Black Friday Sale and check out our updated site!

We are having a Black Friday sale, effective for a 24 hour time period on Friday November 25th 2011. Our server is located in the Eastern Time Zone, so it will be in effect from 12:00 am to 12:00 pm. Eastern Time. Put Black Friday in the box at checkout and receive an extra 10% off your entire order! This applies only to orders placed on November 25th, the code Black Friday will automatically discount your order an additional 10% on top of the already discounted pricing. You must put in the code in order to get the extra discount. Please note that we will not be available for phone orders on this day, this is only available for online orders.

Drop by Herbs First and check out our updated site. We are excited about the new navigation and hope that it will help people to get around the site easier. Here at Herbs First we provide the Dr. Christopher’s and Western Botanicals lines of herbs, which are the best herbal products available! It makes it easier to find what you need, when you know that everything we sell at Herbs First is the best! We buy from the manufacturers daily, so you know that you are getting the freshest products available.

Dr. John R. Christopher is considered the authority in natural healing with herbs. He created more than 50 herbal formulas and wrote numerous books, all considered classics in the field. His mission was to teach people how to cleanse and nourish their bodies so they could heal and prevent disease. Dr. Christopher started The School of Natural Healing in 1953 to teach people natural healing principles. Since that time thousands have benefited from his teachings, including us here at Herbs First and the owners of Western Botanicals. We hope you will learn how to use these wonderful formulas to help yourselves, your families and your friends. Learn more about Dr. Christopher when you read An Herbal Legacy of Courge online.

We want to know how thankful we are to you, our loyal customers. Please know that we are always here to help you. To contact us either email us or call 801-228-1901. Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Please hit refresh on each page as you get to it, to make sure that you have the updated pages. Enjoy our updated site!

Order online or call to order 801-228-1901.

A few Essential Oils Success Stories!

Garden Essence Essential Oils are 30% off this month, I like to try to add a few to my collection when we have the extra sale. We know quite a few people that belong to one or another of the network marketed essential oil companies, so I often hear some good healing stories. A recent one I heard was about a gal that had Graves Disease which causes hyperactive thyroid. She had the radioactive iodine treatment which kills off the thyroid, and went from having symptoms of overactive thyroid to pretty near dead thyroid function. After the fact she was quite concerned over what she had done to herself. A woman moved into her neighborhood that was into using the essential oils and let her know that Frankincense and Lemongrass would help bring the function back. She used it on her neck at thyroid area and a few months later, testing was showing some thyroid function returning, and several months after that even more function. Her doctor told her she would never be able to become pregnant due to the radiation and the fact that the thyroid controls the hormones in the body and her hormones were now messed up. She added Clary Sage to boost her hormonal function and a year after the radiation and using the essential oils she was able to became pregnant.

I had radioactive iodine when I was twenty Doctors never told me that doing such would make me infertile. Don’t you just love how doctors have their own agenda and don’t share everything with their patients? I was too young to even be thinking about this choice ruining my chances of ever becoming pregnant. So, here I am at 52, not planning on becoming pregnant, but am using the three oils to see what they will do for me. I sure would like to get more thyroid function back and get my hormones more balanced. It will be some time before I will be getting any thyroid tests done, but I will update when that happens. I love natural medicine and the fact that they can undo what unnatural medicine has done. I have tried for years to correct this problem with the herbs without success, so my hopes are up that I will finally succeed!

Another great healing story related to me was about a three year old child that suddenly started having about 20 seizures a day. The doctors put the child on quite a few medications which made her seizure free but unable to function, was falling down all the time, unable to talk normally, etc. Some friends heard about the problem and brought the family some Frankincense which they immediately started using on the child's feet. Within a few weeks she was able to get off all of the medication and remains seizure free, and is back to normal. Amazing!

