This week's Herb of the Week is Rosemary! I did this one as a video. Check it out below and let me know which format you prefer. Video or written? Blessed Be, Shannon
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Dandelion is a herb? WHAT?! It is just a common weed that is seen as a nuisance, right? Or is it? Join me today for our Herb of the Week- Dandelion and find out so much more about this common weed.
Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale radix) are found in almost every state across America and throughout Canada. They originated from Europe, so are commonly found there as well in many countries. Though many consider this flower to be a weed, it is actually a great source of food for pollinators, like bees, and is actually completely edible for humans as well. It is a great source of vitamins and nutrients. The part of the flower most commonly used in Herbalism is the root, but one can also use the flowers, leaves, and stems. The root contains more of the active constituents, but the leaves and flower have a more mild taste and are easier to get children to take. The roots can be quite bitter. Which actually lends to one of its active constituents and therapeutic actions, a bitter. Bitters are herbs used to stimulate digestion and appetite and they do so through the bitter taste. Cool, huh? The active constituents of Dandelion are, bitters, diterpenes, sesquiterpene, lactones, polysaccharides, nutrients, phytosterols, and flavonoids. The therapeutic actions we usually use it for are being a gentle laxative, a digestive, a cholagogue, hepatic, bitter tonic, depurative, antirheumatic, and anti-inflammatory. A cholagogue is a herb that works on stimulating the gallbladder. A hepatic is a herb that works on supporting the liver. A depurative is a herb with detoxing effects. This means it helps your liver or kidneys work more efficiently at removing toxins from your system. Antirheumatics are a type of herb that helps with swelling, heat, and pain in joints. These are used to commonly treat arthritis. As you can already see from this list, Dandelion could have a great many uses, across many different body systems. So, how do I use Dandelion in my practice? I pretty much toss it in fucking everything! LOL Not really, but it is so useful, it is on the herbs I make sure to always have well stocked. It gets a good bit of use in my practice as women who have had children generally have more issues with their liver and gallbladder afterwards and this is a very effective herb in helping the body deal with those issues and heal them. One of my most common uses is as a decoction (remember this is a form of tea where you boil the root in the water to extract its constituents, instead of pouring boiling water over it.) taken as needed for constipation. This is usually a short term use, meaning a week or so, to get things moving. Once things are going, the use is stopped as one does not want to become dependent on laxatives. It is especially useful in individuals who have chronic constipation issues. It works by stimulating the production of bile, which has laxative properties. "But," you say, "I don't have a gallbladder any longer. Will this still work?" YES, it sure as hell will. Why? Because bile is actually produced by your liver. Your gallbladder is just a storage vessel for bile. It allows the body to store it up and then secretes it when needed, such as after a meal. When your gallbladder is removed, one might notice that it takes some time for the body to regulate how much bile and when its secreted without the gallbladder being present. Many notice they must run to the bathroom almost immediately after eating. This is because the body isn't used to not having that stop gap there. The liver secretes all the bile you need for that meal and the gallbladder usually stores it all and secretes it in bits. Without the gallbladder, the liver just dumps that all into the intestines at once! I also use it for individuals who have gastroparesis or other forms of slower digestion. Its bitter actions, help to prime the digestive system by causing it to start secreting digestive enzymes ahead of time. In this usage, I recommend a cup of dandelion tea 30-60 minutes before each meal. It is also very safe during pregnancy and is used to help with nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness. Again, a cup of tea before meals may help or if that is too much for ones system, then a tincture can be taken instead. It also helps during pregnancy to keep the liver and gallbladder working properly so one avoids cholestasis. This is a where the gallbladder stops functioning properly and the bile just builds