Yesterday I was getting that feeling that one gets when a urinary tract infection is about to set in but I decided to over look it.
Last night at about 4:30 am it decided to remind me again.
After researching St. John's wort the day before and finding that almost half of it components were either antibacterial or anti-inflammatory, I went to the medicine chest in the middle of the night and took three half droppers full, washing that down with water and went back to bed.
It is nice to wake up in the morning feeling great without the twinges that something is about to fall apart.
I had that option, do you?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
St. John's wort
Today I wish to share some information on St. John's wort. It isn't a native in the Americas; like my ancestors, it came from Europe. It is my feeling that if something is important enough to bring with you when you move to another place, there must be something special about it, and there is.
It was used as a nervine to assist in healing injured nerves, even sciatica. It is very helpful when in excessive pain. What we think is that it is just used for depression.
In the last few years St. John's wort has gotten a bad name for itself but it wasn't the plant's fault. As an antidepressant in popular use, it was standardized for its hypericin.
When pharmacists standardized this plant, they try to find out what of the 60+ constituents is helpful for…let's say depression. They came up with hypericin and decide to make sure that the product they are selling you is loaded with this one compound. Now that sounds good except this is now a chemical composition and not an herbal product. They did this same thing with aspirin and the salicylic acid from plants. Man always thinks they can do a better job. In an herbal product all the compounds are in balance with each other so that none will create "side effect" for the most part. The St. John's wort that has been sold in the last few years are made in a chemical factory and are sold under the name of St. John's wort. They are drugs and are harmful to the body.
We have a wonderful plant that has small green leaves and grows wild. In July it bursts into flower with wonderful small yellow flowers. It is so wonderful that the American Indian would dry it and grind it up like corn meal to make food. They also knew about its healing effects on the nerves. One book that I read even mentioned that a lot of early cooks would put some of this dried plant into their homemade bread and found that the bread was even better that way.
St. John's wort was found to be so mild that it could be used for people of all ages from small children to adults. With children it has been said to help with bed wetting, with adults it has been credited with cleaning up bronchitis. A tea of St. John's wort was can be used to heal the mouth and teeth area.
I decided to head into Dr. James Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases for some answers as to just what wonderful things this plant is capable of helping me with. I decided to pick out only the constituents where more than one of the 60+ did the same things. Here is what St. John's wort is able to do: it is an antialzheimeran, antibacterial, anticataract, antidementia, antidiabetic, antiflu, anti-inflammatory, antioxident, antispasmodic, antiulcer, antiviral , and fungicide. Along with those talents it is a cancer preventive, is capillariprotective, also a pesticide and a vasodilator.
Hey, if only three of these compounds have the ability to keep me from having cataracts, I think it is wonderful.
I found that many of the compounds in this herb are sedative and a few are photosensitizers. I mention this last one because I have read about how eating or using this product will affect ones skin regarding the sun. The funny thing is that I also found compounds that act as sunscreens built right into the same plant. It is amazing how these plants were designed without the help of man to balance themselves out?
St John's wort has been called many names: Goatweed, Hypericum, Klamath weed, and St Johnswort. In some places, predators have been imported to get rid of it because some animals have developed skin problems after eating a lot of it. The same report that gave me this information said that "We are pleased to say our skin type is not sensitive in this way."
I should mention that if you are taking some form of drug, you might not want to add St. John's wort to your list but that is a given. Why would you be mixing drugs with herbal remedies?
I see a product that is helpful in many ways in my life and it will remain in my medicine chest as a tincture to be used as needed for any of the above. Sometime we need to look at the big picture before we make a judgment about things.
It is also a good thing to learn to make your own medicine, that way you know just what is in the product.
It was used as a nervine to assist in healing injured nerves, even sciatica. It is very helpful when in excessive pain. What we think is that it is just used for depression.
In the last few years St. John's wort has gotten a bad name for itself but it wasn't the plant's fault. As an antidepressant in popular use, it was standardized for its hypericin.
When pharmacists standardized this plant, they try to find out what of the 60+ constituents is helpful for…let's say depression. They came up with hypericin and decide to make sure that the product they are selling you is loaded with this one compound. Now that sounds good except this is now a chemical composition and not an herbal product. They did this same thing with aspirin and the salicylic acid from plants. Man always thinks they can do a better job. In an herbal product all the compounds are in balance with each other so that none will create "side effect" for the most part. The St. John's wort that has been sold in the last few years are made in a chemical factory and are sold under the name of St. John's wort. They are drugs and are harmful to the body.
We have a wonderful plant that has small green leaves and grows wild. In July it bursts into flower with wonderful small yellow flowers. It is so wonderful that the American Indian would dry it and grind it up like corn meal to make food. They also knew about its healing effects on the nerves. One book that I read even mentioned that a lot of early cooks would put some of this dried plant into their homemade bread and found that the bread was even better that way.
St. John's wort was found to be so mild that it could be used for people of all ages from small children to adults. With children it has been said to help with bed wetting, with adults it has been credited with cleaning up bronchitis. A tea of St. John's wort was can be used to heal the mouth and teeth area.
I decided to head into Dr. James Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases for some answers as to just what wonderful things this plant is capable of helping me with. I decided to pick out only the constituents where more than one of the 60+ did the same things. Here is what St. John's wort is able to do: it is an antialzheimeran, antibacterial, anticataract, antidementia, antidiabetic, antiflu, anti-inflammatory, antioxident, antispasmodic, antiulcer, antiviral , and fungicide. Along with those talents it is a cancer preventive, is capillariprotective, also a pesticide and a vasodilator.
Hey, if only three of these compounds have the ability to keep me from having cataracts, I think it is wonderful.
I found that many of the compounds in this herb are sedative and a few are photosensitizers. I mention this last one because I have read about how eating or using this product will affect ones skin regarding the sun. The funny thing is that I also found compounds that act as sunscreens built right into the same plant. It is amazing how these plants were designed without the help of man to balance themselves out?
St John's wort has been called many names: Goatweed, Hypericum, Klamath weed, and St Johnswort. In some places, predators have been imported to get rid of it because some animals have developed skin problems after eating a lot of it. The same report that gave me this information said that "We are pleased to say our skin type is not sensitive in this way."
I should mention that if you are taking some form of drug, you might not want to add St. John's wort to your list but that is a given. Why would you be mixing drugs with herbal remedies?
I see a product that is helpful in many ways in my life and it will remain in my medicine chest as a tincture to be used as needed for any of the above. Sometime we need to look at the big picture before we make a judgment about things.
It is also a good thing to learn to make your own medicine, that way you know just what is in the product.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Echinacea
Yesterday was the day to harvest pears. Our pear tree was over loaded and they looked wonderful. I had taken some in last week and after allowing them to sit out on the cupboard for about 4 or 5 days, they became soft and yellow and delicious!
In the process of going up the ladder to cut some of the fruit off the tree, I must have taken on a passenger. When I came done to the ground I felt something stinging me so I crushed my pant leg and rushed into the house to see what bit me. When I got inside, I found a very large red spot with a raised area that covered a two inch round section of my leg. I dragged out my Echinacea tincture and put some of a dropperful on my leg while rubbing it in to keep it in that area. I did this a second and third time and then I went back out to finish my work. By the time I was done with and came in, the area was not raised but still red. That was yesterday; today it is just pink and itches a bit.
Echinacea is a native to my area and it has been used a lot. Most people think of it being used only to boost the immune system but it has many uses.
