12 Uses for Catnip

Catnip. Isn’t that the stuff you put in a sock to be entertained while watching cats go nuts playing with it? I got to thinking about this herb after a customer (a doctor) was buying several bottles at a time and he was sending quite a few customers to us to purchase their own. I had forgotten just how indispensable this herb was!

Catnip has been around for a long time and is considered an old household remedy. Some of the
common names for Catnip are cat mint, catsup and field balm. Therapeutic actions include aromatic, relaxant, diffusive, stimulant, emmenogogue (a substance that stimulates or increases menstrual flow), antispasmodic, nervine, sedative, carminative, anodyne, antacid, refrigerant. The main nutrients in this herb are calcium, chromium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silicon, and zinc.

In Europe, before Chinese teas became so popular, Catnip was one of the most common teas to drink. It
is mainly used for colds and flus today and is especially effective for children and babies. This is because
it produces “perspiration inducing sleep” without increasing body temperature.

I have found at least 55 different issues that Catnip has addressed, but here are 12 of the most common uses:
 Good for digestion and stimulates the appetite because it dispels gas
 Because it helps to relieve stress and anxiety, it helps one sleep better
 Catnip is an effective herb to calm convulsions caused by an impacted bowel, to relieve the constipation and to soothe the nervous system
 It has been documented that Catnip normalizes blood pressure
 Culpepper mentions how this herb can be used as a topical for hemorrhoids
 Catnip rids the body of excess mucous
 Catnip improves circulation and helps reduce fatigue from muscle exhaustion
 Catnip can help reduce swellings under the eyes
 Catnip relieves pain, prevents spasms and calms nerves.
 Catnip can relieve headaches if taken as a high enema.
 Catnip has been used as a prevention of cataracts.
 Catnip has restored menstruation.

Since this herb is so good for babies and children, especially for colic, I have listed a couple of formulas
that will save a mother’s sanity and many hours of the baby crying.

The first one is to soothe and quiet the baby:

3 parts Catnip, 2 parts Lemon Balm and 2 parts Marshmallow Root.

The second one is good specifically for colic:

Equal parts of Catnip and Pleurisy root. This you steep for 10 minutes, and when cooled down you would use about 2 ounces.

Some things to remember:

Never boil Catnip

Ginger will intensify the therapeutic action of catnip

Typical Dosage: Extract: ¼ tsp to 1 teaspoon, Tincture: ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon,
Infusion: 2-8 ounces.

Now that you realize just how valuable Catnip is, you will want to have it in your household! And you may just decide that the cats are not getting any!