“Proven Health Benefits of Osha Root”

“Osha Root Shortens the Duration of a Cold and Helps with Mucus”

Osha root is a Native American herb that has been used for thousands of years for healing lung problems such as colds, flues, coughs, inflammation and for getting rid of mucus in the respiratory tract. And now that we are going into the cold and flu season osha root is very important to have in our herbal medicine cabinet.

Other Names - Osha Root is also called Ligusticum porteri and other common names are Bear Root, Mountain Ginseng, Bear Medicine, Ocha Syrup, Colorado Cough Root, Porter’s Lovage, Indian Parsley, Chuchupate, and other names. And the White Mountain Apache Native Americans call it — ha ‘il chii’ gah.

Where it Grows - Osha root is commonly found in the high mountains of the Rocky Mountain Regions of the US, and it grows mostly in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Parts of Canada, and Colorado.

Helps with Mucus - Osha root is great for clearing up mucus so we can breath easy, clearing away mucus in our throat, lungs, and sinuses, thus making it very important for colds and flues. Osha root is not a antihistamine but works in a similar way.

Contains - Osha root contains tetramethylpyrazine, perlolyrine, chrysophanol caffeic acid and ferulic acid, phenylpropanoids, phthalides, furanocoumarins, α-pinene, limonene, and β-pinene and other agents.

Antibacterial and Antiviral - Osha root has long been used to shorten the duration of a cold and flu because it has very good antiviral and antibacterial abilities.

Shortens Colds and Flues - Take osha root at the first signs of a cold or flu and it will make a cold or flu disappear in no time.

Warming Herb - Osha root is a very warming herb and increases circulation, plus it’s slightly calming at the same time.

Dilates Bronchi - Osha root is a good bronchodilator making it very important for opening up the lungs and helping to bring in more oxygen in so we can breath deep. And it also works well for bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, allergies, emphysema and other lung challenges.

More Efficient Use of Oxygen - Osha root also helps the lungs work more efficiently thus helping to heal the body in general and Native Americans have used osha root to increase endurance of ages.

Great for Sore Throats - Osha root has a numbing effect on the throat and thus makes a great throat spray for soar throats.

Wound Healing - Osha root powder also helps prevent infections in skin wounds and speeds up healing.

Used in Commercial Cough Medicine - Osha root has long been used in commercial cough medicines and cough drops because it’s a great expectorant and helps to calm a nagging cough.

Taste - Osha root has a celery and licorice flavor that’s very nice.

Used with Other Herbs - Many times osha root is used in combination with echinacea, goldenseal, and sage in order to shorten the duration of a cold.

Hard to Grow - Osha root is not grow commercially so all the osha root on the market is gathered from wild beds.

Gathering - Osha root is gathered in the winter and the whole root bundle is used. Remember - only gather osha root with someone experienced in gathering this herb because osha root looks a lot like poisonous hemlock. If you don’t know what it is don’t use it—buy some osha root and be safe. Also Ligusticum scorticum and Ligusticum canbyi species can also be used just as well as Ligusticum porteri.

Forms - Osha root can be found as sprays, tinctures, teas, powder, whole dried roots, cough drops, ointments, and capsules. Osha root can also be inhaled over a steaming pot of osha root to open up the lungs and chewing the raw root is also common.

Making Tincture - Take 1 1/2 cups of whole root and place the roots in a quart jar and pour in vodka and a couple teaspoons of agave nectar or honey. Let sit until the tincture turns dark brown… usually 3 or 4 days or longer and then it’s ready to use.

Making Tea - Take 1/2 teaspoon of the cut dried root and steep the root for 15 minutes in a cup of boiling water until the water becomes dark, remove roots, let cool, add honey or stevia if you like and some people add nut milks… the tea has a nice flavor spicy flavor.

Dose - Drink a cup of tea up to 5 times a day, for a tincture use 20 to 60 drops - 5 times a day, powder in capsules take 250 mg - 3 or 4 times a day.

Finding - Osha root can be found at your local health food store. And it can be found on-line google “Buy Osha Root Capsules” and lots of places that sell osha root will come up. And osha root can be found Amazon and Ebay - plus Amazon ships world wide.

No Side Effects - Osha root does not have any side effects if taken in normal doses, but as with all herbs osha root should only be taken for 7 to 10 days. But of course like all other herbs, medications, and supplements they should not be taken by women who are pregnant, nursing, or by small children.

Personally, if I had to pick just one herb for colds and flues I would pick osha root.

Try Osha Root… it will do your body good.

Dr. Paul Haider - Master Herbalist