This article introduces my readers to the formulation, history and therapeutic usage of the famous Swedish Bitters formula and its possible variations and modifications. It also places the Swedish Bitters formula within a larger historical and cross-cultural context.
Introduction: Adam and the Fabled Long Life Elixir
Not too long ago, I received a series of emails from a guy who I’ll call Adam, for the sake of preserving his anonymity – Adam as in the Primordial Man, with shades of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man thrown in as well. Anyway, Adam had fallen under the spell of the fabled long life elixir that is popularly known as Swedish Bitters, which was initially popularized by the Austrian herbalist Maria Treben. Adam had encountered, and was studying, various versions of this herbal formula, and was quite perplexed by it all. In an effort to make sense of it all, I feel that he wanted me to come up with a kind of herbal score card for each ingredient – of all the different formulations, of course – in order to get some kind of handle on how effective and/or indispensible each ingredient was – or, on the other extreme, how inessential or superfluous it was. Armed with this information, I feel like he wanted to put together his own “Ultimate Swedish Bitters” formula – a laudable objective, in my estimation. Adam sent me a link to the best website or source of online information that he had found on Swedish Bitters, and it is indeed a rich source; I will be sharing the link with you at the end of this blog posting.
What’s in a Name? A Brief History of Swedish Bitters
If we want to get some kind of handle on understanding what Swedish Bitters is, we need to take a look at its long and colorful history; we also need to examine its name as well, and put it within the context of the broader field of herbal medicine. The first part of its name that we shall examine is the “Bitters” part – generically speaking, a “Bitters” formula is usually an alcoholic extract – a tincture or medicinal wine that is taken in small doses, either before a meal or after it, to stimulate digestion. There is an old herbal maxim that bitter to the tongue is sweet to the stomach, and herbalists have long recognized the beneficial effect of bitter herbs upon digestion. Indeed, bitter herbs are at the core of this fabled long life elixir – bitter herbs like Aloes, and in other versions of the formula, bitter herbs like Gentian or Wormwood as well. Why are bitter tonics for better digestion so important? The human organism replenishes and repairs itself daily through the processes of digestion, assimilation and metabolism as the body is built, and rebuilt – in short, better digestion and metabolism accrue to better overall health over the long term, and thus to a longer life.
Then, there is the initial “Swedish” part of its name. Maria Treben credits a certain Swedish physician, a certain Swedish doctor named Claus Samst and his associate, Dr. Urban Hjarne, with rediscovering the original elixir of the famed Swiss – German alchemist and physician Paracelsus, which the latter called “Elixir ad Longam Vitam”, or “Elixir for a Long Life”. In fact, Dr. Samst, who is reputed to have died from a riding accident at the ripe old age of 104, was living testimony to the elixir’s efficacy, and his associate, Dr. Hjarne, lived to the respectable age of 84, which was considerably older than the average life expectancy of his day. According to Maria Treben, Dr. Samst wrote an Old Manuscript, detailing some 46 points, or ailments and conditions that Swedish Bitters is effective at treating.
“Sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s true…” begins Maria Treben when telling the story of how she first encountered Swedish Bitters. She claims to have contracted typhoid fever as a young woman in a refugee camp in the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia, due to tainted meat. She became deathly ill and jaundiced, and suffered from both vomiting and diarrhea as well as terrible shooting pains throughout her body. Her doctor told her that the terrible pains could go on for years. That’s when a woman brought her a bottle of Swedish Bitters, because she had heard of Maria’s illness, and thought the elixir could help. Maria Treben was skeptical at first, but then figured that the elixir was worth a try; she put an external plaster or poultice of it over the area where she felt pain, and at once she felt a warm, healing feeling go though her body – she credits Swedish Bitters with enabling her to regain her health.
