Web Weaving Herbals

It seems to be fairly common knowledge that High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup (HFCS) just isn’t all that good for you. I certainly avoid it as much as humanly possible, and try to make sure that my growing child (age 3) doesn’t develop a taste for it. Which turns out to be a good plan on my part, as there have been reports of traceable levels of mercury found in HFCS. Yuck!

You can read the peer reviewed study from Environmental Health or this article in Grist.com about the study – the Grist article is less loaded with scientific language and probably easier to just scan.

Either way, it gives us yet another reason to avoid HFCS – and request that it be removed from our foods, our childrens’ schools, and our lives in general. Without mercury it is hardly an edible/digestible substance (note I did not use the term “food” there), with mercury it is a toxic poison.

Feel free to contact the FDA and let them know that this is a serious health issue which they should address with all haste.

Diet was covered very briefly in the earlier post on this same topic, and we will delve deeper into those ideas here – with at least one recipe! Before you read this, go back and look at some of the major points I made in that previous post if you want. Many of them will become relevant again as we think about how and what we eat to keep ourselves healthy.

Michael Pollan’s recent book In Defense of Food is probably one of the most eloquent treasties on how and why to eat well. Let’s just take his main premise:

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

What does this mean? Eat food? If I can eat it it’s food, right? Not according do Pollan. Food contains 5 or less ingredients printed on the package and you can recognize/pronounce the ingredients. This is a good guideline. You can make it a rule or not. I make it a guideline and cook mostly from scratch anyway. But what I really want to talk about, in light of surviving a flu, is the last part: MOSTLY PLANTS.

Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to maintain optimum health and fight the myriad germs that it will come into contact with over the course of any day. Grains are also a plant, and if you are going to eat them, try to eat as many whole grains as possible – again for the vitamins and minerals. White flour, white rice… these have been washed, bleached, and stripped of darn near all of their nutritional value and do very little beyond giving you an energy boost.

If I were going to tell you to eat one grain, and one grain only, it would be oatmeal. Organic, not-quick, whole oats. Oats are deeply nutritious, support and heal the nervous system. They are tasty. They are a great vehicle for honey, which is anti-microbial, deeply nutritious, and soothing to an over-worker respiratory system. When you make your oatmeal, add some fresh apples. The old adage about an apple a day keeping the doctor away is based in apples nutritional and vitamin-filled goodness.

((This is sounding so good, right? Oatmeal with apples and honey, maybe a little cinnamon – warming to the systems and gently stimulating to the immune system – and a splash of milk if you like. Is this really medicine? You bet your socks it is. I love my work.))

Other simple nutritional fixes include bone-broth (take bones; cow, chicken, pig, whatever, and simmer them down for about 2 hours with a potato and some salt), which is packed full of energy-giving proteins and is a light and easy thing for the body to digest if it is stressed by illness. Eat your dark, leafy greens. Eat lots of fresh fruit. Vary your diet from day-to-day: eat a little meat, a little fish, a lot of veggies, and a diverse group of grains. Try to avoid the pasta-and-sauce-from-a-jar and take-out pitfalls, even if you are busy. A few extra minutes now to prepare good whole food from scratch could save you a day in bed with the bug.

***

That said, don’t totally deny yourself all that you love. The flu season coincides with the Holidays and the dietary excesses that our culture seems to thrive on. So use good common sense and reason when going to Thanksgiving, a Party, or other Feasting Event. Sure, you might be off sugar for the moment while your sinuses drain and immune system rebuilds – but you can still enjoy a slice of that Chocolate-Pecan Pie that your auntie makes only for Christmas Dinner. There is tremendous nutritional value in foods that make you Feel Good. The pie might not do much for your immune system, but it does a lot for your heart and soul. Keeping those happy is just as important as keeping your body happy.

We can quote Oscar Wilde here:

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

The whole concept here goes back to reducing stress. Let me clarify and elaborate. I’m not talking about binge eating the whole box of cookies your dad just mailed to you. That will not be good for your body and, though you will get a moment of enjoyment, not really make your heart and soul happy. Instead, make the cookies last, eat a couple each day (and appreciate that loving parent while you do it) and don’t beat yourself up about fat, calories, sugars, or whatever. Enjoy what you have. De-stress about your food. Read this great little article from NPR about Indulgence.

***

So, back to the original idea of the post. What will help prevent the flu?

Foods:
Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit, Ginger, Oatmeal, Apples, Honey, Spicy Foods (wasabi, cayenne, etc.), Broth, Dark-Leafy Greens (kale, collards, chard, etc.). Other things will help also, but these are your basics.

What about preventative herbs? There are a bunch out there, and I am going to talk about just a few of my favorites.

