The Indian Council of Medical Research has launched a series of studies to test the health claims surrounding a variety traditional medicines. Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, a member of the council, said that in some cases the herbs may be more effective than Western-style medicines.

Naomi Coleman talks about six herbal tonics for your health. A great way to experience the healing effects of botanicals! - (Offsite)

The BBC is reporting on the health benefits of green tea. - (Offsite)

You probably winterize your house, so why not your body? -(In Ramblings)

I just followed a link that read "A Healthy Immune System can Banish the Winter Blues." Forgetting the fact I was taken to a site trying to sell me on some pre-formulated compounds, it got me to thinking.

Now is the time to act if you get the cruds each winter. Most of come down with some type of cold, flu or other random "bug" as the weather gets colder, sending us in droves to the local Walgreens for some symptom relieving, over sweetened, fast acting wonder drug to make us feel better… now.

This year, why not try something different? One of the best ways to experience botanical medicine is by using immunomodulating herbs. Immunomodulators enhance the body's natural defenses. Think of it as shoring up the fort and putting in provisions to help in the fight. Keeping the wartime metaphors, immunomodulators don't go on seek-and-destroy missions like antibiotics or anti-virals. (Oh, and if you're new to herbalism, there actually is something you can do when you get a virus, contrary to what your allopath might tell you.) Immunomodulators are the craftsmen, bakers, farmers and all the others that make up the support-services for the army (in this case, your immune system.)

Medicinal mushrooms, like Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) and Maitake (Grifola frondosa), are wonderful immunomodulators. Marshmallow (Althea officinalis) and Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) work very nicely too. But don't expect miracles overnight. I'm not suggesting you start taking these botanicals when you get sick, not by a long shot. These are tonic herbs, meant to be incorporated into your diet for a period of months to have the desired effect. Yes, I realize that goes against the grain of Western lifestyle. Regardless, this is how they work. And in the case of Astragalus, you most definitely should not take this herb when you're sick, as it can exacerbate your symptoms.

So don't let winter get you down this year. See your herbalist soon!

Not herb related, but near to my heart! Thanks to Halley for the link (Offsite)

The past caught up to one of my Mom's closest friends yesterday. (In Ramblings)

I lost someone today. Well, to tell the story straight, my Mother lost one of her closest friends. I can't recall a time growing up when I didn't know Kathy, so I guess that means I've known her all my life. Kathy was only 51 years old.

But those were long years on Kathy. Years of drug and alcohol abuse tend to catch up with you sooner or later. Her body gave up its fight two weeks before her 52nd birthday. And while the fight was long, the last battle was, luckily, relatively short.

Mom called me yesterday at around noon and told me Kathy was sick. The doctors diagnosed advanced cirrhosis of the liver, renal failure and an inflamed pancreas. Her color was school-bus yellow, according to mom. Mom new Kathy was in a bad way and was calling me (1,000 miles away) to see if there was anything I could help with, assuming she made it over this first hurdle.

Too bad we never got a chance to try. Kathy's body gave up the fight about nine hours later.

Here's the irony. While this was going on, I'm sitting in clinic with a client recently diagnosed with a congested liver. Recalling the conversation with my Mom from earlier in the day, I kept Kathy in my mind as I'm helping my client make some dietary, supplement and botanical choices to assist the healing of her liver.

My sister called just as the session ended to tell me the news. Dandelion, anyone?

Lower back acting up? Grab for your willow bark instead of your Vioxx. It's just as good, according to Matt Brignall, ND.

Thinking about using Tylenol instead? You might want to read this article from the New York Times. Scientists are calling for stronger warnings on products containing acetaminophen due to potential liver damage.

This weekend marks the Autumnal Equinox, or Mabon. I've got something to say about how some Pagans in this town are protraying the rest of us. (In Ramblings)

Effective immediately, you can't call me "Pagan" anymore. I scoffed at that name once before in my life, but readopted it over the last couple of years. It was just easier than trying to explain Pantheism to people. But a recent article in the Arizona Republic is causing me to pull the plug once again.

This weekend is the Autumnal Equinox, also known as Mabon. It also coincides nicely with a Full Moon, making the timing doubly as meaningful. It seems that a few select individuals calling themselves "Pagan" here in the Valley were contacted by (or more likely initiated the contact) our local paper to discuss the upcoming "Pagan Pride" celebrations slated for this weekend.

