Herbal Spotlight: Sida Species
By Bill Bruneau, Author

My book, A User's Guide to Sida acuta, Sida cordifolia, and Sida rhombifolia... is written to be an easy read that tells you how to grow Sida spp., how to harvest them, and how to make simple medicinals from them. This book lists 160 ways that Sida can benefit you! My growing experience is with Sida acuta, but the growing conditions and requirements for Sida cordifolia and Sida rhombifolia are quite similar. Here’s how simple it can be: even apartment dwellers with a porch, or any space at all, can grow a bunch of Sidas in a planter, harvest the plant, drown it for a few months in some vodka, and have some potent medicine for when they really need it.

Sidas are not the only solution to our health problems, but they are absolutely the best (and easiest) first step you can make for home-based health. Sidas can protect you against many (if not most) disabling conditions and diseases. Hundreds of millions of people over thousands of years can’t be all that wrong. If you already use herbs medicinally, this will go right to the front of your herb cabinet.

This small book is based on a larger reference book I wrote on the genus Sida: Sida acuta, Sida cordifolia, Sida rhombifolia, Etc.: Everything Science and Tradition Knows About the World’s Best Herbal Antibiotics, Used by Millions of People Every Day, Top Ayurvedic Herbs, Protein- Rich Survival Plants, Superior Fiber, Grow Them with Your Tomatoes. The “big book” comprises all of the peer-review research on Sidas from around the world, as well as traditional uses for a wide array of health benefits, including Ayurvedic medicine. It is fully referenced, and is intended for physicians and naturopaths.

Sida Is A Powerful Herbal Antibiotic, Antifungal, etc.

• Used for thousands of years, consumed daily for health by millions of people globally.
• Shown to control or kill 27 pathogenic bacteria, including many resistant strains, such as MRSA.
• Show excellent effect against malaria and other parasites.
• Test well against 16 different pathogenic fungi, including 15 strains of candida.
• Protect liver, kidney & brain (and more); blood cleansing and help balance fats/lipids; adaptogenic, tonic, aphrodisiac, beneficial to digestion, and much more.
• At least 10 Sidas are top ayurvedic herbs, including the famous Bala. Several Sidas are Rasayana rejuvenating tonics as well.
• Sidas are outstanding fiber crops: they compare to jute. Great brooms and compost material!
• Sida acuta can be grown in temperate climates as an annual. I grow it in Zone 8 outdoors. If you can grow tomatoes, you can probably grow Sida.

Why have you never heard of Sida before? That is a good question. The genus Sida is not in any Western herbals, but is well-known and esteemed in all tropical countries, especially India. Everyone assumed that since it was a tropical plant it was confined to greenhouses.

My "great discoveries" are that Sida spp. can be grown in most temperate climates as an annual, and Sidas are fully medicinal when grown as an annual. This puts the world's most powerful herbal anti-pathogen (antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-cancer, anti-malarial, etc.) right in your backyard!

Sidas are weeds, and as such are very easy to grow. It is easy to make Sida plants into potent medicine, and this book tells you how. Sidas are non-toxic, are not known to interfere with pharmaceuticals, and have no known significant side-effects.

For naturally grown Sida seed, further information on Sida and my books on the topic, go to my website, bbruneau.com.

Note: The content in this article is meant to inform, not to diagnose or treat any ailment. Always use common sense, and consult with your healthcare provider before attempting to treat yourself or others.

♥

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