FURTHER READING:

Learning about herbs is a very personal experience, so I want all of our readers to have a chance to be involved.  Contact me with any specific questions, send me your artwork, tell me how your homework went, or suggest an article topic!  courtney@riseup.net

DECEMBER TEA

I don’t know about you, but I sure have been getting sick a lot this month.  And last month.  And the month before.  What is this all about, people?  It’s time to put our feet down for a darn good tea!

2 part Peppermint

1 part Echninacea leaf and root

1 part Elderflower

½ t per cup Licorice root

Put 2 to 4 teaspoons in your tea strainer, steep in your tea water just until

it's cool enough to drink piping hot. The volatile oils in the peppermint really open up and cleanse the sinuses, and help warm you up.  The echinacea will get your immune system back in action.  The elderflower is for opening up channels in the body—including the pores for sweating, and detox, which is also useful for breaking the fever in a flu.  Licorice is a gentle immune tonic, and it sweetens up the tea for an even friendlier flavor. I love this tea because it’s tasty, simple, and it’s great for cold and flu symptoms.

HERBAL HOMEWORK

Week #1:

Admire a plant this week.  Find it in a crack, an abandoned lot, in the yard, in the woods, find it alive and admire it.  Draw it, smell it, feel it, be alive with the plant.

Week #2

Choose a dinner to cook with a single herb. Devote the night to this herb and use your senses to absorb its purpose in life. 

Week #3

Bath time with Herbs!  Take a bath tonight.  Bring one herb buddy with you in the form of a steeped tea added right to the bathwater or an essential oil.  There’s not a lot to do in the bath but revel in the scent and feel of your new herb friend.  Don’t worry about getting too intimate—you can ask it on a second date right away!

COMMON IMMUNE-ENHANCING HERBS

(Fast-o-list)

Astragalus, Cat’s claw, Echinacea, Garlic, Ginseng (Asian, American and Siberian), Licorice, Bupleurum, Shizandra, Ashwaganda

Remember: they’re all different and used in different ways for different things!

IMMUNE RESOURCES

Mother Nature (.) com

Herbs Demystified Holly Phnaeuf

Vitamins Health

Plants are Green, Science is Gold

On science and herbalism

By Delphinia - Purple & Gray

12.14.2009

An interview with Brad Averill,

Biologist, and owner of Wildtime Foods

At my partner’s family reunion this year I met up with cousin Brad, whom I knew owned Grizzlies Granola out of Eugene, Oregon and his old, sweet dog.  I was in the middle of a farm internship up the valley from Eugene and was getting ready to go back to school to finish up a degree in botany at the time.  I learned that Brad held a degree in Botany and  I told him how I am torn between loving the scientific aspect of botany but also that I don’t want to trade science in for my spiritual connection with plants.  He did not seem surprised at this, and went on to say that he thought learning about plants was indeed a spiritual process for him as well. 

Delphinia: Brad, I'm going back to school to finish my botany degree. I understand that you also have a degree in botany. What pushed you towards that?

Brad: I went towards botany for a couple reasons. One is that I love biology but I hate dissecting animals. That kind of steered me towards botany! But, more than that, I love plants. In particular, I love trees. I feel a spirit in trees. Not an animal spirit but a presence. A tree

casts a mood in its place; trees calm me down. They do for me what I think the vastness of a cathedral is supposed to do for Catholics. I grew up in Ohio and loved sitting under a spreading black walnut tree. The tree puts out chemicals that suppress understory growth, so there is a nice open grass space. And the spreading umbrella of the tree creates a space that is both protected and open to the sky because of the feathery leaves. OK. That is a lot of woo-woo, but what I want to convey is the sense that trees are a spiritual experience for me and I wanted

to be around that.

D: I think it would be a mistake to call a fond description of a place “a lot of woo-woo.” Not only was your description valid, but it touches the theme of why I wanted to interview you! The science devil on your shoulder made you discredit your description, I know it. Tell me about your studies.

