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Red Clover for Radiance and Healing

7/22/2012

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Red Clover is beneficial to both people and the earth. It is good to plant on poor compacted soils as the roots will break up the soil and go down and fix nitrogen and bring up minerals from way down deep. It has long been known as a blood cleanser and a few days of drinking it will really make your skin glow! The skin is the largest organ and toxins will eliminate through the skin when the other channels are overloaded. Red clover is a great herb for both men and women, It is high in calcium so it can help keep bones strong and research now reveals that is estrogenic in nature so it can help with hot flashes and other uncomfortable symptoms of menopause. And for men it can help shrink an enlarged prostate. So lets make this one a daily drink!! It is fragrant and can taste very sweet. Not to mention its sheer beauty.Another reason red clover is so great is that it helps to alkalize the blood, and we hear about alkaline diet alot these days as disease tends to thrive in an acid environment, so keeping our system alkaline is one of the best things we can do for our health. From an energetic view point red clover is cooling so it can calm hot emotions such as anger and fear. Some other benefits are it lowers blood pressure and is an anti-cancer herb. Not bad really for a cute little pink flower!!
If you haven't had it yet please try some!! Hot or cold it is delicious!! The blossoms are the best part with just a bit of the leaf. It contains coumarins so should not be used by people who are on blood thinners as it can have the same action.And from the world of folklore it is thought that holding a red clover blossom can give you fairy sight, that is the ability to see and talk to fairies!!
Try it and let me know!!! Meanwhile you if you are looking for me I will be.....rolling over in the clover!!!! ( and over and over because I feel so great!!)

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Elecampane Outstanding Herb for the Lungs

12/29/2011

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Now that the shorter days of autumn are here,many of us find it just a little more challenging to stay healthy especially with the respiratory system. I want to tell everyone I know about the wonders of Elecampane. I don't know how I ever made it through a winter without this amazing member of the sunflower family. It grows so tall in the summer reaching a height of up to 7 feet and it has some of the biggest leaves I have ever seen spanning at least 1 foot across and up to 3 feet long.
  The wonderful thing is that although Elecampane is native to southern England it is very easy to grow on the coast of BC and is a hardy perennial as well as strikingly beautiful too. Maybe that is why it is said it is the herb Helen of Troy took with her hence its latin name Inula helenium. It requires a sunny site and loves clay soil that is moist. although can also tolerate semi shade
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Elecampane has been used for centuries for many ailments but it is truly an outstanding herb for the lungs. It removes dampness and is warming to the lungs and helps to expectorate mucus. In the old days it was used for TB and in my old days ( yes I have them too, having worked with herbs for over 35 years now...) I have given it to many people for bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia, whooping cough,and general debility of the lungs.So just how does this plant work?  It has antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial, expectorant, diaphoretic and bitter qualities. You will need the roots from a 2 to 3 year old plant and there are many ways to prepare it.

Lung Tea
2 parts elecampane,
1 part marshmallow root and
1 part fresh ginger root and
1 part fenugreek seeds.

To prepare use 1 teaspoon of this mixture per 250ml ( I cup) of water. So use 8 teaspoons to 2 litres of water and bring it to a boil then slowly simmer until it reduces in volume to about 1 litre. At this point the tea should be thick and gooey and will taste both sweet and bitter at the same time. Drink a litre a day to really make a difference and continue for about 5 days. You will immediately feel a soothing in your lungs and mucus will come up. You can also add some licorice root to the mixture if you like.Do not use licorice however, if you have high blood pressure. Sweeten it with honey if desired and squeeze in half a fresh lemon. Elecampane can be used also as a tonic, before anything takes hold of you, I do a 5 day routine every fall and I can feel the strength it gives me perhaps it has a way of harnessing the energy of the sun from the summer and bringing it inside of us during times of cold and dampness. This is a plant that has truly found its place in herbal medicine and is part of what I like to think of as our ancient future. May you truly  nurture yourself in this inward season.
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    by Rainbow Ramadevi May

    I just love plants! That is all there is to it!! I grew up with a farmer father and an urban mother so as a compromise we lived in town, planted the front yard in potatoes and every weekend we spent in the small country side village  where my father was born. It was there where I  spent my childhood roving and running around in outside being fascinated by all things natural.
    This love of nature and plants led me to becoming a herbalist when I was still a teenager and I have been on this beautiful green path ever since.

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