From last weeks post I related that I have been fighting off some germies and actually succumbed by getting sick, a very rare thing for me! Luckily with the Anti-Plague (Super Garlic Immune Formula) and other herbs I take, I never get down in bed sick, but maintain good functioning but still sick. It has lingered on for about three weeks and I have kept up with taking the Anti Plague hoping to get it over the hump. I had a weak moment this week and ate some sugar which is the kiss of death if you have germies in your body. Within a few hours I could feel the sickness coming on again, so started taking the Anti Plague. I wasn't able to take it every half hour to hour because it was the weekend and I was out and about getting things done. I could still feel it coming on rather strong, so did something I hadn’t tried in the past, I put the X-Plague Essential Oils under my tongue. It is more portable so I gave myself several doses throughout the day. After about 15 minutes of my first dose I could really feel the difference in my body, and I was heading back to getting well. I need to be diligent with the Anti-Plague and X-Plague and my diet so I can enjoy the up coming holidays!

I am enjoying learning about and using the Essential Oils. They are becoming a good part of my regimen to be the healthiest I can be. I love being in control of my health, it feels good to be able to take action when the need arises and feel the difference in my body within a short period of time. We hope you will take advantage of the sale on stock up on the herbs and essential oils you need!

Order online or call to order 801-228-1901.

Time to make more Anti Plague

I used to go through a batch of Anti-Plague in about 18 months.  As you can see from this bottle, I made this batch in April of 2000.  Wow, my family has come a long way, that bottle is over 11 years old!  It smells, tastes and works as good as it did the day I made it.  I got sick a few weeks ago and went through the last of what I had. I don’t like to be out of this wonderful little elixir, so it was time to make it again.  We have a great Anti-Plague kit where you can purchase the herbs to make this great formula.  You need to purchase from a local source apple cider vinegar, honey & garlic. 

Cooking up four of the roots, I soaked them overnight in the pans, I had to add considerably more water than 16 oz., so be sure to have enough distilled water on hand.  Simmer for 30 minutes, let cool down a bit.  Squeeze them out to get as much liquid out as you can, then you are ready to simmer them down to a concentrate.

Stay in the kitchen while doing this, you don't want to walk away only to come back to a pan of air!  There are 9 concentrates to make and that is a lot to make, it usually takes me two days to do this.  Bottle them separately as you go.  I keep them in the fridge and keep in mind that they need to be the same temperature when you put them together.

I like to use fresh Comfrey Root, because most of the dried root that you buy has the outer bark still on it which is quite bitter. Here I am scraping off the black bark, it takes a little bit of time but is worth it. We ended up with extra, so I made a batch of plain Comfrey Syrup which is great for people that can't handle the taste of the Anti Plague.


All the concentrates are ready to mix, the large tall bottle is the vinegar and garlic combo.  I juiced a pound of garlic to get 8 oz. of juice and added it to the 32 oz. of vinegar.  The dark large bottle is a jar of honey, I only used 20 oz. which left a lot in that jar.  It is honey that my parents had, not sure how old, but honey is good just about forever.  


All the concentrates, honey, glycerine, vinegar and garlic juice are all mixed together.  Yup, it smells right! My whole house smells of Anti Plague, it is a different kind of Thanksgiving!  

The Anti Plague is bottled and labeled.  I keep it in the back of my fridge.  It will be interesting to see how long this batch lasts. Dr. Christopher talked about making this and storing it for time of need.  I'm glad to say that I just used eleven year old Anti Plague and it was still good!  I really don't enjoy eating this stuff, but have become accustomed to the taste.  My body really responds to this when I am unfortunate enough to get sick.  Below is the formula, please feel free to call me if you need a bit of advise along the way.  It isn't hard to make, just takes time, and is worth it!

Dr. Christopher’s Anti-Plague Formula

Using 4 oz. as a part will make a little under a gallon. If you are buying one kit it uses 4 oz. as a part.  Plan on the following:

8 parts apple cider vinegar - 32 oz.
5 parts glycerine - 20 oz.
5 parts honey - 20 oz.
2 parts garlic juice, fresh - 8 oz
2 parts comfrey root concentrate, use fresh if you have it - 8 oz.
1 part wormwood concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part lobelia leaf concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part marshmallow root concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part oak bark concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part black walnut bark concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part mullein leaf concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part skullcap leaf concentrate - 4 oz.
1 part uva ursi, hydrangea or gravel root concentrate - 4 oz.

