Medicinal Herbs

Dandelions are Superfoods

Every spring people stock up on Round Up and Weed-B-Gon to prepare themselves for battle against one of my favorite flowers – the humble dandelion. If you’re not as big a fan as I am of these yellow-headed “weeds”, which grow in lawns and sunny open spaces throughout the world, I know of a great way to get rid of them. Eat them.

Every part of the dandelion is edible – leaves, roots, and flowers. And they are nutritional powerhouses. They’re rich in beta-carotene, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins, and protein.

Over the years, dandelions have been used as cures for countless conditions including:

kidney stones
acne
high blood pressure
obesity
diarrhea
high cholesterol
anemia
cancer
diabetes
stomach pain
hepatitis

“There is probably no existing condition that would not benefit from regularly consuming dandelions,” Joyce A Wardwell writes in The Herbal Home Remedy Book.

She also says that dandelion is “one herb to allow yourself the full range of freedom to explore,” because it has “no known cautionary drug interactions, cumulative toxic effects, or contraindications for use.”

So why not harvest the dandelions in your yard? And I’m sure your neighbors wouldn’t mind if you uprooted some of theirs too. Just avoid harvesting near streets or from lawns where herbicides or fertilizers are used.

Dandelion has a few doppelgangers, but it’s easy to distinguish it. Look for a single thick stem filled with milky sap and smooth leaves shaped like jagged teeth.

The leaves

Dandelion leaves have more beta-carotene than carrots and more iron and calcium than spinach. The best time to harvest them is early spring, before the flowers appear, because that’s when they’re the least bitter.

How can you eat dandelion leaves?

Toss them in salads
Steam them
Saute them with garlic, onions, and olive oil
Infuse them with boiling water to make a tea
Dry them to use for tea

If dandelion leaves taste too bitter for you to enjoy, here are four surefire ways to mask the taste:

Add something sweet, salty, or sour.
Combine them with less bitter greens.
Cook them in oil.
Boil them for three to five minutes.

Don’t let the bitterness of dandelion leaves scare you away. Phytonutrients have a bitter, sour, or astringent taste, so bitter plants are often highly nutritious. Bitterness also stimulates the liver to produce bile, which aids digestion and nutrient availability. Moreover, bitter foods modulate hunger and help curb sugar cravings.

The flowers

Dandelion flowers are a rich source of the nutrient lecithin. The best time to harvest them is mid-spring, when they’re usually the most abundant. If you cut off the green base, the flowers aren’t bitter.

How can you eat dandelion flowers?

Toss them in salad
Steam them with other vegetables
Make wine
Make fritters
Make Dandelion Flower Cookies

The roots

Dandelion roots are full of vitamins and minerals. They are also in rich in a substance called inulin, which may help diabetics to regulate blood sugar. Dandelion roots are often used to treat liver disorders. They’re also a safe natural diuretic, because they’re rich in potassium. The best time to harvest dandelion roots is early spring and late fall.

How can you eat dandelion roots?

Boil them for 20 minutes to make a tea
Chop, dry, and roast them to make a tasty coffee substitute.
Add them to soup stock or miso
Steam them with other vegetables

As most gardeners know, dandelions are virile (some say pernicious) plants. Why not treat them as allies, rather than enemies, this spring?

[clickToTweet tweet=”Dandelions are superfoods. Put the pesticides away and eat them. #health #herbs” quote=”Dandelions are superfoods. Put the pesticides away and eat them.” theme=”style1″]

If you liked this post, check out more of my popular articles about herbs:

[Editor’s Note: This is an updated and revised version of a post originally published on March 4, 2010]

Do you eat dandelions? Do you have a favorite dandelion recipe?

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Simple Herbal Tonics: Brews for Beginners

By Abby Quillen

Plants have been powerful allies for health and healing for as long as humans have lived. Herbal medicines can be effective remedies for ills as anyone who’s sipped on ginger tea for a stomachache can attest. They can also be powerful tonics for everyday health.

Many common plants are full of vitamins, minerals, proteins, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and other nutrients. When you prepare them the right way, they’re transformed into nutrient-rich tonics, which boost health and well being. When I drink herbal tonics daily, my hair and skin shine and I feel calmer and more grounded.

Nourishing Herbal Tonics

If you’re new to using herbs, congratulations! Learning about herbalism is an amazing way to take charge of your health and form a deeper connection to nature. Check out my post Herbs Made Easy to learn more about the benefits.

I make herbal tonics using herbalist Susun Weed’s method. She advocates the art of simpling, which means using a single herb to make an infusion.

“In The Herbal Home Remedy Book, Joyce Wardwell lays out the four elements of simpling as follows:

Use mild herbs. These plants are commonly used as foods, safe for small children and the elderly, and they enhance the body’s capacity for healing.
Use large doses. Brew strong infusions, and drink them often.
Use the herbs that grow near you. The herbs that grown in your climate are the best adapted for the stresses the climate puts on your body.
Be patient. You’ll probably see some effects within three days or so, but sometimes it takes longer.

