What I realized over the years is that most medicinal plant books don’t have nearly enough identification pictures and guidelines. That is why for every plant in this book you will find 4 high definition, color pictures: a large picture with the whole plant, a close-up in-detail picture of its leaf, its flower and one of its roots. This goes for every plant in the book without exception. Really, with these high definition pictures and my guidelines, you will know when you found the right plant.

Also, most of the medicinal plant books you’ll find are too general, with plants that don’t even grow in your area. That is why in the FORGOTTEN BACKYARD REMEDIES you will find a map for each plant so you can check out only the plants growing in your area if you want.

Another problem that most plant books have is they just teach you in general how to make a tincture, a poultice, a salve, syrups … with a plant, at the beginning of the book and then they say that for each plant you can follow the same recipe. This is not true and sometimes the small details make all the difference. Here you will find minute details for each recipe and each one is treated separately as it should be.

Other books lack powerful synergetic remedies that combine the complementary medicinal powers of more than one plant. If you truly need a powerful remedy, sometimes you need two or more substances found in different plants. Just like for treating a certain medical condition, sometimes you need to take more than one drug.

Another issue with these books is that they don’t contain proper dosages. How should I know how many times a day and in what quantities do I need to take certain tincture for a certain problem. In the FORGOTTEN BACKYARD REMEDIES you will find not only a “dosage” and “usage” section for each recipe, but also a “lookalike” and “how to grow” section.

I’ll show you what to do if you ever come across a completely yellow tree. You’ve probably just found a Ginkgo Biloba tree, or how I like to call it “the brain tree”. Just to make sure examine its fan-like leaves as there are no clear lookalikes. In the book you’ll find 3 powerful remedies that you can make at home using it.

One for memory and mental clarity, Ginkgo Leaf tincture for tinnitus on page 226, and Ginkgo and stinging nettle tea for Vertigo on page 228. The way some scientists described how Ginkgo biloba works is by improving circulation, specifically in the brain.

You’ll also discover the plant that you should rub under your nose each morning if you ever lose your sense of smell and taste or they've become diminished with age.

I’ll show you two plants that combined are probably the best natural colon support that you can find.

The first plant is Wild Senna and the tea made from its leaves is approved by the FDA as a nonprescription oral colon cleanser. This herb produces mild bowel movements fastening the transit process and in doing so it also helps relieve constipation.

So, while Senna helps you cleanse your colon, the second plant Slippery Elm provides a clothing gel protecting it. This gel called mucilage is found in its inner bark and it’s this part that you want to harvest. Then you would typically turn it into powder by drying and then grinding it. When you take one teaspoon of this powder, it will turn into a sticky gel, clothing your stomach, intestines, and colon membrane with a protecting barrier giving your bowls a much-needed rest to heal themselves. In doing so it may offer a short-term relief from pain and inflammation from ulcers, gastritis, polyps, leaky gut or some symptoms caused by Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease…

But the Slippery elm serves not only as an internal bandage, but also as an excellent Protective Clothing for Wounds. Native Americans would peel its red inner bark from twigs and branches and use it as a healing self-adhesive bandage for open wounds, burns, boils, psoriasis, and other skin ailments. As a side note, they would also wrap the inner bark of the slippery elm around their meat to keep it from going bad. Slippery elm bark was later picked up by American soldiers to heal gunshot wounds during the American Revolution. To create a liquid for a compress, boil three cups of water and add one to three tablespoons of slippery elm bark. When it is cooled, dip a cloth or a stick into the liquid gel and apply it directly to the affected areas.

You’ll also find out how to best use three sweet-smelling garden plants, you probably have around your house. These plants have built up a real armor to defend against fungal attacks over millennia… and you can take advantage of it, especially for foot and nail fungus.

I’ll also show you the two plants you need to add to your daily glass of warm milk, that helps people with fluctuating blood sugar levels. I’m pretty sure you know that Diabetes is a so called “modern” disease, caused by the new lifestyle we embraced in the last 50 or so years. Back in the day, when our diet consisted mostly of plants grown in our backyard and stress levels were lower, Diabetes was very rare. What better way to manage Diabetes then to turn back to the plants that our grandparents used and ate regularly? In my book The Forgotten Backyard Remedies you will find many of these plants along with the remedies that helped our grandparents and that could help you too.

