Calendula . . . . more than just a pretty face

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While commonly thought of as simply a topical remedy used for minor cuts, scrapes and wounds, it’s common for people to overlook the other uses of Calendula as an internal agent and it has a very wide range of actions that are beneficial for a variety of common conditions both acute and chronic.

Calendula was classically used as an immune tonic throughout the autumn and winter

to drive off the cold, keep the fluids of the body moving,

and as a general preventative agent.

To this effect it was often cooked in soups and stews

and delivered more as a food.

It is important to use the entire flower and not just the petals, for it is underneath the flower base that contains much of the aromatic and resinous properties of the plant, which are responsible for its medicinal actions and is bitter in taste. The petals themselves are relatively mild and sweet, but the entire flower is distinctly more medicinal.

Calendula is likely one of the most common remedies used in folk and clinical herbalism

and has a broad spectrum of uses and applications.

It gets its name Calendula because it has been seen to flower

throughout every month of the calendar.

PRIMARY ACTIONS OF CALENDULA

LYMPHAGOGUE: Remedy used for swollen and painful lymph nodes. Calendula is beneficial after a cough, cold, flu or infection has passed, but there is a lingering after effect of the sickness, due to the fact that the blood and lymphatic system were just the host to a battle scene between your immune system and some invading pathogen. The war has been fought, you won (congratulations!)! but the battlefield is littered with the dead and dying. Fluids are filled with dead white blood cells, viral and bacterial cells, metabolic waste products and cellular debris. This makes it difficult for the tissues to receive adequate oxygen and nutrients from the blood. Hence low energy, fatigue, and he foggy headed sensation after being sick. The solution is Calendula! As a lymphagogue Calendula will also facilitate in digestive bloating by cleansing the lymphatic system and providing the immune system with support.

ALTERATIVE: This generally means something that will open up the channels of elimination (bowels, skin, liver, lungs, kidneys). Calendula is primarily a bitter tonic and lymphatic alterative, with a focus on the bowels, liver, skin and lymphatic system. People who need alteratives can often be quite tired and run down due to the fact that their vital force is busy trying to clean the system out - a sign of low vitality or deficiency of the Sun.

BITTER TONIC: The bitter tonic properties of Ca-lendula have a stimulant effect upon the liver, increasing it’s detoxification capacities. This is beneficial for the metabolism and digestion of fats and oils. Calendula stimulates digestion and helps to move any stagnancy in the liver.

EMMENAGOGUE: Used to bring on stuck and stagnant menses, as well as to relieve painful menstruation.

VULNERARY: Calendula is one of the best wound healing remedies in herbal medicine, helping wounds to heal very quickly, preventing the stagnation of fluids, modulating inflammation, preventing bacterial infection, and reducing scar formation. It is also useful as a topical agent for sun-burns. From the run of the day cuts and scrapes to more intense wounds like lacerations and puncture wounds Calendula is a go to topical first aid remedy. Most people think of Calendula as only a topical action, but our digestive system is our inner skin and Calendula is gentle enough to use orally to help with repairing internal wounds, such as leaky gut.

IMMUNE TONIC: Calendula has a mildly tonic action upon the immune system, maintaining the balance in fluid metabolism by clearing any stagnation and helps keep bacteria at bay. The lymphatic system is a critical part of the immune system and through keeping the lymph moving and cleansing the blood the immune system is able to do it’s job more efficiently.

INFLAMMATION MODULATOR: Most texts will say “anti-inflammatory.” However, a better term to use is “inflammation modulator,” because most plants will not completely halt the bodies inflammatory process (which is a critical healing aspect), but will simply modulate it to a certain ex-tent. This action of Calendula is demonstrated through it’s topical effects in wounds, but also in it’s internal treatment of inflammation upon the GI tract. Whenever there is the presence of a food allergy or intolerance, the digestive system will be inflamed. This can manifest as joint pain, autoimmunity, or chronic skin conditions like eczema and ac-ne. Because of it’s major affinity for the lymphatic system, we see it also benefiting swollen lymph accompanied by inflammation due to the stagnation.

Calendula is regarded as a mild and safe plant for internal consumption.

Due to it’s emmenagogue effects, it is suggested to be avoided

for internal use during pregnancy.

Topical use during pregnancy is acceptable.

To keep Calendula flowers blooming, pick the flower heads every three days to prevent them from going to seed and place them in a place to dry for use in your home remedies. Once you decide to let the seedheads form and they have developed fully, remove them from the plant and lay them on a sheet of paper indoors, to dry for a few days. Once dry, separate the seeds from the seedhead, place the seeds in a clean, labeled envelope and store in a container, in a cool, dry place to prevent any moisture developing.

INFUSION: Because the flowers are light and delicate, it is best prepared as an infusion if doing a water extract. But it’s important to re-member to cover it with a lid, as the volatile oils and resins will evaporate off with the water and you will loose a portion of the medicine in the steam. Use 2-3 heaping tablespoons in 1 cup of water. I prefer a quart mason jar filled 1/2 way and then filled up with hot water, covered for 20 minutes. Remember it is a bitter, so adding honey would be beneficial:)

Calendula Infused Oil

INFUSED OIL/SALVE: The primary way in which Calendula is extracted is through oils. This is because the resins, volatile oils and triterpenes are insoluble in water, and thus soluble in high alcohol and oils. The freshly dried flowers yield nicely to all manner of carrier oils, such as cold pressed olive oil, or sun-flower oil . This oil can be used directly on the skin, or prepared into a salve with beeswax, other infused oils, and/or essential oils to create a nice broad spectrum topical medicine.