Natural Healers- Hops

   Yes, hops, the perennial climbing vine found wild in Europe and Asia, and member of the marijuana family. Hands up who knew that? No, me neither. And don't you look too smug- we know all about you. No surprise there.
  Before you go rushing out to buy a plant, you need to know that male and female flowers are borne on different plants, and it is the unpollinated cone-like female flowers that are picked as hops, for brewing beer and for herbal medicine.
  In ancient Rome, the hop was a popular garden plant and vegetable, its young shoots being eaten like asparagus. It wasn't until the sixteenth century that Flemish immigrants introduced the technique of brewing beer with the female flower, which revolutionised the brewing industry, as it enabled beer to be kept longer.

  In medicine, the flowers have long been famous for their sedative effect, as a tea or in a hop pillow. Hop is a gentle sedative, with none of the side effects of sleeping tablets. Drunk as a tea, you may need to add honey, as the hops are bitter. They also relieve tension in the gut and sooth nervous indigestion. Two cups of hop tea a day can help with menopausal symptoms, as it contains oestrogen boosting compounds.
  If your plant is grown from seed (late summer), you will not know the gender for 2 to 3 years. Germination can be erratic, especially if the seed isn't fresh. NB these seeds will be from wild hops and shouldn't be grown in area where there is commercial hop growing, as they may cross-contaminate.
  Hops can also be grown from soft-wood cuttings in the Spring, or from root division. The plant will like a sunny location and will need sturdy support. It is a plant you will need to keep an eye on, or it can get out of control, though it does die back in the winter. Cut the plant down to the ground in Autumn and manure

it well. You can pick the young, edible side shoots in the spring, and steam them. The male flowers can be par-boiled for salads, and young leaves can be blanched, also for salads, or soups.
  Hop tea is made from the female flower only. Contact dermatitis can be caused by its pollen when picking. The tea is recommended for anxiety, insomnia and restlessness, stimulating the appetite, flatulence and intestinal cramp. It may also help nursing mothers improve their milk flow. However, hops ARE NOT recommended for treating depressive illnesses, because of their sedative effect. It should also not be given to children who have not yet reached puberty, as it has the the most potent of all plant oestrogens. Consequently, it should also not be given to women with oestrogen sensitive disorders.

  It can also reduce the potency of anaesthetics and it is a good idea not to take hops for at least 2 weeks before surgery, and to inform your doctor that you have been taking hops.