On page 309 you’ll discover The Lyme Protocol. Over the years, many people with this lingering Lyme disease asked for my help so I developed this herbal protocol that anyone can take advantage of.

You’ll also find out the reason why most people dealing with returning or chronic pain don’t get rid of it.

That is because there are actually 3 types of pain and each of them needs to be managed in a very different way. What most people do is either target the wrong kind of pain or they tackle one of the pains, but they have two or even three.

The first type of pain is the one caused by tissue damage. Examples include a broken ankle, a cut, burns, an insect bite, but also joint damage from Arthritis, lower back pain, and other pains that are associated with an internal or external damage to the body.

In The Forgotten Backyard Remedies you’ll find 4 different tinctures made out of analgesic plants you’ve probably seen before or have growing in your backyard.

The second type of pain is the one caused by damage to the nervous system itself. This type of pain is common in people with MS, shingles, sciatica, cervical or lumbar hernia, trigeminal neuralgia, or diabetic neuropathy. This can often lead to chronic pain as nerves don’t tend to heal well.

Remedies for neuropathic pain are designed to calm the nerves. On page 317 and 318 you’ll find two nerve calming tinctures that you can use if you experience this kind of pain.

The third type of pain is neither caused by a damaged tissue nor by damage to the nerves. It is most likely caused by a faulty pain mechanism in our body. The most common example is fibromyalgia.

On page 217 you'll find an extremely powerful tincture from 2 plants that grow in most US states. Please be advised that this tincture should be reserved for the most excruciating of pains.

The first plant, which makes up 3 quarters of the tincture contains a substance called Adenosine which has a powerful inhibitory effect in the central nervous system (CNS) and is a strong anti-inflammatory. The well-known Arthritis prescription (Rx) drug Methotrexate works by overstimulating Adenosine release.

The other quarter of the tincture is made from a much milder anti-inflammatory plant called BLACK COHOSH. This plant also contains a chemical that acts as a neurotransmitter by helping the brain send the right messages to other parts of the body.

Obviously these 3 kinds of pain can overlap, so in some cases you need to make more than one remedy, but usually this one works for all 3 types of pain.

You’ll also learn how to cleanse a fatty liver using a pesky weed that grows everywhere, but absolutely everywhere.

You will find a subchapter dedicated only to people with autoimmune problems ranging from MS to Rheumatoid Arthritis to Psoriasis. Here you will find multiple recipes for each, and complete usage and dosage instructions. If you know someone that has an autoimmune issue, it doesn’t cost you a thing to point him or her to these remedies. Modern medicine hasn’t found a permanent solution to autoimmune problems, and there are many people who manage their condition naturally, using only plants they buy, grow or forage themselves.

I will also show you a plant with powerful antibiotic properties that grows at the edges of the woodlands. If you’re in doubt, you can distinguish it from other plants by its yellow roots.

In Venezuela, where the pharmacies ran dry and the antibiotics became almost impossible to get, this plant became a rare commodity and many people started to plant it in their backyards.

On page 92 You’ll find out what to do if you’ll ever be tempted to eat the fruits of this widespread bush. This is American Elderberry and it’s a superfood for the immune system when it’s not lethal. The simple way to neutralize its poisonous compounds is to cook it. To boost my immune system, I take a teaspoon of home-made elderberry syrup per day.

You’ll also discover how to use the tiny berries of this roadside aphrodisiac to help the prostate. As they age many men get an enlarged prostate which is extremely annoying during the day and keeps them up at night. The same plant can help women with an overactive bladder and restore libido in both sexes.

I’ll also show you what Mary Magdalen used to anoint the tired, sore, and swollen feet of Jesus in the Bible.

"Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So, the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." - John 12:3

It was known as pure nard or spikenard, an essential oil our forefathers made from a plant of the Valerian family for swollen and painful joints.