Pick an Herb to Infuse

Like Warwell, I’m a huge believer in consuming the plants that grow near you to help your body adapt to the environment and optimize your health. (You can learn more about the benefits of a local diet in my post Local, Seasonal Foods are Superfoods.)

Though a plant grows in your area, even outside your back door, it’s usually safer and easier for beginners to buy good-quality dried herb at a local health food or herb store. You can learn to harvest herbs later if you wish. (Check out my article Eating the Wild Plants in Your Backyard for a primer.)

Herbs are usually inexpensive by bulk. Look for herbs supplied by local organic growers or reputable wildcrafters, and make sure the store cleans and changes their jars or bins frequently. If you can’t get dried herbs where you live, mail-order them from Mountain Rose Herbs or another bulk herb company.

According to Weed, the following plants are highly nutritious, and side effects from consuming them are rare:

Alfalfa
Astragalus
Calendula flowers
Chickweed
Comfrey leaves
Dandelion
Honeysuckle flowers
Lamb’s quarter
Marshmallow
Oatstraw
Plantain (leaves and seeds)
Purslane
Red clover blossoms
Siberian ginseng
Slippery elm
Stinging nettle
Violet leaves

I usually stick to a few nutrient-rich herbs for my daily tonics, including:

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Weed calls nettles “one of the finest nourishing tonics known” and contends that “the list of vitamins and minerals in this herb includes nearly every one known to be necessary for human health and growth.”

According to Weed, nettle infusions supply calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins A and D, and they are in a readily assimilated form. Nettles also contain iron and vitamin C, and the vitamin C ensures the iron is well-absorbed by the body, making nettles an excellent remedy for anemia. Nettles are also high in protein. Their high vitamin and mineral content make nettles an excellent all-around tonic.

Nettles are also used to encourage the flow of breast milk in nursing women, lower blood sugar levels, slow profuse menstrual bleeding, treat eczema, heal arthritis and gout, and cure hay-fever allergy symptoms. Externally, nettle compresses can stop bleeding or heal hemorrhoids, eliminate dandruff, and slow hair loss. Does that sound like a lot of uses for one plant? Well, that’s far from all. Check out the book 101 Uses for Stinging Nettles by Piers Warren for more.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

According to herbalist Michael Tierra, alfalfa means “father” in Arabic, perhaps referring to the plant’s “function as a superlative restorative tonic.” Alfalfa leaves are highly nutritious, containing vitamins C, D, E, and K, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, and protein.

Alfalfa’s historically been used to restore vitality and increase appetite in both horses and people. It’s also used to treat cystitis, prostatitis, peptic ulcers, fever, insomnia, inflammation, and arthritis, as well as to increase the flow of breast milk in nursing women, reduce inflammation, and regulate the bowels.

Oatstraw (Avena sativa)

Oats are rich in silica, magnesium, phosphorus, chromium, iron, calcium, alkaloids, protein, the vitamin B complex, and vitamins A and C . Oat straw, the stem of the plant, nourishes the bones, endocrine system, immune system, and nerve cells and helps the body cope with insomnia, anxiety, and nerve disorders.

How to make a nourishing herbal tonic

Here is Susan Weed’s infusion method:

Place one ounce of dried herb (about a cup) in a quart jar.
Fill the jar to the top with boiling water
Put the lid on tightly and steep for four to 10 hours. (I usually let it steep overnight.)
Strain and pour a cup, and store the rest in the refrigerator.
Drink two to four cups a day.
Drink the entire infusion within 36 hours or until it spoils. (You’ll be able to tell by the smell.)
Use whatever remains to water house plants, or pour over your hair after conditioning as a final rinse.

If you don’t love the taste of the infusion but want to reap the benefits, try adding a tablespoon of dried mint to the herb before you infuse it.

Nettles, alfalfa, and oat straw are mild herbs that have been ingested for thousands of years with excellent safety records, however they may not be for everyone. If you have a medical condition or take any medications, check with your doctor, an herbalist, or a pharmacist first.

It’s a good idea for everyone to be cautious about what goes into your body. Read about the herbs you plan to take, and be alert to the rare potential for an allergic reaction or side effects. But don’t forget to enjoy yourself! Nutritious herbal tonics are amazing additions to a healthy and happy life.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Load up on vitamins without supplements by making simple, restorative herbal tonics. #health #herbs” quote=”Load up on vitamins without supplements by making restorative herbal tonics.” theme=”style1″]

Sources:
The New Age Herbalist by Richard Mabey
The Herbal Home Remedy Book by Joyce A. Warwell
The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra
Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susan Weed
The Herb Book by John Lust

If you liked this post, you may enjoy these related articles:

[Editor’s Note: This is an updated and revamped version of a post originally published on June 3, 2009, Photo credit: Caitlin Regan, modified]

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Dandelion Season

By Abby Quillen

It’s spring again … the perfect time to rerun this post from last March…

It’s spring, which means some people are stocking up on Round Up and Weed-B-Gon to prepare themselves for battle against my favorite flower – the humble dandelion. If you’re not as big a fan as I am of these yellow-headed “weeds”, which grow in lawns and sunny open spaces throughout the world, I know of a great way to get rid of them. Eat them.

