Herb Farmer and Authors Healthy Living Event

If you have time this coming Saturday, April 27th, 2013, an herb farmer and some special authors would love to have you join an online event to benefit some middle school children. 

The event is called "Authors Giving for Healthy Living" and is an international gathering of Authors and book lovers to benefit a very special project. You can visit the previous link to join the event.

The sponsor and project coordinator is Bea Kunz, gardener and herb farmer of Sage Hill Farms.  Details for the event on Saturday have been coordinated by Kim Mutch Emerson of Master Koda Select Publishing, LLC.  Both of these woman are very special to me and I can vouch for their integrity and passion for all that they set their hearts and minds too.

For more information, please visit this link for a Press Release: "Top Authors Give Proceeds to Middle School Gardening Project".

Special authors are offering their books for sale, and proceeds from sales will benefit a gardening project for students at Curry Middle School.  Bea's desire is to encourage the children to appreciate better foods and better health through hands-on experience from garden to table.
  
To view the books being offered, you can visit this link.  

Copyrighted Image: Lemon Balm from my garden
 

The Synergy of Essential Oils - Aromatherapy

Essential Oils are the highly concentrated oils taken from herbs.  They can be used alone, but are most often combined and used in a carrier oil and massaged into or applied to an area of need.  Some are used as flavorings or drops in a drink of water.  BUT you must be careful when doing this, you must know what essential oils you can safely do this with. 

The scent alone is beneficial to some, Aromatherapy being the term used for this use of essential oils.

I am taking advantage of the knowledge of another writer to share more about this form of herbal medicine, and use of herb properties in synergy. This article focuses on the use of essential oils in Aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy Herbs for Healing

By: Rebecca Prescott
 

Aromatherapy is a form of herbal medicine. It uses the scents in essential oils distilled from herbs, flowers and trees to improve health and vitality. Used properly, it can re-energize and rejuvenate the mind, body and spirit. Aromatherapy comes in many forms. It can be used as oils, candles, lotions and soaps.

How Is The Scented Oil Extracted From The Plants?

Many herbs are used in the production of essential oils and waters for aromatherapy. Essential oils are the aromatic compounds found in the herb. They are extracted by distillation. There are different methods of this but they are all basically the same.

The herbs are put into water which is heated until it produces steam. This releases and then carries chemicals, including the aromatic compounds. The steam is then chilled in a condenser and the material left behind is collected. Oils (which will become the Essential Oil) floats to the top of the distilled water and may be scooped off.

The distilled water part is called hydro sol. If you want to buy a herb or flower 'water' the best kind is a hydro sol as this is the by-product of aromatic distillation. Many 'waters' are essential oils added to water or alcohol and are not as good as true hydro sols.

Treat Aromatherapy With Respect!

Many people think that because the scented oils have 'only come from plants' that they can use as much as they like. Essential oils are very concentrated and are usually measured in drops. Strength wise - one drop would equal the volume amount of two cups. Ingesting one ounce of essential oil could prove fatal.

Unless you are a skilled aromatherapist, it's best to use essential oils only on the skin. Always mix the drops of oil with a 'carrier' like sweet almond oil. Undiluted essential oil can burn the skin.

How Can Anything From Plants Be So Powerful?

Our pharmacology has developed from herbal medicine. Many medications in use today are still derived from plants.

There are more than 250,000 known plant species and yet less than 1% of them have been thoroughly tested for use in medicine. A quarter of our prescription medications are derived from this tiny 1%. The list includes morphine, atropine, ephedrine, warfarin, aspirin, digoxin, taxol, hyoscine - so plants are pretty powerful and care should be taken. Isn't it amazing to think what other helpful medications are out there and as yet undiscovered!

Growing Herbs For Aromatherapy

A large area of crops is needed to grow herbs for aromatherapy purposes. This is because when calculated on the weight of fresh herbs distilled, plants only yield between 0.01% and 2% of essential oil. So a lot needs to be grown and distilled to produce reasonable amounts of oil.

To produce essential oils, the requirements are the plants, good soil (often organic), irrigation, reasonable shelter from harsh weather, harvesting and distillation equipment.

Hints And Tips On Essential Oils

1. Always read and heed advice on the labels on essential oils.

2. Keep them out of the sight and reach of children.

3. Never put essential oils near the eyes.

4. Always dilute with carrier oil before putting on the skin - or it will burn!

5. Essential oils are for external application only. Don't ever ingest them.

6. As with any new skin preparation, test the oil first. Dilute a drop of essential oil with carrier oil and apply to the skin on your inner arm. If there is any irritation, discontinue its use.

7. Many herbs should be avoided by pregnant women and by people suffering some health conditions. Always check before use. 

Article by:

For more aromatherapy articles, click here. To submit your health articles to this article directory, click here.

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You can click here for a nice Aromatherapy kit, and search for other high quality Aromatherapy and Essential Oil products - please bring this number - 195141 - along with you to use during the checkout process...no obligations, I promise, but you will be asked for a Sponsor ID# (195141) during the checkout process.  Thank you.

If you would prefer receiving a fact sheet about Aromatherapy and Essential Oils, please contact me including a way to reach you by email using the "comment" form below.  Comments are moderated, and I don't publish comments that are requests, and will not abuse the contact information you provide.  