up leading to excess bilirubin in the bloodstream. This condition initially presents with itchy palms and soles of ones feet and if left untreated, moves on to jaundice and can lead to the chances of fetal death. YIKES! A daily infusion of dandelion tea can be very useful in preventing that from happening. Some of the other ways I use Dandelion in my practice is for postpartum women. It helps regulate the postpartum hormones. If you have ever had a baby, then you know those postpartum hormones are a bitch! It can be a very rough transition for many, many women. It can also be made into a hydrosol and used on the face as a wash to help with acne. And used in cases of arthritis to help reduce inflammation in the joints by helping the eliminatory organs of the body rid the body of the waste causing the inflammation (ie: dead white blood cells etc.) How does one dose Dandelion? As mentioned above the most common way is via a decoction. 2-3 teaspoons of the dried root to 8 ounces (240ml) of water. Boil the root in the water for 20 minutes, strain, and drink. Take up to 3 times a day. One can also take a tincture of the herb as well. The dose is anywhere from 1-5 ml/cc of the 1:5 tincture, taken up to 3 times a day. And as always, please consult myself, another Herbalist, or your medical doctor before taking any herbs to ensure they will not interfere with any prescription medications you are taking. And if you purchase a tincture from a store, please make sure it is the same herb to alcohol ratio (1:5) as mentioned above. If the the number on the right is less than 5, please consult me for appropriate dosing as that is a stronger tincture and requires a different dosing amount. Are there any reasons why shouldn't take Dandelion? YES! If you have a history of an obstructed gallbladder or bile ducts, please avoid taking Dandelion. It acts swiftly on the liver to produce bile and if your gallbladder is backed up then overproducing bile will not end well for the gallbladder and you will end up in the hospital. In conclusion, one can see what an awesome herb a common weed actually is and the power it has to assist the body in so many different ways. Herbalists the world over, prize this common weed, and many others as well, for its abilities to do so much for so many. You can see why I keep it well stocked in my dispensary. Have you used Dandelion successfully for any health issues? Comment below and let me know. I love hearing from my readers on their successful use of herbs. Blessed Be, Shannon You might have heard about chamomile's amazing ability as a calming tea for bedtime, but do you know what else it is renowned for? Find out this week in The Nomad's Apothecary, Herb of the Week series. German chamomile (Chamomilla recuita or Chamomile matricaria) is a wonderfully soothing herb. The flowers are used to achieve the therapeutic actions. The active constituents in German Chamomile are volatile oil, flavonoids, tannins, cyanogenic, and glycosides. The therapeutic actions associated with German Chamomile are anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, anti-ulcer, bitter, carminative, digestive, anxiolytic, nervine, sedative, vulnerary, diaphoretic, and antimicrobial. As most of you know, Chamomile tea is one often recommended for people wanting to help with insomnia or calm children. Chamomile is also found frequently in natural diaper rash creams and also in gripe water for babies/children. But why is that? What action listed above can do all those things? Well, for the helping with insomnia thing, the sedative and nervine actions are the ones responsible for that. A sedative does just what it sounds like, it sedates. The nervine action, helps calm an over active nervous system and calm a racing brain so one can sleep. Now, it also helps children in gripe water. That would be the carminative and digestive action. Carminative means it helps dispel trapped and built up gas in the intestines. Colic is theorized that it is caused from trapped gas in the intestines. So you can see why this would be so helpful for soothing a colicky newborn. But, it is also used in diaper rash cream. How does it work there? The anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and vulnerary actions are seen at work here. It will soothe inflamed skin, keep infection at bay, and help heal any open areas. WOW! German chamomile is like the one size fits all herb, huh? In adults and children alike, Chamomile is a soothing, cooling, anti-spasmodic herb that has an affinity for conditions of the digestive system that are triggered by stress. These can include IBS, crohn's, and colitis. It has been used for digestive upsets, infections of