B: As an undergraduate, I studied botany at Kent State University in Ohio. I grew up about 45 minutes away in the Cuyahoga Valley. I loved studying botany, particularly at Kent State. It isn't a [prestigious] school, but it was a school where classes were taught by professors, not graduate assistants, a place where you could know the professor personally. There was an emphasis on ecology in my undergraduate class work. Of course, evolution is the unifying concept in biology, so that

was emphasized, as well.

I went to graduate school intending to study sanitary engineering. OK, so you ask, what's the connection between botany and sanitary engineering? The connection is that good sanitary engineering employs biological processes to treat wastewater. I decided to see how I would like working in the field by getting a job at the Akron (Ohio) Municipal Sewage Treatment Plant in the period between acceptance at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (where I was accepted and funded) and when I would actually start the program. In spite of my passion for finding better

ways to treat wastewater - or maybe because of my passion - I found I could not stand working in the "system". It was clear to me that sewage was one of the last things on which taxpayers want to spend their money. The plant was underfunded and shoddily run, not because plant employees didn't care, but because City Council couldn't be bothered. In my younger, more radical days, that didn't work for me; so, I went to Plan B. Plan B was going to the University of Cincinnati, where I had also been accepted and funded, to study big river (think Ohio River) ecology. Unfortunately, I didn't get to study plants since the lab in which I worked was funded to study the impact of a coal fired power plant on larval fish populations in the Ohio River. So I studied larval fish distributions in and around a large power plant near Maysville, Kentucky. What I found was that tributary backwaters of large rivers act in a way analogous to estuaries in maritime systems. The impact of thermal effluents dumped into these backwaters, rather than directly into the larger river itself, was devastating.

I got my Masters there and decided that doing the research necessary for a PhD was too tedious. I am not a patient person. I then spent several years working in the field as a field biologist studying big rivers in the eastern US, including the Ohio River, Kentucky River, Mississippi River, Scioto River (Ohio) and St. John's River (Florida). I did this while in the employ of an environmental consulting firm (Dames & Moore). Interesting work but very low pay, long hours (in the field from 6am until 2am on some trips) and little potential for advancement. This was in the late ’70's. When Reagan was elected in ’80, I figured funding for environmental studies would dry up fairly quickly. One didn't have to be clairvoyant to see that coming! So I proactively moved into high-tech, where I spent the next 20 years.

D: Would you consider going back?

B: Probably not. Basically because I am 58 and well established doing something else that is emotionally and financially satisfying. That doesn't mean that I regret getting the degrees in botany and aquatic ecology. I don't regret that at all. Learning the scientific method, learning the basics of ecology, learning evolutionary theory - these things all color how I see the world. I don't see it through faith or belief. I see it through a scientific lens. I find myself at odds, at times, with my fellow "Organic Movement" colleagues because I feel they operate out of adherence to dogma rather than being guided by science. After all, the National Organic Program (NOP) rules are codified dogma at this point. It concerns me that we have codified the "right" way to do things as of our understanding in October 2002 (when the NOP went into effect) rather than making the NOP dynamic as any scientifically based program or idea must be.

“The National Organic Program (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products. The NOP also accredits the certifying agents (foreign and domestic) who inspect organic production and handling operations to certify that they meet USDA standards.” (Find out more at www.ams.usda.gov)

D: Do you have any advice to someone going into the field? B: Be realistic about what you can earn and what you need to earn and make

sure that they match. There is nothing wrong with wanting to earn above the median income; but, as a botanist, you are unlikely to do so. There is nothing wrong with earning less than the median, either. Just don't be disappointed with the bed you have made for yourself. Other advice? Keep an open mind! As humans, we have such a hard time with that.

D: Speaking of keeping your mind open, in my herbal medicine school I was introduced to plant spirit work. With my scientific background in botany, I found it to be a stretch to wrap my mind around, but after sticking with my class, and experiencing those things for myself, I have become completely fascinated by it. Can you speak to your experience in the field as it relates to the spiritual realm?

