Sandra wrote:
>Hops can be made into a very calming tea. I used to use hops tea for
>insomnia quite effectively, however it messed up my menstrual cycles
>quite effectively also. One to be used with caution. The effect on female
>hormones is known and it is one not recommended for use during pregnancy.
Interesting.... I just read that hops were banned as a
dangerous drug once. Apparently there is more depth to this
discussion of hops than i realized. My old view thought hops
a flavoring for beer and a crop like grain. Now i find it
was originally put into beer as a preservative/drug and
grows on a hardy vine.
Some facts about hops:
Currently, the FDA considers hops safe for non-pregnant
adults. The scientific name is Humulus lupulus and the
active ingredient is methyl-butenol. It also has two
bacterial fighting compounds called humulone and lupulone.
The hops are produced on a female vine which comes in many
different selections. I'm now growing the willamette hop
which is available from nurseries in this area and from
catalogs (Nichols).
Dried hops are usually used for insomnia and fresh hops for
infection protection and digestive aid.
Just for fun i visited a hop field today and that is an
amazing sight. The vine grows on wires that go 20-30 feet
in the air. The plants were spaced about ten feet apart
and they die back to the ground each year. If someone wanted
a summer shade and full sun in the winter this might make
an interesting landscape plant.
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Jeff Owens ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Zone 7, http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
