Herb Journal: Hawthorn

6/21/13
Hawthorne Berries, Leaves & Stems, that's what I just made a decoction of, and it's an interesting mish mosh of flavors & characteristics. That's why I would recommend, to ANYONE that they decide what they want a tea of before proceeding with the hawthorn plant tea. The initial taste is quite astringent, so much so, that it makes you cringe. But the aftertaste makes you want more. Its one of those strange things... but its not that strange. The astringent aspect comes from the leaves, but the red berries are quite sweet, so its that that leaves the aftertaste, you have this aftertaste of tart, sweet berries. Hmmm.
So hawthorn leaves, not surprisingly, are known for their astringent properties. But it appears that the berry is most often used as a heart tonic. This herb is known as the best one for heart maladies across the board. From rapid heartbeat, to a weak heartbeat... any abnormal heart action can be regulated with regular consumption of the tea of this plant, which is known as a general "heart strengthener". It also aids in several issues one may have as a result of poor circulation, from cerebral circulatory disturbances to hemhorroids. This is the herb recommended most for high blood pressure. If you are just drinking a tea of the berries, I wouldn't complain. Only a few minutes after my last sip, I'm thinking its kind of sugary tasting even.
This herbs lifts burdens off the heart as well, and acts on the heart on an emotional/spiritual/phsychological level. It eases emotional/spiritual heartache, and related irritable and nervous conditions and stomach complaints. It opens the heart to forgiveness of others or of life events that may be preventing a persons healing process. Pretty cool. I can definitely see it. My hemhorroids are shrinking, and I'm starting to forgive my ex boyfriend for being such a deuchebag. Hmmm. Just kidding.
But I like the flavor and would definitely give it a chance. Since it is a tonic, it can't hurt to drink it on a regular basis.
It's constituents are:
Saponins
Glycosides
Flavanoids
Ascorbic Acid (and other acids)
Tannins
Because it stimulates blood circulation in general, and part of this is to the brain (as you age, the bloodflow to the brain decreases, which is what causes memory problems that are common as people age). For the increase of blood to the brain, and the task of improving memory function, hawthorn is best combined with Ginko Biloba.
In certain traditions Hawthorne was used to increase fertility. I will have to research that further to see if scientific studies have been done to verify this.

Hibiscus, Pink Rosebud, Lemongrass & Orange Peel Tea. Vitamin C tranquilizer.

6/19/13

I have to just say, THIS IS MY FAVORITE TEA EVER (for now.. I'm just starting my foray into tea-land). I have always loved hibiscus, ever since I discovered the Mexican drink they call Jamaica, which is basically just hibiscus flower tea served cold & sweetened wtih sugar. I don't recommend the sugar, but the flavor was unforgettable. It's not something that everyone loves off the bat.. or ever, but for me.. it was love at first sip. I had to find the source of the Jamaica.. and it led me to the hibiscus flower. I hunted it down at the local health food store.. this was years ago.. and made my first hibiscus tea. I've been hooked ever since.
Hibiscus is insanely high in vitamin C. It's a GREAT source. If you are feeling sick or like your immune system needs some help, go get some hibiscus tea. You can eat and drink your vitamins. It's easy and more pleasant, and drinking hibiscus tea is one great example.
Plus, its red. Which, is pretty cool. Who doesn't like a red drink? It's just exotic. It really is a beautiful color, but that's just part of the fun. Red teas have been making somewhat of a statement lately.. becoming more well known among the tea drinking populace. Roobois is another good example. You see that almost everywhere.
Today my body just wanted some hibiscus. It's insanely hot here (in New Mexico) at this time of year, and my body needed something insanely refreshing. I have been drinking more medicinal teas, since I've been also experimenting on formulas for my roommates cough, and then drinking the miracle teas myself as a result.. but today was the day for Hibiscus, and just vitamin C in general. Plus, the past few days, I have found myself adding herbs in the rose family to my teas. Yesterday was Rose Hips, Rose Buds, Rosemary and Echinacea.
Today the Hibiscus took the place of rose hips (both super high in Vitamin C), added orange peel, lemongrass and Pink Rose Buds. This was not only an absolutely beautiful tea to watch floating around in the pot, but one of the most amazing mixtures of flavors and health benefitting qualities I have impulsively put together on a whim. A instinctive whim, though.
The rose buds are sooooo relaxing. The smell is incomparable. There is no aroma like that of rose. A lof of people don't think you can drink rose petals. WELL YOU CAN. When we went on our plant walks at Truth or Consequences, NM.. it was UNBELIEVABLE the amount of leaves, flowers, bark & fruits you find in the wilderness, or even growing in your backyard, that you would NEVER think to eat or make into a tea. We are so incredibly detached from nature, we have no clue. It's not just for people who are lost in the wilderness... we are actually MISSING OUT by not knowing about these things we can eat. Instead we just drive through the Mc Donald's drive through. As if that's more convenient. More convenient than eating plants that grow in our backyard. Yup.
Pink rose bud tea is AMAZING. It is soothing and relaxing and healing and just picks up your mood immeasurably. You throw the whole buds in there, the petals, the tiny leaves that protect them and a tiny bit of stem ... and its a beautiful thing. If you think that giving or receiving roses is romantic, try drinking them. You will be happily surprised.