And the rest is history, as they say… Although Paracelsus is the legendary inventor of this long life elixir, its roots stretch back many centuries before Paracelsus, all the way back to the great Greco-Roman physician Galen and beyond, as we shall see…
A Closer Look at Maria Treben’s Swedish Bitters Formula
In the field of herbal medicine, we frequently encounter “Greater” and “Lesser” versions of what are the same or similar herbal formulas; this is a phenomenon that seems to transcend different cultures and herbal healing traditions. In Chinese herbal medicine, for instance, you have Da Chai Hu Tang, or the Greater Bupleurum Decoction, as well as Xiao Chai Hu Tang, or the Lesser Bupleurum Decoction. Although Maria Treben acknowledges that there is a Greater Swedish Bitters formula, with many more ingredients in it, she maintains that all her healing successes were accomplished with the Lesser version of the formula, which contains only eleven ingredients – plus alcohol as the carrying medium, of course. Adhering to the old maxim, “Keep it simple”, we shall limit ourselves to Maria Treben’s Lesser Swedish Bitters at the outset; Maria Treben refers to it as basically an elixir of Aloes, Myrrh and Saffron, so we shall start with these three ingredients, which form the core of the formula, and then proceed to the others:
Aloes (Aloe vera, Aloe Ferox) – This is not the debittered Aloe Vera juice or gel that you get at your local health food store; this is Bitter or Purging Aloes. Of course, Aloes is a great bitter tonic to stimulate digestion and help with elimination as well, but beyond this, Aloes is of central importance to the formula because it has the distinctive healing virtue of being able to fluidify or discharge tough, hard accretions of all Four Humors – Blood, Phlegm, Yellow Bile and Black Bile. With the core liquidation or fluidification function of Aloes as the nucleus of the formula, the other ingredients are able to work much more effectively at what they do to heal and cleanse the body and promote better health and longevity.
Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) – Seeing that wounded trees heal themselves by means of exuding their sap or resin, primitive herbalists intuited that the saps or resins of different trees could also help the human body heal and regenerate as well. The main humor that Myrrh works through is Blood or the Sanguine humor, removing stagnant or congealed blood and activating its vital properties, because Blood is the humor of healing and regeneration. Myrrh also acts as a bitter tonic to stimulate the stomach, liver and digestion, and its mildly astringent properties also help to tone up the intestines and promote peristalsis as well. Wherever Myrrh goes it brings healing, better blood circulation and tissue regeneration.
Saffron (Crocus sativus) – Saffron is generally recognized to be the most expensive cooking spice; because of this, and because it is relatively powerful and potent, Saffron is in the formula at a reduced dosage. Although Saffron is also used as an energizer, it works with Myrrh to “activate the blood”, as the Chinese say, to fluidify it, break up congellations, and improve its circulation and vital properties. If expensive, high quality genuine Saffron should be too expensive or otherwise unavailable, ordinary Safflower petals can be used as a substitute. In Chinese, regular Safflower is called Hong Hwa or “Scarlet Flower”, whereas Saffron is called Tsang Hong Hwa or “Tibetan Scarlet Flower”, acknowledging that the genuine, good stuff comes from Tibet, and by extension, Persia and central Asia; Spain is another country that is associated with the harvesting and production of Saffron.
Following the above nucleus of the formula, the following three ingredients are all herbs that have a beneficial, strengthening effect on digestion, and on overall health and wellbeing:
Angelica root (Angelica archangelica) – Angelica root – and in this case, it is European Angelica – is a tonic and energizer, and is also beneficial for the appetite and digestion, since it dredges the liver and stimulates the stomach. It is also an excellent women’s menstrual tonic as well. Angelica root is also one of the few vegetarian sources of vitamin B12, and also has a beneficial tonic and vitalizing action on the Blood, in order to help menstruating women replenish their blood every month.
Carline Thistle root (Carlina acaulis) – Carline Thistle root is quite hard to come by, but it’s a great herb and Swedish Bitters ingredient if you can get it. Truly, this herb could be called a roborant, which is an herb that increases the overall vitality and robustness of the body and its health. It also has mild diaphoretic properties to disperse exogenous pathogenic factors as well as being an anti-rheumatic herb, and beneficial for enhancing blood circulation throughout the body.
Zedoary root (Curcuma zedoaria) – This herb is a close botanical relative of Ginger and Turmeric; whereas Turmeric is yellow, Zedoary root is dark, or blackish in color. It is a powerful stimulator of the stomach and digestion, a dredger of the liver, and a powerful tonic and vitalizer of the blood and its circulation. According to modern Chinese scientific research, Zedoary root has anti-cancer or antitumoral properties.
The following trio of herbs are those that help with intestinal regularity and elimination; they have laxative / purgative properties, which are softened and moderated considerably by the overall action and energetics of the alcohol, which is used as a carrier medium:
Rhubarb root (Rhizoma rhei; Rheum palmatum) – Rhubarb root is the most commonly used laxative / purgative herb in Chinese herbal medicine. In large doses, it acts as a vigorous laxative / purgative, but in small doses in an alcoholic medium, it acts as a strong choleretic / cholagogue herb, or an herb that stimulates the production and flow of Yellow Bile, which is the body’s own inherent laxative. Rhubarb root is also a powerful detoxifier and stimulator of blood circulation, especially for the organs of the pelvic cavity, and helps a woman with her monthly periods.