B: I think you can look at what I said about trees and see that I think there is a spiritual side to botany because there is a spirit in the trees (and other plants, too). I would not want this construed as thinking that plants have a human or animal consciousness. I don't believe that plants respond to us talking to them. I don't know whether plants have auras or not and don't particularly care. What I do know is that plants make life possible for us animals. Without plants, whether for the oxygen they exhale or the food calories they provide, animal life on this planet would be far less diverse. Yes, I grant that there might well be some animals living near hot springs etc, but I don't think there would be the amazing diversity that has developed by living on plants.

But it is not just that plants make life possible by exhaling oxygen and providing calories. Plants make life enjoyable. There is a huge difference between an "Astroturf" field and a meadow. There is a huge difference between a forest and a shopping mall. The difference is how plants make those places feel. There is a spirituality there. Plants are certainly not lesser beings. In fact, I think they are higher beings.

Even in evolutionary terms, how can we consider ourselves more highly evolved than plants? Isn't survivability a measure of how highly evolved we are? And, honestly, who is more survivable - humans or plants? As I said before, they can live without us but we cannot live without them. I don't believe in reincarnation - it seems like a fantasy people have constructed to avoid the finality of death. But, if one does believe in reincarnation, why would one believe that some spiritual level of humanity is the ultimate in reincarnation? I would rather be reincarnated as a tree. Or a stream.

D: I have felt much the same way. It’s a little offensive to think of all of creation as part of a hierarchy where we wear the crown. To see what we as humans have done and what we have not done almost seems proof to the contrary. So, Brad, what have your experiences with herbal medicines been like? Favorite herb? Favorite plant?

B: I assume you are not talking about hallucinogenic experiences. Although, frankly, I think we might be better as a society if we accepted what we can learn under the influence of herbs. There is truth that they can show us. It might not be what an "elder" is expected to say, but I would never want to have given up my experiences under the influence of various herbs and chemicals. Just don't get addicted! In terms of herbal medicine - healing illness - I would not treat herbal medicine any differently than any other. It should be studied through science and subjected to the same rigorous science to which any other kind of medicine is subjected. I don't dismiss it, but I don't "believe" in it either. On this one, I'm from Missouri. Show me!

Favorite plant? Black Walnut Tree. Could you have guessed?

Favorite herb? Cannabis sativa. No joke. I think that this one should be legalized and enjoyed in moderation.

D: I think many would agree with you on that one, Brad. Would you like to share anything else about your spiritual beliefs, or practices?

B: The more I learn, the less certain I am of what I know. I think that is common as we grow older. I wish we could all learn to extend more grace toward ourselves and those around us. It is OK with me if they don't think like I do. I might well be wrong even though I am convinced I am right. Please, less fighting and more listening. Trees don't answer back. They just are.

Christmas Cold Sores!

By Delphinia - Purple & Gray

11.25.2009

A few members of my family have a longstanding tradition of developing cold sores around Christmas.  Christmas stress isn’t the only thing that spurs it; job interviews, family reunions, and other events all seem to welcome the cold sore out for its rare appearance in our lives.  Caused by the Herpes simplex virus, cold sores are known to be a lifelong affliction.  After the initial infection, the virus descends into a nerve shaft and hibernates inside the nerve cell, until disturbed by a stress not insulated against by a weak immune system.  

The most effective herbal remedy for cold sores is Lemon Balm, or Melissa officinalis, a heavenly scented mint family member safe enough even for babies and the elderly.  If allowed the space and sunlight of your yard, it will soon make itself welcome and abundant. It has high levels of Selenium, which boosts the immune system, preventing the outbreak in the first place.  Lemon Balm gets its antiviral properties from tannins and polyphenols.*

Polyphenols are organic molecules and are comprised of tannins (also found in tea) and phenylpropanoids like lignins (what wood is made of) and flavonoids (all of you wine and chocolate lovers know about these).  The great thing about polyphenols is that they’re anti-inflammatory, astringent, and immune boosting.  So they’re huge in the herbal healing world. 

So what is it about these polyphenols in Lemon Balm that protects us from the cold sore?  They insert their key into the lock of our cells, thus blocking the Herpes virus from using its nasty key and infecting us.

