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Got Pain? Humulus lupulus Hops To The Rescue!
Apr
Once in a while a plant sneaks up on you. The species name of hops, Humulus lupulus, means Hops, the little wolf in Latin. The Romans called it that because hops has a habit of entangling and strangling neighboring plants…you know…like a wolf does. OK, so the Romans were a little confused about the predation habits of wild canines but I still think they were on to something because hops really is kind of sneaky like a little wolf. It snuck up on me just the other day.
You see I’m writing a new book on medicinal trees and shrubs (actually, I’m writing two new books; one on veterinary herbalism and one on medicinal trees and shrubs) and I got to thinking about hops. I’m mean seriously, what do you do with vines? They don’t really go in the Medicinal Weeds book and they aren’t trees or shrubs.
What to do…what to do?
Finally I decided I wasn’t going to write a book on medicinal vines so I’d just poke the vines into the trees & shrubs book. I mean, they like to live in trees and shrubs…right? So I started typing about hops and couldn’t remember how many “M”s were in Humulus. So I googled it. Wikipedia said there was only one M…so I knew it was true. Then I noticed something I’d completely forgotten…hops is in the Cannabaceae family.
The Cannabaceae family only has two genera, Humulus and…wait for it…Cannabis (which you’ll notice has two “N”s)!
Cannabis is the Latin name for that cute little Mexican gal Marijuana. So one of the main ingredients in beer is cousins with one of the main ingredients in pot…well, actually the only ingredient in pot. It seems that Cannabaceae is a family that likes to party. At that moment my wheels started spinning about what that might mean for the phytochemistry of hops, I reached for a pen and felt a sharp, shooting pain scream through my wrist and into my thumb. I’d been having the pain for about a week off and on. It seems that lifting heavy things is a bad idea and leads to detrimental nerve roinking. I don’t know if roinking is actually a word. But it felt like I’d roinked a nerve in my wrist and thumb.
I know a nice herbalist that has several things that could have solved that problem (Teasel, skullcap, white sage or Rest Easy, etc… topically) but he’s awfully busy and easily distracted and all of the herbs he likes to use are several yards from his desk. So, as I was enjoying the shooting pain down my wrist, that sneaky little wolf Humulus lupulus crept into my mind and barked “So why aren’t you using me for pain?”
I jumped up from my desk and marched into the shipping room where all the little tincture bottles live before they fly off to live with someone else. I grabbed a bottle of Hops tincture and splashed it onto my wrist and thumb. Lots of it spilled on the floor and my son-in-law reminded me that we have little spray tops for those bottles that make things less messy. As I picked up the spray top and started screwing it onto the bottle I noticed the pain in my wrist and thumb were completely gone. It’d been about a minute since I applied the Hops.
It turns out that hops is full of little monoterpines and triterpenes and other phytochemical wonderments that like to bind to the cannaboid receptors on our cells and make them feel better. In other words, Hops is a lot like it’s cousin Cannabis for pain but it isn’t addictive or illegal, doesn’t make you high and doesn’t have the detrimental side effect of making people wear sandals and Tie Dye! Amazing! After I realized the wrist and thumb were happy, I immediately pulled up my left pant leg and sprayed the Hops tincture on my knee that had been bugging me all day. Again, within only a minute or so, it didn’t hurt anymore.
This week we’ve been moving yet again. You know…just for fun. This morning my sweet wife did something that tweaked her neck pretty badly. Any movement at all was causing terrible pain. I grabbed the hops tincture and sprayed it on her neck and shoulder. Within minutes, the pain was gone, the grumpy nerve was appeased, and she worked happily all day. So I’m pretty excited about Hops. It might be my new best friend.
Hops For Digestive Issues
Hops has other benefits too. It’s calming to the nervous stomach and guts and has some antispasmodic and antibiotic properties that are useful in cases of diarrhea, dysentery and colitis. It’s a mild sedative and is even safe enough for little kids that need a little help unwinding before bed. The antibiotic properties can also be used for wounds topically and the antispasmodic properties can be useful for other muscles besides those in the guts. The antibiotics are one of the reasons they use hops in beer making. It helps to prevent spoilage while the beer ferments. It makes the foam better too. Hops also contains lots of estrogen. I think that’s probably why they like to put it into beer…saves money on broken pool cues in bars if the beer drinkers are more in touch with their feminine side. Hops is also a pretty good digestive bitter. Taken half an hour or so before eating, it decreases the chances of indigestion later.
The plant is a strong vine and actually looks a lot like a grape plant. The female part of the plant, the strobile, looks a little like a soft little green pine cone. The strobile is the medicine. Actually the yellow powder that forms on the strobile is the medicine but just use the whole thing. Life is too short for scraping yellow powder off strobiles! Harvest the little rascals in the fall when the strobiles turn yellowish.
