Spring Cleanse

In time for Full Moon March 5, Spring holiday March 21, and the reality of an early Spring I am contemplating safe cleanses to organize for myself beyond the intake of herbs -- to address body-mind and mind-heart. I happen to be serving at a vipassana meditation retreat March 5-8, which is perfect timing.

First of all I need to follow up on the ideas I explored with "purity herbs" giving preference to bitter tonics, liver tonics, and alteratives - particularly of plants naturalized in Seattle. I plan to drink a decoction of barberry, chicory, dandelion, oregon grape, burdock and yellow dock as often as possible - if not daily. Also making a tincture of these plants with brandy (pictured here).

In Vasant Lad's book, Ayurvedic principles for staying balanced in Spring involve reducing heavy, inflammatory, congestive foods (like dairy and various forms of protein) and increasing bitter, astringent foods and herbs, as well as juice fasts. This would be the perfect time of year to explore a raw food cleanse (but keep it simple). Lad also promotes taking ginger fennel tea and morning walks. Personally, I am aiming for 70 percent fresh, preferably in-season produce like leafy greens, nettle, lettuce, and so forth. Because I am so fortunate to buy from the store I have many more options before me. It can be really hard to lay off comfort foods but it is worth it for stronger health.

An important question is, what is the point of detoxification, or what is being cleansed out of the body? Another book I recommend is Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life by Claudia Welch (De Capo Press, 2011). Welch claims hormonal balance is the mirror that reflects optimal health, because imbalance is the first stage of disease. Toxic buildup, or ama in Ayurveda, which derives from sluggish digestion and environmental toxins, will manifest as chronic inflammation, digestive/elimination problems, exhaustion, and so forth. Or simply "unwholesome" particles interfering with vitality of tissue states, which may produce countless symptoms. Detoxification opens blocked channels allowing deeper ama to leave the body.So not overeating, and only eating when hungry; eating fresh, whole foods; paying attention to what you are eating while you are eating. Gentle exercise, meditation, Sleep, herbs to encourage restful sleep, herbs to tonify digestive and eliminative organs. herbs to infuse massage oil for self massage. All wonderful self care practices.

Why bitter and astringent? Bitter compounds, such as iridoids and sequiterpenes,stimulate the gall bladder and liver and therefore digestion. And depending on the plant, may be anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, hypotensive, sedative, analgesic, laxative, anti-tumor and antibiotic, Astringent compounds expel excess fluid from tissues like a diuretic, enhancing cell wall strength to withstand foreign particle invasion. A way of purifying cells through the body. Both TCM and Ayurveda recommend avoiding too much bitter or astringency which may dehydrate the body - so my heavy preference for these tastes will not last beyond a couple weeks.Through it all I am trying to stay well hydrated.

   

Sattva - Purity

I'm still jiving on The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies by Vasant Lad, and I've dedicated this next full moon cycle, the month of February to eat foods traditionally regarded as "sattvic". A sattvic diet is composed of whole foods filled with "life force", and contributes to a sense of inner balance, peace and non-harming. To partake of these foods properly one needs to honor them by eating slow, and being grateful. I have not eaten vegetarian for many years, however I'm curious how this choice will impact my day to day mindset. I believe it will be a way of cultivating deeper self-love, therefore (we'll see) my ability to love others. Read more about my motivations here.

Lad specifies which types of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, dairy and herbs to consume -- which I'm experimenting with. I'm fascinated how some fruits, vegetables and herbs might not qualify. I suppose within each category, the "safe" or mild tasting foods would be regarded as sattvic. For herbs and spices, Lad lists cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, licorice, nutmeg, parsley, rose, saffron, tulsi, and tumuric. I thought I'd give preference to these in my cooking and tea making. It's really easy to forget this commitment without putting it in the forefront of my visual memory, i.e. keeping the list in my back pocket constantly.

I'm more curious as to which plants of the Pacific Northwest might be considered sattvic, or safe and balancing. Michael Moore's Therapeutic and Use Index delineates a few categories that probably work: alteratives, cardiac tonics, intestinal tract tonics, nervines, and bitter tonics. Tonics - "medicinal substances taken to give a feeling of vigor or well-being" - are theoretically safe to consume every day, right? Some plants include: barberry, burdock, chicory, dandelion, motherwort, oregon grape, red clover, sage, skullcap, valerian, yarrow and yellow dock. I have experimented a little with these plants before and I am currently drinking a tea of chicory, dandelion, and oregon grape. Perhaps now's a time for deepening my study and knowledge of them. As well as to dedicate my year learning them, harvesting and experimenting.

