Edelbrand Swedish Bitters

After our better-than-Farmville experience in La Trinidad Strawberry Farm, we crossed the street as we spotted a store named “Organic-Based Vegetable Production Project”.

There were few vegetables in one side and a rack of organic wines to our right. We bought some wines and in the bottom shelf was the last bottle of Swedish bitters made by a winery in Benguet.

Edelbrand Swedish Bitters is a mixture of 11 herbs (aloe, angelica root, manna, myrrh, camphor, saffron, senna leaves, theriac venezian, carline thistle roots, rhubard roots, and zedvoary) blended with Edelbrand fruit spirit of 44% alcohol and left to soak in a warm place for 10 days and shaken daily. It is a natural herbal remedy with no artificial coulourants and flavourings, and no added sugar and preservatives. By stimulating the body’s energy and immune system, it assists with the elimination of waste products and results of poor digestion, which can cause symptoms of all degenerative health problems like headaches, indigestion, rheumatism, gout, hangovers and many other ailments.

Swedish bitters has long been used for its natural healing properties. It is a 500-year old European remedy to rejuvenate vital organs, improve regularity, aid digestion, and cleanse the system. Swedish Bitters got its name from the well-known 18th century Swedish Physician and Rector of Medicine, Dr. Claus Samst. In the 18th Century, Dr. Samst rediscovered the formula through a family tradition. The formula recorded by Dr. Samst is the Swedish Bitters that we know today. The Swedish doctor also compiled a manuscript describing the 46 conditions for which Swedish Bitters can bring relief. Dr. Samst himself lived to be 104 and finally succumbed, not to the ravages of old age, but as a result of a fall while out riding!

The actual creation of the formula is credited to Dr. Phillipus Paracelsus, a Swiss Physician who lived around 1541. However, it was Maria Treben, the distinguished Austrian herbalist, who brought Swedish Bitters to the worlds’ attention. Here, in her own words, excerpted from her book, is how it all began:

“It sounds almost like a fairy tale, but it is true. As a refugee from the German speaking area of Czechoslovakia, I became ill with typhoid fever in a camp in Bavaria, caused by contaminated meat and, through it, came jaundice and an obstruction in the intestines. I spent more than 6 months in hospital and when my husband got my mother, my mother-in-law, our child and myself to Austria, I was a young but sick woman. At night I was hit by terrible pain that shot through my body like a sword. In these moments I could neither sit nor stand, walk nor lie down; at the same time I vomited and had diarrhea. I was a helpless bundle of misery. These were afterpains of the typhoid fever which sometimes can go on for years, as the doctor said. One day a woman brought me a small bottle containing a dark brown, strong smelling liquid. She had heard of my illness and wanted to help. The Swedish Bitters had relieved her of a serious complaint. Accompanying it was a transcript of an “old manuscript” in which was explained, in 46 points, how these drops heal every illness. The recipe came from the writings of a well know Swedish physician. As stated, all members of his family had reached an unusually old age. These drops according to point 43 heal “plague boils and swellings even if already in the throat”. I put the bottle in the medicine chest. I just did not believe that these modest drops could give me back my health, since the doctor could not even help me. Soon I changed my mind. As I sat in front of a large basket of ripe pears which needed to be used up straight away, I had another attack. As I had been told that these Swedish drops could be used externally as well, I did not hesitate for long and applied them as a compress on the abdomen, put a small plastic bag over the compress and then my girdle and continued my work. A wonderful warm feeling spread through my body. Suddenly, it felt as if with one movement of the hand, everything morbid in my body was pulled out. I assure you that with this single compress which I had on the whole day, all complaints of the preceding months disappeared, never to return.”

For years now, Maria Treben’s distinguished book, “Health Through God’s Pharmacy” has been at the top of the bestseller list selling over 8 million copies.

How to Use Edelbrand Swedish Bitters:

For persons 15 and older, Swedish Bitters can be taken daily. Take 1 teaspoon in herb tea or water, four times a day. For children under 12, take it two times a day. This regimen helps to cleanse the system, improve regularity and restore energy and vitality.

For external ailments, rashes, insect bites, skin irritations, a compress can be left on illness for two to four hours. If tolerated, the compress can be left overnight. When skin is removed, the skin must be oiled. Wrap compress with plastic to prevent leakage on clothing or bedding. Leave on for several hours or overnight and oil the skin afterwards.

We haven’t opened our one and only bottle of Edelbrand Swedish Bitters. Thought we should reserve it for emergency. Should we open it now?