While we are talking about bites, I must mention spider bites because they are very different from other insect bites. Spiders inject an enzyme that breaks down the cells and this is why when one is bitten by a spider, the red streak starts up or down that body part. Echinacea when dropped on the bit of a spider, it will stop the enzymatic action and contain the problem.
Echinacea will put the immune system on high alert but will only do this for about a week. After a week one must switch to another herb for this same action. A couple that might be used for this purpose are Chinese Astragalus or Calendular flowers.
The American Indians would chew on the root of Echinacea for relief from respiratory afflictions.
In Germany there are many salves, tinctures and extracts made using Echinacea. The claim has been made that it is antiviral and can be used for virus infections as well as for bacteria. Most Doctors only have antibiotics although they are starting to get antiviral products on the market.
I just researched Dr. James Duke's Database to see what else this wonderful herb can do. I found that the plant contains about 120 different constituents and that the root (I make my tincture from the root) contains 70 of those constituents. A lot of these constituents would be things that you recognize such as Chromium, Iron, Manganese, Niacin, Selenium, Zinc and many more. All of these are organic so that our organic bodies can use them as needed. That is a lot of things to put in balance and if they aren't in balance with each other, the plant will die.
Now what are these constituents capable of doing for me? Using only the ones in my tincture, they are capable of so many things that I will just mention things that more than two of these constituents are capable of doing. They are: antiallergenic, antiacne, antiaging, antialzheimeran, antiarthritic, antiasthmatic, antibacterial, anticataract, antidementia, antidiabetic, antidote for aluminum and lead, antiinflammatory, antiLeukemic, antimigraine, antioxidant, antiparkinsonian, antiseptic, antistaph, antistress, antisyndrome X, antiviral, cancer preventive, cardio protective, fungicide, sedative, and vasodilator.
That is a lot of hard work and it is all in a bottle for me without side effects. This pharmacy is growing in your front yard. No more pills and shots for your family when Dr. Mom gets busy. These remedies can be made in your kitchen.
To make a tincture one needs to have the herb of choice, in this case it is Echinacea Root. In herbal language this is called the Marc. (The Marc can be any herbal part, be it root or plant.) When using root material, one needs to chop it into small pieces. When using leaves this isn't that necessary.
Now we need some form of alcohol as a preservative. In herbal language this is called the Menstrum. (Menstrums come in all forms from water, to oil or even vinegar) I use 100 proof vodka. Why 100 proof? Because it is 50 % water and 50 % alcohol, it doesn't have fillers like 80 proof does. One can use a brand of vegetable alcohol called Everclear. Vodka is a vegetable alcohol too.
Step one is to put the herb into a glass bottle, filling it one fourth to one third full of plant.
Step two is to pour the alcohol over the plant material and fill the bottle to the top.
Step three is to shake the bottle every day for fourteen days. This makes sure that the plant matter doesn't settle at the bottom of the bottle. The object is for the alcohol to pull out the constituents that will be used for healing from the plant material. (Hence the small pieces of root material)
Step four is to strain the plant material out of the preservative and return the preservative that contains all the helpful constituents to the bottle, putting some of it into a dropper bottle to be used as needed in the medicine chest.
Dr. John R. Christopher, founder of the School of Natural Healing in Utah, said that we should eat from our own back yard. This means that foods grown at our latitude, our longitude and our altitude has the right vibration for our body cells. Perhaps that is why herb books never mention bananas. Most herb books were written for the people of Europe and North America. I find that most interesting.
Stay healthy and use what is growing in your own back yard to do this.
In the process of going up the ladder to cut some of the fruit off the tree, I must have taken on a passenger. When I came done to the ground I felt something stinging me so I crushed my pant leg and rushed into the house to see what bit me. When I got inside, I found a very large red spot with a raised area that covered a two inch round section of my leg. I dragged out my Echinacea tincture and put some of a dropperful on my leg while rubbing it in to keep it in that area. I did this a second and third time and then I went back out to finish my work. By the time I was done with and came in, the area was not raised but still red. That was yesterday; today it is just pink and itches a bit.
Echinacea is a native to my area and it has been used a lot. Most people think of it being used only to boost the immune system but it has many uses.
While we are talking about bites, I must mention spider bites because they are very different from other insect bites. Spiders inject an enzyme that breaks down the cells and this is why when one is bitten by a spider, the red streak starts up or down that body part. Echinacea when dropped on the bit of a spider, it will stop the enzymatic action and contain the problem.
Echinacea will put the immune system on high alert but will only do this for about a week. After a week one must switch to another herb for this same action. A couple that might be used for this purpose are Chinese Astragalus or Calendular flowers.
The American Indians would chew on the root of Echinacea for relief from respiratory afflictions.
In Germany there are many salves, tinctures and extracts made using Echinacea. The claim has been made that it is antiviral and can be used for virus infections as well as for bacteria. Most Doctors only have antibiotics although they are starting to get antiviral products on the market.
I just researched Dr. James Duke's Database to see what else this wonderful herb can do. I found that the plant contains about 120 different constituents and that the root (I make my tincture from the root) contains 70 of those constituents. A lot of these constituents would be things that you recognize such as Chromium, Iron, Manganese, Niacin, Selenium, Zinc and many more. All of these are organic so that our organic bodies can use them as needed. That is a lot of things to put in balance and if they aren't in balance with each other, the plant will die.
Now what are these constituents capable of doing for me? Using only the ones in my tincture, they are capable of so many things that I will just mention things that more than two of these constituents are capable of doing. They are: antiallergenic, antiacne, antiaging, antialzheimeran, antiarthritic, antiasthmatic, antibacterial, anticataract, antidementia, antidiabetic, antidote for aluminum and lead, antiinflammatory, antiLeukemic, antimigraine, antioxidant, antiparkinsonian, antiseptic, antistaph, antistress, antisyndrome X, antiviral, cancer preventive, cardio protective, fungicide, sedative, and vasodilator.
That is a lot of hard work and it is all in a bottle for me without side effects. This pharmacy is growing in your front yard. No more pills and shots for your family when Dr. Mom gets busy. These remedies can be made in your kitchen.
To make a tincture one needs to have the herb of choice, in this case it is Echinacea Root. In herbal language this is called the Marc. (The Marc can be any herbal part, be it root or plant.) When using root material, one needs to chop it into small pieces. When using leaves this isn't that necessary.
Now we need some form of alcohol as a preservative. In herbal language this is called the Menstrum. (Menstrums come in all forms from water, to oil or even vinegar) I use 100 proof vodka. Why 100 proof? Because it is 50 % water and 50 % alcohol, it doesn't have fillers like 80 proof does. One can use a brand of vegetable alcohol called Everclear. Vodka is a vegetable alcohol too.
Step one is to put the herb into a glass bottle, filling it one fourth to one third full of plant.
Step two is to pour the alcohol over the plant material and fill the bottle to the top.
Step three is to shake the bottle every day for fourteen days. This makes sure that the plant matter doesn't settle at the bottom of the bottle. The object is for the alcohol to pull out the constituents that will be used for healing from the plant material. (Hence the small pieces of root material)
Step four is to strain the plant material out of the preservative and return the preservative that contains all the helpful constituents to the bottle, putting some of it into a dropper bottle to be used as needed in the medicine chest.
Dr. John R. Christopher, founder of the School of Natural Healing in Utah, said that we should eat from our own back yard. This means that foods grown at our latitude, our longitude and our altitude has the right vibration for our body cells. Perhaps that is why herb books never mention bananas. Most herb books were written for the people of Europe and North America. I find that most interesting.
Stay healthy and use what is growing in your own back yard to do this.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Red Raspberry
This plant is related to roses.