Senna leaves / pods (Senna angustifolia) – Senna is a powerful laxative / purgative herb, and one that is so powerful that it can provoke intestinal griping in sensitive individuals, especially if taken as a powder, or as a tea. Luckily, the alcohol medium softens or moderates these harsh qualities considerably. Also, Senna pods have an inherently milder, gentler quality than Senna leaves. Aside from the laxative / purgative action, Senna has beneficial blood cleansing properties. Because Senna is so harsh, it is usually buffered with other herbs and ingredients that have a softening, emollient action in an herbal formula. There are gentler substitutes for Senna that can be used, like Mesquite or Carob pods, or Chinese Cassia torae seeds.
Manna is the distilled sugary exudate of a certain species of Ash tree, and is a mild emollient laxative. I feel that Manna is put in the formula to act as a softening or moderating agent for the Senna leaves or pods. Manna is also rich in nutritive tonic virtues.
The final two ingredients could be called special catalysts or synergizers, and are definitely the most unique and distinctive ingredients in the formula. One is a distilled crystalline essence, whereas the other is a complex prepared medicine.
Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) – This is the distilled crystalline essence or aromatic principle of the Camphor tree, and is actually natural camphor, which used to be used to make moth balls. Chinese herbal medicine classifies it as a super-aromatic herb to open the orifices, and its net effect is to greatly increase the circulating and opening power of the other herbs in the formula that have an aromatic or circulating nature. It also has anticonvulsant and antiseptic properties as well.
Theriac Venezian is probably the ingredient that has puzzled aspiring herbalists like no other; it is not a single herb, but rather a prepared medicine with many, many ingredients of its own. This ingredient has a very long and colorful history, and is quite controversial as well; I will be covering it in more detail in the next section.
And last but not least, let’s not forget the carrier medium, which is Alcohol. Alcohol has a very dispersing, ascending energy to it, and this tempers or counteracts the downward purging effects of the laxative / purgative ingredients of the formula, namely Rhubarb root, Aloes and Senna leaves.
What the HECK is Theriac Venezian?
Perhaps the most mysterious of the ingredients in Maria Treben’s original Swedish Bitters formula is something called “Theriac Venezian” – what the heck is it? A little more research will reveal that it has also been called “Venice Treacle”, with Venice being a big center for its manufacture. And of course, treacle is an old English term for a thick sugary syrup or toffee like substance. A medicinal jam or jelly is often called an electuary in herbal medicine; it is a very convenient and efficient way to prepare and take herbal medicines. In Unani Tibb or Graeco-Arabic Medicine, such an electuary preparation would be called a Majoon, and many Unani medicines are prepared in this form. Theriac means a medicinal preparation or formula that is like a panacea, being effective against a wide range of ailments. So, Theriac Venezian is a panacea-like electuary that hails from Venice, Italy – but its fabled roots and origins go back much further than this.
If we go way, way back to the beginning, we find the origins of the Theriac Electuary to be in ancient Persia, with a suspicious or paranoid Persian king called Mithridate. He wanted to put together the ultimate formula of medicinal herbs to serve as a universal antidote or panacea; one of the things he was most fearful of was being poisoned, so he wanted to have his universal antidote handy. He had his court physicians test out various ingredients, and variations of the formula, on condemned criminals, it is said, until he finally arrived at a formula that was most effective. The formula finally made its way to Rome, where it wound up in the medicine cabinet of Galen; it is said that he used it to treat the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who was said to be of a notoriously Melancholic temperament. Galen’s classic version of this formula contained some 64 ingredients, which included Squill roots, Opium, and even viper’s flesh – everything but the kitchen sink, as one might say. Over the years, different variations of the Theriac Electuary developed, many of which can be found in the expanded version of Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, in the compendium of old herbal medicines. Different variations on this formula, which also appear in Culpeper, can also be found in the linked website that Adam provided me with – which comes at the end of this article.