To make concentrates:

Each concentrate should be made individually.  Start by soaking the herb in enough distilled water to cover it, for four hours, over night if it is a root. After soaking, add more distilled water so that the total added equals 16 oz. water per 4 oz. of herb.  I usually end up with at least double that, if not more water. Use a multiple of these amounts for larger batches.  I used to get together with 2 friends and we would make 4 gallons and split it.  They all moved, so now I just make a gallon for my family.

Simmer the herb on very low heat in a covered pan or double boiler for thirty minutes.  Then strain the liquid into a clean pan.  Put the liquid into a double boiler or on very low heat uncovered and simmer it down to one-fourth of the original volume (4 oz.)  Only after all the ingredients have been prepared should the liquids be mixed and be sure they are all the same temperature.  It takes me 2 - 3 days to get everything made, so I refrigerate the concentrates until they are ready to mix. Use only stainless steel or glass pots.

I can get 8 oz. of garlic juice out of a pound of garlic when using my Green Star Juicer.  Other juicers will likely need more garlic to get that much juice. Add garlic juice and pulp to the vinegar and shake 2-3 times a day for 4 - 5 days to get the rest of the goodness out of the pulp. Then squeeze out and mix the liquid with the concentrates, make sure there is a total of 40 oz., if not then add more apple cider vinegar to make bring it up to 40 oz. ACV/garlic juice.

If you don’t have a juicer use this alternative method: for the example of parts above amount use 2 1/2 lbs. of garlic - peel, blend in blender with vinegar (do not liquify).  Let set for 4 - 5 days, shaking several times per day.  Squeeze out liquid and measure. If needed add more vinegar to equal a total of 40 oz. vinegar and 2 garlic juice.

If you aren't up to making this formula yourself, then we have Christopher's Super Garlic Immune Formula, which is the Anti Plague.  We also have Western Botanicals Immu-Defense Syrup  which is their version of Dr. Christopher's formula.   

Order online or call 801-228-1901 to order. 

Have a healthy and happy month,
Kathryn Mechling

Staying Healthy With Plant Based Vitamins & Minerals

I was recently tested by a ZYTO machine and one of the results was that my vitamins, minerals and other nutrients were high. The gal that tested me was amazed and said that I was the first person that she tested that had enough vitamins and minerals in them. I eat Vitalerbs, Herbal Calcium and Jurassic Green which are food based vitamins and minerals. On top of that I get a green smoothie in most days that is packed full of raw spinach, chia seeds and fruit, as well as getting in as much other raw foods as I can throughout the day. It was nice to get some proof that the herbal based vitamins are being used by my body and not just flushed down the toilet, and that my diet is making a difference! I test well on NuSkin’s BioPhotonic Scanner as well which shows that you don’t have to buy pricey vitamins to be healthy.

Dr. Christopher always taught people to eat mainly from a plant based diet and that is what will make the most difference in your health. Vitamins and minerals from plants are readily available and easily used by your body. Dr. Christopher taught pregnant women to use Herbal Calcium to provide calcium to the growing baby. If calcium is not available to the fetus, then calcium will be robbed from the woman’s body to provide that nutrient to the growing fetus. That is why so many women lose their teeth and have problems with osteoporosis. We have a great buy on Herbal Calcium in the mix your own formula, 3.5 lbs of Herbal Calcium for under $60.00. That will last my husband and I six months taking a heaping teaspoon daily. I had a bone density test a few years ago and I tested high for my age!

My husband and I both take a heaping teaspoon of Jurassic Green and six capsules of Vitalerbs every day. I take Hormonal Changease and he takes Male Urinary Tract Formula. We both add Maca Root and Ginkgo to our Jurassic Green which is mixed in fresh squeezed orange juice. We are doing what we can, but still get sick about once every year and a half or so, usually due to overwhelming stress. I think we are doing better than most people and we are working every day to eat better, get our exercise in and de-stress. Mindtrac helps a lot, we have both been taking it since my husband lost his job over two years ago.

As I watch and notice how other people my age and older look, and what their health is like, the harder I work on myself. I know what I am supposed to do, it isn’t the popular way, but who wants to be that kind of popular? It certainly is cheaper to
take care of ourselves with herbs and eat right, than to end up with one disease or another.

Order online or call 801-228-1901 to order.