Firewood ash has been utilized in natural medicine for various health conditions.
In fact, here in Africa, we sometimes employ the use of herbs for therapeutic purposes after the herbal ingredients have been subjected to burning (carbonization).
The ash comprises inorganic minerals such as potassium carbonate (potash) and calcium carbonate.The composition of the ash varies, depending on the type of wood that you burn and the temperature you subject the wood to during the combustion process.
By burning barks or roots of a plant, the organic components in the plant are destroyed leaving behind concentrated inorganic mineral components in such plants to initiate the desired healing in the body. What modern pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies achieve by churning out mineral supplements like magnesium and calcium, indigenous herbal medicine practitioners achieve that by concentrating minerals in plants through burning the plants and turning them to ashes.
For medicinal purposes, ensure you use ash from non-poisonous hard wood. Woods from neem, shea tree, guava, iroko, mahogany, breadfruit and mango for instance can be used. Also avoid burning and utilizing woods that are painted or chemically treated woods for healing purposes. Make effort also to burn the wood at high temperatures to minimize the risk of harmful residues.
Don’t procure medicinal ash from slowly burning the woods or by smoldering woods.
Ash from firewood exhibits numerous medicinal actions and properties.
Here are some health benefits of firewood ash.
📌 Due to is high alkalinity, ash inhibits the replication of disease-causing germs, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli inclusive.
📌 In Africa, ash as well as charcoal are used as natural toothpastes. When table salt is added to it, they provide powerful antimicrobial effects and help to remove dental plaque and promote oral hygiene.
📌 In this age and time that heavy metals such as aluminum, for instance, has been implicated in many diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and other variation of memory loss conditions, ingesting ash from firewood can help with detoxification by binding to toxins and heavy metals. A few minerals in ash including silica have chelating properties (property to be able to remove heavy metals from the body).
📌 Topical application of ash will yield good result in the treatment of various skin infections such as eczema, athletes’ foot and ringworm when mixed with water.
📌 When you ingest half a teaspoon of ash added to little quantity of water (about half teacup), it neutralizes high stomach acidity. This can be repeated twice daily (in between meals) or better still as advised by your naturopathic doctor.
📌 The same mixture and method of preparation is used for indigestion and heartburn treatment.
📌 In natural medicine.
Ash promotes healing and tissues repair. This explains why it counteracts skin inflammation when used as poultice as well as promote wound healing when applied topically.
📌 Your digestion will improve when ash is ingested. The trace elements in them are needed for the enzymatic processes in your system.
Stay healthy and safe. Utilize what nature has provided for our healing and wellness.
When in doubt, please consult your naturopathic physician.
Prof. Gilbert Ezengige
