Let’s go outside and play! Join me, Mahalia Freed ND, for an herb identification and plant story-sharing walk. The medicine we need is in our backyards, in our laneways, and in the green spaces throughout Toronto. Learn how to find it, and what deep healing it offers! From pregnancy tonic to allergy relief, heart medicine to liver support, our city is rich in medicine. This walk will cover plant identification, as well as the medicinal and energetic actions of the plants we find.
Please RSVP to Mahalia to reserve your spot.
Note that this is a repeat of the popular May 12th herb walk.
This walk will be held in a more central/east location in Toronto. It will be a different season (high summer! more flowers!) but as with May’s walk, it is intended to be an introductory herb walk.
Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) is medicine for the heart on all levels. Indigenous to countries across the northern hemisphere, this small thorny tree has a long-recorded history of medicinal use in both Europe and China, as well as in North America. Poetically – and significantly – Hawthorn is a member of the Rose family.
Hawthorn’s place as heart medicine was noted by Greek physician, Dioscorides, in the first Century AD. Medical herbal research has validated this use, finding hawthorn to be effective for increasing the strength of heart contractions, increasing blood flow to the heart, decreasing blood lipids (ie decreasing bad cholesterol (LDL), and triglycerides) and modulating blood pressure (AltMedReview, 2010). A Cochrane review of trials on hawthorn for chronic or congestive heart failure found that Crataegus extract decreased fatigue and shortness of breath and improved exercise tolerance relative to placebo. And while the traditional context is different, the Traditional Chinese Medicine use of Hawthorne for fat or rich meal digestion highlights the ability of Haw/berry antioxidants to prevent cholesterol deposits from oxidizing.
Additionally, hawthorn is used in the form of an energy medicine for the heart. Continue reading →
Let’s go outside and play! Join me, Mahalia Freed ND, for an herb identification and plant story-sharing walk. The medicine we need is in our backyards, in our laneways, and in the green spaces throughout Toronto. Learn how to find it, and what deep healing it offers! From pregnancy tonic to allergy relief, heart medicine to liver support, our city is rich in medicine. This walk will cover plant identification, as well as the medicinal and energetic actions of the plants we find.
The weeds in your laneway? Heart medicine. The stinging bush in the ravine?
Stinging Nettle in High Park
Blood tonic, anti-inflammatory, detoxifier. The thorny bush in your yard? Calcium source, uterine tonic. Learn how to apply the medicine growing around us to support & enhance our own health. Using the “weeds” of Guelph lake conservation area as our teachers, we will touch, taste and talk about plants as medicines. Leave with a handout outlining medicinal uses local “weeds”, along with some recipes. Mahalia Freed, ND’s naturopathic practice has a special focus on botanicals for hormone balance and mental health: www.dandelionnaturopathic.ca
For information on Hillside Festival, please see www.hillsidefestival.ca
This quick, simple dish is flavourful, and deeply nourishing.
If you have shied away from Shiitake mushrooms in the past, now is a chance to enjoy them. Their rich flavor provides an ideal counterpoint to the bitter freshness of Dandelions. Shiitakes are immune-enhancing and antiviral. For more about Dandelions, see http://dandelionnaturopathic.ca/weeds-as-nourishing-spring-food-dandelion-greens/ .
Ingredients
1/2 lb or so of fresh Shiitake mushrooms, sliced (can use dried – soak in just-boiled water first)
1 large bunch dandelion greens, washed and chopped (or substitute kale or collard greens)
1 large onion or 2 small onions, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Sauté onions, garlic and ginger in oil, adding water as needed, until onions are very soft. Add salt, shiitakes, with more water if needed, and let simmer at medium heat, covered, for about 8 minutes. Add dandelion greens/kale/collards and more water if needed, cover, and continue saute/simmering until greens are cooked (about 5 min).
Dandelions, ubiquitous indicators of warmer weather, are perfectly positioned to support our health – especially our livers – through the transition to spring.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
The greens are deeply nourishing. Rich in vitamins and minerals including beta-carotene, B vitamins, calcium, iron, and potassium, dandelion greens have an alkalinizing effect on the body. These much-maligned weeds are safely diuretic, and contain nutrients that specifically support detoxification pathways via the kidneys and the liver. Additionally, their bitter flavor stimulates digestive function, from the stomach down to the intestines, including stimulating bile production in the liver. For those of you thinking of a spring cleanse, guess what? Dandelion is truly a detoxifier, as enhancing bile production allows for enhanced elimination of wastes from the body.