So instead of an ugly virus holding hands with our cells, we can hold hands with the sunny disposition of the Lemon Balm.  Although Lemon Balm is the most effective of the mint family for the antiviral effect, lots of other mint family members can also be used.  James A Duke, a well-respected retired medical botanist for the USDA shares his mint family anti-herpes tea recipe in The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook.

“Happy Herpicide Tea”

“To make the tea, fill a saucepan half full of water. Bring the water to a boil, then add fresh lemon balm leaves until the pan is about three-quarters full. If you don't have access to fresh leaves, you can use about a quarter-cup of dried lemon balm. (This is an unusually high amount of herb for brewing a tea, but you really need a lot of it to get the antiviral action that you want.) To the lemon balm and water, add two parts each of dried oregano and self-heal and one part each of hyssop, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Aside from the lemon balm, the actual amounts of the other herbs don't make much difference; just make sure you use twice as much of the oregano and self-heal as you do of the others. Finally, toss in a little licorice root to sweeten the tea and steep it for 20 minutes” (Duke).

After you’re done drinking the tea (or a simple lemon balm tea) save that last little drip with the tiny particles of herbs that you might ordinarily toss down the sink. Lemon Balm is active against HSV1 in aqueous solution, and that means tea! Just get that tea on the sore any way you like, cotton ball, fingertip, drinking in a messy fashion, just make sure it's fun  It can be dabbed right on the cold sore as a topical remedy throughout the day.  Waste not, want not, apply those healing phenolic compounds to that viral infection, baby!

To prevent the whole mess in the first place?  Keep yourself in top condition especially during the times of year that are the most difficult for you.  Get lots of sleep, drink lots of water, and get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day.  Less measurable things like taking time for yourself, relaxing, and using a little smile from time to time can also be helpful for your general well being.  Beyond that, one could try the usual immune boosting regimens such as regular daily (I use 3 times daily) dosages of garlic, and/or Echinacea, (not to mention the dozens of other immune-enhancing herbs out there) to get your immune system strong before the virus has a window of opportunity to infect your cells.  Starting from a savings account of health is always much better than trying to dig yourself out of health debt.  We can’t do it all the time because we’re human and the party before the trip sounds fun - what the hell, and work doesn’t wait for us to get in our morning jog, but if we can keep it in mind, we can try to step back from running ourselves raw with cold sores (and colds and flus) this winter.

We all know first hand that the immune system can be weakened simply by the stresses of life—lack of sleep, anxiety, or overworking among other things.  When those stresses present themselves during late night

Christmas shopping binges, early morning flights, and constant wrapping, planning, and fretting about our value and place in the family, the virus creeps out from its hiding place within the nerve cells and pops up as the dreaded and unsightly cold sore. 

Something important to note is that the two main forms of the Herpes simplex virus are known as HSV1 which is the oral form and HSV2 which is the genital form.  In accordance with urban legend, the two forms are almost the same, and are communicable between locations on the body.  That is to say, someone infected with a cold sore can give their lover genital herpes during oral sex.  Interestingly the two forms are so similar they are even treated using similar methods.  My family members swear by a certain extremely expensive over the counter ointment in an exceedingly tiny tube, though they’re not sure if it really works or not.

The World Health Organization gives

“Street Cred” to Herbal Medicine

By Delphinia - Purple & Gray

11.25.2009

The question of the year here at the Purple and Gray is “what is news?”  In keeping with this question, here’s one to spark your preconceived notions of news: is it only news if it’s new?  Does it count as news if it’s new to you?  Well, in my philosophy, if it’s new to me, it’s news.   

“Attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health”  is the lofty goal of the World Health Organization (WHO).  This U.N. agency based out of Geneva has focused on fighting major infectious diseases like Malaria and HIV since its founding in 1948.  This well respected organization has its priorities straight, and has been around the block a few times.  And, friends, it’s finally time to go herbal. 