Elder – Berry and Flower
A wonderful and tasty plant that combats viruses AND supports/boosts the immune system AND is safe for babies, pregnant mothers, and the elderly. It’s high in vitamins and minerals, and the berries are full of antioxidents. You can make a tea or tincture of berry and/or flower, you can add the dried berries to your oatmeal, or just snack on them throughout the day. I know of no upper limit to this plant. I don’t think you can enjoy it too much. Our favorite thing to do is to prepare a syrup:

Elderberry Syrup
• 1 cup dried elderberries
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups raw honey

Put the elderberries and water in a pot with a good fitting lid. Bring just to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 1-12 hours (if longer than 6 hours, place in the fridge). Strain elderberries, putting the tea in a new pot. Re-warm and add the honey until fully mixed. Bottle and refrigerate. 1-4 tbl./day is a good dose for an adult. Children can have 1-4 tsp. Double your daily dosage at the onset of flu symptoms and through the duration of the illness. We pout this onto oatmeal instead of regular honey. It keeps in the refrigerator for 6 months, so a decent bottle or two can get you and your family through the whole cold & flu season.

Ginger

So tasty and so warming on these cold days. Ginger stimulates healthy digestion – so you get better nutrient absorption from all the good food you are eating – and spicy makes for an inhospitable environment for viruses and bacterias (other spicy foods/herbs will do the same). Ginger can be in a tea or tincture, in a stir-fry, as a honey syrup (as above), eaten candied, or just about any other way. Pregnant women in the first trimester should take only very small does, if any, and be aware if their body tells them that ginger is Not for them.

Going back to my thoughts on indulgence for a moment – so you need a little something sweet? What about ginger-oatmeal cookies? Maybe with some chocolate chips… Indulgence can be medicinal as well!

Thyme
Such a tiny plant, but so full of essential oils – in which hide its virus/bacteria kicking power. Thyme is a good for cold/flu prevention. It is one of the most powerful anti-microbials available to those of us growing our own herbs. While it is tasty as a tea or tincture – and can also be made into syrup – the easiest thing to do with thyme is just to cook with it. Add an extra handful to anything savory you cook in which it will be tasty.

There’s more, and I’m going to stop here. This is already a long post, but I could continue, and continue, and continue. But I think there is enough information in this post both to absorb and to play with. It is my deepest hope and wish that these ideas give more people better health and prevent some of the flus and colds out there from taking hold in unwilling hosts.

Remember to take it easy, eat well, and enjoy your food and herbs.

The Spirit of Simples

Susun Weed has long been a favorite herbal author. Her writing is clear and concise. She seeks and loves the magic of plants, and makes the science accessible also. I appreciate the thought behind this article, and mostly agree that Simples often make the most sense.

But one of my favorite thoughts of Ms. Weed’s is that the Wise Woman Herbal Traditions are “familiar, simple, messy, and fun.” Just how I like my life and my medicine to be.

I have lots of thoughts about flu, epidemics, pandemics, and what to do should one be struck down by one of these virulent beasts. There are several aspects to keeping one’s self healthy, so bear with me.

I will NOT write about vaccines, medicine/medical care, or anything else related to the allopathic medical system. That is not within my purview. Also, the last topic I am going to write about is herbs. As I have mentioned before, there is a lot to do with herbalism and health that has little to do with herbs. Not that they aren’t out there and I don’t use them all the time; it’s simply that there are lots of alternatives that can be tapped first.

That said – let’s think about the upcoming flu season.

Here’s what makes me crazy: We have a ridiculous culture of fear surrounding flus, epidemics, and pandemics.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t be concerned or do our best to take good care of ourselves and those we love. I realize that these flu bugs are virulent and we live in such a global way that any epidemic could potentially spread more quickly than anyone wants to think about. But really – fear creates a stress response in the body which weakens the immune system by causing it to work overmuch for no reason which makes one more likely to fall prey to passing germs. Do we see a pattern here? And this segues into my major topic for this post:

STRESS, the way we choose to live, and what we can do to keep our bodies strong and healthy even through sickness.

Here is what I see around me (a partial list):
*Long work hours, over loaded work schedule, cubicles and indoor spaces with little natural light.
*A culture of GO GO GO, social committments, classes, parties, get-togethers, meetings, etc.
*Too much stuff. Not enough time.

How will these things play into your well-being? It’s a good question. Like I mentioned earlier, the bodies response to stress is to go into a low level ‘fight or flight’. This causes many of your major organs to operate a less than peak efficiency in order to save energy for the potential dangers. It causes the immune system to wear out from over work. So if you are in a stressful job, in difficult relationship, have other family stress, and/or are over-committed, you are spending more than your body’s safe amount of time in fight or flight. ((If this interests you, let me recommend Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, by Robert Sapolsky.))

