I’ve often thought about why we deem some plants “weeds” and others fit for planting or eating. As I’ve delved into raw food nutrition (I’m studying through The BodyMind Institute) I’ve been amazed at how readily I’d dismissed some of the most healing herbs on the planet as little more than mower clippings.
Now some of the most common weeds take pride of place in my kitchen, ready for use in herbal teas, poultices, raw food recipes, natural beauty preparations and more. Weeds are particularly nutritious because they have had to make it on their own … withstand nature’s elements to remain strong and vibrant. It takes a lot of energy for them to simply live – energy that we directly benefit from when we eat these incredible herbs.
Here are my favourite four:
DANDELION (parts used: leaf and root)
Dandelions are those plants with the fluffy “flower” that, as kids, we likely made a wish or two with. It’s a wonderfully nutritious herb that has been used by ancient cultures, including Chinese and Ayurvedic healers. The leaves are a natural diuretic and are great for relieving the bloated feeling that can come with PMS. The root of the dandelion is a good liver tonic and is brimming with antioxidants such as vitamins A and C.
BURDOCK (parts used: roots)
Known as a blood purifier, and as the most effective herb for treating chronic skin problems. It has been known to ease such conditions as eczema, acne, psoriasis, boils, herpes and syphilitic sores, styes, carbuncles and cankers. It contains polyacetylenes – natural killers of fungi and bacteria. Burdock also expels toxins and promotes urine flow and perspiration (the Chinese use it to calm).
NETTLE (parts used: leaves)
Nettle tea has been widely used to combat intestinal weakness, diarrhea and malnutrition. It also acts as a diuretic and is said to be good for treating kidney weakness and bladder infections. Nettles can help rid the body of excessive fluid, be used topically to treat eczema and rashes, as well as soothe arthritic and rheumatic conditions. It’s also great for bone density.
RED CLOVER (parts used: flowers and leaves)
Red Clover, an anti-cancer herb, is great to use powdered (sprinkle it on salads) and it can also be used as a tea. It’s also a source of nutrients including calcium, chromium, potassium, thiamine, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus and vitamin C.
Find out more – books that include some valuable information on common edible weeds:
• Herbal Medicine, The Natural Way to Get Well and Stay Well
• The A to Z Guide to Healing Herbal Remedies
• Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
There are certainly weeds out there that aren’t edible, and those that aren’t are generally very bitter to taste. If you’re keen to go grazing, be sure to take a wildcrafting workshop first or know without a doubt what you’re looking for. Some herbs may look similar, but can be poisonous.
What makes a goji berry more nutritionally potent that an apple? Why is chocolate a certified love potion? Nutritionist David Wolfe shares some of the most life-supporting foods on the planet…
What are the best five superfoods and their benefits?
I have selected 20 of the world’s best superfoods and described their history and benefits in my book: Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future
Goji Berry
A complete protein source, #1 in the carotene Zeaxanthin (orange-red pigment that supports healthy eyes), sesquiterpenes that increase the natural production of human growth hormone, rich in beta-carotene and liver cleansing betaine, one of the highest antioxidants sources known, #1 in Chinese medicine, delicious.
Cacao (raw chocolate)
#1 antioxidant food in the world, #1 magnesium/chromium/iron/manganese, rich in tryptophan, serotonin, and the bliss chemical anandamide, loaded with PEA (love chemicals), low in caffeine, high in theobromine (heart support), known to extend life.
Maca
This super-root from the Andes is known to contain 20 trace minerals, 17 amino acids, hormone pre-cursors, thyroid supporting compounds, and some essential fatty acids. Maca increases vigor in all ages and acts as an aphrodisiac when the endocrine system is topped up with maca nutrients.
Bee Pollen (not vegan)
This superfood is composed of 22 amino acids with higher amounts of the 8 essential amino acids than most high protein foods. Bee pollen is rich in B-complex, vitamin C, D, E, lecithin, cysteine, RNA, DNA, good calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, and selenium. Bee pollen reduces the production of histamine and lowers the allergic response. Bee pollen improves beauty as it helps clear acne and reverses aging and wrinkling. Athletes take it to increase strength, endurance, energy and speed; quicker recovery from exercise; return heart rate to normal; and to improves endurance for repeat exertion.