The plants I know less about include barberry, motherwort and valerian. According to Moore, barberry is similar to oregon grape as - alterative, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, intestinal and liver tonic, laxative and gall bladder stimulant. All very useful for maintaining digestive health. In addition barberry is particularly useful for treating mouth/gum inflammation, so would be a great addition to yarrow in toothpaste (which I currently need to make more of). Motherwort is described as quite mild as a cardiac tonic, a promenstrual, and for treating shingles, a stress-related nervous system symptom. Perhaps there's a connection between stress and blood health in the case of shingles. Valerian -- I have experienced it as stimulating but I will try again. Other than chamomile I don't really take many traditionally soothing herbs. Valerian is regarded as an analgesic (pain reliever), anti-spasmodic (muscle relaxant), nervine, and sedative. Perfect following intense yoga or hiking I would think.

I didn't do much this time around to celebrate the full moon for medicine making but I did finally bottle oregon grape tincture harvested at Discovery Park, and concocted last fall. Pictured below.

Works Cited

Lad, Vasant. (1999). The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. New York City: Harmony          Books.

Moore, Michael. (2011). Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West. Albuquerque, NM: Museum of New
     Mexico Press.

New Years Cleanse

Most of us are familiar with the toxicity of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, and so forth. But is straight up avoiding them the answer?

In a book store I recently came across Purify Your Body by Nina J. Diamond (Crown Trade, 1997). In one chapter, Diamond reminds us of the natural toxins existing in herbs and foods we typically consider healthy. For examples hydrazines in uncooked mushrooms, aflatoxin in grains, nuts, oilseeds, turmeric and ginger, canavanine in alfalfa sprouts, lactose in peas, oxalic acid in the chenopods (spinach, beet greens, etc), goitrogins in the brassicas (kale, cabbage, broccoli, etc) and solanine in the nightshades. She lists herbs occasionally recommended for acute symptoms, and due to their potential toxicity, suggests avoiding them altogether: black and blue cohosh, senna, sassafras, pennyroyal, chaparral, goldenseal, ephedra, comfrey and even kombucha! She also discusses toxicity from overconsuming vitamins - in fact you can damage yourself by taking too much Vitamin E, A, D, B3, B6, K beta carotene, copper,selenium, iron and calcium. Everything we consume has the potential to help us or harm us. The buddhist approach of the "middle way" seems applicable here.

So I'm considering how to recreate balance in what I eat this new year, and for the heck of it I did a cleanse inspired by Diamond's "Everyday Antidotes". There were moments I felt yuck, however, these last couple days I've felt more spacious in my body, so my yoga practice has been improved, also I've felt more clarity in my senses. Twas all very fun, almost a game -- and why aren't I practicing this everyday?

1. Drink water (I added lemon)
2. Eat fiber ((fruits and veggies))
3. Take echinacea  (I enjoyed some tea)
4. Eat antioxidants ((colorful fruits and veggies))
5. Take dandelion (again, tea blend I have on stock)
6. Meditation & relaxation
7. Exercise (took a hot yoga class!)
8. Bodywork (lucky me I was able to schedule a massage with Katrina Koleto)
9. Detox skin (citrus rub, dry brush and of course shower)
10. Detox hair (apple cider vinegar before applying conditioner)
11. Essential oils (rose, yay)
12. Vibrational medicine (very grounding group chant I was able to participate in)

Additionally I went through all formerly harvested plants stored in paper bags. Pictured below are calendula and yarrow flowers. Nearly clear of all former projects so I may begin anew.

More articles about potential toxins in health foods (better compare notes!):

"How to Live Healthy in a  Toxic Environment" http://www.naturopathic.org/content.asp?contentid=474

"Eight Poisonous Foods We Commonly Eat" http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/photos/8-poisonous-foods-we-commonly-eat/eaters-beware

"Natural Toxins in Food" http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/toxins-in-food.html

Wildcrafting

Haven't written a post in awhile but my friend told me she expected this in her inbox and she's holding me accountable. That was over a week ago though.

