Just How Wicked Is That Weed?

The Amazing, Remarkable “Wicked Weed”

Note: An earlier column featured some of this information...

I intended to investigate whether the varietal hops in one's beer dictated how many "hops" one might have to take to the loo after consumption, but I found nothing substantive in that regard.

I did manage, however, to learn some amazing things about what King Henry VIII (above) supposedly called a "wicked and pernicious weed" (yes, that's where the famous Asheville brewery gets its name) and that King George III himself may have slept on a pillow full of hops to sleep better. But this botanical cousin to cannabis has some truly outstanding credentials, if you're interested. Witness what Nyomi Graef says hops can do:

Hops-- improve the quality of sleep, and help people get to and stay asleep,

calm us down,

improve digestion,

relieve pain,

are antibacterial,

are antifungal,

are antihistamines

are antiseptic,

are antispasmodic,

are anti-inflammatory,

and are diuretic. (Well, THAT much we knew.)

Pretty impressive for a lowly "wicked weed." On the above alone, we should all be hoisting a pint or three to the wicked weed.

But there's more, according to Graef:

[Taken] Internally (by mouth) hops has been used for many things including: insomnia (sleeplessness) and other sleep problems,

anxiety,

restlessness,

stress and tension,

irritability,

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),

digestive problems, such as stomach infections, diarrhea, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, aches and pains, such as period pain, nerve pain, earaches, headaches and toothaches,

colds,

fever,

inflammation,

muscle tension,

spasms,

fluid retention,

some cancers,

kidney and bladder infections,

high cholesterol,

starting the flow of breast milk,

worms,

jaundice,