Herbal Clinic

Herbal Clinic The herbal clinic is a fully stocked online herb store. Our dispensary assistants have an in-depth knowledge of herbs.

The herbal clinic is a fully stocked online herb store which is open to the public and staffed by trained herbalists. We stock a very wide selection of the highest quality herbs. We source cultivated organic or wildcrafted herbs whenever possible and we support local farmers.

Most people know cinnamon as a baking spice. Herbalists know it as a warming circulatory herb that also happens to be on...
09/04/2026

Most people know cinnamon as a baking spice. Herbalists know it as a warming circulatory herb that also happens to be one of the best studied plants for post meal blood sugar.

Three things worth knowing:

1. Ceylon and cassia are not the same herb. Cassia is high in coumarin, Ceylon is not. If you are taking cinnamon regularly rather than sprinkling it occasionally, that difference matters.

2. The type A procyanidins in the bark appear to improve insulin signalling, so the same amount of insulin moves more glucose.

3. Cinnamon also slows gastric emptying slightly, which flattens the spike after a carb heavy meal.

Full guide, including how to decoct it properly and who should check with a prescriber first: herbalclinic.ca/cinnamon-for-blood-sugar-balance

One berry, five flavours: sour, sweet, salty, bitter and pungent, all at once.That is schisandra (Schisandra chinensis),...
09/02/2026

One berry, five flavours: sour, sweet, salty, bitter and pungent, all at once.

That is schisandra (Schisandra chinensis), called wu wei zi in Chinese medicine and used as a tonic for centuries.

What it is known for:
- Liver support. The lignans in the seed are linked to the liver's own antioxidant defences and normal enzyme levels.
- Steady energy. Classed as an adaptogen, with none of the lift and crash of coffee.
- Astringent and settling. Traditionally used for night sweats, a dry cough and wired exhaustion.

We tincture the whole dried ripe berry, so both the sour fruit acids and the resinous seed compounds make it into the bottle.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/schisandra-berry-for-liver-and-energy

Blue vervain is one of the most bitter herbs in the cabinet, and that is exactly the point.Herbalists have reached for V...
09/01/2026

Blue vervain is one of the most bitter herbs in the cabinet, and that is exactly the point.

Herbalists have reached for Verbena hastata for the wound-tight type: tight jaw, tight shoulders, still going at 11pm on nothing but nerve. The bitterness is traditionally understood to settle an overstimulated system rather than knock it out.

3 things worth knowing:
1. It is a nervine, not a sedative. Different job.
2. The leaf carries iridoid glycosides, verbenalin and hastatoside, which give it that hard bitter edge.
3. Traditional use, not clinical trials, is what carries this herb. Worth being honest about.

Most people take it as a tincture. In tea it is bitter enough that lemon balm or chamomile usually comes along for the ride.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/blue-vervain-for-stress-and-tension

Horsetail is one of the richest plant sources of silica, and that is the whole reason it sits in the hair, skin and nail...
08/31/2026

Horsetail is one of the richest plant sources of silica, and that is the whole reason it sits in the hair, skin and nail aisle.

A few things worth knowing:
- Silicon is involved in how the body builds collagen, the scaffold under skin, hair shafts and nail plates
- A quick 2 minute steep does almost nothing. Horsetail needs a simmer plus a long cool down to release its silicic acid
- Equisetum arvense is the herbal species. Its look alike, marsh horsetail, is not. Sourcing matters more here than with most herbs

We source cut and sifted Equisetum arvense, checked by our herbalists before it goes into a tincture or tea.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/horsetail-for-hair-and-nails/

California poppy is not o***m poppy. Different plant, different chemistry, no morphine, no codeine.What it is: Eschschol...
08/29/2026

California poppy is not o***m poppy. Different plant, different chemistry, no morphine, no codeine.

What it is: Eschscholzia californica, a mild sedative nervine used traditionally for restless nights, tension and mild pain that keeps you awake.

How it works: its alkaloids appear to support GABA activity, the nervous system's main calming signal. That is the quieting side, not the stimulating one.

