Tag: Health

Anti-Inflammatory Plants: Plants That Stimulate Cortisone Production

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

http://amzn.to/2FT3u4BNatural Remedies

Natural Remedies for Inflammation (Healing Arts Press, 2014), by Christopher Vasey contains valuable information about treating inflammation naturally. The book examines over 50 of the most common inflammation-related illnesses and explains which medicinal plant or food supplement is best suited to ease the symptoms and help the body heal. The following excerpt is from Chapter 5, “Eighteen Anti-Inflammatory Plants.”

Plants That Stimulate Cortisone Production

The plants of this group have a “cortisone-like” effect; in other words, they stimulate the adrenal glands to produce more cortisone. This hormone will then flow at higher levels in the bloodstream and work its anti-inflammatory effect throughout the body. Since this cortisone is produced by the body and is a natural physiological product, it is entirely beneficial, without any adverse side effects.

Black-Currant-Web jpg

Black Currant (Ribes nigrum)

Botanical Description: The black currant is a small bush that can grow to more than 4…

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Those Medicinal Weeds: Silverweed {Potentilla anserina}

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

  • Argentine
  • Cramp weed
  • Goosewort
  • Moon Grass
  • Silverweed
  • Wild Tansy

Silverweed (botanical name, Potentilla anserina) is a very short perennial herb that grows up to a height of 8 to 16 inches. This herb has runners that are about 3 to 6 feet in length linking new plants having tufts of leaves. Each tuft of leaves produces a solitary, vivid golden yellow flower with five petals between June and August. These flowers appear on top of leafless stalks measuring anything between 2 inches to 12 inches in length. Interestingly enough, flowers of silverweed, also known as goose plant, close at night time and in cloudy weather conditions.

The rootstock of silverweed is starchy and has served as a food for the Native Indians in North America, Eskimos and people inhabiting the northern regions of Europe for several years. They have been consuming the silverweed rootstock raw, boiled or…

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Those Medicinal Weeds: Plantain {Plantago major}

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

  • Plantain
  • Ribwort
  • Snakeweed

When we talk about plantain, normally the image of a banana plantation conjures up in our mind. But the common plantain is a small wild plant with leaves that grow mostly from the plant’s bottom. It is found growing naturally in the lawns, gardens, backyards and along the roads throughout America. The plantain is a tough and perennial plant and similar to the dandelion (a weed with brilliant yellow flowers on unfilled stems bearing fluffy white seed heads) need to be pulled out along with the roots once it is securely set up in the yard. The leaves of the common plantain are generally ovate or egg-shaped and are found complete or jagged. The leaves are distinguished by their chunky and conduit foot-stalk. The flower stems of the common plantain grow up to a height of seven to twenty inches and are inclined with long and slim barbs of…

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Plant Profile: White Sage {Salvia apiana}

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

  • Bee Sage
  • Sacred Sage
  • White Ceremonial Sage
  • White Sage

Salvia apiana or white sage is a perennially growing evergreen shrub that is indigenous to the southwestern regions of the United States and the adjoining north-western areas of Mexico. This herb is mostly found growing in the wild in the scrub habitat in the coastal regions of Baja California and Southern California, located on the western peripheries of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.

White sage possibly derives its name from its ashen evergreen leaves, which contain oils and resins. The leaves of white sage emit a potent aroma when they are rubbed. The white to light lavender hued blooms of this plant attract bees, and this is described in the plant’s specific name – apiana. White sage bears many flower stalks, which measure anything between 1 meter and 1.3 meters (3.3 feet to 4.3 feet) in height. Occasionally…

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Seven Safe, Effective Natural Antibiotics

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Certain natural substances have antibacterial properties, but which are safe to use, and when should a person use them?

Prescription antibiotics, such as penicillin, have helped people to recover from otherwise fatal diseases and conditions since the 1940s.

However, people are also turning to natural antibiotics for treatment.

According to the NHS, 1 in 10 people experiences side effects that harm the digestive system after taking antibiotics. Around 1 in 15 people are allergic to this type of medication.

In this article, we look at the evidence behind seven of the best natural antibiotics. We also discuss which to avoid, and when to see a doctor.

Seven best natural antibiotics

Garlic may be an effective treatment against bacteria.

The scientific jury is still out concerning natural antibiotics. While people have used remedies like these for hundreds of years, most treatments have not been thoroughly tested.