the digestive system, IBS, trapped gas, colic, indigestion and heartburn, nausea and vomiting (including for morning sickness!), and for soothing stomach ulcers. Chamomile is a very good herb for the GI tract and one I reach for quite often. But it can also be used for assisting the nervous system when its overwhelmed and feeling weak. Chamomile can help with stress, anxiety, and tension, because it is very calming to the nervous system. It has also been used to successfully treat headaches, migraines, and insomnia. It can also be used to soothe an inflamed or infected urinary system and its antimicrobial properties are also known to soothe respiratory infections. Its a great herb to take if one has painful menstrual cycles as its antispasmodic actions are very effective on menstrual cramps. When made into an external preparation, it can help deal with inflammation, ulcers, burns, and skin infections. Wow. Chamomile is so fucking useful! I use it very often in my practice and find myself reaching for it often for my own health issues as well as my family's. I absolutely adore the versatility of this herb. Now, how to dose this herb? The best way is always through a water based or alcohol based extraction (infusion/tea or tincture). Infusion dosing: 2 teaspoons of the dried flowers per 8 ounces (240 ml) of boiling water. Pour water over dried herbs in a mug and let steep for 20 minutes, covered. Strain and drink up to 3 times a day. Tincture dosing: 1-4 ml/cc of the 1:5 tincture up to three times a day. Remember that all tinctures purchased should have the strength of herbs to alcohol on the bottle (the 1:5 number), any number lower than 5, please consult myself or another Master Herbalist, on how to dose that tincture as it is stronger and needs special dosing.
And as always, please consult with myself, another Master Herbalist, or your medical doctor before taking any herb to make sure it doesn't interfere with any prescription medications you might be taking. The only contraindication (reason it can't be taken) is anyone with allergies to plants in the asteraceae family may react to this herb. That family includes, ragweed, thistle, dandelions, goldenrod, sagebrush, yarrow and more. What have you used German Chamomile for successfully? Share your stores in the comments below. I love hearing how the power of herbs has helped you, my readers. Blessed Be, Shannon Welcome to the first in my Herbal Health Series: Disease of the Month. I am so excited you came to join us today.
This Herbal Health Series will have a monthly post about a disease that is commonly found more often in woman, how it presents, symptoms, and how herbs can be used to help in these diseases, along with other holistic therapies. Grab a pen and paper, throw on some easy listening music, and get ready to dive in deep with me. Our very first Disease of the Month is Fibromyalgia. If you are one of the 4 million people, the majority being women, who suffer from this, then you understand just how debilitating and devastating this disease can be. For those of you not familiar with fibromyalgia, it is a debilitating condition characterized by intense pain all over the body. Some individuals have the pain localized to one spot, but that seems to be a rare presentation. Ouch! Fibromyalgia is very hard to get diagnosed. This is because it's a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning they have ruled out everything else it might be, and this is the only one left, so it must be that. That is not very comforting to many people. It feels like it's hardly a real diagnosis when there isn't a test result that says definitively that "Yep, its fibromyalgia!" As of this writing, February of 2021, there is still no definitive test one can have run to determine that it truly is fibromyalgia and not something else entirely. So, just why is it so hard to diagnose? Well, the symptoms are fairly vague and can be symptoms of a great many diseases. The main symptoms that an individual presents with to the herbalist or doctor are crushing fatigue, muscle stiffness, increased pain sensitivity, reduced concentration, brain fog, poor memory, headaches, insomnia, and commonly IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) as well. Many also have anxiety, depression, TMJ, and tension headaches. Right now off the top of my head I can name 5 other disorders and diseases that have those exact same symptoms. This is why it is so difficult to pinpoint and treat. Well, hell, you might be thinking, if they can hardly even diagnose it, how in the fuck can they treat it? That is a very good question. Modern medicines go to for treatment is to treat the symptoms. They will prescribe narcotic pain medications for the pain, sleeping pills for the insomnia, anti-depressants for the brain fog and fatigue and depression and anxiety, and as needed pills for the IBS symptoms. And while this helps a lot of people, it doesn't work for everyone. And many fear becoming dependent of the narcotics. Anyone who has had that happen, knows 2 things. 