Hops

Diamon Naturals

Alaena Charlotte Diamon

Hops (Humulus lupulus)

Name: Hops, named from an Anglo-Saxon word hoppan, meaning to climb.

Parts Used: Flowers (strobiles).

Description: Bitter perennial climbing, clinging vine that reaches to 30 feet in height. The clusters of scaly-headed flowers of a pale greenish-yellow are female flowers; male flowers are tiny and white. Flowers mid to late summer.

Cultivation: Hops prefers full sun, and will adapt to many soils. Cultivated in gardens and also found wild in hedgerows.

Grows With: Hops and Valerian like to grow near each other.

Constituents: Volatile oil, flavonols, resin, tannins.

Uses: A bitter aromatic tonic, with sedative and diuretic properties. The flowers contain a natural antibiotic. Hops will produce sleep when nothing else will. A pillow stuffed with Hops is the country remedy for inducing a good night's sleep. Poultices made from the flowers are used for boils and painful swellings. An infusion of i oz (28 g) of the flowers to i pt (568 ml) of water acts as a bitter tonic and will rectify indigestion and improve appetite. The herb stimulates estrogen production and in men curbs excessive sexual desire and is a remedy for spermatorrhoea. For insomnia, combine with Valerian. Hops contain a volatile oil and a bitter principle that have a soothing effect on the nervous system. Beneficial for tension and anxiety, they may be used where this tension leads to restlessness and headache. Hops also act as a tonic to the digestive system, relaxing the bowel and easing nervous indigestion. As an astringent with these relaxing properties they can be used in conditions such as mucous colitis. They should, however, be avoided where there is a marked degree of depression, as this may be accentuated. They are used extensively for the treatment of insomnia. Externally, the antiseptic action is utilized to reduce inflammation and treat skin ulcers. Hops contain hormonal substances (estrogen-like compounds) that, taken in large quantities, may be connected with temporary impairment of the male sexual function. Hops can help regulate the menstrual cycle and are beneficial in alleviating PMS and menstrual problems, especially muscle cramps, headaches and sore breasts. Aphrodisiac-like effects have been observed in men. The young shoots of Hops can be boiled, steamed or eaten raw and served like asparagus. May be tinctured or used in tea form.

Miscellaneous: Hops became an important flavoring for beer in ninth-century Europe. In the UK, however, the inhabitants preferred traditional malt flavored ales made with such herbs as Costmary or Wormwood. Hops were deemed "a wicked weed that would spoil the taste of the drink and endanger the people" and it was not until the seventeenth century that the beer brewed from them was as widely available as ale. Following the introduction of Hops into Massachusetts in the early part of the seventeenth century, New York State established itself as the principal Hop-growing area of North America. Brewers added Hops to their beer primarily because they extended its keeping qualities. In the late seventeenth century, Hops were considered by some to be injurious to health, but the digestive, sedative and mild diuretic qualities of the female flowers were soon appreciated by practicing herbalists. Hops is used in healing incenses. Sleep pillows often include hops to induce sleep and pleasant dreams. It is under the dominion of Mars.

Caution: Not for people suffering from depression. Do not use during pregnancy or while nursing. Not appropriate for children.

Flower Essence: Stimulates growth, both spiritual and physical. Activates etheric body & etherieal fluidium; opens 6^th Chakra. Meridians strengthened.

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