Anyway – the fact that the classic version of Theriac Venezian contained things like Opium and viper’s flesh was sure to raise some eyebrows at the FDA, even though the makers of Maria Treben’s Swedish Bitters swore that those questionable – and illegal – ingredients had been removed from the formula. Somewhere along the line, it seems, the FDA probably insisted that Theriac Venezian be removed from Swedish Bitters; and so, the makers of Maria Treben’s Swedish Bitters did just that, and replaced Theriac Venezian with Black Cohosh. Personally, I am not very satisfied with the replacement, because Black Cohosh, which is called Sheng Ma, or “Rising Hemp” in Chinese herbal medicine, has a strong ascending energy that counteracts or nullifies the effects of the herbs in the formula that act as laxatives to promote intestinal regularity. However, if you are a woman who is approaching or going through the Change of Life, which is menopause, the inclusion of this ingredient could be seen as a very good choice, since menopausal complaints are one thing that Black Cohosh is known for treating.
Expanding the Basic Formula with Other Legendary and Salubrious Ingredients
As I said previously, there is Maria Treben’s basic or Lesser version of the Swedish Bitters formula, and there are Greater or expanded versions of the formula; when I lived in Romania, for example, there was an imported German version of the formula that contained some fifty or so ingredients. Although space limitations prohibit a full listing and discussion of all these extra ingredients, I will limit myself to the discussion of what I deem to be the most noteworthy of these extra ingredients here:
Blessed Thistle (Carduus benedictus) – If Carline Thistle root should be hard to come by, this is the next best option that I would choose as a substitute. It is one of the best bitter tonics for digestion, especially for digestive disorders due to an excess or aggravation of Melancholy, or Black Bile. As a general tonic and roborant, Blessed Thistle is a very good substitute for Carline Thistle root if the latter should be unavailable; it is also a key ingredient in the famous Benedictine Liqueur, which is one of the best digestive bitters formulas in European herbal medicine. Blessed Thistle is also a great female menstrual tonic.
Boldo leaves (Peumus boldus) – In one of the web pages that Adam sent me, I saw Boldo leaves as one of the ingredients in their Swedish Bitters formula. While Boldo leaves might be a desirable ingredient in terms of its medicinal effects, being a tonic and cleanser of the liver as well as a mild diuretic to improve fluid metabolism and drain excess fluids from the body, it does not get a very high score in terms of its historical authenticity. If we are to consider Swedish Bitters to originally be the creation of Paracelsus, who lived in the mid fourteen hundreds, explorers had not yet discovered and brought back Boldo leaves from the Americas yet.
Calamus root (Acorus calamus) – Calamus root, also known as Sweet Flag, is a root of the Iris family that has many wonderful therapeutic effects. Although it focuses most of its effects on the stomach and the digestive tract, it also benefits the nervous system with relaxant, anti-spasmodic, and even anti-convulsive effects; it is also a great detoxifier, not only of the stomach and digestive tract, but also of the entire organism. Many expanded versions of the Swedish Bitters formula contain this herb, as well as some of its close botanical relatives in the Iris family: Orris root, or the Florentine Iris (Iris florentina) as well as Blue Flag (Iris pseudacorus).
Castoreum (Castoreum) – This is the aromatic scent gland of a Beaver; like Camphor, it is a super-aromatic medicine to open up the orifices, or subtle energy channels of the body, and to act as a synergistic catalyst to enhance the effectiveness of other aromatic ingredients in the formula. Think of it as an assistant to Camphor. Of course, if you want to keep your Swedish Bitters formula vegetarian in nature, don’t add this ingredient, but use only Camphor instead.
Dittany of Crete (Origanum dictamnus) – There are a few different herbs that go by the name of Dittany in herbal medicine, but this one, as its botanical name implies, is a relative of Oregano. It is native to the Greek island of Crete, and functions as a stomachic and digestive tonic on the one hand as well as a female menstrual tonic and general antispasmodic on the other hand. It is quite a versatile and beneficial ingredient to have in a Swedish Bitters formula.
Galangal (Alpinia galanga) – This is a red variety of Ginger root that is used in Thai cuisine. It is similar to Ginger, but more heating and stimulating in nature. It is great not only to stimulate the stomach and digestion, but also to get rid of deep seated gas and flatulence in the GI tract. It is also beneficial against hiccups, nausea and poor appetite. Galangal is used quite frequently in Greek and Unani herbal medicine.
Gentian root (Gentiana lutea) – This is Yellow Gentian root, which is one of the most famous bitter digestive tonics in European herbal medicine. It also has antirheumatic and general detoxifying effects on the organism as well. Gentian root is used in many digestive bitter formulas.