How it is used: most often as a tincture of the aerial parts, taken in the evening. It pairs classically with valerian, and with passionflower when the mind will not switch off.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/california-poppy-for-sleep/

Tired but wired? Oats might be the most underrated nerve herb in the cabinet.Oatstraw (Avena sativa) is a nervine tonic,...
08/26/2026

Tired but wired? Oats might be the most underrated nerve herb in the cabinet.

Oatstraw (Avena sativa) is a nervine tonic, not a sedative. It does not knock you out, it rebuilds. Here is what that means:

: Oat straw is rich in silica, calcium and magnesium, minerals the body burns through under long stress
: Milky oat tops, picked in the one week the seed head releases white sap, are the more concentrated nervine
: Effects are cumulative. Oats are a daily habit herb, not a rescue remedy

Brew oatstraw as an overnight infusion for the minerals, or take a milky oat tincture for the nervine action.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/oatstraw-for-nervous-exhaustion

Siberian ginseng is not ginseng, and it is not a stimulant.Eleutherococcus senticosus is a thorny shrub from the taiga f...
08/25/2026

Siberian ginseng is not ginseng, and it is not a stimulant.

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a thorny shrub from the taiga forests of eastern Russia and northeastern China. Soviet researchers spent the 1960s studying its root for endurance and work capacity, and that is still where its reputation sits.

Three things worth knowing:

1. The active compounds are eleutherosides. They are chemically unrelated to the ginsenosides in true ginseng, which is why the two herbs behave differently.

2. It is traditionally used for stamina across a long stressful stretch, not for a same hour lift.

3. Herbalists usually suggest taking it earlier in the day, steadily, over weeks rather than occasionally.

We tincture the root in Toronto at a 1:5 ratio, with a 1:2 version for anyone who wants more extract in less volume.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/siberian-ginseng-for-energy-and-stamina

Thyme sits in almost every spice rack in the country, and almost nobody uses it for the reason herbalists reach for it.T...
08/24/2026

Thyme sits in almost every spice rack in the country, and almost nobody uses it for the reason herbalists reach for it.

Thymus vulgaris is an old respiratory herb. Two things make it worth knowing:

The volatile oils, thymol and carvacrol, are what give a crushed leaf that medicinal smell.

It has a traditional reputation as both an antispasmodic and an expectorant, which is an unusual pairing to find in one plant.

Herbalists have traditionally used it for dry, irritable coughs and tight chests. Germany's Commission E approved thyme preparations for symptoms of bronchitis.

We make ours as a 1:5 tincture here in Toronto, with the alcohol percentage set specifically for thyme's aerial parts so the volatile oils actually come out.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/thyme-tincture-for-cough

Ever wonder why bitter herbs work before a meal, not after?Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is one of the sharpest bitter...
08/24/2026

Ever wonder why bitter herbs work before a meal, not after?

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is one of the sharpest bitters in herbal medicine, and that sharpness is the whole point. The taste itself signals your body to release stomach acid, bile, and saliva before food even arrives.

A few drops in water, 10 to 15 minutes before eating, is the traditional way herbalists use it for sluggish digestion and a low appetite.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/wormwood-tincture-for-digestion

The hooked seed pod gave Devil's Claw its name. The root is what people actually use.Harpagophytum procumbens sprawls ac...
08/21/2026

The hooked seed pod gave Devil's Claw its name. The root is what people actually use.

Harpagophytum procumbens sprawls across the red sand of the Kalahari, and its side tubers carry a group of intensely bitter iridoid glycosides led by harpagoside. Research suggests those compounds quiet several inflammatory signals at once rather than blocking a single pathway hard.

Three things worth knowing:

1. It works slowly. Traditional use points toward weeks of steady dosing, not same day relief.
2. Most of the clinical work has looked at hip and knee osteoarthritis and non specific low back pain.
3. It is fiercely bitter, which is also why it doubles as a digestive herb.

Sourcing matters with this one. Wild harvest pressure has been heavy for decades, so we buy through Namibian harvester cooperatives that lift only the side tubers and leave the taproot in the ground.

Read the full guide at herbalclinic.ca/devils-claw-for-joint-pain/

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