(Side note: Pagan Pride? Could you try to have an original thought next time? Or perhaps you should consider a term that doesn't automatically conjure up (no pun intended) images of transvestites dancing on large flower-bespeckled mock-ups of Antonio Banderas' foreskin?)

So what's got me riled up? After all, why shouldn't I be supportive of folks trying to spread the word of non-mainstream religion? It all boils down to perception once again. Catholics don't jump at the opportunity to talk about how the holy communion wafers are really the flesh of Jesus and not just a symbolism. That's kinda icky if you aren't indoctrinated into the faith. Pentecostals don’t try and recruit members by touting the virtues of speaking in tongues. Jew's don't hand out free Matza balls as an encouragement to people interested in Judaism.

I think the protagonist in our article should have kept that in mind before he blundered out this statement to the reporter:

"During the fires (along the Mogollon Rim), we did a lot of energy work to bring rain," Bethany said.

Oh great. So Pagans are all a bunch of rain dancing wizards and witches, standing on the hill top calling in the sprits of the earth to do our bidding. Excuse me while I go find a rock to hide under for a while.

No, we're not all that way. I for one, am definitely not. While I think there are powers and forces in the universe that science cannot describe, I simply don't see how we puny humans have the power to make Gaia do as we wish. A natural process that happens to be inconveniencing some human habitations doesn't necessitate a change in my opinion. That's awfully humano-centric for my tastes. Fires, floods and other various natural "disasters" are not disasters, regardless of the number of humans or other species that are impacted.

We and every other living breathing creature on this planet are simply manifestations of the larger "being" that is Gaia. Gaia is healthy with fires. Gaia is just fine with floods. Gaia is perfectly happy to send a twister ripping up trees and livestock for miles around. Don't forget, those trees and livestock are simply manifestations of the same life-force. That's what it means to be an Earthling.

OK. Off the soap box and back to the present. Don't call me pagan any more. I'm a Pantheist. Now get out their and celebrate the equinox and the full moon. Oh sure, you can call for rain if you want. Gaia probably doesn't mind.

It's called Mabon - (In Ramblings)

I like what Zuly is writing about the coming equinox. I've been marking the celestial occasions, such as full moons, equinoxes and solstices, for the past couple of years and find them immensely more satisfying than the humano-centric ones we've grown accustomed to as of late.

Some choice excerpts:

At the Equinox, we have one brief, yet utterly magical moment of complete and total balance as the earth and the sun face each other equally. It is a time for reflection and rest, a time to give thanks for the harvest, and a time to prepare for the next quarter of the year. It is an excellent time to give thanks to the earth for sustaining life season after season.

I encourage you, though, to consider marking Mabon this weekend. What we call God and what we call Nature are not separate entities. Taking time to mark the special moments in the Wheel of the Year allows us to reconnect with our Creator – who created the earth and all of nature, and I believe, set the Wheel of the Year in motion – and with one another.

One more thing: the Full Moon is Saturday, September 21. Called the Harvest Moon, this full moon will coincide with the equinox -- within hours -- making it a particularly beautiful and magical equinox. If you don't do anything else to mark Mabon, just take a moment to stand outside on Saturday or Sunday night and marvel in her splendor. I guarantee it will move your soul.

Thanks, Zuly, for keeping things in perspective for me.

"Doctors, dieticians and pharmacists still have a long way to go when it comes to learning about herbal supplements." - HealthScoutNews

Have you ever had your ears coned? - (In Good Stuff to Know)

Today a client asked me about ear coning, siting benefits she received a few years ago from the therapy. I've heard of this practice, seen the product and know of many individuals who have experienced relief of a wide range of symptoms. I, however, have no practical knowledge of coning (or candles, as they are often called) the ears.

In doing some basic research, I noticed this article on the Charlotte Observer (NC) webpage. It shows some things to be aware of and talks to some of the conditions applicable to ear coning. I'm curious if anyone has either used this in practice or received the benefits of this service? Leave me a comment.

Here's something worth checking into. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has noticed a trend of patients asking about or insisting upon taking herbal remedies and suppliments. As such, they've responded with an informational site about herbs and suppliments.

The best information seems to come from the Longwood Herbal Task Force.
Yes, I'm quite skeptical. No, I don't see a single herbalist listed as a staff member or consultant. But a preliminary glance of the data doesn't appear to be that bad. It looks as though they have researched valid and pertinant databases and other documentations. Of course, they heavily use clinical, in vivo and in vitro studies while glossing over or simply neglecting to mention traditional accepted uses.

