Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Honey: Sweet Cough Relief

If you want to quiet a nighttime cough, honey has been found to work more effectively than over the counter cough syrups and suppressants. A Pennsylvania study of more than 100 children authored by Ian Paul, M.D. confirmed that it is also effective for older adults coughing when associated with a cold.

It coats and soothes an irritated throat to interrupt and calm repeated coughing, It is generally safe and can be used as often as needed. When using raw honey, you can also enjoy its anti-microbial effects to help fight infections. A recommended dose is 2 tsp for an adult per dose; 1 tsp for children. It is not recommended for children under 15 months, due to potential botulism spores introduced to an immature immune system. If you are diabetic, it may be too high in sugar for your use...sorry! Try some licorice root and wild cherry tea or syrup instead!

If a cough is persistent or severe, and is accompanied by breathing difficulty, increased breathing rate, blueness of skin, blood in mucous, loss of weight, or has lasted longer than 2 weeks, seek prompt medical attention.

Otherwise, enjoy the sweet relief!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Perfect Partner for the Holiday Feast: Digestive Bitters


I never dreamed I would hear these words, and especially from teenagers. As an herbalist, it is music to my ears.

“These bitters are awesome.” “Your bitters have changed my life!” “Can you please pass the bitters?” Say what?

All over the world, people recognize the value of bitter substances to enhance digestive function and general health. In America, we have given up most bitters (with the exception of coffee and dark chocolate) in exchange for salt and sweet flavors. In correlation, we lead the world in diabetes, heart disease, and chronic illnesses.

In Holland, older people enjoy “the bitter hour” or cocktail hour as we call it. They partake of bitter foods and drinks to stimulate their waning digestive powers. Vermouth is made from Wormwood, which is what Vermouth translates as in German. In Africa, the medicinal value of bitter herbs is commonly recognized. In India, they say that those with liver problems commonly seek bitter tasting substances.

Scientific research has shown that bitters applied to the tongue before a meal have a priming effect on upper digestive function, likely mediated by the vagus nerve reflex. We know that vagal stimulation causes an increase in gastric acid secretion (necessary to digest our foods); and rise in gastrin, an increase in pepsin secretion, a slight increase in gallbladder motility and a priming of the pancreas. It is also known that the reflex involves contraction of the digestive sphincters and downward peristalsis of the intestines. So bitters are now known to strengthen the esophageal and duodenal sphincters, which helps normalize Gastric Reflux or GERD.

When we dine on a smorgasboard of foods, the volume and mixture of food types causes our digestion to halt. For example, when eating fruits and starches together, the enzymes secreted to digest each, actually nullify each other’s actions, and our foods just sit still in our stomachs, making us feel bloated and gassy. Bitters jump start that halted digestion and alleviate that congested feeling by moving the food on its way.

Traditionally bitters have been used to keep poisons from snake & scorpion bites moving through and out of our system quickly, they are that powerful. And as a medicine they have been effective for relieving migraines, hiccups, depression and vision problems associated with liver toxicity. In 1698, a Treatise on Asthma written by Floyer noted that digestive bitters mitigated the cause of Asthma. Modern research has found that allergic asthma was associated with a reduction in histamine-stimulated peak acid output from the gastric mucosa. There is a known depression of gastric H2-histamine receptor function in asthma.

This is likely too much information, but suffice it to say that digestive bitters can change a persons life, when digestive malfunction leads to chronic problems, including allergies, arthritis and some auto-immune disorders.

After many years of trial and error, I have made a formula that only requires 3-5 drops on the tongue (rather than a teaspoon at a time) to be effective, that has a complex flavor that is somewhat pleasant, and that both warms and cools digestive function due the variety of herbs involved. If you would like to try a little bottle, just send me an e-mail. They are listed on my blog spot under herbs and products. It is one thing we were all grateful for this Thanksgiving Day. Some of us won’t leave home without it!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Of Stink Bugs and Dandelions

Blog Interruption: Of Stink Bugs and Dandelions

Last entry began the weeklong stink bug invasion, that diverts countless waking hours to soapy water drownings and the vacuuming of thousands of these curious creatures. It is both sad and satisfying, managing the hoards of shelter seeking bugs. I find myself pondering if they might hold the cure for cancer or some other miracle we’ve been seeking.