Every part of the dandelion is edible – leaves, roots, and flowers. And they are nutritional power-houses. They’re rich in beta-carotene, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins, and protein.

Over the years, dandelions have been used as cures for countless conditions including:

kidney stones
acne
high blood pressure
obesity
diarrhea
high cholesterol
anemia
cancer
diabetes
stomach pain
hepatitis

“There is probably no existing condition that would not benefit from regularly consuming dandelions,” Joyce A Wardwell writes in The Herbal Home Remedy Book.

So why not harvest the dandelions in your yard this spring? And I’m sure your neighbors wouldn’t mind if you uprooted some of theirs too. (But you probably want to avoid harvesting near streets or from lawns where herbicides or fertilizers are used.)

The leaves

How can you eat dandelion leaves?

Toss them in salads
Steam them
Saute them with garlic, onions, and olive oil
Infuse them with boiling water to make a tea
Dry them to use for tea

The flowers

How can you eat dandelion flowers?

Toss them in salad
Steam them with other vegetables
Make wine
Make fritters
Make Dandelion Flower Cookies

The roots

How can you eat dandelion roots?

Boil them for 20 minutes to make a tea
Chop, dry, and roast them to make a tasty coffee substitute.
Add them to soup stock or miso
Steam them with other vegetables

As most gardeners know, dandelions are virile (some say pernicious) plants. Why not treat them as allies, rather than enemies, this spring?

Interested in reading more about herbs or home remedies? Check out these posts:

Do you eat dandelions? Do you have a favorite dandelion recipe?

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Do-It-Yourself Health Care

By Abby Quillen

My family has watched our health insurance deductible go from $100 per person two years ago to $1500 per person this year. We pay more out-of -pocket each month and get less coverage than we used to. I know we’re not alone. Forty-six million Americans have no health insurance at all, and at least 25 million more are reportedly underinsured.

The reality is that for many of us in the U.S., going to the doctor is something we can increasingly do only when absolutely necessary. That makes having a knowledge of common illnesses and effective home remedies a necessity.

Of course, serious ailments are best left to the professionals – heart attacks, bone breaks, and strokes to name a few. But the good news is – for most minor ailments, home care is usually gentler, less toxic, and as effective as the treatments a doctor would prescribe. I’m continuously amazed at the body’s ability to stay healthy with the basics – clean water, healthy food, adequate rest, time outdoors, etc. – and to heal itself with the help of simple, inexpensive treatments.

I have stacks of books about diagnosing and treating common conditions and using medicinal herbs, which I flip through often. (Recently I’ve been using Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Janet Zand quite a bit.) But I have a secret resource that’s better than all of my books combined – my mom. She’s an almanac of everyday ailments and simple treatments, and I’ve learned so much from her, especially about being curious and resourceful.

Recently I had the opportunity to discover (or rediscover) these simple, effective remedies:

Pink eye (infection of the membrane lining the eyelids) – Hold hot compress on eye for 15-20 minutes several times a day. Wipe contact lens solution on affected eyelid.

Wasp stings – Apply a paste of baking soda and water.

Joint pain or arthritis – Take Yucca root extract and/or fish oil.

Wounds – Soak in salt water.

Bruises – Treat with a witch hazel or caster oil compress

Burns – Soak in ice cold water, then in soy sauce.

Veterinary care – Animal Apawthecary tinctures. (I’ve given these to our cats for various ailments over the years and found them to be amazingly effective and safe. In many cases, they worked better than the drugs our vet prescribed, with none of the side effects.)

I hope health care becomes more accessible and affordable for all Americans soon. But even if it does, I’ll use home remedies – because they work.

Looking for more on do-it-yourself health care? Check out these posts:

Have you discovered home remedies that are safe and effective? I’d love to hear about them.

Simplify Your Medicine Cabinet

By Abby Quillen

So maybe you read this post and simplified your personal care? Now how about your medicine cabinet?

The other day I realized that I haven’t taken any kind of medication in three years, because I was pregnant and then breastfeeding. I’ve had a few mild illnesses during that time. But I was able to treat all of them with simple home remedies.

I like treatments that are safe, effective, and require ingredients that most of us already have in or around our homes. (Of course, this probably goes without saying, but it’s usually wise to talk to a health care provider about more serious ailments or symptoms that don’t improve with home care.)