But it doesn't look all bad. I'll spend some time on this site and report back. At first glance, they have a 25 page in-depth monograph on Silybum marianum. Wow!

An all too common occurance around the globe these days. - (In Good Stuff to Know)

An interesting article from Radio Netherlands shows us the plight of native medicinal species in Sri Lanka. It's a devastating problem, with the forest cover shrinking from 50% to only 22% of the island. However, the aren't alone. The United Plant Savers "At Risk" and "To Watch" list of medicinal plants seems to grow larger too frequently.

Perhaps a plan as being enacted in Sri Lanka would be beneficial here in the West?

[This proposition] is already being carried out in the action plan for biodiversity conservation, set up by the Sri Lankan government and the World Conservation Union. The scheme aims to conserve the most important and endangered herbal medicines in the wild. It actively reaches out to local communities that live near the forest, to motivate them to start cultivating significant medicinal species, and it wants to provide a legal framework for issues such as intellectual property rights and the preservation of ancient medicinal knowledge.

Do magnets have the power to heal? - In Good Stuff to Know

I'm doing some research on bio-magnetic therapy. I use the word "research" very lightly. About three weeks ago, I was contacted by a lady selling the Nikken brand of products. My mom got into Nikken stuff about two years ago. She was impressed, but I didn't give it much thought. And to be honest, I haven't given it much thought since I was contacted, either.

I'm immediately put off from the whole "multi-level marketing" aspect. I have a difficult time believing a company can be both interested in expanding the wealth of their people and primarily concerned with the quality of their products. Not that this can't happen, mind you. I just have yet to see it.

But none the less, I'm intrigued by the notion of using magnetic energy to aid health and healing. Michael Tierra has a great feature entitled Biomagnetic and Herbal Therapy that I highly recommend reading. It's lengthy, but puts things in the light I need right now in order for them to make sense to me.

So no, I'm not hanging up my herbalist coat and donning the Nikken baseball cap. But I do think it's worthwhile to keep up on a variety of healing modalities, if nothing else than to speak intelligently to clients when they inquire. And who knows? It may be something that I someday incorporate in my practice… if I managed to get convinced.

Always organic. Always fresh. Always in season. Always something new. A new way of thinking about grocery shopping. - Good Stuff to Know

Some folks find it funny that I'm not a good gardener or a farmer. Yes, I am a "real" herbalist and yes I did grow up on a farm. But I'm more into wildcrafting herbs than growing them myself, and "farming" to my family was a monocrop gathered and planted by huge machines.

My green-thumb abilities or lack thereof aside, I like fresh organic produce (and herbs) just as well as the next tree-hugger. It's just that I've never been successful in growing them myself. I'm going to give it a go when we get to our new place in Cottonwood, but I have a plan B, too!

Have you heard of Community Supported Agriculture? (A quick nod to Daryl for clueing me in on this.) CSA is like buying "shares" in multiple organic farms. We non-growers give the farmers a certain amount of money on a quarterly or annual basis and they supply us with fresh food for the given time frame. The concept is quite simple. We get fresh food year round (if we so chose) that varies depending on what is in season. The farmers have a guaranteed income, allowing them to assume less risk and invest hard cash into improving or maintaining their crops. Win/Win, all the way!

You can find our more on the CSA website. Pick your state and get list of the farmers or farmer collectives that are participating in a program near you. I was lucky enough to find six organizations in Arizona. Nearest my new place is The Wolfberry Farm, an experimental agroecology farm dedicated to education, demonstration and research in conjunction with Prescott College.

Ach-ooo!

Hay fever got you down? New report in the British Medical Journal shows Petasites hybridus just as effective at symptom relief as Zrytec®. - In Good Stuff to Know.

Good news for hay fever sufferers!

Dr. Matt Brignall, ND reports via HealthWire on a recent study published in the British Medical Journal (2002;324:144–6). According to the study, the herb butterbur (Petasites hybridus) is just as effective (not almost as, kinda close to, but just as) in reliving the symptoms of seasonal allergies as Zertec®.

Here's why I'm so pleased with this research. First, it's good quality research with a wide population pool. Second, seasonal allergies affect about 20% of the population. I think it's a little higher here in the Southwest desert, as folks actually move here to escape their symptoms. So any clinician here is likely to see more cases than in other places.