So there you have it. If you have any number of troubles Hops will hop to the rescue!
Learn More
If you’d like to learn more about medicinal plants, hop on over to This Page and have a look at The HomeGrown Herbalist School of Botanical Medicine. Maybe you’ll discover something wonderful too. :0)
If you’d like to learn more about hops and a bunch of other herbs, come join us at our Live Event in May. We’ll dig deep into the upper and lower digestive system, wound management and medicine making. We’ll also be having lessons and activities on herbal gardening and, of course, a great plant walk where you will meet all sort of new green friends. Hope to see you there. Enrollment is limited so Hop To It by Clicking Here for More Info.
Doc Jones
Fantastic! We planted hops on the garden fence about 3 years ago and harvested a some last year. We should have a pretty good harvest this year and now I know what to do with them!
Glad it’s doing well. It loves climbing fences. I grow it on an arch I made from a few wire cattle panels.
An interesting article. I’ve been researching CBD as a part of my journey through Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (thank you for nothing, Covid-19), but hesitant to try, due to difficulties finding *affordable* reputable sources. Apparently, CBD calms the activation of mast cells. Would hops be helpful in the same vein, I wonder… Because, I can grow hops….
Hops has very similar chemistry to cannabis and a tincture would be a much more complete source of that chemistry than an oil.
Hops, like its cousin cannabis, has some distinctive and powerful effects on mast cells. Here is some interesting research https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,13&q=humulus+lupulus+mast+cell+activation
I dont know where i can get Hops in Ireland because I have lots of pains from Artheritis
I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t readily available in Ireland. How the heck else could they make the Guinness?
Also, if you have any herb companies that have dry hops, you can make a tincture yourself and use it topically. Do a 1:5 ratio by weight of dry herb to vodka (ie…100 grams herb to 500 grams vodka). Shake it and say nice things to it daily for a week or two and presto! You have a tincture. :0)
For those who don’t have the hops the hooch or the time, you can also but it here: https://homegrownherbalist.net/product/hops-tincture/
What amazing results! I wonder if Hops would also be suitable for pain from conditions that are inflammatory and more chronic in nature? Like tendonitis? I hope so!
There are basically three ways to address pain as an herbalist. One is with nervines (like hops, skullcap, valerian…Rest Easy Formula topically) which tell the nerves to quit screaming and take a nap. The second is with anti-inflammatories like yucca, willow, etc…(see Joint Support Formula) And the third is with musle-relaxing anmti-spasmodics like cramp bark, lobelia etc (see Muscles NoMoSpasms formula).
The nervines tend to work on any kind of pain. Hops is a nervine and has some antispasmodic properties as well just for fun.
Wonderful information thanks Doc. I like to drink hops tea but I’m concerned about the estrogen in it!!! I’m menopausal, so what is your opinion on that!!!
Most menopausal women are happy to get a little extra estrogen. Almost every herbal remedy for menopause support is full of pants full of phyto-estrogens. See Menopause HF Formula as an example.
So hoppy that you shared this. This gives me even more reasons to plant some hops!
It’ll be a wonderful addition to your garden and a wonderful friend.
Is hops safe to use with breast cancer estrogen positive for bone pain
I wouldn’t worry about it topically, but I wouldn’t use it internally to to its high estrogen content.
I’m wondering what the mechanism is. If it works that quickly, it seems like it is just dulling the pain and not getting to the root of the pain. I’m interested in what your perspective is on numbing rather than healing. I know you want to get to the bottom of it. Had you just strained your muscle from all your moving activity?
Oh, and I am sure roinking is a real word. 🙂
The pain killing effect is do to its binding with the cannaboid receptors on the nerves. Basically puts them to sleep.
I have learned that often times pain from acute injuries (like roinkng a nerve) persists longer than necessary. So, when we tell the nerves to calm down, they realize nothing is happening anymore and stop hurting for good instead of just until you need another dose of pain herbs.
A seriously remarkable plant for killing that sort of persistent, useless, historical pain is teasel. I’ll write an article about that one soon.
I always learn something new from you. Love your humor too!
Glad you enjoyed it Rose
If a female has had estrogen loving cancer should hops be avoided also is it harmful hops that is to kidneys
My son got into home brewing years ago, then he got married and skedaddled, leaving behind his hops vines. About that time I got into herbs. Now I have hops on hand. I absolutely love them! I battle insomnia and hops helps. I may have my elderly Mom try it topically for her muscle and joint pain.
They’re really cute vines. I bet they’ll hep your mom a lot. :0)
These little rascals are growing all over the garden! I’ve been in pain lately and there’s a bowl of them sitting on the bench ‘waving’ at me 🙂
It’s always a good idea to listen to plants when they wave or holler.
