THE HERB TALK
My passion about herbs started when I lived in Montana and came across many wild plants and weeds that were growing in the forest and as a matter of fact growing in my own back yard. One day I overheard through the grapevines that these wonderful weeds were good for treating diseases and maintaining good health.
After discovering this wonderful new world of God’s given medicine, I felt compelled to start foraging for wild herbs, which is known in botanical lingo as wild crafting. When wild crafting, of course, we’re not dealing with standardized extracts and medicines, so my studies of herbal healing or better my studies of phytotherapy healing started, and this was about 15 years ago.
The more I learned about these herbs, the more I wanted to put my heart and soul into it and learn as much as humanly possible. Using my knowledge of herbal cure, I have cured my arthritis, I have cured my once constant headaches, my belly aches, my muscle aches, my poor night vision, my daughter’s bladder stones, my children’s allergy to insect bites, I have helped friends to get a hold of their health, even my dog that was suffering from seizures and skin rashes was cured.
I feel blessed to be given the opportunity to discover the wonderful world we live in and to discover that an abundant amount of plants growing in nature are for our enjoyment and for our own benefit.
Even though I have been studying and learning about the healing power of herbs for over a decade and a half, I am fully aware that I have not even touched a fraction of what is out there to learn, because there are some 300,000 plant species that are all chemically distinct and fewer than 10 percent of them have been screened for their medicinal and toxic constituents. I don’t normally go out in the woods and gather herbs for my lotions and extracts because there are many look alike plants out there that may be toxic or they may be growing in or near a polluted area such as sewages, car fumes, power plants or just be growing in vitamin depleted soil, therefore I prefer purchasing my herbs from reliable organic growers so I surely get the good stuff.
I will be writing this column often, and every time I will be “honoring” one of my favorite herbs with information about it and what’s used for.
I want to thank Bellamondos and especially Lance, for giving me the opportunity to put the word out there about the wonderful world of plants that is for all of us to know and use and nature so beautifully gives to us all.
To your health! Think green! Think natural Yvette Bush
One of my favorite herbs is the bright orange blossoms of CALENDULA (Calendula officinalis): anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antiseptic, calendula promotes new skin growth and inhibits bleeding. Gentle enough for children, pregnant women and the most sensitive of skin.
The florets are edible. They are used to add color to salads, or added to dishes as a garnish in lieu of saffron. The leaves are also edible but often not palatable. They have a history of use as a potherb as well.
Flowers were used in ancient Greek, Roman, Middle Eastern and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as dye for fabrics, foods, cosmetics and these uses persist today. Because of calendula’s versatility, beauty and great healing powers, I use this herb constantly and is a staple in my medicine cabinet.
This article is written with the intention of information only and not for prescribing medicine.
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