Muscle Salve: Less is More

6/17/13

I'm starting to realize (although I think I had mentioned it in a previous post) that I don't HAVE to put every herb a la, "the kitchen sink" into all of my recipes. Simply put, sometimes less is more. Or more is just excess... It's not necessary. I made this awesome muscle salve, but had the lack of foresight to put way too much camphor essential oil into it. I just didn't realize what a little drop of that powerful stuff can do in a small jar of salve. So.. I put it on... I won't give anything to anyone without trying it out on myself first.. and well, it was kind of intense, itchy, burny... and so.. back to the drawing board. I decided to scoop them out of the small jars, put them back into a mason jar, and place it with an open lid, into extremely hot water, hoping to evaporate the camphor out of the oil... it helped a bit, but not enough, so I added some more oil that I had already made of arnica, rose hip, lavender, chamomile & calendula. Still... too strong. Idea #2. Add copious amounts of rice bran oil and avocado oil, just to dilute it more. I was thinking it would be okay but I poured it into JUST ONE salve container (because at this point, I know better... there are only so many times you can scoop salve out of small bottles, and clean them out, only to start over), tried it last night and today, and I have to say.. its still pretty menthol-y. Now, some people might like it strong.. but the person I was making it for originally... it's hard to say how I know this, but its something that we learn to tap into as holistic practicioners.. its evaluating a patient's constitution. There is an ayurvedic way to diagnose personality traits and match them with "medications" that will be pleasing and in accordance with their .. what is called ones dosha in Ayurvedic Medicine. Your dosha is your make-up, constitution, body type, personality type.. all of these things combined, you can sort of tell what will bother and what will be pleasing to a certain person without even having to talk to them much at all. It's a method of evaluation, and once you understand it, it makes PERFECT SENSE. So, based on this woman's dosha, and I can tell you this intuitively, she would get a rash from too much camphor. It would irritate her skin, and she would most likely come back to the doctor and say it's too strong. I can just tell. So... I'm going back to another method. I'm infusing calendula, lavender, lemon balm and chamomile in almond oil. These, even on their own, will have a calming effect on the muscle tissue. Almond oil is very mild and is nourishing and calming for the skin. These four herbs alone would relax the body (and mind) effectively, and these are all herbs that are very gentle & mild on the skin. I will probably add a bit of wild lettuce (an intense muscle relaxer.. known as the herbal opiate), and possibly some wild willow bark (known as the herbal "aspirin"), neither of which has properties that can or would irritate the skin. Despite the fact that the "mints": peppermint, spearmint, plus eucalyptus and camphor are widely used to relax muscles, I have to be careful with these... use them sparingly, or as herbs, and be really really careful about the super potent essential oils that I might add to any salve. This is my lesson for the day. I look forward for helping my patient Mercedes get out of pain soon, so that she can stand on her feet for hours at work and not suffer from the nuisance of chronic muscle pain.