1)The most basic, and most essential thing you can do to prevent any flu or bug from attacking your system: RELAX! Find some down time. Do things you love, get attention from people who love and support you. Give attention to people you love and support. Get outside. Pray, meditate, exercise, read – whatever calms your inner turbulence and slows you down.

Let me repeat that in a distilled way: If you run your body into exhaustion frequently, you significantly increase your chance of illness. So take it easy.

Your tired body might just get the flu to make you take a break. Wouldn’t you rather have had that time to choose what to do with?

2) Throw away your anti-bacterial soap. Seriously.

There are 2 reasons to do this, and if you keep reading I will give you some alternatives to anti-bacterial soaps. Reason 1 is that a flu is a virus, NOT a bacteria. Sure, that soap will have some minimal effect on the viral bugs, but not really. Reason 2 is that anti-bacterial soap kills ALL the bacteria on your hands (face, wherever) including the good guys. Your body is an invisible battle between the good flora/fauna and the bad flora/fauna. If you kill all the good, you create a perfect environment for the bad to move in and set up strongholds before your body can re-colonize the good.

Instead of that chemical smelling perfumed soap, check out a soap with natural essential oils in it. These guys are anti-microbial, which means they don’t differentiate between viruses and bacterias, so it doesn’t matter if you have a cold (bacteria born) or a flu (virus born). Also, they are (by science and magic) able to support your bodies good guys in their fight, instead of just wiping everyone out. Here at our house, we use Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree soap. It smells good, fights crime, and doesn’t diminish our overall health. Lavender, Peppermint and Orange would also be options, though not quite as powerful as Tea Tree.

3) Save a little money. It doesn’t seem like it is a part of health, but if taking a few days off work to recover from a flu is going to have a seriously negative impact on your bank balance, you might spend your time recuperating worrying and stressing about that bank balance. Or, you can’t afford to take the time off, work through several days of discomfort and illness and end up making yourself sicker! Make sure that you can cover the costs of a few days off, childcare if you need it, and a trip to the doctor if necessary. You don’t need to save up a lot, or deny yourself all your luxuries, but just make sure you have a little ‘anti-stress’ in reserve. And if you DON’T get sick you can take yourself out for a special congratulatory celebration and toast your good health.

Along these same lines, talk with your employer about sick leave, how much you have (if you have any), what you can take, family leave policies, etc. Know the details before you are achy and ill, wondering if sleeping all day will put your job and finances in jeopardy.

4) Eat well! Bacteria and viruses thrive on things like sugar and other highly processed foods. They are (as we know) easy energy and those little bugs like that just as much as you do. Eat whole foods. Eat diverse foods. All the fruits and veggies are packed full of things your body can use to fight illness and keep you healthy.

Eat in a calm space. Stressful eating, eating on the go, eating while working, etc. are all ways to prevent your body from taking time to absorb those good nutrients that it needs. When it’s not too cold/rainy, eat your lunch outside and enjoy the season. Turn off your computer and phone and be with your food. It’s what keeps you going and appreciating that is important.

5) Exercise! The gym is good, hikes are good, walks are good, biking to work is good. Give your body good reasons to work and something to do. If you are in a slump (literally and figuratively) your body won’t have the energy it needs to support the immune system. Exercise gives you more energy and calms your mind. You will sleep better. You will digest better. You will feel better. If you aren’t into exercising (I’m not – I hate tread mills, stair masters, exercise classes, etc. I have nothing against them, they just don’t work for me) find ways to build exercise into your day. We all have house chores we have to do – you can use them to burn calories while sweeping, vaccuming, and all those other menial chores. Walk to the store when you’re out of milk, even if it does take a little longer. Explore beautiful autumn and winter walks in your area. Which brings me to my next point:

6) Get outside! Germs fear and flee from fresh air. It might not be practical to keep our windows open in the winter, but we can take ourselves out and freshen ourselves up. Hike, walk, bike, rake leaves (much better exercise than a leaf blower), get friends together for a pick-up sports game or wander through a local orchard. Go to the woods for seasonal decorations. Observe the changes of the world around you as the seasons change and the year evolves. You can build this into your day as well – park your car farther from work than usual and walk in, breathing deeply and noticing how even that short walk changes with the seasons.

And finally…

7) Use common sense. Wash your hands, don’t pick your nose, don’t hug people who are sick, cover your mouth with your elbow when you cough and sneeze.

In our next post we will explore some specific foods and herbs that will help support the systems through the flu season, and what herbs will help your body fight the germs if they do get you!

Eating local is a huge trend right now. The books by Barbara Kingsolver and Michael Pollan (among others) have inspired many people to search out their local food options.