However, some show promising results under medical…

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Our Beloved Oregon Grape

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Berberis aquifolium

Also, Known As:

  • Oregon Grape
  • Mountain Grape

Not many people are aware of the interesting fact that the state flower of Oregon blooms on this beautiful shrub. Known for its attractiveness and its rapid growth, the Oregon grape is used medicinally, as well as for ornamental landscaping in several homes across the country. The leaves of the Oregon grape resemble those of holly; they are dark green, spiny and shiny, in almost the same way as the holly leaves are dark green and shiny. The flowers of this shrub are small and yellowish green in color, and the berries of the Oregon grape are a shade of dark purple-blue, especially when they ripen. They grow in small clusters, and in this, they resemble clusters or bunches of grapes. The Oregon grape shrub can grow to almost 6 feet in height, but in general, it grows about 3 –…

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Chickweed {Stellaria media}

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Also, Known As:

  • Adder’s Mouth
  • Chickweed
  • Indian Chickweed
  • Satinflower
  • Scarweed
  • Starweed
  • Starwort
  • Stitchwort
  • Tongue Grass
  • White Bird’s-eye
  • Winterweed

The plant known as the chickweed is a very fragile appearing herb; as a plant, it is actually a very lusty annual plant characterized by the presence of matted to straight green stems growing in profusion over vast areas of land. The chickweed is an extraordinarily hardy herb, and the normal growing starts during the fall season, it is very capable of enduring harsh sleet and severe snowstorms during the winter months, and has been found to be growing even in the far northern areas of the continent, the plant is so hardy that it has been known to be resistant to the majority of weed killers used in agriculture. The production of seeds is usually over by the spring, even though the plant itself is known to begin blooming even when…

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Spring Herb: Cicely {Myrrhis odorata}

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Also, Known As:

  • Anise Fern
  • British Myrrh
  • Cicely
  • Cow Chervil
  • Garden Myrrh
  • Shepherd’s Needle
  • Smooth Cicely
  • Sweet Bracken
  • Sweet Chervil
  • Sweet Cicely
  • Sweet Myrrh

The plant called the sweet cicely is a hardy and robust herb. The cicely is an aromatic perennial herb indigenous to the mountainous areas of Europe and Asian Russia – growing originally only in these regions. The cicely when fully mature can reach 0.6 to 0.9 m or 2 to 3 feet in height. Sweet cicely is one of the first herbs that come up when spring arrives; the sweet cicely is a pretty plant and makes a beautiful backdrop to a perennial border in mountainous regions where it grows.

Sweet-CicelyIn older times, people would usually grow this old cottage garden perennial at a site near the door to the kitchen. The site would be chosen so that the pretty divided fern-like leaves could be easily accessed…

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Elder (Sambucus Canadensis): Sacred Medicine, Magic, Mythology, and Uses of the Elder Tree

Dana's avatarThe Druid's Garden

Dana gathers elder as the sun rises on the summer solstice! Dana gathers elder as the sun rises on the summer solstice!

I remember when I first found the massive elderberry patch. It was a few summer solstices ago. There is an overlook deep in the state forest lands, where the roads are more goat path than vehicle worthy, and it takes about 45 minutes to go only a few miles. The overlook is facing east and you can see across multiple counties, for countless miles. Visiting the overlook earlier in the summer, I had said to my mother how much I’d love to witness the summer solstice sunrise from that spot. And so, at 4:30 am on the morning of the solstice we got up and were dismayed to find that it was overcast and drizzling. With hope in our hearts that it would clear, we made our way up the winding path, avoiding potholes and huge rocks, and eventually…

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Our ‘Go To’ Herb: Parsley

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Petroselinum crispum

Also, Known As:

  • Common Parsley
  • Curly Parsley
  • Flat-leaved Parsley
  • Parsley

Parsley (botanical name Petroselinum crispum) belongs to the family Apiaceae and is among the most well-known herbs that are extensively used for garnishing of over 2,000 years, but it is hardly ever consumed. In addition, the leaves, fruits and the root of this herb have also been employed in traditional medicine for several centuries. Botanists have described the leaves of this herb as pinnate decompound, which denotes that they are divided and have an appearance slightly akin to feathers. As it is able to easily identify parsley by any individual who has eaten this herb anytime in any restaurant, however, there are a number of essentials regarding parsley. For instance, parsley is a biennial herb that is cultivated extensively. This herb produces small yellow flowers in clusters. The fruits of this herb, which are generally known as seeds…

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