Camu Berry
The camu berry is an excellent source of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, the amino acids serine, valine and leucine, as well as small amounts of the vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Traditionally, camu has been used to support the immune system, maintain excellent eyesight, ward off viral infections, support strong collagen, tendons, and ligaments and decrease inflammation.
What are the best five superherbs and their benefits?
I am writing a book on herbalism at the moment. Here are some of my current favorites. These favorites shift slightly with the seasons and my location, nevertheless, they are fantastic superherbs.
Reishi Mushroom (spirit mushroom)
A tremendous shen (heart and aura) building herb known to the Chinese for 5,000 years. It’s immune modulating and is a great liver support herb, a heart tonifying herb (great for high blood pressure), and an adaptogenic. Reishi is one of the great providers for well-being on Earth. Reishi is found in forests all over the world.
Asparagus Root
The root of common asparagus is considered one of the greatest superherbs in Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. It nourishes the kidneys and lungs. It nourishes the sympathetic nervous system and builds bodily fluids. Asparagus root is a tonic, adrenal rejuvenator, anti-ulcerous and anti-inflammatory. The root of asparagus is also used in the treatment of nervous disorders, dyspepsia, diarrhea, dysentery, tumours, hyperdipsia, neuropathy and liver disease. This plant is reported to have immuno-modulating and antihepatotoxic and activities.
Chaga Mushroom
Perhaps the most powerful anti-cancer herb in the world. Chaga is the highest antioxidant food/herb substance in the temperate regions of the world. Its extraordinary concentration of non-polar polysaccharides as well as betulinic acid have been cited as the major source of its immune modulating activities. Chaga has anti-inflammatory properties. Chaga tea is my favorite tea of all time.
Pau D’Arco (Lapacho)
This delicious tree bark from the Amazon and jungles of Central America contains powerful anti-fungal compounds. Pau d’Arco effectively fights fungal infections such as candida as well as cancer. This bark reduces fevers, assists in healing ulcers and is also used for venereal and rheumatic disorders. It is especially useful for fungal and viral skin disorders — especially eczema and herpes. Lapacho multiplies the body’s production of red blood cells. Pau d’Arco tea is often combined with an anti-viral superherb Una da Gato (Cat’s Claw).
Ho Shou Wu (Fo-Ti)
This prepared root nourishes and tonifies the kidneys, liver, and the blood. It is a hair restoring tonic (fights baldness). This root builds and replenishes kidney, adrenal, and sexual energy as well as increases fertility. This longevity tonic contains antioxidants that help produce the super enzyme SOD (super-oxide dismutase).
I’d never really given much thought to the healing properties of herbs and spices, until recently. Now the herb and spice aisle at my local organic grocer is one of my favourite places.
I received an email yesterday from Dr Steven Joyal’s publicist, who, besides promoting his new book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Diabetes
SD: How did you come to be an advocate of adding spices to the diet in order to achieve good health?
SJ: The scientific data in support of spices like curcumin, ginger, rosemary, cumin, and cinnamon is strong.
SD: How are spices best consumed for maximum impact?
SJ: Fresh or dried, spices have a wealth of health benefits. Scientific research suggests that spices/herbs like marjoram, thyme, and rosemary may help reduce the formation of cancer-causing substances called heterocyclic amines in grilled or broiled foods.
SD: Have we come full circle, understanding perhaps what our ancestors did, that spices have profound health-boosting properties?
SJ: Before the pharmaceutical companies found disease profitable, ancient traditions like Ayurvedic medicine understood the value of herbs and spices in helping to maintain optimal health.
SD: How can spices help someone with diabetes?
SJ: Cinnamon and cumin are two spices with interesting anti-diabetic properties. Scientific data suggests that these two spices can help support healthy blood sugar levels and reduce the oxidant damage from diabetes. Efficacious doses are about two teaspoons daily.