Like the much maligned dandelion that we just cant’ get rid of, try as we might, the stink bugs seem to multiply after each attempt to clear them from our lives.

We have devised various poisons for dandelion extinction, chemicals which have proven to be carcinogens. And current research now shows that the dandelion is, in fact anti-tumorigenic, as well as a blood sugar regulator, a digestive aid, support for the upper respiratory system, and a potassium enhancing diuretic useful for hypertension. It was considered blood medicine by native peoples, and is used in treating obstructions of the gall bladder, liver, kidneys, pancreas and spleen. It is used for literally dozens of disorders. Most of the plant is edible, and it is considered to be one of the 5 most nourishing vegetables ! We would do well to harvest this free and prolific plant for its gifts. I use dandelion root as a foundation for nearly every medicinal tea I make, including my soon to be famous Super Sassafras Tea. It lives up to it’s Greek name Taraxacum: Taraxos “disorder” and akos “remedy”, a remedy for disorders.

As we now scramble to decimate the stinkbug population, we might consider searching for their usefulness and begin harvesting them for something good, rather than introducing new poisons to get rid of them. Doesn’t everything that lives on earth have an inherent value? Perhaps someone will commit research to discovering what special qualities and possibilities may come from the autumn stinkbug gatherings. When something is as prolific and persistent in getting our attention as the stinkbug and the dandelion, perhaps we would do well to listen.

Of Collars and Cats

Of Collars and Cats

Last weekend, while walking my cats down our country lane, we encountered a “ferrel cat” with black goggles as her markings, that sat quietly in the treeline, licking it’s paws while I sang “The Sparrow and the Tree” to it. Why I started singing, I cannot tell you. Since my own cats were curious yet unthreatened by its presence, I conjectured that it was a female, possibly pregnant.

Next morning, I saw the cat entering the tree line in our yard. Later that afternoon, it was in our backyard, and both Roadie and Belly Jones approached it, then turned around to leave it alone with worried looks. I sang to it again.

Next morning, about 4 am, I was checking the whereabouts of my cats in our little place, and startled the little kitty from its comfy place on our sofa, right next to Belly Jones, Mr. Shy Himself! This was definitely oddly tolerant & accepting behavior for my cats. I was pretty sure she must be a pregnant young mother.

Later that evening she came to the bottom of our stairs, through our perpetually opened cat doors, and cried a mournful quack, more like a duck than a cat. I promptly prepared her some food and milk and delivered these to her in the garage.

She let me stay near her while she ate, when I noticed the collar around her neck in an odd angle. Then I knew she was in trouble. She had been fitted with a plastic flea collar, and somehow got her right leg through it, serving to cripple her right leg while choking her voice box. I tried to help her, but she hissed and ran. Each day has been full of constant concern and bearing up under her imagined suffering. Many sleepless nights of worry; even images of her face appearing under my eyelids in the dark hours.

First we tried luring her into a cat carrier with food. She went in, but backed out hissing and ran at the first sign of closing the door. After calling the local shelter, they offered a cat trap. So that was the next step in the adventure of capturing a ferrel pregnant cat. I was now calling her Goggles, as she is a black & white cat, with those black goggles above her white face & chest.

The first trap didn’t trip closed when she went in to dine, and 2 days later, we tried another more sensitive trap. It worked like a charm, so on Friday morning I took off in search of a shelter that could take her and help her. My first shelter was full, taking no more animals. They were willing to spay her however, but they couldn’t sedate and remove her collar legally, so they sent me up the road to a vet who would take their 1/2 price voucher for the spaying, and off we went.

The vet convinced me to have her tested for HIV/leukemia also, so a shelter would be more likely to take her (if I could find one that wasn’t full! No cat rooms left at any shelter in their county, I was told.) So I signed the papers and left her for the morning.