Kaolin Clay – In some expanded versions of the Swedish Bitters formula, even Kaolin Clay is used as an ingredient – why the heck would clay be included in a Swedish Bitters formula? This is because most of the herbs in the formula are very pungent, aromatic and dispersing; Kaolin Clay and its consolidating astringency acts to temper or focus the dispersing effects of the other ingredients so that they don’t overly dissipate.
Mace / Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) – These are two popular cooking spices, most often used to spice up holiday sweet treats and eggnog. They are aromatic and stimulating in nature, and are used to stimulate digestion, especially where it is overly challenged by sugar, sweets and carbohydrates. Nutmeg can also be used to stop diarrhea. Anyway, a number of other aromatic stomachic, carminative and digestive tonic herbs like Allspice and Star Anise, as well as a number of different Cardamoms can also be added to a Swedish Bitters formula, but if one goes overboard in loading up the formula with all these cooking spices, one runs the risk of creating a formula that is merely a stomachic and digestive tonic, and loses the multi-systemic panacea-like nature of the formula as a whole.
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthum, Artemisia spp.) – Wormwood, another renowned bitter digestive tonic and de-wormer, as its name implies, is somewhat of controversial herb in that many hold it to be toxic and damaging to the nervous system. This may be a highly individual matter, as I have not found it to be so. Anyway, Wormwood is an herb that Maria Treben herself mentions as an alternative to Aloes in providing the core bitter principle, in addition to Gentian. Let me also remind you that there are many different species and varieties of Artemisia or Wormwood, each with its own distinctive character and healing virtues. For example, there is a very aromatic variety of Wormwood that is native to California, Artemisia californica, that is very aromatic and beneficial for many different conditions; it is popularly known as Sagebrush. Another benefit of Wormwood is that it is a powerful immune stimulant.
A Cross-Cultural Comparison: Swedish Bitters and Chinese Dit Da Liniment
If one ventures halfway around the globe and enters the exotic world of Chinese herbal medicine and martial arts, one finds another alcoholic tincture formula of many different medicinal herbs that is similar in many ways to European Swedish Bitters: It is Chinese Dit Da liniment, which was developed by martial artists as a first aid treatment for sparring injuries. Although many of the herbs in Chinese Dit Da liniment are different and unique to the Chinese herbal healing tradition, curiously enough, many other herbal ingredients are the same, or very similar. Although Chinese Dit Da liniment is mainly used topically or externally to treat traumatic injuries, if the formula does not contain any ingredients that would be dangerous or toxic if taken internally, it can be taken internally in small doses as well to promote healing and regeneration. When Maria Treben, in relating the story of how she first discovered Swedish Bitters, tells us that she first applied it topically, and found that it was effective even when administered externally – in effect, she was using it in exactly the same manner as Chinese martial artists use Dit Da liniment.
Yes, if one looks closely at the ingredients of a Chinese Dit Da liniment formula, one will find many herbs that are also in Swedish Bitters: Aloes, or Lu Hui; Rhubarb root, or Da Huang; Chinese Angelica root, or Dang Gui; Zedoary root, or E Zhu; Saffron / Safflower, or Hong Hwa; and Myrrh, or Mo Yao. Amazing! Therapeutically speaking, both achieve their overall healing effects by working along the same lines: They both work primarily through Blood, or the Sanguine humor, by breaking up stagnant or congealed blood and increasing the blood’s ability to bring healing and regeneration. A lot of other herbs in a Dit Da liniment formula are different, and are unique to Chinese herbal medicine. Perhaps the most important of these is Tienchi, which is Chinese herbal medicine’s principal herb for treating traumatic injuries. Tienchi, or Panax notoginseng, is a close botanical relative of Ginseng, and has energizing properties similar to the latter. It also has a whole slew of other health benefits, such as being a heart tonic, a liver healer and hepatoprotector, and, paradoxically, stopping bleeding while improving blood circulation. Li Shih Chen, China’s greatest herbalist, once wrote that Tienchi was bu huan jin, or inexchangeable for gold, and I would have to agree with him on that. If there was only one herb that I could take, it would be hard to find a better herb than Tienchi.
