Herbal tinctures and herbal extracts - Frequently Asked Questions
If I don't like alcohol, what do I do?
My local health shop sells tinctures, should I buy from them?
What is a tincture?
A tincture is a liquid extract of a herb. It is made by soaking herbs in a drinkable alcohol. We use a mixture of organic grain alcohol and distilled water to get the require strength of approximately 55% alcohol. All of our herbs are organic.
The alcohol extracts a great deal of the active ingredients of the herb. The distilled water also helps in this process as it is "empty" water. Therefore it can more easily extract the powerful benefits from the herbs. Tinctures have much longer shelf lives than dried herbs and the potency can remain for up to a two or three years or more.
Our tinctures are soaked for between 4 and 8 weeks to ensure they are as strong as possible. Many weaker commercial tinctures are only left soaking for a few days. This is definitely not long enough to extract all of the herb's useful properties.
Please do not be put off my the fact that a tincture contains alcohol. Tinctures have been made for hundreds if not thousands of years and in our opinion ensure the highest possible product potency which will assist you in your quest for health.
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Why use alcohol?
You may ask why use alcohol. Well, quite simply, alcohol produces the strongest tinctures. Many herbs are quite tough and hardy and it needs a powerful extractant to help break down and absorb the active ingredients contained within the herb.
Alcohol of the correct type is a tried and trusted way to do this. We use the best, organic grain alcohol which is unbeatable in producing a superb and strong health remedy.
Using alcohol is a small price to pay to achieve such potent and effective products.
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Will the alcohol affect me?
The amount of tincture taken is very small. The usual amount varies between 5 and 20 drops at a time. This is a small amount of alcohol. Alcohol in small amounts causes no harm to the body and it acts as a carrier for the medicinal compounds contained within the herb.
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If I don't like alcohol, what do I do?
If you are still concerned about consuming alcohol then there is a very simple solution:
Simply add the drops of tincture to a little hot water and then leave for a minute or two. This will make the alcohol evaporate off and you will still get the benefits of the herb.
Alternatively, you can try the herb in capsule form, but if possible we suggest you buy tinctures for slightly improved effects.
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Are your tinctures strong?
Our tinctures are created using a mixture of organic grain alcohol, distilled water and of course organic herbs. This extraction process is continued for anything from 4 to 12 weeks depending upon the herb concerned and we believe the tinctures we supply are the strongest available. We know of no other way that they can made stronger.
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My local health shop sells tinctures, should I buy from them?
Most health shops sell tinctures of one form or another. They may also supply tinctures which use glycerin instead of alcohol. Generally, glycerin produces a tincture which is much weaker than those which use alcohol.
Also, unfortunately, the strength of many shop bought tinctures leaves a lot to be desired. We regularly see products for sale which are colourless and water down. It is likely that these have few active ingredients.
A few of our staff have bought tinctures in a number of stores and drank almost a complete bottle before noticing any herbal effect/taste. We guarantee that you will see the difference in strength in our products.
The only thing we can suggest if you have any doubts is to buy one from a health store and one from us and compare the two. We think you will be more than pleasantly surprised with our products.
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