Most herbalist use the leaves in tea form due to their nutritive properties. This tea is a great agent for cleansing the mucus membranes in the G.I. tract, leaving the tissues toned. It is great for cleaning up canker conditions.
Dr. Christopher recommends juice, distilled water and Red Raspberry leaf tea for three days to clean the system when one has a cold sore. He also recommends this tea to wash foreign particles out of the eye. In the process it will act as an astringent and heal the irritated surface.
The tea is so gentle that it can be used for Children's complaints of stomachaches. Taken regularly will quiet premature pains in pregnancy and will produce a safe, speedy and easy delivery.
When nursing a baby for a long time and the baby doesn't seem to be satisfied, Christopher recommends that Mom drinking Red Raspberry leaf tea along with Marshmallow Root to enrich the contents of the milk.
As teenagers grow up, they are blamed for not being cooperative. Their bodies are craving vitamins and minerals that are not found in a teen's diet. They are eating fast foods, sweet and excessive meats. Their bodies react with acne, boils and irritability. Girls have more difficult periods. Boys have to deal with an unhealthy sex drive. A cup of Red Raspberry leaf tea will assist in supplying natural hormones and estrogen material to their bodies, thus allowing them to attain a balance.
When harvesting Red Raspberry leaves, the best time is before noon but after the morning dew is gone. The best seasons are Spring and Summer when the berries are not on the plant. Never strip a plant of all its leaves. Take a few from each plant.
To dry these leaves, one might lay them out in a shady but airy place and cover with cheese cloth to keep the bugs out. Another way is to place them into a large paper bag and close the top. Label the bag then shake this up daily while turning the bag onto a different side daily. The bottom will become moist and wick the moisture out of the leaves.
When your leaves are completely dry, put them into a glass jar and label your jar. Now when you are making tea, you can use a tablespoon in a cup of hot water. This tea has been use for such things as thrush, scurvy, morning sickness, gout, flu, acid indigestion, skin ulcers, fevers, vomiting, and wounds.
Let's talk about the berries of this plant. The fruit contains acids along with minerals and fruit sugars. The coloring matter contains flavonoids which are found in many fruits with dark coloring in them. (This is similar to the purple found in grape skins.) This property is what makes these fruits so good for the heart. The coloring matter has also been used for dying purposed.
According to what I have read, "Raspberry contains three times as much cellulose and less ash than strawberries " (Christopher) This ash consists of Calcium, Magnesium, Protassium, Phosphorus, Sulfur and Iron.
A homemade wine can be easily made from the raspberries. It is said to be anti-scrofulous, which means that it will help the lymphatic system.
I have saved the best for last. Under the direction of Dr. Daniel Nixon; Dr. Dave Gangemi of Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South Carolina put out some information on a study that he and a colleague completed. He said that his study showed that the Elliagic Acid in Red Raspberry seeds will cause (G-arrest) stop breast cancer in 48 hours (Inhibiting and stopping mitosis-cancer cell division)and reverse it in 72 hours. This is presently being checked out for pancreas, esophageal, skin, colon and prostate cancer cells. I sent for his information on this study and he returned the paperwork to me. That should have been the end of that but a research doctor in the State of Washington didn't believe this so he did his own independent study and got the same results. A female research doctor from Loyola in Illinois decided to see if this could be so. She got the same results as the other two did.
Dr. Susan Thorpe-Vargas states," Multiple studies have discovered that Phytonutrients found in raspberries can protect us from cancer and can even shrink some types of cancer tumors." She goes on to say, "Recent work(2001), published by Dr. Gary Stoner at Ohio State University, showed that components in the seeds and berry, but particularly ellegitannins, inhibited the initation and promotion/progression stages of esophageal cancer." "In addition, edible berries, including raspberries also inhibit angiogenesis. This is a term used to describe the development of blood vessels needed for tumor growth." This from SCIENTIFIC MEDICAL DEVICES, Inc. Cumming, GA.
My questions are: if these research doctors got this kind of results independently, why are we still funding breast cancer research? Why are we still removing breasts? Why aren't doctors allowed to use any of this information? When is the American Medical Association, American Cancer Association and all the rest going to wake up and allow us to use information found with the research monies that all those "Pink" ribbons are for? Are only the Cancer Centers of America allowed to use what works?
This acid is found in Raspberries, Strawberries and Walnuts. Be sure to chew/bite the seeds.
Most herbalist use the leaves in tea form due to their nutritive properties. This tea is a great agent for cleansing the mucus membranes in the G.I. tract, leaving the tissues toned. It is great for cleaning up canker conditions.
Dr. Christopher recommends juice, distilled water and Red Raspberry leaf tea for three days to clean the system when one has a cold sore. He also recommends this tea to wash foreign particles out of the eye. In the process it will act as an astringent and heal the irritated surface.
The tea is so gentle that it can be used for Children's complaints of stomachaches. Taken regularly will quiet premature pains in pregnancy and will produce a safe, speedy and easy delivery.
When nursing a baby for a long time and the baby doesn't seem to be satisfied, Christopher recommends that Mom drinking Red Raspberry leaf tea along with Marshmallow Root to enrich the contents of the milk.
As teenagers grow up, they are blamed for not being cooperative. Their bodies are craving vitamins and minerals that are not found in a teen's diet. They are eating fast foods, sweet and excessive meats. Their bodies react with acne, boils and irritability. Girls have more difficult periods. Boys have to deal with an unhealthy sex drive. A cup of Red Raspberry leaf tea will assist in supplying natural hormones and estrogen material to their bodies, thus allowing them to attain a balance.
When harvesting Red Raspberry leaves, the best time is before noon but after the morning dew is gone. The best seasons are Spring and Summer when the berries are not on the plant. Never strip a plant of all its leaves. Take a few from each plant.
To dry these leaves, one might lay them out in a shady but airy place and cover with cheese cloth to keep the bugs out. Another way is to place them into a large paper bag and close the top. Label the bag then shake this up daily while turning the bag onto a different side daily. The bottom will become moist and wick the moisture out of the leaves.
When your leaves are completely dry, put them into a glass jar and label your jar. Now when you are making tea, you can use a tablespoon in a cup of hot water. This tea has been use for such things as thrush, scurvy, morning sickness, gout, flu, acid indigestion, skin ulcers, fevers, vomiting, and wounds.
Let's talk about the berries of this plant. The fruit contains acids along with minerals and fruit sugars. The coloring matter contains flavonoids which are found in many fruits with dark coloring in them. (This is similar to the purple found in grape skins.) This property is what makes these fruits so good for the heart. The coloring matter has also been used for dying purposed.
According to what I have read, "Raspberry contains three times as much cellulose and less ash than strawberries " (Christopher) This ash consists of Calcium, Magnesium, Protassium, Phosphorus, Sulfur and Iron.
A homemade wine can be easily made from the raspberries. It is said to be anti-scrofulous, which means that it will help the lymphatic system.
I have saved the best for last. Under the direction of Dr. Daniel Nixon; Dr. Dave Gangemi of Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South Carolina put out some information on a study that he and a colleague completed. He said that his study showed that the Elliagic Acid in Red Raspberry seeds will cause (G-arrest) stop breast cancer in 48 hours (Inhibiting and stopping mitosis-cancer cell division)and reverse it in 72 hours. This is presently being checked out for pancreas, esophageal, skin, colon and prostate cancer cells. I sent for his information on this study and he returned the paperwork to me. That should have been the end of that but a research doctor in the State of Washington didn't believe this so he did his own independent study and got the same results. A female research doctor from Loyola in Illinois decided to see if this could be so. She got the same results as the other two did.