Is it possible to raid the medicine chest of Chinese herbal medicine in order to find great new ingredients to put into a new, improved Swedish Bitters formula? Heck yeah! Of course, the first and most important Chinese herb to consider would be Tienchi. The Chinese, in their sophisticated holistic vision of herbal medicine, have the concept of Dui Yao, or synergistic pairings of two or more herbs to create a combined therapeutic effect that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. For example, in Dit Da liniment formulas, Myrrh is rarely, if ever, used alone; it is usually paired up with another resin, Ru Xiang, which is Boswellia, or Frankincense. The same thing goes for E Zhu, or Zedoary root; it is usually paired up with San Leng, or Rhizoma sparganii, for increased effectiveness. I believe that this concept and phenomenon of synergism must be taken into account and duly utilized in order to create a superior Swedish Bitters formula – all the herbs gotta work together!
Holistic Considerations for Creating an Effective Swedish Bitters Formula
At the beginning of this article, I spoke of my encounter with Adam, and how I felt that he wanted me to come up with a kind of score card for each individual ingredient that could be considered for a Swedish Bitters formula. Heck – select all the individual ingredients with the highest scores and throw them all into the formula – wouldn’t that be a sure fire way to come up with the best Swedish Bitters formula? Actually, no! That’s because creating a superior Swedish Bitters formula, or any kind of effective herbal formula for that matter, is tempered by several different considerations that would best be called holistic in nature. In other words, each individual ingredient that is selected must be put within the context of the formula as a whole. Here are some of these holistic considerations:
Team Dynamics – How an herb functions when it is used as an individual remedy can be quite different from how it functions within the context of a sophisticated and complex herbal formula. Herbs can work together in synergistic pairs or trios; they can also work together in larger groups. And finally, the herbs all work together within the context of the formula as a whole, much like the individual players on a football team work together to accomplish their objectives.
Synergism – A pair of medicinal herbs can work together to amplify each other’s medicinal effects, or to create a combined effect that is different from the sum of their individual actions. The herbalist takes the raw resources of Nature and uses Art, or human intelligence and design, to create an herbal formula with powerful medicinal effects that are not found in Nature.
Complementary Effects – The overly harsh effects of a certain herb can be tempered by those of another herb that has opposite yet complementary qualities where necessary. Within the Swedish Bitters formula, I believe that Manna acts to soften the harsh purgative effects of Senna leaves, for example.
Balance – When creating an herbal formula, the herbal pharmacist must always be aware of the overriding principle of balance – in other words, what percentage of the total formula will do this, and what percentage or proportion will do that, and what the main thrust of the final formula will be. Are you skewing the final formula unduly in one direction or another by an unbalanced inclusion of certain kinds of herbs to the detriment or exclusion of others?
Versatility – If you are creating a formula that is intended to be a panacea-like remedy with a wide range of medicinal effects and actions, it is best to stick mainly to herbs that are versatile, and which have multiple and diverse effects on multiple organ systems. Always keep the vision of the final formula in mind, and don’t let yourself be unduly sidetracked. Finding an herb that does two or more things simultaneously is like killing two or more birds with one stone.
Conclusion: There’s a Bit of the Herbal Alchemist in All of Us!
If you are interested in making your own Swedish Bitters, I have given you all the tools you need to get started. Assemble all the herbs you are going to use together in equal parts, except herbs like Saffron and Aloe, which are in the formula at a reduced dosage. Grind up the herbs into a rough powder in an electric coffee grinder or even in a blender with no water added. Then, put three rounded tablespoons full of the herb mixture for every cup of 80 proof alcohol you use. Put it all into a jar with a lid on it and let it soak for at least two weeks, preferably one month. It’s pretty easy.
Using the formulation instructions and suggestions that I gave you, you can experiment around with modifying and altering the formula until it is more to your liking, or until you get a formula that you feel is most reliable and effective. You may be satisfied just making Maria Treben’s original formula, or you might want to be more adventurous and creative. As I promised you at the beginning of the article, here is the link to the website that Adam left me with; you might want to also go to other Swedish Bitters websites as well, to see what you can glean from each of them. It could start you on a great healing adventure!
So – here’s the main website that Adam gave me a link to, which is probably the most informative:
In parting, I’d like to emphasize that you can read and study about Swedish Bitters all you want, but all this is merely academic knowledge until you start to formulate your own Swedish Bitters formulas and test them out in actual practice, and see exactly what kind of results your formula achieves. That’s where “the rubber hits the road”, so to speak. If you would like to give me your feedback or inform me of your progress, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at: davido@greekmedicine.net Good luck!
A Final Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, for general health and prevention purposes, and is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or medical condition. The reader assumes all personal responsibility and liability for the application of the information contained herein, and is advised to consult with a physician or licensed healthcare practitioner should his or her condition or symptoms should persist or worsen.
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