recall the importance of the herb Ginseng to Chinese herbalism to appreciate the high degree of popular acceptance effective herbal tonics can claim in China.

Historically, the tonic of maximum tonification in China went by the name Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan and its formula contained all the powerful detoxification herbs known to Chinese medicine. Included in the recipe were herbs also known to European herbalists: Astragalus, Ginseng, Atractylodes, Licorice, Dong Quai, Cimicifuga (Black Cohosh), Bupleurum, Citrus Peel, Chinese Red Dates (Jujubees) and Ginger. It will be noted that many of the ingredients are also food items. The Chinese excel in formulating herbal cures which are taken as foods like soups or teas.

American Indian herbal tradition has an old tale of the discovery of a "tonic" herb which saved the tribe of Chippewa Indians from extinction after a long severe winter suffering famine due to crop failure and loss of game animals.

The Chippewa simply referred to this miraculous tea as "Swamp Tea" but it was known to the white European settlers as "Labrador Tea" and became widely used. It botanical name is Ledum Latifolium and the tea made from its leaves is rose-colored, fragrant, soothing and mellow.

The European herbalist used "tonics" frequently whether for specific treatment of individual body systems - for example, digestive, respiratory, etc. Medical herbalist David Hoffmann identifies three major "general tonic" herbs which appear again and again in remedial combinations to tonify the body. These include Goldenseal, Black Cohosh and Centaury.

Not only the Chinese but also folk medicine traditions worldwide recognize the usefulness of using tonic herbs as foods to be eaten for seasonal cleansing. John Lust, American Herbalist, records a "Spring Salad" herbal tonic which can be gathered early in the season and eaten.

Lust's recipe included tender young leaves which can be gathered early in the season and eaten. Lust's recipe included tender young leaves of Dandelion, Nettle and Watercress - all of which contain goodly amounts of iron and have a "bitter" elements that stimulates digestion. These characteristics make such herbs good "tonics" because they stimulate the eliminative processes and "pick us up".

After a Winter of too much cooked food with little exercise, sunlight or fresh air we can certainly take a "leaf" from the herbalist's traditional tonics, eat our tender young greens, stretch our legs, breathe deeply and take a long walk in the sun!