Dr. Susan Thorpe-Vargas states," Multiple studies have discovered that Phytonutrients found in raspberries can protect us from cancer and can even shrink some types of cancer tumors." She goes on to say, "Recent work(2001), published by Dr. Gary Stoner at Ohio State University, showed that components in the seeds and berry, but particularly ellegitannins, inhibited the initation and promotion/progression stages of esophageal cancer." "In addition, edible berries, including raspberries also inhibit angiogenesis. This is a term used to describe the development of blood vessels needed for tumor growth." This from SCIENTIFIC MEDICAL DEVICES, Inc. Cumming, GA.
My questions are: if these research doctors got this kind of results independently, why are we still funding breast cancer research? Why are we still removing breasts? Why aren't doctors allowed to use any of this information? When is the American Medical Association, American Cancer Association and all the rest going to wake up and allow us to use information found with the research monies that all those "Pink" ribbons are for? Are only the Cancer Centers of America allowed to use what works?
This acid is found in Raspberries, Strawberries and Walnuts. Be sure to chew/bite the seeds.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Chickweed
According what all that I have read about Chickweed, it is found everyone on this planet even in temperate or even north arctic regions. It seems that it is one of the most common weeds where every white man has settled. It is indeed the one we pull out of our gardens a lot. This is because Chickweed is so invasive.
It is tiny and fragile looking. Chickweed has leaves that are succulent and egg-shaped but they are only about one half inch to one inch long with a width of just half their length with little points on the end. The plant is usually pale green and smooth. The flowers, located by the upper leaves, look like tiny white stars.
From this description, one would never guess all the wonderful things that this plant can do.
Chickweed has been known to attract fat, thus cleaning up cellulite. People use it in salads to allow it to grab the fat in one's intestine, for the purpose of losing weight. A lot of herbal weight-loss products have Chickweed in them but it is a delicious food. We put it into salads with an assortment of things like celery, carrots and tomatoes along with anything else you wish to add then combine it with any dressing and you have a wonderful weight-loss salad. The flavor that Chickweed adds is a very mild flavor. When it is eaten, it helps the body correct conditions in the stomach, bowels and kidneys.
Chickweed has been used as a bronchial cleanser, and helps with things like; peritonitis, psoriasis, eczema and even deafness.
At our house we use Chickweed on mosquito bites. After a bike ride with my nephew, I put two handfuls of fresh Chickweed into the bathtub and filled it with hot water. My nephew was covered with mosquito bites that were about the size of silver dollars. My only request before he went into take this bath was not to pull the plug. I didn't want the Chickweed clogging up the drain. After he was out and dressed and I saw him again, I noticed that the welts were gone and only the large red circles were left. I ask him what happened. He said that when he stepped into the water, the itching stopped immediately. What a wonderful thing. We also noticed that within an hour, the red circles were gone too. Chickweed drew the toxins out of the bites and allowed the body to heal.
When I had Shingles many years ago, I would boil a handful of fresh Chickweed for about 15 minutes, cool it and dampen a cloth to apply to the area that was so painful. As the cloth touched the skin, the itching stopped. I have since found a way to remove the Shingles residue from my body so that even under stress, it won't have to react to a virus that is not there.
Chickweed is so gentle that the water it is steeped in can be use to clean sties from eyes. Dr. Christopher said that it could even be used on new born baby's eyes with no ill effect. It will correct inflamed or sore eyes. One can apply this tea of Chickweed with cotton pads over closed eyes. It can be used for swelling and redness of the face very effectively.
Chickweed can be made into an ointment or salve because of its demulcent properties along with the anti-itching properties.
To make a Chickweed salve one needs to simmer olive oil with Chickweed herb in it for 20 to 40 minutes. Next, strain the herb out and return the "herb infused oil" to a clean pan then add some bee's wax. To find out just how much wax to add, check by dipping a spoonful of the hot mixture that wax has been added to into ice water and pull it out. Touch the salve to see if that is how you would like yours. If it is too runny, add a little more wax. If it is too hard, add some oil. Sometimes my students add some aroma oils to this to give it a more pleasant smell.
The salve has a long shelf life due to the olive oil, which also has a longer shelf life than other oils. One can dry this herb for later use but it does lose its color and turns brown faster than most herbs do. That does not make it bad as it still contains the properties that do what we have talked about in this article.
Now that we know just how great this plant is, it no longer has to take over our gardens faster than we use it.
It is tiny and fragile looking. Chickweed has leaves that are succulent and egg-shaped but they are only about one half inch to one inch long with a width of just half their length with little points on the end. The plant is usually pale green and smooth. The flowers, located by the upper leaves, look like tiny white stars.
From this description, one would never guess all the wonderful things that this plant can do.
Chickweed has been known to attract fat, thus cleaning up cellulite. People use it in salads to allow it to grab the fat in one's intestine, for the purpose of losing weight. A lot of herbal weight-loss products have Chickweed in them but it is a delicious food. We put it into salads with an assortment of things like celery, carrots and tomatoes along with anything else you wish to add then combine it with any dressing and you have a wonderful weight-loss salad. The flavor that Chickweed adds is a very mild flavor. When it is eaten, it helps the body correct conditions in the stomach, bowels and kidneys.
Chickweed has been used as a bronchial cleanser, and helps with things like; peritonitis, psoriasis, eczema and even deafness.
At our house we use Chickweed on mosquito bites. After a bike ride with my nephew, I put two handfuls of fresh Chickweed into the bathtub and filled it with hot water. My nephew was covered with mosquito bites that were about the size of silver dollars. My only request before he went into take this bath was not to pull the plug. I didn't want the Chickweed clogging up the drain. After he was out and dressed and I saw him again, I noticed that the welts were gone and only the large red circles were left. I ask him what happened. He said that when he stepped into the water, the itching stopped immediately. What a wonderful thing. We also noticed that within an hour, the red circles were gone too. Chickweed drew the toxins out of the bites and allowed the body to heal.
When I had Shingles many years ago, I would boil a handful of fresh Chickweed for about 15 minutes, cool it and dampen a cloth to apply to the area that was so painful. As the cloth touched the skin, the itching stopped. I have since found a way to remove the Shingles residue from my body so that even under stress, it won't have to react to a virus that is not there.
Chickweed is so gentle that the water it is steeped in can be use to clean sties from eyes. Dr. Christopher said that it could even be used on new born baby's eyes with no ill effect. It will correct inflamed or sore eyes. One can apply this tea of Chickweed with cotton pads over closed eyes. It can be used for swelling and redness of the face very effectively.
Chickweed can be made into an ointment or salve because of its demulcent properties along with the anti-itching properties.
To make a Chickweed salve one needs to simmer olive oil with Chickweed herb in it for 20 to 40 minutes. Next, strain the herb out and return the "herb infused oil" to a clean pan then add some bee's wax. To find out just how much wax to add, check by dipping a spoonful of the hot mixture that wax has been added to into ice water and pull it out. Touch the salve to see if that is how you would like yours. If it is too runny, add a little more wax. If it is too hard, add some oil. Sometimes my students add some aroma oils to this to give it a more pleasant smell.
The salve has a long shelf life due to the olive oil, which also has a longer shelf life than other oils. One can dry this herb for later use but it does lose its color and turns brown faster than most herbs do. That does not make it bad as it still contains the properties that do what we have talked about in this article.