If you can’t get your hands on this specific plant, you can use instead a similar plant called Solomon’s Seal that grows almost all over America.

On page 292 you’ll find the exact recipe for making your own SOLOMON ’S SEAL SALVE for painful joints or swollen ankles and feet.

I will also show you the recipe of what I like to call my “Natural Tamiflu” Extract. The drug Tamiflu, was originally made in the lab using a plant Star Anise. This plant contains high doses of shikimic acid which is the active ingredient in the pills. When scientists searched for other plants containing this compound, they found high concentration of shikimic acid in pine needles and those annoying gum ball trees. I just happen to have one in my front yard. We used to step on those spiny balls all the time. Now we use them to make my “Natural Tamiflu” Extract.

You’ll also discover how to decongest and alleviate your sinuses by using the Eucalyptus Steam Treatment you’ll find on page 230. Unfortunately many times prescription sinus medicines become addictive and requires higher and higher doses, so it’s not always your best option.

The first plant helps you speed up the bowel transit time, so your gut lining has less time to take from food the amount of calories it normally takes. All of this is done naturally using a plant that was part of our diet for thousands of years.

The second plant has the property of coating the walls of your gut with a transparent membrane, preventing the bowl from absorbing part of the calories you eat. All this by mixing two spoons of this common plant in a glass of water each morning.

The third plant is American Wild Ginseng. You will need to leave the chopped roots for several hours over low heat to make a tea. Ginseng tea is not only a natural appetite suppressant, but is also known to be an energy booster… by speeding up the internal burns, making your body burn more calories.

You’ll also see how the Eyebright plant got its name. Here’s a clue: the native elders would make eyedrops out of it for vision and eye infections. A lot of people still spot this plant around their house but very few still know how to take advantage of it.

I will also show you a simple tea made from roadside Goldenrod and apple cider vinegar that helps dissolve kidney stones.

I will show you how to make a Feverfew Migraine Tincture. The one that my grandmother used to give me when I had these terrible headaches. As its name suggests, this plant is also a good remedy for reducing fevers.

To create a tincture from feverfew, pluck the flowers and leaves. Using both parts of the plant will create a more synergistic remedy. Fill a small jar with equal parts flowers and leaves. Cover the plant material with alcohol or another solvent of your choice. Let the mixture sit for five to six weeks, shaking as often as you remember. Strain the liquid out after the allotted time and bottle. Start with a dosage of sixty drops, twice a day.

I’ll also show you how to make an anti-wrinkle cream from this backyard plant that stimulates elastin and collagen production.

You will also discover a few ways to use Yarrow depending on the circumstances. For external cuts and scrapes, grind the dried leaves into powder to apply to wounds to stop bleeding. For internal use, yarrow can be prepared in tinctures, decoctions, and teas. Many people confuse Yarrow with Queen Anne’s Lace. But you can tell the difference just by looking at their top. Queen Anne’s Lace has a rounded, circular top while Yarrow has an uneven shape.

One teaspoon of Rosehip has the Vitamin C of around 20 oranges. There are pills with it that you can buy, but why pay $20 to $40 dollars for something that you can simply pick up near your home?

So, what you should do is to cut a few leaves, macerate and soak them in alcohol for 6 weeks. Do not dry or heat them, as that will kill the Vitamin C in it. What you’ll get is this high concentrated Vitamin C extract that you can take whenever you want.

You’ll also discover the amazing thing that happens throughout the night when you put a clove of garlic in your ear right before going to bed. You will also find in the book two other recipes for those seeking to restore hearing, as well as prevent further hearing loss

Very few people know that Red Clover contains Phytoestrogen which is very similar to Estrogen, the female hormone that declines with menopause. So, for an easy menopause follow the recipe on page 268. A lower level of Estrogen is also responsible for accelerated bone loss so this remedy is also good for people worried about Osteoporosis.

I’ll also show you how to use this purple plant to help a painful or inflamed gallbladder.

Also, on page 258 you’ll also find a recipe for people who already removed their Gallbladder: BONE BROTH WITH STINGING NETTLE AND DANDELION LEAVES … very helpful.

