There are so many forces in the world that are depleting us in so many ways, and it can sometimes feel as though we are being pressed on all sides and stressed at every turn. When we start to feel that frazzled, frantic feeling in our bodies and in our hearts, it’s important to take the time to heal what we can in ourselves so that we can in turn help to heal each other. Cue the milky oat tops!
Why do we call them “milky”? We think most often of oats as a breakfast food or baking ingredient, but there is powerful medicine in the young, unripe seeds of this grass - also known as milky oat tops. When the green seed is pressed between your fingers, a white, latex-like substance oozes out. Silica in the ripe, fresh tops of oats helps to repair the myelin sheath that covers and protects nerve fibers, which can become damaged by both emotional and physical stressors. This potent plant ally has to be tinctured fresh, almost immediately after they are harvested from the plant. Once the plant has dried, this important medicine has already left the plant.
As a medicine, milky oats combine well with most other herbal ally nervine tonics (such as skullcap), relaxants (such as passionflower), and antidepressants (such as St. John’s wort). Our nerve endings are delicate, and that sort of buzzing sensation that we can sometimes experience when we are over stressed or even hungover is our body’s way of signaling to us that we need to slow down and make amends with ourselves. Self-care can take many forms, like making the time to pop some milky oats tincture into a glass of water! They are also a mild liver tonic and digestive aid, soothing both the digestive tract and coating the liver with protection.
The next time you’re out on a walk in early summer, take a look at the taller grass around you. Oats are a wild grass, escaped from cultivation and can often be seen growing along the side of the road, in other disturbed soils, or intermixed with other grasses in open fields. This is truly one of the most “common” seeming plants, one that would be overlooked by most and is probably mowed down very often in its prime. If you find a patch of oats, pinch one of those green seeds and you can see the medicine quite literally flowing from the plant. A gentle reminder that there is so much power and magic in the most ordinary plants, objects, and actions.