So when the client tells you that Zrytec® is working for them, but they really want to get off pharmaceuticals, you can educated them about this little-known herb and have confidence in it's efficacy. In case the client is concerned about side effects for prescription medications, score one more for the plant. Even though Zyrtec® is supposed to be side-effect free, 11% of the study participants taking the prescription still reported those side effects. Contrast that with the 3% of the folks taking Petasites.

Breath easy next spring!

I've only a limited knowledge about essential oils and their uses in healing. I've only ever used them in conjunction with a single client, for headaches and sinusitis.

Muse knows a bit more than me, and I hope she continues to blog more about this healing modality. Today she posted a quick reminder:

"There's a common misconception among casual and novice users of essential oils that more is more. This is just plain wrong.

To help illustrate this point, consider that is takes over 4,400 pounds of roses to make 1 pound of rose otto. That's 275 pounds of roses per ounce, by weight. Imagine how many roses there are concentrated into a single drop."

Wow. Whoda thunk it?

A wonderful quote posted on Sprezzatura today.

I remember as a child hearing my impatient missionary father … [as] he explained to an elderly Chinese gentleman, "Does it mean nothing to you that if you reject Christ you will burn in Hell?"

The Chinese gentleman smiled as he replied, "If, as you say, my ancestors are all in Hell at this moment, it would be unfilial of me not to be willing to suffer with them."

(Personal Note: I don't make it a habit to snag complete articles, prefering to let you navigate yourself to the server on which the information is stored. But since this is a really good article and I don't want it to go way, I'm snagging the whole thing. Click the "more" button below for the full article.)

Reprinted from Times Online by Susan Berry:

IF YOU’VE had success with your herbs this summer, you should start thinking about what to do with your surpluses, before the plants go to seed or succumb to frosts. Distributing bunches to herb-less friends is one option, but you can also store them for use in the kitchen throughout the winter. Traditionally most herbs were air-dried, hung by their stems from a rack in a warm, dry room."

"But to keep their colour and their aroma they need to be dried fast — failure to do so is likely to result in blackened leaves and a loss of the volatile oils that give herbs their distinctive aroma.

If you are air-drying herbs for future use, you should aim to make them dry and brittle within 36 hours. A temperature between 70 and 90F is ideal. You can hang long-stemmed herbs such as rosemary, tarragon, bay, dill, fennel and caraway upside down by their stems. Fasten just a few stems together with fine wire and bend the free end of the wire into a hook. Don’t be tempted to cram too many stems together — if the air can’t circulate, the sprigs may well develop mould.

Shorter or weak-stemmed herbs, such as parsley, thyme or basil, are better placed on a rack. You can make your own by stretching a piece of fine wire mesh over a timber frame. Remove the individual leaves from the herbs or cut off small sprigs and spread them on the rack, so that they do not touch each other. Once the leaves are dry and brittle, crumble them on to a large piece of paper, and then fold the paper to slide the herbs into dark storage jars (light tends to discolour the herbs through oxidation, so a dark storage jar is better than a clear one) and store in a cool, dry, dark place.

To give yourself a ready supply of mixed herbs and fill the kitchen with delicious herby smells, you could make your own herb wreath. Shape a circle from four lengths of garden wire and then bind it with small bunches of bay or sage leaves, wired together. At intervals, use lengths of string to hang smaller bunches of mixed herbs, such as parsely, sage, thyme and marjoram. Attach four lengths of wire, at equal distances, to the wreath to make a dome shape and suspend it horizontally from the ceiling. Use these home-grown bouquets garnis in soups and casseroles.

Another good place to store your harvest is the freezer. Choose herbs that are in peak condition and pick them in the morning, once any dew has evaporated. Remove tough stalks before packing a few leaves (or shoots of small-leaved herbs like thyme and tarragon) into a resealable plastic food bag, clearly labelled. If you have plenty of room in the freezer you could also make herb ice-cubes. Blanch sprigs of herbs in boiling water for a few seconds. Then chop and place in the individual compartments of a freezer tray. Add water, freeze, then bag up and label.

For decoration, freeze individual leaves and flowers — bright blue borage flowers or rose geranium leaves, for example — singly in each ice-cube compartment to add to fruit punches and cocktails.

With sweet herbs, you can make herb-flavoured sugars for puddings. Use scented geranium leaves, rose petals, violet flowers, sprigs of lemon verbena or mint. Dry the leaves thoroughly and put them in a glass storage jar, layered with caster sugar, and seal. Leave in a warm room to infuse for a couple of weeks and sieve the sugar so that you can pick out the bits of herb before using it.