In 1977 the WHO held a meeting in Geneva on the “Promotion and Development of Traditional Medicine.” Because two thirds of the world’s primary care at that time was given through traditional healers, and because the goal of the WHO is to achieve the highest level of health for the world’s population, disregarding this powerful ally would be counterintuitive.  Also, they recognized the fact that there has been a tendency to view the developing nations as “backwards” or “primitive” for using traditional methods of healing, and the goal of their meeting in 1977 was to enhance the worldwide credibility and standard for those methods and allow the space for them to work alongside Western or “modern” medicine.  In the official report given on the meeting, a lot of attention is given to cultural sensitivity such as the fact that healing comes from a sense of place.   A country’s sense of identity revolves in large part from curing its sick using traditional practices, and the WHO wanted to work towards that.  To do that, in 1977 they began gathering a body of research on medicinal plants, methods of healing, and testing these for efficacy and safety.  The general feeling of the meeting absorbed through their report seemed to be one of working with all of our resources to reach as many people as possible in the name of health.

Twenty-five years later, a meeting called “The WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005” took place.  This four-year plan was put into action in the 19 participating countries (many of which were in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the West Pacific).  Continuing to be relevant all these years later, they were ready to synthesize their data and make a plan to implement the knowledge they had gained as a team to help smooth the edges of modern medicine and traditional healing methods. Traditional medicine in 2002 included community herbalists, local healing philosophies, yoga, acupuncture, and the use of plants and animals as medicine.

One of the most obvious reasons for utilizing these traditional, local healing systems was practitioner to population ratio In Uganda, the traditional medicine healer to population ratio was between 1:200-1:400, compared to the ratio of allopathic practitioners at a ratio of 1: 20,000.  Because of this, it’s apparent that traditional medicine is not only cheaper than allopathic medicine, but also more accessible to most of the developing world.  Their goal was to integrate each participating country’s traditional healing method with the existing national health care systems, and to regulate those systems to make them safer.  Another facet of their goal was to facilitate an informational exchange between the scientific community and the traditional healing centers to create a hybridization of sorts. 

What I admire about the WHO’s mission is that they were striving for a more credible image for traditional medicine. As an international force, they were able to be credible, systematic, and yet spread themselves out internationally to remain small, effective, and specific.

Several interesting looking publications were put out by the WHO:

WHO monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, The Regulatory Situation of Herbal Medicines, and Quality Control Methods for Medicinal Plant Material. I drool over compiled data, and would just love to get my hands on a copy of some of those myself.  They cover material accessible to the layperson and of benefit to practitioners, including chemical constituents, contraindications, and possible side effects of common herbs currently in use.

In May of 2009 the 62nd World Health Assembly took place, and the support for herbal medicine seems to be going strong. There us continuing technical support to countries to maintain the safe and effective use of herbal medicine as well as continuing research, and evidence of integration into many national health care systems.  The “Traditional Medicine Strategy” of 2002-2005 carries on through adjustment for individual countries based on their progress and their new needs.

On the surface this strategy seems an exciting proposition.  To have credibility given and interest taken on an international level to these healing systems is a big step for the national health of many countries.  But when dealing with cultural issues, I wonder if this solution was viewed as a revelation for peaceful cooperation between two differing systems, or if it is being used to win the confidence of the traditional healers and eventually pull the drapes on the old ways once they’ve agreed to converse with science.  I wonder how the conversations between the researchers and the healers would go—

“Well I know your people have been using Dong Quai for millennia, sir, but our data doesn’t support its efficacy…why don’t you toss it…”

The WHO could very well be handling the situation with grace.  One thing is for certain—we don’t need any more excuses to crush more cultures with the “western way” or to sit idly by while health is swept under the rug by expense or lack of expertise.  Maybe the “Traditional Medicine Strategy” is total symbiosis. I of all people believe that science and tradition can coexist.  But it will take a measure of compassion all around. 

Photo by G. Walker 2009

Photo by G. Walker 2009

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Detoxification: Herbal Spring Cleaning

Because spring has arrived, I decided to take it upon myself to do a little bit of research on one of the topics most appropriate for the season - detox.  It seems like everyone can relate to the idea of detoxifying their bodies.  I am not fond of viewing my body as an especially dirty place, so I am a bit weary of the ubiquitous love of detox.  However, I do believe that the body can sometimes use a little extra help when processing our air, food, and water to keep balanced, so I wanted to get to the bottom of the subject.