Chicory Root Tea

Yesterday it was dandelion, today its chicory root. My body is telling me that it needs tonic (or blood strengthening herbs), of which these are both. This herb/root supports liver function, increases the secretion of bile from the gall bladder (aiding digestion), helps stabilize bloood sugar, is rich in beta-carotene, and is calms rapid heartbeat.. no wonder it is good for balancing the stimlulating effects of coffee. It is also a diuretic, anti-inflammatory (decreases swelling & inflammation), antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant & laxative. I've definitely been feeling a lot of stress lately, and these herbs that support the liver definitely suit the purpose.
Contains:
Highly concentrated levels of inulin  (a soluble fiber that feeds digestive flora in the intestines)
Polyphenol (good for cardiovascular system and inflammation)

Chicory root tea is really good. It just tastes really good. It doesn't need to be sweetened at all, and has a grounding, and stablizing effect. If you feel like your thoughts are all over the place, and you can't seem to calm yourself down, chicory root tea is amazing. Plus, aside from calming me down (most likely due to its effect of balancing out the stimulating effects of caffeine - I drank too much coffee today), due to its functional uses supporting an array of vital body functions and organs, its a super tea to drink daily. You make this tea as a decoction: Add a tsp of chicory root to a cup or two of boiling water, reduce to a low simmer, leave for 15 minutes, let steep for 15 minutes or more.

Regional Herb of the Week: Chapparal. Southwestern Herb Series

6/15/13

Chapparal: Herbs of the Southwest Series

Since I've been in New Mexico, I've heard names of herbs that I was previously unfamiliar with. This has been happening, on occasion, and since I consider msyelf to be pretty knowledgeable about herbs, it throws me for a loop when it does. I shortly discovered that the reason for this has to do with the regional plant life here. Certain herbs, that grow in this region, are well known here. And widely used in this area. But outside of the Southwest US, they just don't get the same hype. Understandable. A few such herbs are chaparral, which seemed to be a plant known to all of my peers who live in these parts, and which posed a big question mark in my head... Osha, and a few others. But I'm going to start with Chaparral. For several reasons: 1. We harvested it on our field trip to Truth Or Consequences, so I have a bag of dried chaparral from that trip. 2. They sell a salve of it (just pure chaparral) at the school store, which means, it must be a good one (and commonly known & used, as I observed), 3. When I was in the store, a man came in and said he used it in combination with pine sap & a cyst beneath his skin that had been bothering him for years on and off, just came right out of his skin and never pestered him again (testimony to its efficacy). 4. everyone knows what this herb is but me. 5. I like the name of it. Chaparral, kind of pretty, though I can never seem to remember it off of the top of my head. So here goes:
It is anti-microbial. So, good for preventing or thwarting skin infections. Useful as topical antibiotic.
Helps impaired liver metabolism, symptoms of which would be dry skin, brittle hair & nails, cracks in the feet or hands, trouble digesting oils
Counteracts liver and lung damage to the system by free radicals.
Combined with milk thistle, strenthens the liver.
Alleviates:
joint pain
allergies
autoimmune diseases
PMS
It has been claimed to fight cancer however tests have shown to be inconclusive (some even showing stimulation of cancer cells... )
*The taste of chapparal is known to be intolerable, so it is not recommended to use it in tea form. If you want to use it internally, a tincture is the recommended form.

How to Sneak Iron Into Your Diet & Like It

If you are like me, you tend towards the anemia, which is just plaintly put, a low amount of iron in your blood. This can cause fatigue and easy bruising, and can also make it so that you just get hurt more easily. Iron fortifies the blood, among other things, and is necessary for a balanced diet, and a healthy internal environment. I don't eat white rice much, or several other sources of iron that would balance the situation out a bit, such as nuts, beans, liver, sardines, or red meat. I do eat leafy greens, but not enough to make up for everything else that I don't eat. So, when my body calls for iron, I have some time saving techniques, which don't require much preparation, or the swallowing of big iron pills, which will give you a really bad stomach and/or headache, and are just plain gross in my opinion. Anyways its always better to get your nutrients from food than from pills, or vitamin supplements. Your body absorbs them better, and plus, its just a better way to get your vitamins. I personally don't like swallowing horse pills, or those hard chalky vitamins.
Today I am incorporating iron into my drink, by using molasses to sweeten it. Not everybody likes molasses, so much like kale, which is a food most people don't enjoy unless prepared in a way that makes it more palatable, you have to mix it with ingredients that balance it out. Then it becomes both nutritous and enjoyable. Molasses is extremely high in iron, and a small dose of it can be very effective. Because I enjoy lime juice coolers, I tend to make several variations of it depending on how i'm feeling that particular day and what my body is calling for.
Today's Lime Cooler with Molasses & Ginger:
1/4 cup of lime juice (my favorite store bought brand is Santa Cruz Organic Pure Lime Juice)
2 tbsp molasses (my favorite brand is Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Molasses)
5-10 drops of ginger tincture
1 quart of water

