Herbs Archives | Page 3 of 10

October 30, 2020February 15, 2022

Herbs and Spices as a Path to Health and Wellbeing

As a passionate home chef, I can’t imagine cooking without a full array of herbs and spices. And as an herbalist, I can’t imagine creating a health protocol without the use of herbs and spices. Fortunately, culinary and medicinal herbs are often one and the same. As Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

As an herbalist, nutritionist, jazz musician, and chef, I find that food preparation and cooking is similar to combining herbs for medicine or composing music. Home cooking is a creative endeavor, and the reward is a delicious and healthy meal that can be savored with family and friends.

September 24, 2020March 22, 2022

Current Research on Herbs and Nutrients Holds Promise Against COVID-19

I’ve grown frustrated and concerned over the degree to which the news surrounding COVID-19 focuses on fear and the promise of a ‘super hero’ vaccine that will eventually save us.

Every week, I come across research that supports the use of herbal and nutritional compounds, diet, and lifestyle that have been shown to be of potential benefit in bolstering our immune defense against the virus. It’s unfortunate that these studies are not being more widely reported and implemented in our approach to this disease.

August 31, 2020February 25, 2022

Synergistic Effects of Herb Extracts and How They Might Assist in Cancer Drug Therapies

In exciting new research, clinical studies for the first time are reporting convincing evidence of the value and credibility of herbal therapeutics in cancer treatments. As an herbalist, botanical medicine has been an essential part of my toolbox for decades as a useful complement to conventional medicine in oncology as well as other chronic diseases, and for general health optimization.

July 20, 2020March 22, 2022

Hope, Wisdom and Science from the Plant Kingdom in the Ongoing Covid Crisis

Viruses are one of the oldest organisms on Earth. They consist simply of a protein envelope and nucleic acids, which renders them unable to replicate outside of a host. Some viruses, such as influenza, can both rearrange compatible genes and mutate on a regular basis in order to remain invisible.[1]

Interestingly, the main benefit of herbs is their working relationship with our own innate ability to ward off pathogens, such as viruses. This in part is what makes herbal medicine so unique. Although herbs provide some direct anti-viral activity, they primarily act in a non-specific, adaptive manner.

March 6, 2020March 28, 2022

Herbal Remedies for Acute Viral Infections

The Traditional Medical System Perspective

Long before the advent of modern conventional medicine, traditional doctors in the East and Western herbalists from the Vitalist and Eclectic traditions were using plants to help people overcome infectious acute diseases. The constellation of symptoms that the patient presented with were considered to be caused by the entrance of pathogenic influences into the body, and appropriate herbal remedies were administered to alleviate symptoms while addressing underlying constitutional imbalances.

February 25, 2020March 29, 2022

Immune-Enhancing Soup

This nourishing soup is a delicious way to naturally boost your immunity. Traditionally prepared in cultures throughout the world, bone broth is easily digested and provides a wealth of nutritional and immune support factors. I myself do not eat meat and promote a 85/15 ratio diet of plant foods to animal foods. When people have lost blood from surgery or other causes and/or are undergoing chemotherapy, the blood nourishment from the addition of the animal bones is specifically helpful for recovery. I have no vegetarian alternative, but you can make the soup without the animal bones and it will still be extremely beneficial and immune boosting, but less helpful for those with iron anemia. For beef alternatives, many people use elk or lamb. I understand and respect anyone that chooses not to consume this for ethical reasons, but as Ben Franklin so eloquently wrote, “A place for everything, everything in its place.”