SD: What are your must-have spices for your rack and why?
SJ: Ginger (anti-inflammatory), cumin (support healthy blood sugar levels, anti-oxidant), cinnamon (anti-oxidant, supports healthy blood sugar levels), turmeric (curcumin) {anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant), rosemary (anti-oxidant, anti-cancer) are all great spices and herbs for supporting optimal health.
SD: Turmeric is often a spice touted for its amazing healing properties. What is it about turmeric that has such a big impact on the body?
SJ: Turmeric’s “secret” is curcumin, and this interesting ingredient has anti-cancer properties, antioxidant properties, and anti-inflammatory properties. In fact, several experimental studies, as well as human clinical studies, show benefit for curcumin in Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating neurological illness!
As more Westerners begin to embrace the life-enhancing benefits of natural therapies, understanding what treatment works best for what condition can cause a headache itself.
Holistic health care, unlike Western medicine, treats the whole person to identify the cause of each symptom. As each body is different, treatments are then tailored to the individual—to not only cure dis-eases but also help people live continually in optimal health.
The Health and Vitality Center’s Dr Shiva Lalezar says many people who deal with fatigue, for example, may overcome it with controlled doses of Vitamin C—a common vitamin which has a profound positive effect on immune cells and is specifically anti viral when given intravenously.
“It helps patients live a vibrant life filled with energy, stamina and mental clarity through diverse natural treatments including infusion therapies,” she says.
“A 24-year female was presented to my clinic with worsening fatigue in the past six months. She also had enlargement of one lymph node in her neck which was biopsied and found to be non cancerous. All her blood work was also normal. She was however feeling worse each day and had quit working out and was dragging herself at work. She could not get out of bed in the morning and this was affecting her work.
Dr Lalezar said she did a series of blood work and found two viruses to be extremely high (Epstein Bar Virus and Cytomegalovirus).
“She also had high Candida antibodies and a low Vitamin D level. I placed her on high dose Vitamin C intravenously once a week and gave her Ribose powder (the monosaccharide sugar backbone for RNA and DNA), probiotic and placed her on a Candida-free diet.”
The doctor says within three weeks the patient’s energy level went from 50 percent to 80 percent and has been able to work out and function better at work.
According to life food expert, David Wolfe, switching from a junk food diet to a completely raw lifestyle, without adding supportive herbs such as reishi
“Whenever we have eaten anything in our life, our immune system is reactive to it,” Wolfe says. “Why? Because it’s Shakey’s Pizza, it’s Fruity Pebbles, God knows what else … Hershey’s chocolate bars, and our bodies go what the heck is this? The food comes in, the immune system is activated, white blood cells multiply—this happens every meal for years.”
“When we get on raw food, we don’t have that reaction and our body goes ‘whoa’ and it can be lulled to sleep. So our immune system can become susceptible because we’re not crying wolf on it. Very important concept. The mushrooms (reishi) keep all that buffered so our immune system doesn’t go to sleep.”
I recently caught up with Dr Lalezar to chat holistic health care:
What is one natural therapy everyone should know about and why?
DR LALEZAR: High dose Vitamin C because Vitamin C boosts up the immune system, fights against bacteria, viruses, and cancer. Vitamin C can be taken orally in the form of buffered Vitamin C up to 10,000mg per day. Oral Vitamin C however can be hard on the stomach and may cause diarrhea. Patients who need high doses of Vitamin C (10,000‐75,000 mg) can be given IV infusion. They see immediate improvement in their health.
Explain allergies and how they can be best treated?
DL: There are different forms of allergies. An IgE mediated allergy causes hives, swelling, throat tightening, and shortness of breath. This is seen with bee sting, certain medications, and highly allergenic foods such as shrimp, peanuts, strawberries, and shellfish. Allergies of this nature can be quick in onset and cause anaphylaxis and death.
Another type of allergy is IgG or IgA mediated and they are more insidious and less obvious. Patients may not be aware that their daily symptoms are due to an allergic reaction or food sensitivity. Milk, wheat, soy, eggs, beef, and citrus fruits are the most common food allergens.