Now that we know just how great this plant is, it no longer has to take over our gardens faster than we use it.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Yarrow
Yarrow is a native american plant and the references that I found show that local Indians used it extensively. They called it "wound medicine" because it was so good for cuts, bruises, and other minor injuries. This was its ability to stop bleeding. In fact, it was given the nickname of "nosebleed" by the white settlers for this reason. According to Dr. Christopher (Christopher – Volume 4 No. 11) the Micmac and Illinois tribes used it on cuts while the Winnebago Indians made a tea of it and washed bruises. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia powdered it by roasting the leaves and stems until they were dry, then ground them with stones and used the dust for skin sores.
The Indians of the Southern United States chewed the leaves fresh or dry with a little salt for a stomachache.
Eagle Shield, a Sioux healer, had some songs that he changed when he was treating someone with Yarrow. It is no secret that Eagle Shield kept it in a very special bag as it was a sacred plant to him.
The warm tea is a diaphoretic. It stimulates the blood, opens the pores and causes sweating. This eases the kidneys by helping to get rid of the toxins fast while easing chills, fevers, colic, gout and also helps the liver.
When my husband comes home and tells me that he feels a cold or flu coming on and feels chilled, I serve a cup of hot Yarrow tea made with the leaves. I use four or five dried leaves in a cup and pour hot water over the top. It has a mild flavor but can be combined with a sweetener like licorice root. The next day I ask him how he feels and he can't remember feeling poorly, the symptoms are gone.
In Dr. Christopher's "Cold Sheet Treatment) one starts with hot Yarrow tea to not only stimulate the system but to start the sweating action and hydrogenate the cells. He says that hot, wet fevers are safe and can get very high without damage. Hot, dry fevers are damaging to the brain.
As herbalists, we work with the body in helping it clean out the toxins; we do not take something to stop the action such as aspirin when we have a fever. The body creates the fever to handle the pathogens. If we stop the action, we are thwarting the body in its natural action. Pathogens live in a very narrow comfort zone. When the body takes it out of its comfort zone, the pathogens leave or die. A fever is the body's way of changing the environment. When you have a fever your body is working at its very best. Help your body by drinking quarts of hot teas and soaking in hot, steamy water. After an hour of this, tuck yourself into a cozy bed and sweat it out. I did say drink quarts, didn't I? Yes, I meant it because your body needs all of this liquid to dispense with the heat it produces to kill its enemies. Help your body heal you. With this approach, I have known people to make a very bad flu last only 24 hours instead of the two weeks that they would have had to endure if they had hindered the process.
The GOBALHERB program says that Yarrow has about 90 constituents in it and Dr. Christopher credits them as dealing with: Fevers, eruptive diseases (measles, chicken pox, small pox, etc.), hemorrhage of the lungs and bowels, jaundice, piles, incontinence of urine, typhoid fever, diarrhea, colds, suppressed urine, scanty urine, wounds, ulcers, colic, diabetes, Bright's disease, stomach gas, relaxed throat, sore nipples, flatulence, congestive headache, and loss of hair. I would say that was a long list for one small plant to tackle.
The warm Yarrow tea is also a good eye wash, making sure that you strain all the particles out first.
As a warm tea I mentioned that it is a stimulant but as a cold tea it can become a tonic for convalescents. As a tincture it is used to decrease a heavy menstruation.
Some herbalists believe that Yarrow lowers blood pressure. The information that I found was that it does, but very marginally and there are betters herbs for this.
Yarrow might be something that you would like to grow even though it is found in meadows and along paths in the wild. Yarrow is a biannual plant. The first year it forms a mat of fern-like leaves where as the second year it grows upright on a single stalk with feather-like leaves. At the top of the stalk is a cluster of tiny flowers. When I imported some tiny wasps to deal with my gypsy moths, I was told to put these near tiny flower clusters. They loved the Yarrow flowers. Because of all the botanical fun that is happening presently, one can find Yarrow flowers in many colors. I have a pink variety in my yard but when I am in the wild, I find white or yellow.
The crushed leaves have a unique smell that says Yarrow. I harvest the stalks and strip the leaves and flowers to be dried. The stalks have been used for centuries by the Oriental as a divining tool in I-Chi.
The Indians of the Southern United States chewed the leaves fresh or dry with a little salt for a stomachache.
Eagle Shield, a Sioux healer, had some songs that he changed when he was treating someone with Yarrow. It is no secret that Eagle Shield kept it in a very special bag as it was a sacred plant to him.
The warm tea is a diaphoretic. It stimulates the blood, opens the pores and causes sweating. This eases the kidneys by helping to get rid of the toxins fast while easing chills, fevers, colic, gout and also helps the liver.
When my husband comes home and tells me that he feels a cold or flu coming on and feels chilled, I serve a cup of hot Yarrow tea made with the leaves. I use four or five dried leaves in a cup and pour hot water over the top. It has a mild flavor but can be combined with a sweetener like licorice root. The next day I ask him how he feels and he can't remember feeling poorly, the symptoms are gone.
In Dr. Christopher's "Cold Sheet Treatment) one starts with hot Yarrow tea to not only stimulate the system but to start the sweating action and hydrogenate the cells. He says that hot, wet fevers are safe and can get very high without damage. Hot, dry fevers are damaging to the brain.
As herbalists, we work with the body in helping it clean out the toxins; we do not take something to stop the action such as aspirin when we have a fever. The body creates the fever to handle the pathogens. If we stop the action, we are thwarting the body in its natural action. Pathogens live in a very narrow comfort zone. When the body takes it out of its comfort zone, the pathogens leave or die. A fever is the body's way of changing the environment. When you have a fever your body is working at its very best. Help your body by drinking quarts of hot teas and soaking in hot, steamy water. After an hour of this, tuck yourself into a cozy bed and sweat it out. I did say drink quarts, didn't I? Yes, I meant it because your body needs all of this liquid to dispense with the heat it produces to kill its enemies. Help your body heal you. With this approach, I have known people to make a very bad flu last only 24 hours instead of the two weeks that they would have had to endure if they had hindered the process.
The GOBALHERB program says that Yarrow has about 90 constituents in it and Dr. Christopher credits them as dealing with: Fevers, eruptive diseases (measles, chicken pox, small pox, etc.), hemorrhage of the lungs and bowels, jaundice, piles, incontinence of urine, typhoid fever, diarrhea, colds, suppressed urine, scanty urine, wounds, ulcers, colic, diabetes, Bright's disease, stomach gas, relaxed throat, sore nipples, flatulence, congestive headache, and loss of hair. I would say that was a long list for one small plant to tackle.
The warm Yarrow tea is also a good eye wash, making sure that you strain all the particles out first.
As a warm tea I mentioned that it is a stimulant but as a cold tea it can become a tonic for convalescents. As a tincture it is used to decrease a heavy menstruation.
Some herbalists believe that Yarrow lowers blood pressure. The information that I found was that it does, but very marginally and there are betters herbs for this.
Yarrow might be something that you would like to grow even though it is found in meadows and along paths in the wild. Yarrow is a biannual plant. The first year it forms a mat of fern-like leaves where as the second year it grows upright on a single stalk with feather-like leaves. At the top of the stalk is a cluster of tiny flowers. When I imported some tiny wasps to deal with my gypsy moths, I was told to put these near tiny flower clusters. They loved the Yarrow flowers. Because of all the botanical fun that is happening presently, one can find Yarrow flowers in many colors. I have a pink variety in my yard but when I am in the wild, I find white or yellow.
The crushed leaves have a unique smell that says Yarrow. I harvest the stalks and strip the leaves and flowers to be dried. The stalks have been used for centuries by the Oriental as a divining tool in I-Chi.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Strawberries
As a child, I would go for walks in the summer picking and eating the wild Strawberries that grew by the road side.
