3 Wisemen Anti Inflammatory
I’ve always loved stories. They are probably my first love even before plants. The story of the The Wiseman visiting the baby Jesus inspired my latest formula. Most people are familiar with the story but incase you aren’t in it, three wisemen come bearing gifts of Frankincense, Myrhh and Gold to give to the new born king. As a kid the gold made sense to me but the other two were always explained as oils and I couldn’t in my very childlike mind understand why something related to crisco would be a good present. Fast forward a few decades and it more than makes sense to me. The history of those completely non crisco like oils is quite frankly inspiring.
Frankincense is a resin from the Boswellia family of trees. It’s been valued in the Arabian peninsula for more than 6,000 years. Most of it’s history is in it’s use as a perfume or an incense. As an incense it was consecrated and used in ceremonies of the Hebrew people, the very people that these baby was born into. To gather Frankincense, one slashes Boswellia tree and collects the sap. The sap then hardens or crystalizes. The ‘tears’ can be put straight onto the fire and burned. The aroma is quite pleasing.
Myrhh is similarly collected but comes from the from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora. The resin is very waxy and dries quickly. It too was used in ceremony in the temples and in the homes of the wealthy to purify the house. It’s laid on the coals as well.
Turmeric replaces the gold in this formula, thanks to it’s golden color and the way it interacts with the other resins. Turmeric comes from the root of the turmeric plant, part of the ginger family. As a healing plant it has been prized since at least 500 BCE and is also sacred to the people of India and still is used as part of the a traditional wedding ceremony or as a talisman.
Each of these plant parts have a wealth of reasons to be part of people’s medicine cabinet but we’ll talk about the combined efforts of them. All three of them are legendary at decreasing inflammation. Myrhh has an affinity toward the soft tissues particularly muscle cramps, uterine pain and inflammation in the mouth like gingivitis while Frankincense works on long term inflammation of the muscles and joint pain and turmeric is just great for all inflammation. This combo can also help with parasites.
Personally, I’ve used it and been blown away with the results and how long they last. A few doses and the heal pain the bugs me on and off for 5 years was gone for over a week. I’m back on to taking it to see how long it stays gone on a daily dose.
Fun Fact the resins were worth more than their weight in gold in the time they were given as a gift making the gold seem like the crisco on the gift table!