Homemade Aspirin vs. Store Bought Aspirin

  I know you probably think I am nuts for making many products from scratch instead of buying them from the store. I have to laugh at people who ask me why I go through all the trouble of making soap when you can just buy it at the store.

   One time I had an irritated spot on my body and it wouldn't go away for anything. It was situated in a place where I could not see it, so when I was at the doctor's office one day, I asked him about. I had a really good gynecologist but then he retired and I had to find another one. He was old fashioned and not really into all the modern discoveries of natural healing, but he was a caring doctor. I was surprised at his answer concerning my skin irritation. He asked me what kind of soap I was using, and I told him 'Dial'. He told me to stop using it. He also said that store bought soaps have chemicals in them that are undesirable. So, I have been making my own soap and have no more skin irritation.

   The companies that make aspirin are no different than the soap companies. They have to make a product that will work effectively, and they have to make a product that will be able to last for a long time on the shelves. So, in a sense, we have processed aspirins available at the store, as well as everything else that is processed.

   My quest for natural aspirin came when I found out that tomatoes do well with a little bit of aspirin water. What I struggled with though, was that in order to follow the recipe for this aspirin water, I would have to buy a bottle of aspirins from the store. If I am doing organic gardening, then I really can't put anything in it that might have other ingredients, thus, my search for aspirin made from scratch went on.

   I had learned that aspirin comes from a tree called a 'white willow' tree. The aspirin itself comes from the bark of this tree. Not every willow tree will have this kind of bark though. It has to be the white willow tree.

   Of course, I found this product on amazon.com, put out by a company called 'Frontier'. Come to think of it, I have other products from Frontier as well. I have sassafras Root Bark in the same kind of bag as the white willow bark. I ordered the white willow bark and followed the directions on the package, which is pouring 1 cup of hot water over 2 teaspoons of white willow bark and letting it steep for a couple of minutes. Viola! Liquid aspirin made right in front of your eyes!

   I let mine steep in a little glass teapot designed for steeping herbs in. In fact, mine looks very much like this one:

It has a glass insert that has holes in it, yet the holes are small enough to keep the herbs inside. You pull the insert out after it gets done steeping. I just take the two teaspoons of willow bark and place them inside the insert, then pour the water into the tea pot and place the cover on the top. I guess you steep it until the water turns into the color you want it to be.

  I took the drink after it was cooled off. It really did take my headache away! I have to admit, I bought the willow bark capsules and took them when I had a headache, but they didn't seem to help. I am so glad to have a natural way to take aspirin again, and the tea seems so much better than taking it in capsule form.

   The white willow bark comes in both organic and non-organic. The price difference is about $6, but I don't know what any other differences would be.




  So, next time that headache comes around, here is a way to create a homemade aspirin product without the chemicals and additives that are in regular store bought aspirin. It's not difficult to make either.

The organic white willow bark is a little over $16 and the regular white willow bark is a little over $10. The size of the bag is one pound which should last for a while (unless your family has a lot of pain or needs to use aspirin on a continual basis.). Plus, you can use some on your tomato plants for good health. I could never figure out the measurements because they used a different measuring system than I am used to, but I would assume that it would be the equivalent of a capsule in a quart of water. Then it is sprayed onto the plants, but only once a month, according to the directions I found on the Internet.

Aspirin Recipe From Frontier

2 teaspoons white willow bark
1 cup boiling water

  Put the willow bark into a tea bag, infuser, insert inside of glass tea pot, or cheesecloth. I personally think that using cheese cloth could be kind of messy. Pour the hot water over the bark and let it steep for a good couple of minutes. Then strain the tea so that all the willow bark is in the cheesecloth or tea pot insert. Sweeten as desired.  Leftover bark can make a good compost ingredient!