As I arrived home I got a call from the Vet’s assistant informing me that Goggles was a HE and he was already neutered. They noted a deep wound from the collar embedded under his right leg, and said they would surgically fix it for the same price I paid for spaying. And for extra they would inject an anti-biotic that would time release for 6 days. And He had neither feline HIV nor leukemia.

After hearing this, I let the owner of the local health food store know the results, as I shared my cat adventures with her the day before. She promptly offered to adopt this kitty, much to my relief and delight. She is a loyal advocate for pets, and has 5 cats and 2-3 retrievers already. Here is her report from the first night with Goggles.

“He is doing great. He is so affectionate! I decided to put him in the spare bathroom instead of a dog crate last night. He used his litter box and settled down on a little bed of towels. When I visited with him he was all over me. He stood on my feet and when I sat down he crawled right up on my lap. I had to disengage myself from him when it was time for me to leave

This morning I decided to leave the bathroom door open so he could go into the room with the other cats. They are not sure what to make of him but he just walked right in, ate breakfast, and layed down on a cat bed. He's a hungry little fellow and really likes the Rad Cat raw food.

Once I got a good look at his surgery site it looks like that collar was really doing some damage. Was it embedded in his skin? One area has quite a hole.

But I think he will make a full recover pretty quickly. He's got a great personality and seems like he will go with the flow rather easily. “

He is one lucky fellow, and if he gets another collar, it will be the quick release type.

The other was a vinyl flea collar, and he is one of many cats who are injured by these non-stretch, non-releasable types. So please never use such a thing on your animals.

Many people helped me to help Goggles, and that shared effort gives me hope for our own species of two –leggeds. Today I am grateful for his suffering being relieved and for that life saved.

Here is the song I sang upon our first meeting and many times during that difficult week.

THE SPARROW AND THE TREE

"Oh, I love you," said the sparrow to the tree.

"I would always let you be what you would be.

In the autumn in the spring

I will give you songs to sing.

"Will you take me underneath your haloed light

And protect me even through the winter's night?

In the autumn in the spring

I will give you songs to sing.

"Oh, I love you," said the sparrow to the tree.

"I would always let you be what you would be.

In the autumn in the spring,

I will give you songs to sing."

-Hedge & Donna

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Got Thyme?

Here is a quick hint for the swift help of something in your pantry, when a sore throat or cold and flu symptoms strike.

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tsp of dried thyme, and steep for 15-20 minutes.
Add lemon juice, cinnamon and honey and drink hot or warm. (I recommend making 4 cups at a thyme, to have more on hand when you feel the downward slide taking you with it. Some folks like to add a bit of brandy to the brew, to add to the sleep/antimicrobial/enjoyment factor.)

Note: You may even gargle with this for an effective sore throat antidote.

Any thyme is good thyme!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Good Ideas for a Small Planet

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

Have you found yourself perusing a local farmer’s market in recent years, delighting in the variety of fragrances, colors, shapes and tastes? Do you seek out restaurants that serve up local seasonal foods from your area farms? Are you happy to find fresh brown eggs from free-range chickens, sweet basil by the fistfuls and newly pressed cider from just-picked apples? Then you are part of the growing movement of citizens making sustainable choices as “Locavore s”. All over the world, people shop for daily meals in local bazaars and markets. Today American’s are awakening to this ancient and sustainable practice. Here are just a few good reasons to Buy Fresh, Buy Local.

