If you sometimes hang out in organic stores, one product has probably caught your eye.
With its retro packaging and its reputation as a grandmother's remedy, Swedish Elixir is one of those miracle potions from another age... and whose effectiveness remains extraordinary.
If you have never tried it, now is the time to try it: it acts on 5 spheres of the body.
What is the origin of the Swedish Elixir?
The history of this beverage with multiple benefits is closely linked to Maria Treben (1907-1991), an Austrian herbalist.
According to legend, their common history goes back to the end of the Second World War, when Maria was languishing for several months in a refugee camp in Bavaria.
The difficult conditions affected her health more and more.
Once out of the camp, Maria moved with her husband to Austria, but she suffered from typhus and developed an intestinal obstruction. The treatments that were prescribed to her did not help her much.
At the end of her strength, Maria remembers that a woman had once given her a vial filled with an odorous liquid, the "Swede's herbs", which was supposed to cure many ailments.
Without really believing it, she soaked some absorbent cotton with the liquid and kept it on her stomach all day.
To her great surprise, the pain disappeared after a few hours, giving way to a feeling of well-being that she had never experienced before.
Relieved as well as intrigued, she looks at the copy of the manuscript that came with the vial left by her benefactor.
The manuscript details how the herbs that make up the remedy act on diseases.
The original version of this manuscript was found in the papers of a 19th century Swedish physician, Dr. Samst, shortly after his death. He himself had taken his formula from a recipe from antiquity, the "Venetian theriac."
Maria Treben took up this manuscript, and thus gave birth, in Austria, to what was to become "The Elixir of the Swede."
Maria, a herbalist at heart, began to study with passion the therapeutic virtues of medicinal plants and in 1980 she published the best seller: "La santé à la pharmacie du Bon Dieu".
In 1979, Peter Theiss, a friend of Maria's, created a company specializing in herbal remedies. Together, they collaborate so that the elixir appears in all health food stores.
How to treat yourself with the Swedish Elixir?
The Swedish Elixir owes its reputation to its long-standing use and consistent success.
A ma connaissance, il n'y a pas d'études scientifiques qui attestent de ses effets positifs pour la santé. Pour cela il faudrait répertorier les propriétés des dizaines de plantes qui le composent. Il est admis, l'usage faisant foi, qu'il agit sur l'équilibre général de l’organisme.
Ses effets les plus communément vantés sont :
une action détoxifiante sur les organes et les tissus ;
une action dépurative ;
un effet anti-infectieux ;
des propriétés anti-inflammatoires ;
une action assainissante et stimulante sur la sphère digestive (foie, intestins, estomac, pancréas) ;
une action tonifiante qui requinque aussi bien le mental que le physique.
In internal use: whatever your ailments, the recommended dose is one teaspoon morning, noon and night before meals.
You can drink it pure or diluted in water.
- Many digestive problems (bloating, intestinal infections, nausea, flatulence, difficult digestion...) are usually resolved quickly with just a few doses.
It is possible to do one month cures, two to three times a year.
In external use: Swedish Elixir also works wonders on the skin.
- It relieves all the small boo-boos like the hematomas, the pricks, the rednesses. For that, soak cotton or a compress and apply directly to the lesion.
- The same goes for acne.
- Used in gargle, it will do its job for the inflammations of the throat (three teaspoons for a glass of water).
- You can also use it for sore muscles after an effort and to soothe rheumatic pains.
- To calm the headaches is also in its cords, in application on the temples and the nape of the neck.
What are the miraculous plants of the Elixir?
You may be wondering what gives Swedish Elixir such a powerful action. Its magic formula is composed :
- D'aloe vera (Aloe capensis)
- Senna leaves (Cassia angustifolia)
- Angelica root (Angelica archangelica)
- Alpine carline root (Carlina acaulis)
- Of zedoary root (Curcuma zedoaria)
- Rhubarb root (Rheum palmatum)
- De camphre (Cinnamomum camphora)
- From manna (a resin from Fraxinus ornus)
- Myrrh (a resin from Commiphora molmol)
- De saffron (Crocus sativus)
- Venice theriac (a mixture that varies between 60 and 80 plants depending on the formula!)
- The whole macerated in an alcohol.
Victim of its success, Swedish Elixir is sold with formulas that vary from one manufacturer to another.
The original German brand of Dr. Theiss has, for example, simplified the recipe by replacing the theriac with two great digestive plants:
- la Cannelle (Cinnamomum verum) and
- the Cardamome (Elettaria cardamomum),
associated with a plant that promotes the relaxation of all muscles:
- Valerian (Valeriana officinalis).
How to make our own Swedish Elixir?
Good news: you can also make your own.
Herbal preparations dedicated to this purpose are easily found in herbalist shops (ask for advice).
They are usually made for 1.5 liters of elixir, so it's a little more economical than buying your own ready-made mixture. And you can add herbs you like to your mixture.
You will have to find a fruit alcohol in which to rest the mixture.
- Mix the herbs and alcohol in a glass container and let time (and magic!) do its work by exposing your elixir to the sun, at least one month.
- Be sure to shake your mixture regularly.
- Strain. It's ready to go!
Keep it in a cool place for an unlimited time. The older the liqueur, the more powerful it is!
Warnings:
Because of its composition based on depurative plants, as well as its alcohol content, the Elixir of the Swede is not recommended for pregnant and breast-feeding women.
For internal use, it is contraindicated for children, pregnant women and people with heart problems and low blood pressure.