Molasses is high in calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron, so it has a great mix of things your body needs to function at its optimum capacity.
The lime juice balances out the intense flavor of the molasses, which can be a bit hard to swallow on it's own, since it's extremely pungant and goopy. And the ginger lightens up the whole blend, making it an exceptionally good drink both for your taste buds, for hydration (trace minerals calcium, potassium, selenium, iron & manganese contribute to and help the body's absorption of elecrolytes that help to hydrate the body as well), and for all around nutritional benefit. Molasses is rich in B vitamins, which are key to healthy neurological function. It also contains choline, which prevents the buildup of fats & cholesterol in the liver. Put in a plastic bottle, shake (or in a pitcher & mix), pour over ice & enjoy!
* Tip: Molasses doesn't blend easily with cold or room temperature liquids, so you may have to shake it to blend it well. Another option is to put it in a blender to ensure it's consistency. Using a spoon to stir may be a bit laborious, and the molasses can (and probably will) stick to the spoon (which isn't the end of the world, I'm just saying..). Drinking this daily is a great way to get the (iron, in particular for me) and other essential nutriets into your diet without too much worry.

Finding Wild Lettuce in my Backyard. Nature's Opiate

6/14/13
This is not your everyday lettuce. No. You don't want to make a salad with this. Oh no. First of all, this sucker is a prickly little leaf. It has tiny needles all over the outside of the leaves and along the spine. It can seriously stab you if you grab it. Handle with care. There is another reason to handle with care, and this is that, this plant is known as "natures opium". I found out about this while researching herbs to use as muscle relaxants in the muscle salve I'm making for the chiropractor's office. This seemed to be the one. So i went on a mission to find it. Anything that says "opiate" in the description must be a pretty damned good muscle relaxer. So... I'm gonna add it, and kick those muscles butts. I had already found "natures aspirin", or wild willow bark the day previous, so I've got to get them both. I've got people in pain to help with arthritis, and other people in pain to help with severe muscle pain. The plan is to make their lives easier. I have high hopes for this herb.
Of course, some people would think to smoke this herb, which you can.. go ahead. Others, might want to make a tea with it. I might, some day, to try it out. But my plan is to add it to the muscle salve. I couldn't find the herb anywhere.
But then I went to school, and the owner of the shop at the school said they didn't have any there, but there just happened to be a big beautiful healthy plant growing in the front lawn. It took a bit of negotiating, but I managed to get some of the wild lettuce from the front yard at the school. That was super nice of him, and well, he's a super nice guy. He charged me $4, told me to make sure to dry it well before I soaked it in oil and off I went.
When I got back home and explained the situation to my roomie, he said he thought that this stuff grew wild around here. Not being the most focused on the botany aspect of herbalism (at least not for now) I had no clue. Figuring he had no idea what he was talking about, I shrugged it off, and planned to order some from an online distributor. But something interesting happened the next day. I had put the leaves in a paper bag on the windowsill hoping they would be dry by the morning. I woke up to find they were definitely not, and I wanted to get moving on the salve, so I tore open the bag, and put them outside in the scorching sun to dry. It wasn't windy, but I did know that I was taking a chance. If a gust of wind came through, the leaves would scatter all over the backyard, and I would be assed out. But I didn't care, i was totally focused on getting them dry to be smart about it. So.. I left them there to bake in the sun and waited in anticipation for them to get crispy. But then I started to make the tea for my next batch of kombucha.. and suddenly I remembered, oh boy, I'd better check on the wild lettuce.
They weren't there. The bag was nowhere to be seen. So I went on a scavenger hunt. AND GUESS WHAT I FOUND? I found that the plant was growing all over the backyard! And there are also a few little ones in the front yard! Not only does this plant "grow wild" around here... it grows wild in my yard. Wow! This is some pretty cool news. I had a nice lesson in botany.. I had to whip out the store bought wild lettuce and get intimate with the details to compare it to the plant that was growing in the backyard... and yep! wouldn't you know it! God only knows what my roomie will end up doing with all of this "nature's opium"... I may end up having to take him to rehab at some point, but for now, I'm just happy to have a resource like that in the backyard. Plus, its inspiring to learn about the local habitat here, and see how medicine can be growing in your own backyard and you might not even know it! Signing off for tonight. Sweet (non blue vervain induced) dreams.