As well as preserving herbs, why not allow a couple of your herb plants to flower, and keep the seed for next year’s crop? Good candidates are thyme, parsley, coriander, fennel, tarragon, basil and marjoram. Once the seedheads are ripe, shake them into a paper bag and put the saved seed into labelled packets. Sow thyme and tarragon in spring, coriander in early summer, and fennel, parsley, mint and marjoram in spring or autumn. Grow basil from seed sown indoors in warmth in spring. All seed should be sown in fine compost, kept moist but not too wet, and, once the seedlings are large enough to handle, transplanted into small pots about 10cm (4in) in diameter."

I've just read an interesting article from Africa entitled Growing Use of Herbal Medicine Threatens Plant Life. Here in the West, we're familiar with the plight of Hydrastis canadensis (Goldenseal) and Panax quinquefolia (American Ginseng). And here in the Southwest, we're keeping a watchful eye on stands of Anemopsis californica (Yerba Mansa) and Eridictyon californica (Yerba Santa).

The report from Africa shows us that things are tough all over. It also lends insight into some interesting ratios between "orthodox" or conventional medical practitioners to practitioners of traditional medicine. Definitely worth a read.

I've seen a couple of other posts (like this one ) in regards to this topic from Becoming. The idea is rather simple.

September 11, 2002 should be a quiet day; no special reports, no documentaries, no television, no radio. Nothing.

Regardless of how you feel about that date in history, whether you be from this country or another, all of us could use a break from the force-feeding of mass media.

For me, I'll listen to CD's in the morning rather than the radio. I'll not surf around Google News, or anything remotely like reporting. In my car, it will be silence for me, giving me time to reflect on my tasks for that day. No, I won't dwell on the events of last year... but you can if you feel like it.

September 11, 2002. The day the media died.

Stumbling around in blogerdom today, I came a cross this article by Richard Kahn regarding the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development. (Warning: serious political bent here. Read no further if you don't want to shatter your image of me.)

Richard posts his thoughts and musings on the Vegan Blog: The (Eco) Logical Website. While I am not a vegan (or even a vegetarian,) I highly recommend this blog to keep up with what's current regarding the environment.

Since I can't seem to get the link to wind up right on the appropriate post, scan the page for the date Tuesday, September 03, 2002 and the entry entitled:
A Radical Plan to Save the Summit: Don't Save the World, Save Yourselves

The first two paragraphs sum it up nicely:

"The summit is now officially a disaster and a failure. There were low hopes going in and there will be even less coming out.

The United States has been made into the world's enemy, as the E.U., Russia and China have teamed up with developing nations to paint America as the neo-liberal giant that seeks only to rape the environment and labor at any cost in order to make its books come out right."

Worth a read!

The NIMH (National Institue of Medical Herbalists in (the UK)) have delcared September 6th - 13th "Herbal Awareness Week."

From the website:

"Herbal Medicine Awareness Week aims to celebrate the benefits of herbal medicine, but more importantly to highlight the work of the trained healthcare professionals who are registered with the National Institute of Medical Herbalists..."

Stuck here in the states and can't make it to the events they have scheduled? Not a problem. You can get a text copy of the events, at least the walks, by sending a self addressed envelope (yes, we're talking snail-mail here) to Mailbox 17, 1162 Stratford Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 8AF.

I think I'll try to get copies via email. If you want to try as well, try nimh@ukexeter.freeserve.co.uk and let me know if you're successful!

In an uncharacteristically complimentary news report by a mainstream paper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes about a recent study regarding cancer patients and the treatment choices they make. The study, conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (also in the Northwest) found that 70% of people undergoing cancer treatments were also seeing non-conventional therapy options as well.

(Personal note: I'm growing weary of the terms "complimentary" or "alternative" in regards to holistic treatments, therapies and regiments. More on that in a later post. Now, back to the news!)

But 70%! That's an amazing number, isn't it? Some other interesting facts borrowed from the article:

• up to 97% are seeking ways to make them feel better during conventional therapies.
  
• 56% are using holistic treatments to specifically help address their concerns with cancer
  
• College-educated females were five times more likely to seek holistic care than others in the study.
  
• Patients suffering multiple conventional treatments were twice as likely to turn to holistic methods of support and treatment.
  

I encourage you to read the article. I haven't been able to find the study, but I'll post it when I do.