One of the most common questions I get asked is for a top five or top ten list of my favorite herbs. I don’t like that question. It’s too generic, and to enjoy the greatest benefit from herbal medicine, one must select the best herbs for the job. And that selection varies by age and sex, as well as by what you actually have growing in your garden.
I admit to having some pre-conceived ideas about which herbs are best for seniors, but recognize that I could be totally off. I just thought it was a good topic to research since my husband is fast approaching senior status.
To generate this list, I chose to focus on the following common senior health concerns:
- Arthritis
- Alzheimer’s/dementia
- Diabetes
- Heart attack
- Hypertension
- Kidney disease
- Osteoporosis
- Pain relief
- Pneumonia
This list covers many of the common complaints of old age. It doesn’t cover your personal medical issues or much in the way of acute illness. Seniors will still want other herbs. But these are common ones to have on hand for the seniors in your world. Work in the intangibles that don’t count as herbs, especially sunshine. Ease of access and preparation is critical as well.
- Cayenne is one I try to carry at all times, especially to church, because it may help in the event of heart attack or stroke. The capsaicin from cayenne peppers is widely used in arthritis pain rubs.
- Lavender exerts benefits no other herb does, with studies showing it reduces the number of falls in the elderly. It’s also beneficial used immediately following a stroke, and helps reduce hypertension as well.
- Hawthorn is the herb for cardiac issues, including hypertension, and helps with arthritis.
- Lemon balm is the herb for shingles. It’s also helpful with cognitive issues, heart attack, hypertension, arthritis, and pain relief.
- Russian olive is surprisingly useful, benefitting heart attack, arthritis, osteoporosis, pain relief, and Alzheimer’s/dementia.
- Onion. I didn’t see this one coming. Maybe it’s because I overlook it because it is too common or I’m using it nearly every day to make dinner. It’s great for arthritis, hypertension, pain relief, pneumonia, osteoporosis, and diabetes, among many other issues.
- Garlic. I wasn’t as surprised with this one because it’s mentioned more often as exerting medicinal effects. It helps with dementia, diabetes, hypertension, and pneumonia.
- Chrysanthemum is enormously popular is Asia, mostly for its calming effects, but it’s also effective for arthritis, osteoporosis, pneumonia, and hypertension.
- Juniper is a systemic antibiotic, but it also works for arthritis, pneumonia, pain relief, kidney disease, and hypertension.
- Dandelion’s ubiquitous nature means you are never without medicine at your fingertips. It’s used for arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease.
To make things interesting, I provided AI with a list of herbs that I have covered that treat all these conditions. I wanted to see what AI would do with that information. This is what AI came up with as the best for seniors with these conditions, based on my writing.
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Lemon balm
- Sage
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- German chamomile
- Hawthorn
- Elder
- Thyme
That’s AI’s list, in order. As you can see, our lists differ significantly. I love thyme, elder, and chamomile. They just didn’t make my list for seniors. The AI-generated list is entirely different and “soft.” Its rationale for using the herb is couched in the acceptable language of the FDA, for “soothing,” “managing,” or “easing” a person’s complaints. And it raised all kinds of warning flags about research on the use of cayenne and lavender for strokes and heart attacks, even though I told it to stick with my writing. Anyway, it was an interesting little exercise.
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