We would see all kinds of wild plants but the Strawberries were our favorites. Sometimes we would take a container along and collect enough of them to take home so Mom could make Strawberry short cake.
Wild Strawberries have a very distinct flavor. They are very tangy, quite unlike the large ones we buy in the store today. Wild Strawberries are small and red most of the way through.
I allow weeds in my gardens and every so often I find a wild Strawberry that has migrated to my yard. They make a good ground cover for the places that always need help. That brings me to why they are called Strawberries. One would think it is because straw is laid under the berries to keep them off the ground but that is not so. According to Mrs. Grieves (a noted herbalist), they had the name long before this custom. It seems the verb "to stew" was changed to straw; this was referring to "the tangle of vines with which Strawberries cover the ground."
Did you know that Strawberries are a great blood purifier and that Strawberry juice combats bacterial infections? According to Dr. Christopher in his Natural Healing Newsletter Vol. 5 #1,
Strawberries are recommended for sluggish liver, gout, rheumatism, constipation, high blood pressure, skin cancer and syphilis. (And we just thought they tasted good.) He also said that if one pound of Strawberries is eaten in the morning with no other food until noon, pinworms would often disappear. He mentioned that eating some at the beginning of a meal would stimulate the appetite.
With some people, Strawberries clean their system faster than the liver can process the toxins that are being flushed out. When this happens the toxins head for the skin, one of the four ways to get things out of the body (Liver, Lungs, Bowels/Kidneys and Skin.) This makes people think that they are allergic to Strawberries since they get a rash when they eat them. What happens is that the Strawberries are doing a heavy cleansing. I recommend that people who think they are allergic to Strawberries, clean the bowels and liver first so when the toxins are released they will exit the body in an easy-normal way. (Another reason for an allergy to foods might be the chemicals that the farmer put on the plants to get a good harvest.)
Strawberries are high in iron and the leaf tea is used as a wash for skin problems such as eczema. Fresh berries can be rubbed over blackheads to assist the healing.
Another thing that is nice about Strawberries is that leaving the fresh juice of the berries on one's teeth for about five minutes and then rinsing with warm water which contains a small amount of bicarbonate of soda, will tend to remove discoloration from teeth. A great thing for herbalist who drink a lot of herbal tea.
I have also learned that Strawberries contain salicylates that are helpful in dealing with pain . In the area of salicylates; I just read an article by Jessica Marshall, written for Discovery News stating that plants "make methyl salicylate, a volatile form of salicylic acid." This is sent through the air when the plants are stressed, such as cold or draught to activate the plants immune system.
Sometimes I feel that plants talk to each other a lot more than we think. Aren't plants wonderful? The next time they talk to you, let me know what they told you.
We would see all kinds of wild plants but the Strawberries were our favorites. Sometimes we would take a container along and collect enough of them to take home so Mom could make Strawberry short cake.
Wild Strawberries have a very distinct flavor. They are very tangy, quite unlike the large ones we buy in the store today. Wild Strawberries are small and red most of the way through.
I allow weeds in my gardens and every so often I find a wild Strawberry that has migrated to my yard. They make a good ground cover for the places that always need help. That brings me to why they are called Strawberries. One would think it is because straw is laid under the berries to keep them off the ground but that is not so. According to Mrs. Grieves (a noted herbalist), they had the name long before this custom. It seems the verb "to stew" was changed to straw; this was referring to "the tangle of vines with which Strawberries cover the ground."
Did you know that Strawberries are a great blood purifier and that Strawberry juice combats bacterial infections? According to Dr. Christopher in his Natural Healing Newsletter Vol. 5 #1,
Strawberries are recommended for sluggish liver, gout, rheumatism, constipation, high blood pressure, skin cancer and syphilis. (And we just thought they tasted good.) He also said that if one pound of Strawberries is eaten in the morning with no other food until noon, pinworms would often disappear. He mentioned that eating some at the beginning of a meal would stimulate the appetite.
With some people, Strawberries clean their system faster than the liver can process the toxins that are being flushed out. When this happens the toxins head for the skin, one of the four ways to get things out of the body (Liver, Lungs, Bowels/Kidneys and Skin.) This makes people think that they are allergic to Strawberries since they get a rash when they eat them. What happens is that the Strawberries are doing a heavy cleansing. I recommend that people who think they are allergic to Strawberries, clean the bowels and liver first so when the toxins are released they will exit the body in an easy-normal way. (Another reason for an allergy to foods might be the chemicals that the farmer put on the plants to get a good harvest.)
Strawberries are high in iron and the leaf tea is used as a wash for skin problems such as eczema. Fresh berries can be rubbed over blackheads to assist the healing.
Another thing that is nice about Strawberries is that leaving the fresh juice of the berries on one's teeth for about five minutes and then rinsing with warm water which contains a small amount of bicarbonate of soda, will tend to remove discoloration from teeth. A great thing for herbalist who drink a lot of herbal tea.
I have also learned that Strawberries contain salicylates that are helpful in dealing with pain . In the area of salicylates; I just read an article by Jessica Marshall, written for Discovery News stating that plants "make methyl salicylate, a volatile form of salicylic acid." This is sent through the air when the plants are stressed, such as cold or draught to activate the plants immune system.
Sometimes I feel that plants talk to each other a lot more than we think. Aren't plants wonderful? The next time they talk to you, let me know what they told you.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Answer to D on Stinging Nettle
D asked about the Stinging Nettle talked about in the Poison Ivy article. I would like to respond to that question but didn't see her eaddress so will answer it for everyone. I do grow Stinging Nettle. It doesn't seem to need much gardening. Mine grows to three and a half feet tall but I have seen it as tall as five feet. I have mine in the middle of a twelve by twelve foot box garden. It reseeds itself and likes "nitrogen-rich soil, wastelands". My original plants came from Baraboo Wisconsin and were growing on Elephant dung piles, created by the Baraboo Circus.
I also have raspberry growing in the same box as the nettle. We have deer in the area and they like to eat the tops of the raspberry stalks. I notice that when they hit the nettle, they no longer continue to nibble the raspberries.
The idea of putting Nettle in the middle of my raspberries was so that I can continue to have them in my yard and anyone viewing my gardens will not get stung. If you have ever been stung you would know that this is not a pleasant thing. Native Americans used the stinging for healing purposes just as we use heating salves to draw blood to an area that is hurting.
I hope that I have answered this question and will continue to answer any question put to me if I am able. oakwelherb@aol.com
I also have raspberry growing in the same box as the nettle. We have deer in the area and they like to eat the tops of the raspberry stalks. I notice that when they hit the nettle, they no longer continue to nibble the raspberries.
The idea of putting Nettle in the middle of my raspberries was so that I can continue to have them in my yard and anyone viewing my gardens will not get stung. If you have ever been stung you would know that this is not a pleasant thing. Native Americans used the stinging for healing purposes just as we use heating salves to draw blood to an area that is hurting.
I hope that I have answered this question and will continue to answer any question put to me if I am able. oakwelherb@aol.com
Rosehips
Everything is coming up roses and why not? It is the end of the season and time to harvest rosehips. The last of the flower petals have fallen and the base of the rose flower has expended to give us a pod with seeds in it.
Today I cut the hips off my rose bushes to dry and save them for January and February when I will have a wonderful rosehip tea, loaded with 16 different constituents according to Dr. James Duke's data base. Along with all the Vitamin A, D, E and C that they contain, I found them to be antialzheimer, antibacterial, anticataract, antiCrohn's, antidiabetic and antioxident. The data base also mentioned that rosehips were heavy into cancer prevention and also antiviral. As an added bonus, they contain iron for all of us, women who are always looking for a little extra from time to time.