I grow hops for medicinal-nerve pain-muscle pain-arthritis pain-bone in bone pain-headaches to migraines and do much more!
Yeah. Its a really useful plant. :00
Does hops thin the blood at all? I have mild myelodysplasia with a slightly low platelet count. I’m always looking for pain relief for knee osteoarthritis, neck pain from degenerative disc collapse, and scoliosis. My sister also can’t take blood thinning pain relievers.
Nope. Even if it did, it wouldn’t be a problem if used topically. For pain, I always just spray the tincture directly onto the sore area. :0)
Another excellent article! It sounds like you’ve decided to make moving an annual event! ; )
No that’d be silly. Around here lately, moving is a semi-annual event. We keep gettin’ too big fer our britches. :0(
Trust all is well. Moving is hard on everyone involved. Are you still in Idaho? Take it slow; it’s been a few difficult years for you. You seem fully recovered from your surgery for which I am thankful. After reading this blog, I ordered a bottle of hops tincture to see if it would help hubby’s GI issues. Also bought two cuttings to plant. Thanks for all you do and please take care.
Do hops work for Parkinson’s? I’ve been looking at cannabis for PD & I wonder if hops work as well as cannabis.
There is some very good research on Hops helping with Parkinson’s. Licorice is having some very promising studies as well.
They both help Alzheimer’s as well.
What wonderful news. Sadly I can’t grow hops in upstate South Carolina. But my daughter who films “craft breweries “ has contact with a farm in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Now we can make our own tincture . I take it it doesn’t matter which hops variety is used ? Can hops be made in glycerine“ as well ?
I was thinking about growing hops but I live in Upstate SC….is it illegal or wrong climate for hops?
There isn’t anything illegal about hops that I”m aware of. I think SC would be a nice place for it to live.
Really cool! I have to get these growing in my garden.
Thanks Doc. After rewatching pain management seminar. I came here to just buy teasel now, after reading the this I will be adding hops to the list. I have had two partial knee replacements in 2020 and they both failed now I am recovering from two full knee replacements to fix the partials that failed. My last surgery was April 11th. My knees ache most of the time now so I am very hopeful that I can start to feel normal again soon. Should I do one topically and on internally?
I’d do hops topically and teasel both ways for that.
You might look at this as well: https://homegrownherbalist.net/product/joint-support-tincture/
Can hops grow in Arizona or does it need moisture?
They are doing some hops growing in northern Arizona. I don’t know how it would do in the southern deserts.
Here’s an article from the university of AZ on it.
https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/growinghops.html
What is best for pain from periformis muscle in right hip, which also fires up my sciatic nerve, down my leg and foot. I’ve used your Hops and Cramp Bark, and Rest Easy or Valerian for sciatica. I was going to reorder Hops but wonder if anything else is better for muscle pain, as you seemed to mention it more for nerves. Also, is there a limit on how often I can spray these on myself?
I don’t worry about application frequency with topical herbs. I use them topically as often as I want. All of the herbs you mention are good for pain but those ones all tell the nerve reporting the pain to calm down (not a bad thing) the other two tacks that can be taken are addressing inflammation and relaxing the muscle.
Have a look at these two:
Joint Support
NoMoSpazmz
I watched your video on the 7 herbs for pain last night, taking LOTS of notes. I am ordering the Hops tincture for pain, until I can get started growing my own in AL. My dad was diagnosed with Dementia about a year ago. They haven’t called it Alzheimer’s, yet. He is on medication, but there have not been any positive responses, more so, he has declined with his memory and cognitive abilities. He’s still independent but my Mom has to “remind” him of things frequently. I would like to try him on this as well. What do I need to watch for since he is on Celexa? Also, would it be best to give internally through a tincture twice daily? I’m a nurse and will be enrolling in your school after the holidays. Can’ wait!
I sent you an email. :0)
If my pet pig is on Nadolol but seems to be having some pain, nerve pain I think, would a hops tincture be something to try?
No reason not to topically.
Hi~ Where can I get some Hops Seeds or Plants. I live in Idaho too. Thanks in advance~ Leslie~
companionplants.com and strictlymedicinalseeds.com are good sources.
My dog was shot last night, in the both front legs, I am able to see exit and entry holes so no bullet is still in him. I have been adding the poltice powder to his wet food 3 times daily along with rinsing the wounds with water and poltice tincture and keeping wrapped. What can I get him for the pain?
I sent you an email.
I just used my Hops Tincture on my lower back and my hips. They’ve been killing me this pregnancy. It never occurred to me to use Hops for pain and I didn’t know that its a cousin to cannabis. Until recently when I listened to you talk about it on the Herbs With Rosalee podcast. My back and hip pain subsided within a minute!!! I am so impressed! Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience. Blessings to you!