Standard Herb Doses

Tincture

Starting small helps you find the sweet spot for your body. Some people need more, some need less. Taking tinctures many times throughout the day also gives you more opportunities to 'check in' with your body, remembering the reason you are taking these herbs, and bringing awareness to your wellness journey.

It can be a meditation, a moment to take a pause, to set an intention, or to pray.

For most tonic herbs, we tend to take around 1-3 squirts (squirt = dropperful), 1-3 times per day, or as needed.

It's preferred to dilute in some water or tea for palatability and ease of use.

Up to 5 ml (5 squirts) is often fine if needed.

Some herb books recommend drop doses (60-90 drops, two to three times daily). Use the equation below to make sense of the appropriate dosage.

Other things to keep in mind:

• most people can take their tincture on an empty stomach, although if you're feeling a little digestive discomfort, make sure to eat a little food with your tincture.
• one full "squeeze" of the dropper counts as a "dropperful" – even if the glass pipette doesn't fill up all the way, this is considered a "dropperful"
• while many people take their tinctures right on or under the tongue (as I did for many years), regular contact of alcoholic extracts can irritate and degrade tissues of the mouth over longer periods of time. So my new rule is, if I'm taking a tincture a tonic tincture daily for long periods of time, I will dilute it in a little water, or just put a larger dose in a jar of water I plan on drinking throughout the day – if i'm just taking a quick squeeze in the moment (as in a quick dropperful of ginseng during a long hike, or a dropperful of bitters before a big meal), I feel comfortable taking the tincture right on the tongue
• if you do plan on diluting, try a dropperful or two in a little water, bubbly water, tea, or coffee – or put a larger dose in a quart jar of water and sip throughout the day

For preparing tinctures, see: How to Make Herbal Tinctures

Tea

With Dried Herbs

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dried herb per 8 ounces of water, steeped for at least 10 minutes, 1-3 times per day.

For nourishing infusions:

With Fresh Herbs

3-4x the amount you would use for dried herb per 8 ounces of water, steeped for at least 30. minutes, 1-3 times per day.

When making fresh herb teas (Violet is a favorite fresh herb tea I make), I generally just fill up a mason jar as full as I can and fill it with hot water, not really measuring. The main reason I don't measure with fresh herb teas is because I'm generally using nutritive tonic herbs that you can dose higher than other more overtly medicinal herbs.

For preparing teas, see: Herbal Infusions & Decoctions

Vinegar

Same as tincture doses above. You can use more if using vinegar as a food or salad dressing and the vinegar contains nutritive, tonic herbs like chickweed, nettle, violet, or others.

For preparing herbal vinegars, see: Herbal Vinegars

Syrup, Elixir, Oxymel, Honey

1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, 1-3 times per day

Preparations: Herbal Syrups, Herbal Honeys, Oxymels

Flower Essence

1-5 drops (I like to take flower essences as an odd number of drops, so I typically take 3 drops as needed), 1-3 times daily, or as needed.

You can take directly on the tongue, in water, as an air mist, or rubbed into the skin.

Cordial

1-2 ounces daily. Quite sweet so enjoy as a treat!

Capsule

Raw ground herb: 1-4 capsules, 1-2 times per day, usually with food and water.

1 capsule = 500mg

Standardized, soft gels, or liquid capsules purchased from a supplements manufacturer: follow the dosage instructions on the product label.

Powder

1/8 - 1 teaspoon daily, at once or divided throughout the day.

Mix with water or other beverage.

1 teaspoon = 10 capsules