  1. You will conserve our precious resources. The typical item in a grocery store travels 1500 miles to its place on your plate. On average, each of us consumes 400 gallons of oil per year for our grocery-store foods. (Modern Agri-business uses about 17% of our nation’s energy use.)*
  2. For food –related fuel economy, consider this: If each of us ate just one meal a week (any meal) of foods from local and organically raised meats and produce, we would save 1.1 million barrels of oil each week! *
  3. Fresh sun-ripened fruit tastes much better! Vegetables contain sugars that begin turning to starch & nutrients that begin to degrade immediately after being picked from the plant. Freshly picked = more flavor & more nourishment.
  4. You will strengthen your local economy and support endangered family farms. Each dollar you spend locally circulates in your community. Of each dollar spent at the grocery store, 15 cents goes to the farmer, and 85 cents goes to the middlemen.
  5. Getting to know your farmers helps build understanding and trust, the foundation for a strong community.
  6. You will have better chance for good health. Local farmers are less likely to use chemicals, growth hormones, antibiotics, & genetically modified foods. Buy food from local farmers you can trust.
  7. You will protect the environment and your own backyard. Less fossil fuel & chemical pollution, less local development. Small farms that remain profitable are less likely to sell to developers.
  8. When you vote for local, fresh food with each dollar you spend, you assure that healthy, flavorful food will be available for future generations.

How to find a farmer’s market or local direct farm to consumer:

www.localharvest.org; www.csacenter.org; www.buylocal.org; www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets.

Thank you for choosing to Buy Fresh and Buy Local.

* excerpted from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Barbara Kingsolver

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Market offerings 9/17/2011

Market offerings 9/17/11 Changing with the seasons & Honoring requests

Since you asked...A new batch of Comfrey Salve is now available. Excellent tissue repair for preventing scars, healing wounds, fractures, broken bones, torn tendons, carpal tunnel, arthritis, hemorrhoids, swellings, varicosities, bruises, burns, sunburn, eczema, psoriasis, wrinkles, pregnant bellies, diaper rash, sore nipples, etc.

Just in time for Cold & Flu season….

Flu-less In Berryville: A child –friendly liquid formula that is sweet yet powerful, to prevent the flu and colds with anti-viral, anti-bacterial, immune boosting herbs.

Breathe Easy: A child’s yummy formula for helping with stuffy noses, itchy eyes and annoying coughs.

Liquid Gold: The adult version for preventing the flu, colds, sore throats and upper respiratory infections, named by one of Geo’s clients who can’t live without it!

New Herbal Teas are on the way…

Apres Dinner Digesteaf = a full bodied after dinner tea, to aid in digestion and relaxation, spicy, rich and warming for autumn and winter.

Flu-less in Berryville = The tea version of the child’s formula, this is serious tea…. “no namby pamby, isn’t this pleasant?” Rather this is a medicinal tea that has notes of elderberries, lemon, peppermint and thyme. Very potent when you need it most!

Geo’s soon to be famous Super Sassafras Tea. Makes great root beer- flavored popsicles! Free tastings….with a smile.

We now have “The Rejuvenator for Her”: A sweet-tart flavored adaptogen that enhances energy, mood, metabolism, memory, immunity, weight loss, stamina & sleep. Also supports thyroid, kidney & liver function, + respiratory and nervous systems.

Geo is Still Jammin! Again we have a variety of Organic Fruit & Herb Jams sweetened with Honey & White Grape Juice! Varieties include: Peach Pie, Ginger-Peach, Green Pepper Jelly, Red & Green Hot Pepper Jelly (made with sugar).

Organic Produce: Autumn Delicata Squash, great for stuffing and easy to cook, plus Yellow sweet bell peppers, Kung Pao Red Hot peppers, Suyo Asian Burpless Cucumbers, Heirloom Tomatoes, Heirloom Green & Dragon Tongue beans, Malabar spinach.

Back by popular demand: Itches, Ouches & Stings all purpose salve for all summer skin injuries.

As requested, we have a new batch of “The Rejuvenator for Men”: A sweet tonic used to enhance strength, endurance, adaptation to stress; offers protection and repair of liver/endocrine organs, cooling emotional reactions, enhances overall vitality and vigor! Free tasting samples….

Herbal Salves & Digestive Bitters, which make believers out of skeptics of natural medicines. Kid-friendly natural medicines.