1. they are very, very hard to get off of. 2. when you stop taking them you get rebound pain, meaning that your body actually hurts WORSE than it did before you ever started on them. YIKES! So, how is coming to see myself or another Master Herbalist going to be any different than seeing a modern medicine doctor? Well, the first thing I do is go searching for the root cause of why you have developed fibromyalgia. What am I talking about, huh? Well, simply put there is usually a root cause, a reason, why you developed fibromyalgia. That isn't something that is normally even mentioned much less treated in the modern medicine world. Some common reasons one develops fibromyalgia are an event such as physical trauma, surgery, infection, or significant psychological stress. In some cases, symptoms build up gradually without an event or trigger being able to be identified. Researchers believe that a triggering event causes the spinal cord and brain to get out of sync with how they process and relay to you painful and non painful signals. And anyone who has fibromyalgia will tell you that they also have triggers that cause flare-ups. What could constitute a trigger? Well, poor diet or a change in your diet from your normal, hormones (and it affects women more who have hormonal changes monthly? Great!), physical or psychological stress, change in your schedule, sleep pattern change, change in weather or temperature, and lack of exercise. And, of course, one may have things that trigger them, that are different from this list or not included. Ok, so we find the root cause after a detailed health history assessment and prolonged discussion (called a consultation.) Now what? The way we treat it with herbs is based on your own root cause, your triggers, and your symptoms. Below, I will detail a generic baseline treatment, but know that if you came to see me for this particular disease, you would get a much more personalized approach. For a baseline treatment, here are the therapeutic actions we go for and the herbs in each category that are best known for those actions and their ability to help fibromyalgia. Therapeutic actions used in treating Fibromyalgia with herbs:
Also, I would usually recommend, based on root cause, Therapy to help deal with any trauma that may have caused the beginnings of this as well as to help deal with the emotional impact one receives from having an "invisible" illness that is also highly misunderstood. Not just by lay people but also the medical community at large. I would also highly recommend monthly or bi monthly visits with a massage therapist, chiropractic care, acupuncture, osteopathy, and perhaps a support group. I also refer individuals to personal trainers to help them develop an exercise plan that will get you moving and keep you moving, even on flare days. As contradictory as it sounds, pain is made worse by immobility. Muscles need to move to help lubricate the joints and stretch out sore spots. Overall, my job as a Master Holistic Herbalist, is to find the root cause, treat the root cause, treat the symptoms, triggers, and flares, as well as the mind and spirit of my client as well. I treat the entire person to get them back to optimal health. Modern medicine states there is no cure for fibromyalgia, and that may be true, but the many women I have put on the above protocol, with personalization, have had so much improvement that they say that fibromyalgia is no longer the defining factor in how they have to approach life. Isn't that amazing?!! Fuck yes! Even though fibromyalgia is still a fairly misunderstood disease in the modern medicine world, one can easily find hope in the holistic approach of a herbal treatment plan. Do you suffer from fibromyalgia? What herbs have worked for you? Any other secrets or tips you want to share for others to try? Comment below! Blessed Be, Shannon *And as always, before starting any of the herbs above on your own, please consult myself, another Master Herbalist, or your medical doctor to discuss the potential interactions with any prescribed medications you may currently be taking.* You might have heard all about Saw Palmetto being good for men's reproductive health, but did you know it is also very useful for women's reproductive health as well? WHAT?!! No way! Yes, way! Come explore more below.