I was so glad I went! The Olympia Free Herbal Clinic organized their second annual Dandelion Seed Conference and fundraising adventure. I was lucky to obtain a scholarship to attend (although the entry fee is affordable compared to most conferences). I didn't know anyone there but ran into a tea seller (Bird's Eye Tea) I sometimes chat with at the University District Farmer's Market. She told me some of her stories about wildcrafting acorns, or driving to southern Oregon to harvest pine nuts, except there were none. That and Saturday's keynote, Heron Brae, “Beyond Ethical Wildcrafting: Remembering Our Human Place in the World”, who shared photos from her wild food foraging excursions while living off the grid -- I found most inspiring. She talked about the importance of giving back to the earth, such as replanting, or helping plants reseed themselves, for all that we consume of them.

One month ago I picked up The Front Yard Forager by Melany Vorass-Herrera at the library, and just started looking through it. There are some plants listed such as dandelion and clover that I am familiar with (I tried making dandelion fritters once) and many that I have yet to learn. Her basic claim is - why go out of your way to buy produce that has less nutrient value, is less fresh, and has more pesticides than the food you can harvest right in your neighborhood. I've always felt reluctance toward harvesting plants right in the heart of Seattle thinking they're polluted from the air, traffic, and other sources. She says to stay away from railways, but otherwise just to give the plants a good washing. Most of her recipes contain other ingredients you buy from the store though.

So you can't base your entire diet off wildcrafting, but there's value in rekindling your relationship to the plants around you. I suppose it would be good for me to be familiar with most of the plants I walk by in my day to day. So that is the big seed the conference has planted for me in the time that has followed.

Musical Herbal Hexagrams

On Herb Digest recently I've been seeing posts about the connection between herbs and musical notes. Which caught my attention so I've started reading about that a bit. They are connected by being on a similar vibe or wavelength. Like people connect more strongly with some plants or music over others if they just pay attention.

Yet when I read articles like this one that breakdown the specific relationships so precisely I wonder how arbitrary those details are. According to this writer the musical note Te corrosponds with moon energy, and these plants: Cucumber, Rapeseed, Turnip, Melons, lettuce, linseed. I don't know? I imagine the author is describing the types of connections she has personally felt, but doubt there is universal application.

Moral of the story is I have to pay closer attention to the relationship between music and plants. Such as in the studies desribed in the Secret Life of Plants. Not that I'm about to embarck on extensive studies or anything. Maybe I will have to make room for this kind of information in my dream life.

I like this website that talks about a connection between herbs, music and hexagrams: http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?t=4371

So I think about dandelion, my "gateway herb". The hexagram works from the base up.   
Yin (What kind of plant, root) *Except dandelion is the whole plant, flower, root, leaf, etc.
Changing Yin (What part of plant, root)
Changing Yang (When to harvest, autumn)
Yang (What it affects, solid organs)
Yin (What it produces, devoids)
Yang (What it tastes, bitter)

 

In the I Ching, this is the 56th hexagram, Sojourning/Quest, Lu (LÜ), "The Stranger", which connotes exile. Read some of that interpretation here.

 

According to the writer on onlineclarity, the musical corrospondences to dandelion would be:



Yin (percussion, deep and spaced)
Changing Yin (stepping up halftone)
Yang (Non reverberant)
Yang (Higher octaves or female voice)
Yin (Silence)
Yang (Single voice or choir)

What kind of music is this? It's all over my head. I need someone who knows music to help me. I'm quite entertained.

Warty Herbs

Jon showed us the wart under his foot before he got it lazered off. We were eating then started sharing our wart stories - it was gross. You had to be there. (The only one I got so far was on my knee when I was in elementary school. I had the wart for months and wondered how I was going to get rid of it. Then all the sudden one night I was doing somersaults off the couch, which had wooden arms, and I scraped my knee over one of them, and scraped the wart right off. DIY wart removal.)

