Real Herbal Healthcare
The Wise Woman Tradition of Nutrition
The biochemical and energetic nutrients which we digest, absorb, and metabolize from foodstuffs are the foundation of all cellular activity in the body. Food gathering and consumption are intertwined with sacred traditions and women's harvesting rituals in many cultures.
One Herb at a Time: Simpling Herbs vs. Herbal Formulas
Using simples in appropriate situations is a fun and effective way to create herbal preparations that you have a deep, intimate, and powerful relationship with. Using a single herb at a time allows for a deeper understanding of the individual characteristics and actions of each herb. The more you use a particular herb, the more you become familiar with its unique qualities and how it works. This approach also simplifies the process of matching bodily signals to specific herbs.
How to Make a Wild Herbal Succus: Cleavers
A succus is essentially a fancy word for a beneficial, concentrated herbal juice, typically preserved with some kind of alcohol. I’m going to make a cleavers succus for acute gentle lymph support, especially when this is so needed during recuperation from a bout with a bug or a time when the body is under prolonged stress.
Pine Needle Respiratory Ease Syrup
Making pine needle respiratory syrup is super easy and essentially no more work than making a very strong pine tea and then 'holding' it with good quality, preferably raw, local honey. Pine is an expectorant for thinning and moving mucous in the lungs. It's warming, somewhat drying, and has a sweet and sour flavor blend that can only be described as piney.
Forsythia Flower Syrup
Chinese health care traditionally uses the steamed and de-seeded fruit of the forsythia bush or 'golden bell' for clearing heat and expelling wind. It has an affinity for the heart, lung, and galbladder meridians. Make a honey based syrup from its spring flowers to keep in your kitchen or bathroom cabinet for wellness all year long.
Adaptogenic Goldenmilk Recipe
I mix up turmeric (both dried powder and a few squirts of our fresh turmeric extract), our ashwagandha extract, our astragalus extract, a little slippery elm powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, coconut oil, and raw milk and honey to make a rich, satisfying, and deeply nourishing beverage that feels like a meal and is packed with nutrients and herbal allies.
Herbs for a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth Part 4: Nursing and Lactation
I can't imagine going through this nursing journey without the help of botanicals. Let's delve into the areas of lactation where herbs can offer their benefits the most: increasing and decreasing milk supply and in specific breastfeeding complications. Since tiny amounts of some herbs taken internally can wind up in your milk supply, it’s critical to be aware of what you’re ingesting and in what form and what amount, whether it’s chamomile or catnip.
Herbs for Toddlers and Young Children
If bouts of bugs are the great teacher, they certainly don’t spare the littles. But as parents, we have such a diverse arsenal of herbal preparations available to us that using them one way that we can best show our babes to appreciate the natural world. Let's walk through some basic information about efficiently and practically incorporating herbs into our everyday routines with our kids, using herbs for immune system regulation, digestive health, the nervous system, and skin health.
Herbs for a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth Part 3: Labor and Birth
While there are a few things they can’t do, there are many more situations during labor and birth during which herbs can play a major role in supporting a healthy mama and healthy baby. Here, I'll share with you a few of my favorite herbs to have on hand to support a smooth labor and delivery, whether medicated or not, at home or in a hospital.
Herbs for a Healthy Pregnancy and Birth Part 2: Improving Well-Being
If you’re like me, you rely on herbs and nutrition in regular, non-gestating life to not only keep you well but to improve your immune response when you do come down with an illness. But during pregnancy, the world is turned topsy-turvy. It’s hard to know what herbs and other natural solutions are good to continue using during pregnancy. Let's explore pregnancy herbs which affect the immune system, nervous system, uterus, and digestive system.
Czech Apple Spicebush Strudel
For the holidays this year, Michael made his favorite Christmas apple strudel with a few local spicebush berries thrown in for a wildcrafted Appalachian twist in a dish in which the new world meets the old...via strudel!
Clogged Milk Ducts and Breast Health: Poke Root to the Rescue
Issues like tenderness or discomfort in the breasts and clogged or plugged milk ducts can pop up when least expected - and least wanted - especially during times of stress and depressed immunity. Poke root oil or poke root salve is a wonderful herbal preparation for nursing mamas who are looking for a traditional strategy that really kicks it up a notch.