**A warning to tender-hearted vegetarians! This is a post about finding and eating local meat.**

My family does eat meat and dairy products. We try to do so somewhat sparingly – using the meat as more of an addition to a meal of veggies and grains instead of a main focus. There are a couple of reasons for this, but the one that is most relevant to this post is that local, organic meat is expensive! If I can spread a large roast into 3 or 4 meals (and I can) it’s better for everyone (cows, the planet, our digestion, our budget, overall balance of flavors during the meal…).

Somethings to know about finding local meat: start at Farmer’s Markets and small (local) butcher shops. Ask around. Here in Lane County we have a wonderful publication for local farms and what they sell – The Willamette Farm & Food Coalition Locally Grown Directory 2009.

When you have found a couple of meat farms, get to know the people who run the farm, the variety of meats they stock, how they kill/butcher/package their product, and anything else you need to know from them. Any really decent meat farm will give you the option to have a farm visit and meet the animals, see where they slaughter, and in general be very transparent about their process. Some meat farms will invite you out to help with the Chicken or Turkey slaughter. I chose my favorite meat farm when I was talking with the farmer about how he kills the chickens and he said something along the lines of: “I have the hard and beautiful job of looking each chicken in the eye before I kill it.” That’s kindly killed meat – appreciate the life and honor the process.

Once you have a meat farm (or farms), continue to build a relationship with them. They will likely be in a position to help you get affordable and high quality meat, because they are small and local and (after time) they will know you. Some farms offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that comes with a deal. Some have a raw-milk program. Some have large mixed boxes for a good deal. Often you will also have access to eggs and dairy too! Ask what your options are.

If you know find that you are just loving your local meat (and I know I do – I can taste the difference between my happy pork and the occasional time I eat factory-raised pork), go the next step. For this you will need a large deep freezer. Order a hunk of cow or pig and pack it in your freezer. Now you have meat whenever! Does that sound overwhelming? Let me break it down for you.

The ‘hanging weight’ of a butchered cow is around probably 600-700 pounds (Holy COW! How will we eat that much??) but your farmer is likely very happy to sell you a portion of this cow. Or (even better for the farmer) you find a group of 5-12 people (depending on how much cow you want) and split it up yourselves. The farmer will have the cow slaughtered and butchered, and give you bags and bags (and bags!) of various wrapped pieces. Roasts, steaks, ground beef, tail, tongue, heart and liver (if you don’t want it, your carnivorous pets do!), bones… Then you and your cow-sharing buddies divide it up.

Is this really so much better than just buying what you need, as you go? It is if you want to save some money. Here’s my math: I bought 1/12 of a cow last fall and paid $150. I estimate that I brought home about 45-55 pounds of meat. So let’s be conservative and say I got 45 pounds.
$150/45 = 3.33 per pound.
That was a mixed bunch – steaks (sirloin/rib eye/t-bone), roasts of all kinds, stew meat, ground beef, bones for stock, organs for the pets…
Non-Organic (factory-farm raised) Ground Beef in the grocery store is usually around $3-4 per pound. Steaks can go from $10-$25 a pound. You begin to see why I pack down a huge amount of meat in my freezer. It is the best way to make meat affordable.

Some of the meat farms I have bought from:
Deck Family Farm

Sweet Briar Farm

Wintergreen Farm

Looking for local meat other places, try Local Harvest. You input your zip code and what you are looking for, and it brings up a list of what you are looking for in your area. Fun!

A final note about cooking free range meats: Because the animals are getting lots of exercise and eating a balanced diet (not all corn!) the meat tends to be a little tougher than what you might pick up at the big grocery store. You get used to it. Marinate a little longer, chew a little better, and enjoy the much deeper flavor that happens when an animal actually uses its muscles!

Now go forth and eat your good meat!

My midwife gifted me with many wonderful plants to add to my garden beds – mostly of the medicinal variety. This has inspired me to go around my yard in the next weeks (and continue through the Summer as we plant and harvest) to create an inventory, if you will, of what we have growing on our little urban farm.

Just on Sunday I added:
Bee Balm (medicinal)
Sweet Woodruff (magical)
more Raspberries (medicinal/food)
Phlox (flowers)
Bleeding Heart (flowers)
Peppermint (medicinal)
Motherwort (medicinal)
Hyssop (medicinal)
Snap & Snow Peas (food)
Nasturtiums (medicinal/edible flowers)
and
Curry Plant (culinary herb/medicinal?)

And that’s just the new plants as of the weekend. That doesn’t even touch on the new and expanded culinary herb bed, all the gardening we’ve done in the past 3-4 years, or anything that was here when we moved in. Much to do and there is never enough gardening time for me.

Blessing of the Garden and Seeds