Now what to do with these little round things, I slice the berry on one side so that it exposes the seeds. (By the way these seeds can be grown in your hot house to make new plants.) Next I put the pods on a cookie sheet and into my oven that is set on warm. I like to put a wooden spoon in the door of the oven to keep it opened a crack which allows the humidity to escape. I check them every so often to make sure that they are drying. The seeds will come out very easily as the pod dries with just a slight scraping. When they are dry, I place them in a glass jar and label it so that I have my vitamins ready for the winter.
In the winter, I can take a tablespoonful of these dried pods out putting them in a small kettle of water. I simmer them for about 10 minutes and relive my roses of the summer in the form of a wonderful tart tea. For those of you who like it sweeter, you might add a couple Stevia or Peppermint leaves to this tea.
These dried pods can be added to soups and stews in the wintertime for the whole family to benefit from. Think of all the colds and flu your family can avoid with all this natural stuff.
Roses are for any time of the year.
Today I cut the hips off my rose bushes to dry and save them for January and February when I will have a wonderful rosehip tea, loaded with 16 different constituents according to Dr. James Duke's data base. Along with all the Vitamin A, D, E and C that they contain, I found them to be antialzheimer, antibacterial, anticataract, antiCrohn's, antidiabetic and antioxident. The data base also mentioned that rosehips were heavy into cancer prevention and also antiviral. As an added bonus, they contain iron for all of us, women who are always looking for a little extra from time to time.
Now what to do with these little round things, I slice the berry on one side so that it exposes the seeds. (By the way these seeds can be grown in your hot house to make new plants.) Next I put the pods on a cookie sheet and into my oven that is set on warm. I like to put a wooden spoon in the door of the oven to keep it opened a crack which allows the humidity to escape. I check them every so often to make sure that they are drying. The seeds will come out very easily as the pod dries with just a slight scraping. When they are dry, I place them in a glass jar and label it so that I have my vitamins ready for the winter.
In the winter, I can take a tablespoonful of these dried pods out putting them in a small kettle of water. I simmer them for about 10 minutes and relive my roses of the summer in the form of a wonderful tart tea. For those of you who like it sweeter, you might add a couple Stevia or Peppermint leaves to this tea.
These dried pods can be added to soups and stews in the wintertime for the whole family to benefit from. Think of all the colds and flu your family can avoid with all this natural stuff.
Roses are for any time of the year.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Motherwort
This morning my body told me to talk about Motherwort. I woke up with tightness in my chest. This is not unusual as my family has a history of heart problems. I usually don't do anything about this until my left arm starts to bother me but today my body was talking to me. So after getting out of bed, I headed for my Motherwort tincture. After taking 15 drops of this tincture and washing it down with water, I feel much better, herbs always amaze me.
Many people have written about Motherwort as improving several aspects of coronary health by improving circulation and strengthen the muscles ability to function. It will calm palpitations and normalize heart function
Motherwort is a member of the mint family and found growing wild in my back yard. Most people think of the mint family as little sweet tasting plants such as Peppermint or Spearmint but the family is extensive and some have a way of packing a punch.
Dr. James Duke has identified almost 50 constituents in Motherwort. Some of which have the ability to be: antitumor, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral and antiarrhythmic. Combined with the rest of the properties in this herb, they have the ability to assist our bodies in marvelous ways and all these constituents are organic.
Why is organic so great? Because we are organic beings so why would we put chemicals that are made from petroleum or rocks into our bodies? One of the great things about using herbs is that they contain many things making them good for handling a lot of different areas.
With nick names like "heart gold", " heart heal", "heart wort" and "heart herb", one would think that this was just a cardiac herb but Motherwort tends to handle problems in other organs. It will help the eyes, gall bladder, the nervous system and the generative organs.
In regard to the generative organs (after all it is called Motherwort) It is great at assisting with delayed menses or stopped menses and even postpartum depression. It would also be helpful for cramps and other fertility issues
Many people have written about Motherwort as improving several aspects of coronary health by improving circulation and strengthen the muscles ability to function. It will calm palpitations and normalize heart function
Motherwort is a member of the mint family and found growing wild in my back yard. Most people think of the mint family as little sweet tasting plants such as Peppermint or Spearmint but the family is extensive and some have a way of packing a punch.
Dr. James Duke has identified almost 50 constituents in Motherwort. Some of which have the ability to be: antitumor, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral and antiarrhythmic. Combined with the rest of the properties in this herb, they have the ability to assist our bodies in marvelous ways and all these constituents are organic.
Why is organic so great? Because we are organic beings so why would we put chemicals that are made from petroleum or rocks into our bodies? One of the great things about using herbs is that they contain many things making them good for handling a lot of different areas.
With nick names like "heart gold", " heart heal", "heart wort" and "heart herb", one would think that this was just a cardiac herb but Motherwort tends to handle problems in other organs. It will help the eyes, gall bladder, the nervous system and the generative organs.
In regard to the generative organs (after all it is called Motherwort) It is great at assisting with delayed menses or stopped menses and even postpartum depression. It would also be helpful for cramps and other fertility issues
Purslane
Last week I visited the Sears gardening center. Their idea of gardening is similar to present day medical treatments. Kill and remove whatever is a bother and add chemicals to assist the rest to stay healthy.
I looked at the Ortho list of pest-plants and noted that over half were my very best friends. So I picked one on the list to tell you about.
PURSLANE is a weed that most people pull out of their gardens and throw away. She is small and likes to live in tilled soil. You find her around your roses or under your tomato plants. She lays close to the ground and sends her "branches" horizontal to the ground in all directions from a central root. The tiny yellow flowers sit in a rosette of leaves.
The parts that make her stand out from all the other weeds are her leaves. They are a lot like the leaves of a Jade plant or a small oval aloe leaf. It is just this difference from the other weeds that endears her to an herbalist, for held within these leaves is Omega-3 fatty acid.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for every cell in the body. They have even been thought to inhibit breast and other forms of cancers.
One of my friends had a loss of skin pigment and wanted to know if there was an herbal combination that might be helpful. I consulted The School of Natural Healing and was reminded of Purslane with is fatty acids. It was suggested to use some of the herbs that are stimulants to get the nutrition to the cells that most needed these fatty acids. So I suggested herbs like Cayenne, Ginger, and Peppermint to get things moving.
The juice of Purslane has been used like Aloe for burns, and in combination with rose oil it has been used in the mouth for sores and loose teeth.
Purslane is also used for cardiac weakness. In some places it is even prescribed for this purpose.
The seeds are sometimes used for difficult breathing. I have found seeds to be very power foods.
Because it is so rich in vitamins and minerals, Mrs. Grieves (A noted herbalist) mentioned "that 2 to 3 ounces of Purslane a day was sufficient for a man even while undergoing great fatigue." I find this amazing and yet I have seen plants do such great things in a short period of time that my surprise is lost.
As a fresh cut herb in a salad, it adds a cooling effect to any meal. The older shoots can be put into stews and soups; they can even be pickled with salt and vinegar to have in the winter time. In Europe this plant is cultivated for this purpose. When used with Sorrel in equal parts, the French make a wonderful soup called "bonne femme"
Just think of all this nutrition that we have been throwing out or into our compost piles all these years. Herbs have so much to offer us in the way of healing and as we have just learned, they are foods. Why would we "Ortho" them?
