Have you ever felt like the air around you or you yourself are holding a negative energy that you can't seem to shake away? Sage is an herb used during a Native American ritual called smudging, to purify the air of negative energy and allow one to get rid of the negative energy held within one's self. A window is opened to allow the negative energy to leave. The sage is then lit with a wooden match and left to burn. As it burns, one washes the smoke over the body, using one's hands, so as to walk in a positive light. Once the sage has burned to ash, the ashes of the sage are then put outdoors to get rid of the negative energy (CBC News, 2019; Harmon, 2016).
When I moved into my studio last year, one of the items included in my welcome bag was sage. Until now , I had been lighting the tips of the sage waving it around the room for less than 5 minutes and then running water over it to put it out. I had no idea of the Native American ritualistic method of burning the sage--a much more calming and meaningful experience when one sets aside time in their day. Check out this video demonstrating smudging above (CBC News, 2019).
In Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM), sage can be said to clear heat and disperse wind, eliminate dampness and stop sweating, dry dampness and clear heat. With an acrid, slightly bitter flavor and cool qi, sage helps with sore throat and pain, sweating, itching in the genital area with foul smelling secretions and digestive issues (i.e. bloating, gas, diarrhea, loss of appetite), causes drying of breast milk for mothers wanting to stop lactation) (Garran, 2008, pp. 1162-1219).
Western medicine says sage may be beneficial for Alzheimers disease, improvement of attention and alertness, diabetes, high cholesterol and memory improvement but there is not enough high quality evidence to support the use of sage for these said conditions. Additionally, insufficient evidence exists to evaluate the effectiveness of sage for the following: hot flashes in men due to prostate cancer treatment, cold sores, lung cancer prevention, menopausal symptoms especially hot flashes, sore throat, sunburn, swelling of tonsils, loss of appetite, stomach pain, dry mouth, painful periods, asthma, diarrhea, gas, bloating, indigestion, and excessive sweating (Natural Medicines, 2019).
When taken in amounts used in foods, it is likely safe. It is possibly safe when taken by mouth or used on skin short term. However, high doses for a long period of time are possibly unsafe. For instance, common sage (Salvia officinalis) contains a chemical called thujone. If taken in high amounts it can be poisonous causing seizures, damage to the liver, and the nervous system (Natural Medicines, 2019). When used as an herbal tea under professional supervision one may see 3-6 g taken throughout the day in a light herbal tea decoction or infusion (Garran, 2008, pp. 1162-1219).
Avoid sage during pregnancy as it may cause miscarriage due to the chemical thujone. Thujone may also reduce a mother's supply of breast milk; therefore, nursing mothers should avoid use. Sage may lower blood sugar; therefore, be sure to monitor blood sugar levels closely if you have diabetes and consult with your health care provider as you may need a dose reduction in your diabetes medications. Avoid Spanish sage in hormone sensitive conditions such as breast cancer as it may have similar effects as estrogen. Spanish sage may increase blood pressure in those with already high blood pressure where as common sage may lower blood pressure in those already with low blood pressure--be sure to talk to your provider for possible dose adjustments and monitor your blood pressure. Common sage can trigger seizures; therefore, avoid doses higher than amounts found in food if you have seizure disorders. Because sage can interfere with blood sugar control during surgery, be sure to stop at least 2 weeks before surgery (TRC Healthcare, 2019).
When it comes to other agents, sage can increase and decrease the efficacy of several other agents as well as increase their side effects. Sage should be used with caution when on the agents below. This is not an all inclusive list so be sure to talk with your health care provider before using (Natural Medicines, 2019):
Drying medications (e.g. atropine, scopolamine, allergy medications, antidepressants); estrogens pills; medications changed by the liver such as blood thinners, medications for gastric reflux, pain and fever medications, heart medications, anti fungal medications; blood pressure medications; medications used to prevent seizures; medications that cause sleepiness or drowsiness such antipsychotics, anxiolytics, antidepressants, medications for sleep; glaucoma medications; alzheimers medications ; herbs and supplements that might cause drowsiness and sleepiness such as California poppy, catnip, hops, kava, St. John's wort, skullcap, valerian, yerba mansa; herbs and supplements that might lower blood pressure such as cat's claw, coenzyme Q 10, fish oil, stinging nettle, theanine; herbs and supplements that might lower blood sugar such as fenugreek, garlic, Panax ginseng, psyllium, and Siberian ginseng.
If you are feeling negative energy during these difficult times and find discomfort and imbalance, maybe taking some time with sage could do the trick. I hope you can find peace and balance during these unstable times.
References
CBC News. (2019). How to Smudge: Burning Sage. You Tube. CBC News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fIMumk2cnA.
Garran, T. A. (2008). Sage. In Western herbs according to traditional Chinese medicine: a practitioner's guide (pp. 1162–1219). essay, Healing Arts Press.
Harmon, A. (2016). Sage. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
TRC Healthcare. (2019, August 14). Sage [Monograph]. In Natural Medicines. Retrieved June 4, 2020, from https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/databases/food,-herbs-supplements/professional.aspx?productid=504
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