The common name for this herb is Saw Palmetto. It has gained a lot of popularity, even in the modern medicine community, for its ability to help me with prostate issues, reproductive issues, and more. The Latin binomial is Serenoa repens. This herb is found growing wild throughout North America. When using it for medicinal purposes, one uses the berries. The active constituents (the chemicals in the plant that lend to its healing properties) in Saw Palmetto are phytosterols, polysaccharides, fatty acids, and resins. The therapeutic actions (those actions for which we tend to reach for Saw Palmetto) that are most prominant are antiandrogenic, anti-inflammatory, adaptogenic, nutritivie, decongestant, demulcent, immunostimulant, and aphrodisiac. In this case, the decongestant is referring to its ability to decongest the urinary tract system and the kidneys, especially when one is suffering from a UTI. (urinary tract infection.) Traditionally, Saw Palmetto was used by the Native American communities to help with erectile dysfunction, impotence, infertility, and urinary tract infections. They would also dry the berries out and grind them into a powder which they then used to make cakes to be eaten and help with dysentery and stomachaches. As you see, it was used in a very versatile way. How do I use Saw Palmetto in my practice? Well, as mentioned above, it is very well known for helping to regulate testosterone levels and protect the health of the prostate in the process. It keeps the prostate from enlarging. So, since I treat women, how does this help? Saw Palmetto works very well in women suffering from PCOS and acne caused by imbalanced hormones. PCOS is a condition where the body creates way too many cysts on the ovaries and this impairs their normal function. The ovaries are responsible for regulating the amount of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in the bloodstream. Well, when this gets impaired by so many cysts, it means that estrogen is not produced as well and testosterone levels increase. This is why so many women who suffer from PCOS start developing facial hair and acne. Its like you are becoming a teenage male! Fuck that. Saw Palmetto can therefore be given to women to help regulate the levels of testosterone down to where they are supposed to be. This in turn can help with infertility issues that are occurring from PCOS, as it decreases excess androgens. How cool is that?? It is also very useful in the treatment of UTI's, as it is an anti-inflammatory and will soothe an inflamed urinary tract from infection. As women are more prone to UTI's, you can imagine, this herb sees a lot of use here at The Nomad Apothecary. Saw Palmetto can also be used for other systems of the body. It can help increase appetite when one is having a poor appetite caused by different issues. It is used to calm the body and the mind as a calming adaptogen. It is also used when someone has lost a significant amount of weight from disease or health issues and have become weak and debilitated. It helps strengthen the constitution. So, how in the hell does one take this herb? You will see the most common form in natural food stores and supplement shops, which is capsules. Capsules are an easy way to get it in for sure. I recommend getting your capsules from a Master Herbalist as you can then guarantee you are getting exactly what is advertised and not something cut with a different herb. Commercial manufacturers are not required to mention if they add other herbs in or not and make them a blend. There is no real oversight on their process. If you choose this method, proceed with caution. If you notice it isn't helping after a month or you are having adverse reactions, contact myself or another Master Herbalist and obtain your supply from them. The other way to take it is via a water extraction. In this case, a decoction. The what? Good question. A decoction is where one boils the herb in the water, instead of just boiling water alone and then pouring it over the herbs. A decoction is used when you are using the dried berries, fruits, or roots of a herb/plant. It really helps get through the tough outer skin/layer and pull the active constituents out into the water. In this case you will take 2-4 teaspoons of the dried berries to 8 ounces (240 ml) of water. Place all in a pan and bring to a gentle boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes. You can drink up to 3 cups a day. The other way to take Saw Palmetto, and also one of the easiest. is via tincture, an alcohol based extraction. You will want to take 1-2 ml/cc of a 1:5 tincture up to 3 times a day. As always, check the bottle for the extraction ratio used, if you choose a commercial tincture. If the number after the 1 is less than 5, this requires special dosing as it is stronger. Please contact me or another Master Herbalist for dosing. The only know contraindication (reason you cannot take this) is that one should not take it if they are currently lactating. And, as always, before starting any new herb please consult either myself, another Master Herbalist, or your medical doctor to make sure it will not interfere with any prescribed medicines you may be taking. So, in conclusion, Saw Palmetto is an invaluable herb in my practice and for you. Its ability to assist in the reproductive system is above and beyond almost any other herb used for this body system. It is a herb that definitely pulls it weight. Have you tried Saw Palmetto? How has it helped you? Comment below and let me know. I love hearing how herbs have helped my readers and clients. Blessed Be, Shannon |
AuthorShannon, master herbalist, shares her thoughts, educational information, and more. Archives
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