I looked at the Ortho list of pest-plants and noted that over half were my very best friends. So I picked one on the list to tell you about.
PURSLANE is a weed that most people pull out of their gardens and throw away. She is small and likes to live in tilled soil. You find her around your roses or under your tomato plants. She lays close to the ground and sends her "branches" horizontal to the ground in all directions from a central root. The tiny yellow flowers sit in a rosette of leaves.
The parts that make her stand out from all the other weeds are her leaves. They are a lot like the leaves of a Jade plant or a small oval aloe leaf. It is just this difference from the other weeds that endears her to an herbalist, for held within these leaves is Omega-3 fatty acid.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for every cell in the body. They have even been thought to inhibit breast and other forms of cancers.
One of my friends had a loss of skin pigment and wanted to know if there was an herbal combination that might be helpful. I consulted The School of Natural Healing and was reminded of Purslane with is fatty acids. It was suggested to use some of the herbs that are stimulants to get the nutrition to the cells that most needed these fatty acids. So I suggested herbs like Cayenne, Ginger, and Peppermint to get things moving.
The juice of Purslane has been used like Aloe for burns, and in combination with rose oil it has been used in the mouth for sores and loose teeth.
Purslane is also used for cardiac weakness. In some places it is even prescribed for this purpose.
The seeds are sometimes used for difficult breathing. I have found seeds to be very power foods.
Because it is so rich in vitamins and minerals, Mrs. Grieves (A noted herbalist) mentioned "that 2 to 3 ounces of Purslane a day was sufficient for a man even while undergoing great fatigue." I find this amazing and yet I have seen plants do such great things in a short period of time that my surprise is lost.
As a fresh cut herb in a salad, it adds a cooling effect to any meal. The older shoots can be put into stews and soups; they can even be pickled with salt and vinegar to have in the winter time. In Europe this plant is cultivated for this purpose. When used with Sorrel in equal parts, the French make a wonderful soup called "bonne femme"
Just think of all this nutrition that we have been throwing out or into our compost piles all these years. Herbs have so much to offer us in the way of healing and as we have just learned, they are foods. Why would we "Ortho" them?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Fenugreek
My sister spent the summer with me. She has a lot of health problems and one of them is diabetes. The first few weeks she faithfully took her blood sugar test every day. When she was done, I would ask her what her number was that day. She would tell me and we would move on into the day.
One day my sister told me that it was a little high. It is not my place to cure anyone so I asked, "What are You going to do about it?" Her answer was to take a walk and see if that would bring it down. She mentioned that if it didn't come down then I would have to give her a shot of the insulin that she had brought with her. Sorry, but as an herbalist, I don't give shots. I don't take them either.
I went into the kitchen and put an ounce of water in a glass, poured powdered cinnamon into it and gave it to her, telling her that it was just to help until the other stuff was ready.
The other stuff consisted of Fenugreek seeds that I placed into a little water to soak. Fenugreek seeds are hard as rocks when dry but after sitting in water for a short while they soften and taste somewhat like barley or millet. While they were soaking, I went into my files and brought out the documentation that I have on them showing that they have the ability to lower blood sugar by as much as 54% in a short while.
I have since done more research on this plant or rather these seeds and find that they also bring down triglycerides and will help with cholesterol in the body. I was only aware of the blood sugar part, this was an added bonus.
After that day, my sister started to listen to her body. We are so programmed to believe a blood test but are not aware that when the body is stressed or over heats or when ones legs start talking to us, something needs to be handled. Well, these were the symptoms that my sister had when her blood sugar was high. After that day, my sister carried a small vial of seeds in water with her and took them whenever she needed. Every once in a while I would tell her that she should check her blood sugar but it was always within range.
She went home last week to live with her daughter. This daughter is married to a pharmacist so at their house she will have to take the test every day and she wasn't allowed to take any seeds home with her.
Wikipedia has a lot of information about Fenugreek including the fact that it looks like wild clover and was found in King Tutankhamen's tomb. It is used in India, Egypt and cultivated in the near East. It will increase milk in lactating women. They even mention that the plant is used during Rosh Hashanah. Wikipedia mentioned that it has shown to protect against both breast and colon cancer.
So even if you don't have diabetes, this might be a nice herb to check into.
One day my sister told me that it was a little high. It is not my place to cure anyone so I asked, "What are You going to do about it?" Her answer was to take a walk and see if that would bring it down. She mentioned that if it didn't come down then I would have to give her a shot of the insulin that she had brought with her. Sorry, but as an herbalist, I don't give shots. I don't take them either.
I went into the kitchen and put an ounce of water in a glass, poured powdered cinnamon into it and gave it to her, telling her that it was just to help until the other stuff was ready.
The other stuff consisted of Fenugreek seeds that I placed into a little water to soak. Fenugreek seeds are hard as rocks when dry but after sitting in water for a short while they soften and taste somewhat like barley or millet. While they were soaking, I went into my files and brought out the documentation that I have on them showing that they have the ability to lower blood sugar by as much as 54% in a short while.
I have since done more research on this plant or rather these seeds and find that they also bring down triglycerides and will help with cholesterol in the body. I was only aware of the blood sugar part, this was an added bonus.
After that day, my sister started to listen to her body. We are so programmed to believe a blood test but are not aware that when the body is stressed or over heats or when ones legs start talking to us, something needs to be handled. Well, these were the symptoms that my sister had when her blood sugar was high. After that day, my sister carried a small vial of seeds in water with her and took them whenever she needed. Every once in a while I would tell her that she should check her blood sugar but it was always within range.
She went home last week to live with her daughter. This daughter is married to a pharmacist so at their house she will have to take the test every day and she wasn't allowed to take any seeds home with her.
Wikipedia has a lot of information about Fenugreek including the fact that it looks like wild clover and was found in King Tutankhamen's tomb. It is used in India, Egypt and cultivated in the near East. It will increase milk in lactating women. They even mention that the plant is used during Rosh Hashanah. Wikipedia mentioned that it has shown to protect against both breast and colon cancer.
So even if you don't have diabetes, this might be a nice herb to check into.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Poison Ivy/oak
As I am not a doctor, I can not tell you what to use for poison ivy or poison oak but I know just what I will use.
First I will heat some water and put about five NETTLE tea bags in this water or a handful of fresh or dried leaves. Now to let NETTLE do its work by simmering for a short while.
Next I apply the tea bags to the areas that are itching, allowing them to sit on the skin. With a cloth dampened from this tea, I also wash the area.
The first things that will happen is that the itching will stop. Soon the toxins will be neutralized. NETTLE has the ability to do this even in the wild.
When I first learned to eat fresh NETTLE, I was taught to fold the leaf up onto itself thus breaking the spine where the antidote to the stings of this plant is found. This antidote helps with a lot of different toxins and poison ivy is just one.
Drinking NETTLE tea from time to time is helpful for neutralizing toxins inside the body.
First I will heat some water and put about five NETTLE tea bags in this water or a handful of fresh or dried leaves. Now to let NETTLE do its work by simmering for a short while.
Next I apply the tea bags to the areas that are itching, allowing them to sit on the skin. With a cloth dampened from this tea, I also wash the area.
The first things that will happen is that the itching will stop. Soon the toxins will be neutralized. NETTLE has the ability to do this even in the wild.
When I first learned to eat fresh NETTLE, I was taught to fold the leaf up onto itself thus breaking the spine where the antidote to the stings of this plant is found. This antidote helps with a lot of different toxins and poison ivy is just one.
Drinking NETTLE tea from time to time is helpful for neutralizing toxins inside the body.
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