“You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all, just as an intelligence without the possibility of expression is not really an intelligence. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing.” – Luis Buñuel
Memory. It’s one of those things you don’t give much thought to as a child, but as you get older, you begin to think on it more and more—what it is, how to increase it, and how to hold on to it.
Today, I’d like to take a brief look at memory and what can be done to keep it active and healthy. I also want to share a recipe for a DIY rosemary memory elixir that you can use on a regular basis to support your body and promote memory health.
HI MEAGAN,
As you mentioned in the ingredients list, there is brandy and honey. I don’t want to use brandy. Is there any other alternative?
You can use any kind of alcohol you prefer. If you don’t want to use an alcohol, you can use glycerine instead and simply make a glycerite. You won’t need to use honey in that case as the alcohol and honey combo is what makes the “elixir” which is a sweetened tincture. If you use glycerin and make a glycerite, it will be sweet and have no alcohol. You can learn more about glycerites here. Does that answer your question?
Very interesting. I would like to learn more.
Thank you, Deborah
Hi Meagan! Thanks for the recipe! I would like to make the elixir for my girlfriend’s mother. Could I substitute the Gotu Kola for hawthorn? And another question, could I do the process by percolation and then add the honey? In that case, would it still be considered an elixir? Thank you very much!
Yes, you can definitely use hawthorn instead of gotu kola if you’d like a bit more cardiovascular support. And ideally, this recipe would be made from tinctures that are combined in parts so you are sure to get the most benefit of the herbs included. In this post, it’s written like a folk tincture made from a blend of herbs, which will work (and is fast and easy), but blending from individual tinctures is best. If you want to make percolation tincture of each herb, then combine them and add honey, that will work just as well.