At the same time I've been reading posts in HerbDigest about herbal treatments for warts. I read recommendations for iodine (seaweed, cod, yogurt) and antivirals (read this article: Top Antiviral Herbs including echinacea, garlic and onion). Here is a nice overview of what may be causing the problem. According to the article the manifestation of warts illustrates struggling immunity. Therefore the best prevention is to have a plan for enhancing your immune system long term. I'm pretty sure I have posted about that a couple times. http://herbdiaryseattle.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-is-immunity-really.html

What should I have done after I rolled my wart off the couch, back when I was a child? According to that same article suggests topical allium applications. Specifically to tape a garlic clove on top. Or to paint a mixture of salt/onion juice everyday. If that's too weird, then applications of dandelion sap might do the trick. And that would be pretty easy to take care of since dandlions grow everywhere.

Salmon Bay Remedies

(W 57th St in 1890!!)

I'm spending the afternoon in Ballard Library (and at the beach) reading Passport To Ballard, researching for another project, when I came across Chapter 14 "Staying Healthy On Salmon Bay". Before there were hospitals out here, there was indigenous plant healing, and then just after that there were pioneers with no medical assistance. Kay Nelson writes the medicine chests of those days were - alum, sulphur, borax, ipecac, camphor, ammonia, morphine and opium. My mom did not keep those things around in her first aid kit. So I'm very curious about them.

More so I wonder about their use of food, spices and herbs to deal with ailments (and also where Nelson got her information). Nelson lists: mustard/bran/oatmeal for poulstices, cayenne pepper, egg yolks and whites for burn ointments and eyewashes; bloodroot, mandrake, dandelion, burdock, yellow dock, chamomile, sassafras, Scot aloes, rue, red clover, gentian, pennyroyal, tansy, rhubarb.

How did the pioneers prepare these plants? Perhaps sometime I should try one of their remedies for heatstroke (after all it's summer now): a wet cloth is wrapped around one's head, while a second bandage soaked in salt is wrapped around the neck. Then dry salt is applied behind the ears. Then mustard plasters are applied to the calves of the legs and soles of feet. Worth a try I guess?

Did the pioneers bring the plants here or learn to make use of native plants? Mustard originates from the Himilayas, oat from the Fertile Crescent, bloodroot and sassafras from Eastern U.S., dandelion, yellow dock, chamomile, red clover, gentian, pennyroyal, tansy, and burdock from Eurasia, aloe from Africa, rue from Macaronesia, and rhubarb from China. But I guess we can't blame the pioneers since they had to take with them the knowledge they had. Go figure many of these plants are now so well established. Can't get rid of the dandelion, that's for sure.

Can't Get Rash About Rashes

The last time I had a noticable rash was when I was backpacking between farms in 2007. I developed a large one on the back of my calf. So drank dandelion root tea to cleanse out my liver - and it totally did the trick.

Something has manifested on my right arm (oh the metaphorical implications) and perhaps I will never learn the cause. -> You probably can't see it that well in this pic.

But I want to clear it up as soon as possible. Herbalists say it's important to eliminate toxins from the liver. Ironically I'd made a decoction of dandelion root, burdock and oregon grape last night. Then today the rash appeared. Hmmm...

Homemade Medicine - contains a bunch herb recommendations that could be mixed into teas

Natural Herbal Healing (FreeWebs) - suggests making polstices of herbs I hadn't thought to use, such as oats (one of the most common ingredients for soap - of course). I sure wish I had a clean bathtub to soak in oats with!

Natural News - discusses a variety of treatments from food to ointments, with an emphasis on dealing with allergies

But really I just need a little time to pass...

Dandy De-Tox

Speaking of dandelion botanicals... http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/dandelion-herb.html

I am weeding a bunch of dandlion plants out of the beds, not using the root because it's not strong enough. But the flowering tops. Oh yes.

Here is a recipe for dandelion fritters, which I've always wanted to try but haven't yet. Still can't because I'm detoxing dairy/eggs out of my body right now. But still worth mentioning for down the line, before I mow the yard. http://www.learningherbs.com/dandelion_recipes.html
http://susan-onedayatatime.blogspot.com/2011/05/eating-dandelion-flower-tops.html

So what am I going to do instead? Another recipe I've always wanted to try is Dandelion Wine. Something that's A-OK for during a detox. http://www.all4naturalhealth.com/dandelion-recipes.html