Now taking special orders at market for natural medicines! For those of you who have placed them, I will bring them along this Saturday.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Market offerings 9/10/11 - Changing with the seasons











"Elderberry - Sambucus Nigra"

If raining, Geo will stay home. Special orders can be picked up here, or dropped off at Midas Touch, FYI.

Just in time for Cold & Flu season….

Flu-less In Berryville: A child –friendly liquid formula that is sweet yet powerful, to prevent the flu and colds with anti-viral, anti-bacterial, immune boosting herbs.

Breathe Easy: A child’s yummy formula for helping with stuffy noses, itchy eyes and annoying coughs.

Liquid Gold: The adult version for preventing the flu, colds, sore throats and upper respiratory infections, named by one of Geo’s clients who can’t live without it!

New Herbal Teas are on the way…

Apres Dinner Digesteaf = a full bodied after dinner tea, to aid in digestion and relaxation, spicy, rich and warming for autumn and winter.

Flu-less in Berryville = The tea version of the child’s formula, this is serious tea…. “no namby pamby, isn’t this pleasant?” Rather this is a medicinal tea that has notes of elderberries, lemon, peppermint and thyme. Very potent when you need it most!

Geo’s soon to be famous Super Sassafras Tea. Makes great root beer- flavored popsicles! Free tastings….with a smile.

We now have “The Rejuvenator for Her”: A sweet-tart flavored adaptogen that enhances energy, mood, metabolism, memory, immunity, weight loss, stamina & sleep. Also supports thyroid, kidney & liver function, + respiratory and nervous systems.

Geo is Still Jammin! Again we have a variety of Organic Fruit & Herb Jams sweetened with Honey & White Grape Juice!

Varieties include: Peach Pie, Blueberry-Peach, Ginger-Peach, Blackberry-Peach with Basil, & Green Pepper Jelly (slightly hot!).

Autumn Delicata Squash, great for stuffing and easy to cook, plus Yellow sweet bell peppers, Kung Pao Red Hot peppers, Suyo Asian Burpless Cucumbers, Heirloom Tomatoes, Heirloom green beans, Malabar spinach.

Back by popular demand: Itches, Ouches & Stings all purpose salve for all summer skin injuries.

As requested, we have a new batch of “The Rejuvenator for Men”: A sweet tonic used to enhance strength, endurance, adaptation to stress; offers protection and repair of liver/endocrine organs, cooling emotional reactions, enhances overall vitality and vigor! Free tasting samples….

Herbal Salves & Digestive Bitters, which make believers out of skeptics of natural medicines. Kid-friendly natural medicines.

Now taking special orders at market for natural medicines! For those of you who have placed them, I will bring them along this Saturday.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

June 25 Offerings Berryville Market

Hello Friends,

It’s been a great week for cool weather crops! Come early for the last of the Asparagus!

The native red raspberries locally known as wine berries or thimbleberries are just beginning….like juicy Rubies in salads and on cereals, desserts, make great jelly and wine!

Freshly-picked Organic Produce including Black Raspberries, Day-Lily Buds(lovely with asparagus), Mammoth Melting Snow peas, Sweet & Crisp Sugar Snap Peas, Heirloom Leafy greens (Various Kales, Swiss chard, Spinach), Lettuces w/ Edible flowers, fresh & dried herbs. Come early, as they sell out quickly.

Herbal tea blends, including Geo’s soon to be famous Super Sassafras Tea. This week’s tea features Be Cool (unsweetened minty thirst quencher ) and Be Light which is a diabetic and dieter’s delight! It is sweet without sugar or calories, aiding in healthy blood sugar regulation, detoxification and weight management with metabolic support. Free tastings….with a smile.

There are a few bottles available of “The Rejuvenator” for Men….A sweet tonic used to enhance strength, endurance, adaptation to stress; offers protection and repair of liver/endocrine organs, cooling emotional reactions, enhances overall vitality and vigor!

Free tasting samples….

Herbal Salves & Digestive Bitters, which make believers out of skeptics of natural medicines. Kid-friendly natural medicines. Now taking special orders at market for natural medicinals!

Green Blessings - Geo