What is detox?  Are we really toxic inside?  How polluted is polluted?  Is detoxification about the cellular level, toxins, antioxidants, free radicals, or does it pertain more to the macro lens of digestive function, sweat, and a clean mind?     Sometimes the molecular level is hard for us to grasp, so we put the power in other people’s hands.  But I think we can regain the power to know ourselves like our ancestors have for thousands of years.  It doesn’t have to be as complicated as the scientific health field makes it sound.  We can get our antioxidants from fresh, colored foods.  We can get our liver going with bitters.  We can exercise our minds and bodies to keep them running.  Scientific health studies love to showcase things that anyone with eyes ears and a nose would already know.  We all know certain things make us ‘toxic’ individuals.  Smoking, overeating, eating an unbalanced diet, lack of exercise, lack of clean air and water, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat seem to get the large portion of the blame.  There’s another facet there, too that we all feel but might not have the confidence to claim.  Sure, we don’t live in pristine environments, but what about our emotional environment?  Stress, relationships, worries, creativity, and expression must all play a role as well.

A study done by the European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis by Gerald A. Harris concludes that there is a strong emotional connection to disease, focusing on childhood trauma and later development of cancer.  Harris found that the affects of trauma and repression on the immune system are so negative that they can significantly increase the chance of developing many diseases later in life including cancer.

According to Dr. Robert Groves, a naturopath from Tulsa, Oklahoma, internally generated problems like stress also function as toxins in the body, and this naturally affects how we go about removing those toxins.

“With inflammation comes the previously mentioned histamine reaction to flush out     the waste accumulation and infectious load. We call that sneezing, coughing, the runs,     sweating, etc. If we suppress these symptoms with drugs, a greater amount of the waste     and the infectious load stay in the body. This suppression builds up a more toxic     condition creating recurrent infections, immune suppression/exhaustion, degenerative     conditions and possible genetic damage.” - Dr. Robert Groves

Suppressing our emotions can cause cholesterol stones to form in our liver and gallbladder, reducing their ability to function.  The liver is one of the most amazing organs in the body, and with all its responsibilities, likewise it is one of the most common targets of a detoxification program.  The liver is responsible for producing bile, which aids in fat digestion.  It also plays a major role in hormone production and processing.  Here, blood sugar regulation, the movement of blood, and the breakdown of poisons and drugs are all achieved in one spot.  For how important this organ is to our lives, it makes one think if the name ‘LIVEr’ is not a coincidence… 

Interestingly, the liver is also historically known as the organ of anger—people who tend towards anger often run hot on the liver—needing to be cooled to reach a balanced state.  According to Chinese medicine, these ‘liver fire blazing’ types also may suffer from associated headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and constipation.  One of my teachers in herbal medicine school told the story of a little girl who overdosed on a prescription drug, and as her liver tried to process this toxin, she displayed fits of anger uncharacteristic of the girl.  Also, I read a story by Christopher Hobbs about a gentle woman who was poisoned by eating incorrectly identified mushrooms, who threw an insane anger fit on the way to the emergency room as her body tried to process the poison.

In short, emotions do play a role in your body’s health and ability to process and eliminate.  Communication of your emotions and desires, making actions towards your goals, and expressing yourself to the world are all good ways to achieve emotional balance.  Physical problems are very commonly expressed due to unchecked emotional and mental issues.  As the old herbalist saying goes, “There’s no disease stress can’t cause.”

A typical detox program might entail a liver cleanse, a laxative, a diuretic, and possibly a fast.  Fasting is another topic altogether but it can mean abstaining from food in a variety of ways—from no food whatsoever for a period of time, or it could be a different type of food from normal, such as a juice fast, a fruits and veggies fast, a no meat fast, a no wheat/dairy fast, etc.  The result of a cleanse or a detox program can be improved digestion, clearer skin, increased energy, settled nerves, and a general sense of wellbeing.  Basically it can make you beautiful and healthy, and who doesn’t want that? 

If you are considering a detox program, consider the following:

Slow and steady wins the race. 