Patients may experience vague symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches, brain fog, irritability, mood fluctuations, dark circles under the eyes, inability to lose weight or gain weight, and many more! Allergies are best treated with elimination of the food, and strengthening the immune system with (omega oils), probiotic, Vitamin C. Antidote drops are also very powerful in treatment of allergies.
Read More Post a comment (0)
A few years ago, I was completely addicted to coffee. A soy latte here, a mocha chino there. But from the moment I became vegan I also gave up my love affair with caffeine and switched to health-boosting herbal teas. Now, I drink just about every herbal tea around, from dandelion leaf to sage. There are now loose leaf teas in my kitchen I’d never dreamed existed.
One of my favourite places on the planet to drink tea was Dr Tea’s on Melrose Ave in Los Angeles, until it temporarily closed its doors last year. The man behind the much-loved tea sanctuary Mark Ukra dared opened the tea garden in a city known for its countless Starbucks and loyal coffee addicts who frequent them.
So while the English swear by it and the Japanese cherish it, in the United States, Mark (or Dr Tea as he is affectionately known) says tea is one of the least favoured drinks, despite its documented health benefits.
Considering he comes from a family of Middle Eastern tea merchants dating back more than 400 years, it’s little surprise Dr Tea has become the unofficial spokesperson for tea in the United States. His book, The Ultimate Tea Diet, also showed that tea was good for more than just getting your daily dose of antioxidants.
I recently caught up with Dr Tea and asked him to share some interesting tid bits about the ancient beverage that comes in many varieties, yet is derived from just one powerhouse plant: the Camellia Sinensis.
SD: How can tea help coffee drinkers kick their habit?
DR TEA: I had this exact issue. I found that tea is essentially consumed exactly like coffee, hot and or cold. It can be placed in the same cup so you have the same feeling. They both have caffeine, albeit, tea has less as well as L-Theanine which counteracts caffeine’s harmful effect in the brain. Now taste of course is not easily matched although I sell a coffee tea, which is a tea I have roasted in a coffee roaster so it looks and smells like coffee.
Read More Post a comment (0)
They say addiction is a bad thing, but what happens if what you’re addicted to is actually good for you? My case in point? Sage tea. I love the stuff. I’d bathe in it if I could (and probably will now I’m thinking of it).
While my introduction to sage was the dried version you burn to clear negative and stuck energies, just as the Native Americans have done for centuries, I’d never thought about drinking the stuff. Until my Reiki master handed me a cup one day. Since then it has been a sweet love affair between drinker and drink, between herb lover and said herb. But it’s also the health benefits of this powerful lil plant that keep me within its charms.
We Westerners have taken a while to understand the benefits Sage tea, which have been well-known in the Mediterranean and Asia for eons.
Sage is most commonly used as an infusion, extract, tincture (a medicine made by dissolving a plant/drug in alcohol so says the dictionary), poultice (made into a moist clump, basically) and spice. It can be used to calm or stimulate. The tea has traditionally been used for mouth, throat and tonsil inflammations. Made strong, with a dash or lemon and raw sugar, it can help heal ulcers and skin abrasions.
Because I love it so much, I had to share some of this enthusiasm. Here are some more great benefits of sage:
• It can be used to darken hair;
• If rubbed on your teeth it can strengthen the gums;
• It can reduce fevers and nervousness;
• It’s a great digestion booster, as it stimulates the nervous system;
• It’s considered a useful treatment for typhoid fever;
• It has been known to help liver and kidney troubles;
• Sage is used to combat sore throats, measles and the common cold;
• It’s used to treat pains in joints from lethargy and palsy;
• Sage tea can also help keep excessive perspiration from, well, being excessive.
So where to buy this gem of a tea? Most good health food stores carry it. Here’s a guide for brewing the perfect cup. Oh and according to experts, you shouldn’t use a concentrated concoction of the herb if you’re pregnant.
Like anything, it’s all good in moderation. So with that in mind, the bath idea may well be taking things a wee bit too far…