The seeds for this next plant arrived on the North American continent inside the dirt used as ballast in old sailing vessels. Unsurprisingly, the natives quickly put it to good use. With the help of modern science, we now know that the active ingredient found in these leaves are the triterpene saponins. Mullein is used for whooping cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, earaches and common colds.

I will also show you the backyard invader that suppresses histamine production. It’s called Purple Dead Nettle and it’s very good for people with allergies. I make a tincture with it in alcohol for my sister every spring. For kids I use vegetable glycerin instead of alcohol. Some people even infuse it in apple cider vinegar. Either solvent is fine to use not only for this recipe, but for all tinctures. You can take up to 5ml doses two times a day.

I will also show you how to use Hawthorne and Motherwort to manage your blood pressure and to strengthen your heart. You will find my recipe on page 238. The active compounds in Hawthorne are  Proanthocyanidins (PA) which is known to improve blood flow. Motherwort contains leonurine, which has been studied for its ability to relax blood vessel walls and strengthen the capillaries. No wonder many people who fear a stroke use this plant regularly.

I’ll also show you what happens if you squeeze horsetail juice on thinning hair. Have you ever stepped out of the shower and saw a dozen of hairs in it? If nothing else worked to thicken your hair then you absolutely need to try Horsetail. Its sap is extremely rich in silica, a rare mineral that helps move needed nutrients to your hair follicles, promoting regrowth and vitality. The exact remedy I used to grow back a full head of hair.

You’ll also discover the only backyard plant that’s approved by both the FDA and real-life witches alike. I’m of course talking about Witch Hazel. The Natives made a medicinal extract from witch hazel for external swelling, inflammation, and wounds. Nowadays it is used as an ingredient in many topical skin OTC’s and it’s highly recommended for hemorrhoids.

You will also learn about a Japanese invasive plant that overtook many American backyards. This extremely pesky weed is called Japanese Honeysuckle and you might have tasted nectar from its flowers as a child. The best way to outfox this invasive plant is use it to your advantage. Inside The Forgotten Backyard Remedies you will find out how to harvest its anti-inflammatory compounds and use them for swollen or painful joints.

I will also show you how to make a LICORICE AND NETTLE INFUSION for Thyroid. Here’s exactly this very simple infusion recipe as you will find it in the book on page 315: “Create a nourishing infusion with these two plants by chopping one or two tablespoons of licorice root and one cup of stinging nettle. Add these to a glass jar. In a pot on the stove, bring one-and-a-half cups of water to a boil and remove it from heat. Carefully pour the hot water over the plant material in the jar and let this infuse for at least three hours before consuming.”

I will also show you the most powerful natural anti-depressant that you can make at home. Unlike synthetic drugs such as Prozac, Celexa, Zoloft, Xanax, or Paxil, St John’s Wort tincture has no side effects and it’s NOT addictive. St. John’s Wort has yellow flowers with 5 petals each.

The leaves have no teeth on the edge, and they have small transparent dots on them. If you keep a leaf in the light you should see that light coming through these dots. That’s how you know you have the right plant. Extremely detailed identification guidelines for St John’s Wort just as for every other medicinal plant can be found inside the book.

The main ingredient in St John’s Wort is Hypericin a substance that increases Dopamine Levels among other things. To extract Hypericin, chop the fresh flowers and fill a glass jar. Cover with alcohol and let it soak for 4 weeks. The tincture will turn a lovely magenta color. Strain out when ready and bottle the red liquid into small bottles. Take fifteen to twenty drops up to three times a day.

I will also show you the plant you should put on varicose veins, either before going to sleep, whenever you sit down or when you watch TV.

This might sound like something of little importance, but actually California Poppy is known to induce what is called deep sleep. A lot of people sleep 7 to 8 hours a night, but that doesn’t mean that they get a good regenerating sleep. What matters is how much of it is deep sleep. Your body needs deep sleep to regenerate cells, remove pre-cancerous cells and to clear away toxins and free radicals. A lot of doctors consider that a bad sleep is among the leading causes of most serious conditions later on in life.