Nature Provides Us Non-Addictive Pain Killers: Wild Lettuce

"Invasive"

I'm willing to bet that you've seen this one before in your backyard, or any yard. You might have ripped it out of your garden or landscape and mistaken it for a weed because you've been taught to believe it is just a weed or invasive shrub. I tend to have a different mindset about "invasive" herbs: The ones that we purge the most, like dandelions, are also the most beneficial in helping in aid common chronic ailments and pains. I see them as a gift from the earth. They are not invasive, they are abundant! As they should be. We get to inhabit a land that provides us exactly what we need as roamers of the earth, just as the sea provides for a fish, or the air provides for a bird what it needs to thrive in it's existence. There are no invasive species of plants, only supply and demand.

If you ever see Wild Lettuce in the wild, you'll want to harvest various parts for various uses.

Did You Know?

If you take the stem of a wild lettuce leaf and break it, a white sappy latex that contains sesquiterpene lactones (also found in herbs of the aster/daisy family, Umbelliferae, and Magnoliaceae families) giving it anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer/tumor, anti-microbial, and antioxidant properties. It is most commonly known for its painkilling characteristics as it is considered a natural narcotic. Wild Lettuce is essential because it kills pain without the addictive side effects.

Wild Lettuce Edible and Medical Use:

We want to stick with the Milky sap and the leaves. The leaves have a bitter taste but I like to steam or boil them to remove some of that bitterness. The milky sap, once dried, can be used as a tincture or as a topical for the skin!

Insomnia:

Wild Lettuce has also been referred to as Opium Lettuce because it has mild opiate-like properties and acts as a sedative. The best part about it is...NO HIGH.

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If the idea of taking a medication that does not get you high fail to entice you, then I think I need to help you reevaluate your thinking in a new blog series about herbalism and mindset. If you struggle with drug addiction, please stay with me because this article series was designed for you with love for all things natural.

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Pain Relief & Shock:

Often times pain killers are sought after because of their powerful analgesic properties, soothing pains of higher caliper (post-op recoveries, chronic pain, etc) where the threshold of pain is much too high to endure. The nervous system will naturally stop firing pain receptors to the pain site once this threshold has been broken, and instead will signal the body to numb the site instead. This is what it means for the body to go into shock.

Wild lettuce is known to be helpful for the treatment of shock, joint pain, muscle pain, menstrual pain, colic, warts, severe rash and other skin conditions

Warning:

This is a sedative, use with caution. Do not operate heavy machinery. Do not use if pregnant or nursing.