White Willow Bark Vs. Aspirin

White willow bark is a great alternative to aspirin and can provide gentle but still powerful pain relief.  Hippocrates recommended that his patients chew the bark for fever and inflammation as early as 400 B.C.  In 1829 Europe, scientist found that salicin was the active ingredient in White Willow Bark, or the ingredient that causes the pain relieving properties.  However, extracting salicin from White Willow Bark was difficult and time consuming. In 1852 a synthetic form was created called salicylic acid.  The body converts salicin to salicylic acid after being metabolized in the stomach.  This is why some believe that White Willow Bark is more gentle on the gastrointestinal system, because the acidic property of salicylic acid never was meant to be actually present in the stomach.  This acid can cause stomach ulcers and bleeding.  Then, later, Bayer, a German company, called salicylic acidacetylsalicylic acid, or ASA and marketed it as the aspirin we know today. 

I personally take White Willow Bark in the dry leaf form as a tea.  I brew 1 to 2 teaspoons in a cup of hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.  I take around 3 to 4 cups a day as needed.  

I buy my white willow bark in bulk, at about $7 per pound.  I usually buy $1 worth and it lasts me six months or so.  I am lucky enough to have a great chain shop that sells bulk dried herbs, but it you don't this website is well respected and ethical for sourcing your herby needs.  

White Willow Bark

Uses: Pain relief, especially pain caused by inflammation. 

Form: Tea

Dosage: 1-2 tsp. in 1 cup hot water for 10-15 minutes.  3-4 cups per day as needed. 

Things to consider: Do not take if you have bleeding tendencies, as it can thin the blood. 

My herbalism disclaimer: While I have been studying herbs for five years now and am a Registered Nurse with a bachelor's degree in allopathic medicine, I do not know you.  I do not know your special body quirks or how you react to certain compounds.  Please do not use my words as concrete fact and realize that these herbs have traditional uses that work for most.