If you attempt an extreme method of detoxification, you risk overloading your body with waste products and messages to expel before the body is ready to sustain such a vigorous cleanse.  Once a well-dressed man came into the herb shop where I was working complaining of extreme symptoms from a detox program that he had purchased at one of the Whole Paycheck type Organic Feeling markets.  He was suffering from severe abdominal cramps with little elimination, insomnia, and horrible headaches.  I was struck with his request because unlike most people who came into the shop, he didn’t ask how he could feel better.  His desire was to reap all the benefits that he had suffered for.  He was extremely concerned with losing what he had earned.  We suggested that he stop taking the product and possibly do a few gentle cleansing teas if he really wanted to, and to try again in a few weeks if he was dead set on it.  I remember how dissatisfied he was, seemingly wanting to beat his body and triumph. 

This is the detox example I always refer back to when considering any recommendations to myself or others.  Coming at your body thinking it is a dirty place from a war-like perspective is violent.  To improve your health, love is the only path to success.  Your own respect for your body will do you a lot of good.  Don’t get caught up in the ‘your body is full of horrible toxins that no one else has and they’re not natural’ line.  We all deal with our modern lifestyles.  Our bodies are constantly working for us and using or eliminating naturally occurring substances such as hormones, water and food.  Love your body for what it allows you to do each day.  And before you embark on any detox regime, make sure your system is receptive to processing and elimination before you flood it with metabolic wastes, hormones, and the occasional environmental toxin. 

Do what makes you feel healthy.  For most, the empty starches we eat, the stress we endure, and the sedentary lifestyles we live don’t actually make the body feel whole or nourished. I believe that exercise is the absolute best way for people to feel better on the whole.  Getting the blood moving, the lungs working, the heart pumping, and the muscles engaged, are what we as humans are made for.  The closer we can get to our animal instincts, the more inherently happy we are.  You may have experienced this feeling on a long backpack, or during a great morning romp with your lover.  As animals, our bodies were designed for performance, and when we don’t use movement, it certainly causes us a lot of grief, both physically and emotionally.  Any activity that you enjoy that gets your heart pumping and your body moving is a great choice to open the channels of elimination when starting the spring cleaning process. 

Use your knowledge of the body’s processes to guide you in whatever spring cleaning you decide on this year.  Start with exercise.  The spring weather will encourage you!  Then ask yourself what you would like to achieve from the cleanse.  Be consistent.  Check in with yourself in a journal.  Most importantly, you know your body better than anyone else.  Listen to what your body has to say.

Gentle Herbs for Detoxification

My top spring cleaning herbs of choice are ones that are locally abundant.  My favorite spring tonic is made of plants you can gather in your backyard or pasture.  It goes a little something like this:

(Bring a nice wicker basket to get you in the gathering mood.)

Gather:

Two big handfuls cleavers

Two big handfuls red clover flowers

A handful of plantain leaf

Blend up the plants with pure cold water to crack open the contents of the cells, steep in the refrigerator for a few hours, strain, and revel in pure sweet wild chlorophyllic health. 

A very curious affair that affirms many of my spiritual beliefs is that plants tend to appear seasonally as we tend to need them.  The plants that appear in the spring are fresh and nutritive and gently cleansing—just the types of plants we need after historically eating hard winter foods like dried meats or plant food paired with little physical activity.  Conversely, in the fall as the damp creeps into our landscapes and our lungs, the powerful antimicrobial roots commonly used for respiratory infections such as ligusticum and arrowleaf balsamroot are in their peak harvest time, as leaves die back and the energy in the plant sinks back into the roots.  The cleavers, red clover, and plantain are there for us during the spring and so it is only natural to reach for them at this time of year. 

Plantain is very common and used externally as well as internally for healing tissues, drawing out splinters/bee stings, breast health, nutrition, and soothing of the digestive system as well as a general spring tonic.  Its famous chemical component is allantoin, which is an emollient, meaning it is smoothing and soothing, and widely used in the cosmetic industry for anti-aging products.  This plant is known as the “white man’s footsteps” because it is found everywhere the white man has been.  Whether you know its name or not, you will recognize it when you see it.  Interestingly, psyllium husk, a well-known plant based laxative is from the seed of this plant. 