Here are a few of my favorite simple remedies:

Sore Throat or Gums

Mix a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of salt, and gargle and swish it around your mouth
Mix 3/4 cup warm water with 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide and gargle and swish it around your mouth.

Nasal or Chest Congestion

Use a Neti Pot. Never heard of one? You can find out where to get one and how to use it here.
Do an herbal steam. Boil a large pot of water with a handful of Eucalyptus, Thyme, or Rosemary Leaf, or all three. Pour the water into a bowl, and put it on a table. Sit with your face about a foot away from the water and drape a towel over your head. Relax and breathe for about 10 to 15 minutes.

The Common Cold or Influenza

Drink Hot Ginger Garlic Lemonade.
Take Elderberry Syrup.
Go out in the sun, if possible. (If it’s not sunny, you might try taking a Vitamin D supplement. You can read more about the connection between Vitamin D and colds and flu here.)

Nausea

Sip on Ginger Root Tea.
Sip on Peppermint Tea.
Stimulate the acupressure point on the inside of your wrist. You can learn how to do that here.

Bug Bites or Bee Stings

Make a poultice of Plantain Leaf. (Plantain is a common weed that’s probably growing in your lawn or somewhere nearby. You can find out more about it and how to identify it here.)
Apply Aloe Vera Gel.

Muscle Aches or Joint Pain

Apply St. John’s Wort Oil.
Apply Arnica Oil. (Both St. John’s Wort Oil and Arnica Oil can be found in the health and beauty section of most health food stores, often in combination.)
Cook with Turmeric

Acne

Mix Turmeric with Honey and apply to outbreak overnight (will temporarily stain the skin yellow).
Cook with Turmeric.
Drink Dandelion Leaf or Root Tea .

Teething

Give baby a cup of Catnip Tea.
Let baby chew on a frozen carrot or refrigerated apple.

I’ve always been fascinated by the ways we can stay healthy and treat everyday illnesses at home, and I’ve collected a number of references on herbs and other remedies over the years. A few of my favorites are:

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child by Zand, Walton, and Rountree
Rosemary Gladstar’s Family Herbal.
Folk Remedies That Work by Joan and Lydia Wilen

What’s your favorite home remedy?

Winter Wellness Recipes

By Abby Quillen

If you read Stay Well: 5 Winter Immunity Boosters and stocked up on garlic, lemons, ginger, elderberry, and miso, you might be looking for some recipes. Here are 4 of my favorites for the cold and flu season.

garlic

Lemon and Garlic Quinoa Salad

(Adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.)

Salad

1 c. dry quinoa
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 and 3/4 c. water
1/2 c. chopped carrots
1/3 c. minced parsley
1/4 c. sunflower seeds

Dressing

4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tbl. tamari or shoyu

Rinse quinoa and drain. Place rinsed quinoa, salt, and water in a pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes uncovered, then fluff with a fork. Place quinoa in a large bowl. Add carrots, parsley, and sunflower seeds. Mix. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over quinoa. Toss. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Hot Ginger Garlic Lemonaid

2 cloves garlic
1 tbs. grated ginger root
Juice of one freshly-squeezed lemon
Honey, to taste
Hot water

Put ginger root in a tea ball or tea bag. Place garlic, lemon juice, honey, and tea ball or bag in your favorite coffee mug. Pour hot water in. Cover and steep. Drink very hot.

Miso

(Very loosely adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.)

3 inch piece wakame
4 c. water
4 tbs. light or mellow unpasteurized miso.
2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Any or all of the following

1 potato
1 carrot
1/2 c. chopped bok choy
5 sliced shitake mushrooms
1/4 lb. firm tofu, cut into cubes
A handful of immune boosting herbs – astragalus, echinacea root, dandelion root, or burdock root.

Soak wakame in small bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Put herbs in a large tea ball or bag.

Put water (and potato, carrot, and herbs if using) into a pot and bring to a boil.

Tear wakame into pieces, removing the spine. Add wakame to soup. Lower heat, cover pot, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Near the end of the cooking time, add mushrooms, bok choy, and tofu cubes if using, and let simmer a few minutes more.

Remove soup from stove. Dissolve miso in a little warm water. Remove tea ball or bag. Add miso to broth. Stir well. Ladle into bowl and add scallions for garnish.

Elderberry Syrup

(From Rosemary Gladstar’s Family Herbal.*)

1 c. fresh or 1/2 c. dried blue elderberries*
3 c. water
1 c. honey

Place berries in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Smash berries. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer and add 1 c. honey, or adjust to taste. Bottle the syrup and store in the refrigerator. It keeps for 2 to 3 months.

*Make sure you use blue elderberries, not red ones. Never eat elderberries that have not been cooked first.

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Medicinal Herbs

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