Find dandelion greens at your local supermarket, or harvest them from any chemical-free patch of grass. If harvesting, note that they get more bitter as the season goes on.
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is one of those plants classically associated with Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere. Gorgeous and festive with its shiny green and red, Holly is more than just decoration. While it isn’t common in herbal medicine materia medica, it is one of the original flower remedies used and researched by Dr. Edward Bach.
What is a flower remedy? Similar to homeopathy, flower essences are created using a specific technique that extracts not the physical constituents but the energetic essence of the plant. Flower essences are most often prescribed for emotional or spiritual states, rather than physical concerns. For example, Rescue Remedy is a popular retail formula for anxiety and shock. Essences may be prescribed to help with confidence, self esteem, stress, depression, or even for smoking cessation.
In the spirit of holiday healing, here is some information about Holly as a flower essence (from the Flower Essence Repertory, 2004 Edition). Isn’t it interesting, how the medicine we need is so often right near us?
Holly essence nourishes the heart, and is used to cultivate loving and inclusive gestures to others, ability to express gratitude to others, and compassion. Holly helps to broaden our sense of self to one that knows that we are connected, that “love is an infinite resource that is available to all.[…]When we feel separate from others we can take no joy or compassionate interest in their affairs; instead our isolation is compounded into negative states of jealousy, envy, suspicion or anger”. Holly is about community, and joy, and the joy of shared love. Holly “restores the soul’s ability to feel unity and wholeness”.
Sound like a good addition to your holiday gatherings? I think so. Thank you Holly, for your festive spirit (pun intended)!
Calendula is still blossoming here in Toronto right now, donating sunshine to the cold grey rain of late November. Every time I walk by some, it induces a grateful smile. What a beautiful reminder of the abundant medicine accessible to us, even as winter rolls in!
Calendula
Uses
This is another herb that is popular for good reason: used externally in creams, salves or herbal oils, Calendula is anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, supportive to the lymphatic system’s circulation, antibiotic, and anti-fungal. It is unsurpassed for treating local skin problems due to infection and for treating wounds, burns, bruises, and muscle strains (physical damage). Internally (as a tincture or in tea), it has a similarly soothing & healing effect on the mucus membranes of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tract. Continue reading →
“….. Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some chamomile tea and she gave a dose of it to Peter.”
~ from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (England, 1901)
History
Chamomile is one of the more familiar medicinal herbs, with a high profile in literature and a long history of use. This plant’s popularity is well-deserved.
Chamomile (dried flowers)
Chamomile’s earliest recorded use goes back much further: according to the Eber’s Papyrus, dated to 1550 BC, ancient Egyptians used the herb to honor the gods, embalm the dead and cure the sick. In Europe, medicinal use of Chamomile has been recorded since the 1st century AD. Today, Chamomile remains a top-selling herb in the tea market place.
The December holiday season is upon us, and for many, that means a series of large, rich meals, combined with intense (and sometimes tense) family or social interactions. Beyond knowing your individual limits regarding eggnog and chocolate treats, what can you do to enhance digestion? How can you soothe frazzled nerves? What will help keep you from succumbing to a Christmas cold when you finally have time off? This month’s article highlights the wisdom of herbs as complex living medicines that cross body systems to provide us with just the support that we need. Did you know that there are herbs that soothe both the digestive tract and the nervous system? Did you know that there are herbs that decrease gut inflammation and are also antiviral?
Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm)
Lemon balm(Melissa officinalis) is one such herb. A common weed in the mint family, lemon balm is traditionally used to soothe indigestion, especially when related to emotional stress. The herb is helpful for relieving spasms of the gastrointestinal tract, gas pain, and flatulence. As well, it has a restorative, calming, and uplifting effect on the nervous system. Finally, laboratory studies confirm that the water extract (as in, tea) is antiviral, particularly against the cold sore virus and some types of ‘flu. For calming your stomach and nourishing your nerves, around the holidays or any time, try the following tea:
Nerve Nourishing Tummy Tea
Combine loose herbs
1 Part Licorice root
1 Part Chamomile flowers
2 Parts Lemon balm aerial parts
Place herb mixture in a French press or teapot with strainer and add boiling water. Let steep 5-15 minutes, and drink as desired. Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar recommends this combination for heartburn, to be consumed 30 minutes before and after meals.
Cautions: If you have an under-active thyroid, consult your naturopathic doctor or medical herbalist before regularly using lemon balm. If you have high blood pressure, consult your naturopathic doctor or medical herbalist before regularly using licorice root.