Cleavers is known for its cleansing properties to the lymphatic system.  The lymphatic system is often neglected and less well understood than the other body systems.  The lymph plays a large role in supporting immune health.  When you get swollen lymph nodes in the neck during a cold or flu, the swelling comes from white blood cells being produced at a rapid rate, preparing to confront the infection.  Thus, those swollen lymph nodes aren’t a bad sign, they are a sign that your immune system is working hard to deal with the problem at hand.  So, when thinking about detox, the liver is one area, and the lymph is another.  Cleavers will help cleanse the lymph.  Exercise is another (even more natural) way to keep the lymph properly flowing. 

Other than those which can literally be found in your backyard, I only feel comfortable using and recommending other gentle detox herbs.  Just because it is natural does not mean that it is good to use.  Out on the internet there are lots of sites touting some herbs as safe because they are natural.  One such case is that of the presentation of cascara sagrada as a gentle natural detox herb.  Not so, folks.  Cascara sagrada is, of course, natural, but not at all what I would call gentle.  It is a very potent and powerful laxative, and I would not recommend it except in circumstances after other methods have failed.  Herbs I consider safe to use for the beginning herbalist are plantain, burdock, dandelion, red clover, and cleavers. 

Burdock is used commonly as a vegetable in Asian cuisine—usually it is peeled, soaked, and then pan fried.  It has a naturally sweet taste, though when preparing mine as a vegetable, I like it with soy sauce mixed with a little sugar.  Well known as a liver cleanser, it can pull out toxins from deep within the body.  This is a powerful herb and like all cleansing herbs is most effective if your body is primed with exercise and well hydrated.  However, unlike more forceful herbs, its widespread use as a vegetable is evidence that it does not have a stripping action like cascara sagrada.  It builds as it detoxifies.  Burdock is classically paired with dandelion.  I will add that burdock dandelion tea tastes like an incredible toasted marshmallow brew.  You could certainly drink it for pleasure as a lovely aside to its well-known cleansing properties.

Dandelion is a wonderful diuretic.  Unlike other diuretics, it doesn’t deplete the body of potassium because the plant naturally concentrates it in its leaves and roots.  The bitter taste is a cue that it is also a liver stimulant as well.  The way I think of it, the reason burdock and dandelion are such great friends is because burdock asks the liver to chip away at some hard packed earth with a pickaxe and dandelion comes by with a broom to sweep all those pieces out of the urinary system. 

That leaves us with the last herb I love, Red Clover.  Red clover has historically been used as a blood purifier, used in the treatment of cancer, and bronchitis.  It is sweet in taste and supports kidney function during the detoxification process.  Studies have also been done on red clover and its effects on the hormonal aspects of menopause, so it is often used in women’s formulas as well.  Something to note is that if it is boiled it loses its sweet taste.  Sun teas or cold infusions like the one mentioned above are really the preferred method for the sweet floral taste of red clover.

Plantain

Red Clover: Trifolium pretense

Burdock: Arctium lappa

Burdock Root: Arctium lappa

Cleavers: Gallium

Dandelion: Taraxacum

Detox references

http://robertgroves.com/detox.htm

Wong, Cathy. “Understanding Emotions in Traditional Chinese Medicine.” January 15, 2008.  Viewed April 2010.  http://www.itmonline.org/5organs/liver.htm

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/Canada/HealthInformation/Encyclopedias/BurdockRoot.htm

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_dandelion.htm

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/redclover/

http://www.planetbotanic.ca/fact_sheets/burdock.htm

http://burdockherb.com/

http://health.howstuffworks.com/burdock-herbal-remedies.htm

http://www.susunweed.com/weedforum/index.php/herbal_ezine/april04/pf_empower.htm

http://www.vitalitymagazine.com/cleavers

Michael vertolli Ontario big article on cleavers

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/Canada/HealthInformation/Encyclopedias/RedClover.htm

Harris, Gerald A.1

Source:

European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis; 2006, Vol. 7 Issue 2, p2-10, 9p