The Ancient Resurrection Plant

A Resurrection Plant is considered by some to be a sacrad plant, and not necessarily a medicinal herb or part of an herbal combination.  It's remedy is in the pleasure one receives giving it, receiving it, or watching life come back to the plant after it has appeared dead.  If you are a Christian as I am, you are reminded of Christ's resurrection from the dead after His crucifixion on a cross, bearing the sins of all who would accept and believe in the forgiveness it brought, past, present and future.  It is a thoughtful gift to give or receive during the Easter season when we remember Jesus death and resurrection.
   
I first heard of the plant when my dear Mom, who has always loved plants and gardening, told me about a plant she is giving to my niece as a gift, a Rose of Jericho Resurrection Fern or plant.   

The plant is somewhat related to Juniper, and it is one of the earliest plants to inhabit the earth, it has been here for millions of years. This plant can sit dormant and dry for incredibly long periods of time, many years, in fact. And then when you water it, life comes to it again! 

Again, it isn't necessarily a medicinal herb, but I found it fascinating. In the picture above, you see it in it's dormant state, and as it appears when watered.  The link on this page leads to the location of the image.  

This would be a perfect plant for someone like me, who finds it easy to forget to water my plants during busy times, and who loves the uniqueness of this prehistoric plant.

Kelp, the Iodine Herb

Iodine tablets were flying off health food store shelves as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that took place in Japan almost 2 years ago at this update, which caused damage to nuclear plants, and what some fear are excess levels of radiation in the air...all the way to the US - especially in California.  As of this update, we are seeing debris from the Tsunami well over a year ago arriving on the western coast. 

People that were affected were taking kelp because it protects important functions in the body, like the thyroid gland. Iodine treatment like that being given to those exposed to radiation in Japan may be necessary, but to take it out of fear, not knowing how much to take, what the side affects are, and more, is not wise.

Iodine is added to salt to make sure that people get some in their diet, and it can also be purchased as a prepared encapsulated herb. Kelp was, and still is my herb of choice for it's iodine-containing properties.  It is natural, used by the body with less side affects, but still, it is important to be sure that your source of kelp or other herbs that contain Iodine is safe.  Those who prepare supplements have many tests available to them in order to do tests to assure product safety, you can read more about that here, and since that was written I am sure there are more quality assurance tests available. 

In fact, speaking of radiation, the company that I purchase herbs from discovered that a batch of chicory that they received to process contained radiation from the Chernobyl incident years before, and had to find another source. I can provide information about that company on request, please contact me through a comment, they are moderated and I don't approve comments that contain requests for your privacy.

Image Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Please don't take iodine pills to prevent symptoms of radiation sickness or for any other reason without careful guidance from a health care provider.

Herb Synergy and the Heart

February is National Heart Month, so I thought I'd bump this article up for the new year and update it a bit.  It's a time when we think not only of Valentine hearts, but of the heart each of us needs to love and cherish, our own.

In the years that this blog has been active, we have done some posts on the heart.  I have also written in other places about the heart. 

Here is a collection of articles you might find helpful.


Here is a story about my husband's Heart Attack from another site:

A Heart Attack on Father's Day

Posts From HerBulletin:

Plavix Warning: May not be beneficial to All
Getting Fat Before it Gets You
Shopping for Exercise Equipment...and Using It
Circulatory System: Keep the Heart Pumping
Zetia Warning


We have also done a post at Happy Nutritionist's Nuggets about Heart Health for National Heart Month.  Have a happy, heart-healthy February!

Herbs Working in Synergy for the Bladder and Kidneys

The great herbalist, Dr. Christopher, is renowned for his work in bringing herbs to the forefront as alternatives to drugs in more recent history.

Herb combinations are formulated by taking into consideration how they will work together in synergy, one herb enhancing the benefit of the other, with a focus on a specific system in a person's body.


The combination we are focusing on this post is beneficial to the kidneys and bladder.  I was just talking to a friend about this combination today, and have placed an order for a new supply for my herbal medicine cabinet.


When I was new to the use of herbs, I suffered from many health problems, one of them was frequent UTI's or Urinary Tract Infections. These happened frequently no matter how careful I was about proper cleansing. I still wasn't eating as healthy a diet as we try to do in our home now.  

Someone suggested that I try a combination of herbs specifically focused on the kidneys and bladder.  I agreed to try this, and decided to go through a whole bottle of the encapsulated herbs suggested.  I drank a lot of water as well.  During part of the process I felt some tenderness over the kidney area, in my back, which is a little bit up from where your hands would be if you put them on your hips backwards.  

During part of the cleanse, I noticed white matter pass, not right away, but about 2-3 weeks into the cleanse.  I kept this up for a month, and have to say that after that, I have never had another UTI.  I cannot promise the same results to anyone, nor can I tell you to try this, this is something you have to explore and decide for yourself.

The formula I used contained the following herbs in combination:

• Dong quai root
• Juniper Berries (pictured)
• Parsley Leaves
• Uva Ursi Leaves
• Ginger Rhizome
• Marshmallow root
• Golden Seal Root Extract

The diuretic properties of some of the herbs kept the kidneys working, the Golden Seal acted as a natural antibiotic. The Marshmallow Root was loosening mucous in my body. 

I continued to drink purified water, up to 10 8 oz. glasses a day, throughout the day, to keep the kidneys cleansing. The tiny filtration system of the kidneys is very delicate, and does so much for our bodies. I don't suggest doing this for more than a month or two, this is not a combination to be taken daily on an ongoing basis. 

Please contact me if you would like me to send you a "Fact Sheet" about this herbal combination by leaving a comment...I approve all comments and will not approve comments that contain requests.

Image Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Other  posts about Kidney Health:

Function of the Kidneys
About Kidney Stones with Video 
Kidney Stone Remedies