Herb Spotlight: Damiana

Have you checked out my Specialteas page? Right now, I’m featuring An Austen Afternoon. It’s a wonderful black tea and herb blend to bring the sense of Austen’s time to your tea cup.

It has a few herbs that may be new to you. One being Damiana.

It’s relatively new to me too!

Yet I’ve been enjoying it both in this tea blend as well as in a tincture. It’s taste is pretty flowery to me in tincture form. Yet infused, this adds so much into An Austen Afternoon!

This is a small shrub that grows in the Southern part of the U.S. It is also native to all the subtropic regions of Mexico, Central and South America, and Africa. I’m tempted to find out how well it would grow in a container as I enjoy the herb.

Some of my research has shown that it’s a great herb for women and men in terms of sex hormone imbalances (PMS, low libido and other concerns). It is an aphrodisiac after all. But, like so many things, this isn’t a miracle herb that would solve any desire issues. Damiana is a tonic herb, meaning it can bring balance. Most of the situations in which Damiana is useful is when things are just worn out, physically and mentally. In terms of these imbalances, most of its usefulness is that it helps to bring more flow to the pelvis area. This can be more circulation of blood, such as a stimulation to start menses when they are delayed. The one contraindication (a situation when it is advised to not use the herb) I have found refers to this action of the herb. It is advised to avoid during pregnancy because of its ability to encourage menses and flow in the pelvic region.

While the hormone balances above receive a lot of attention, Damiana is also great for the nervous, respiratory and digestive systems too.

The nervous system benefits are what I want to focus on.

Damiana can be useful when feeling depleted. This is that feeling of exhaustion where one gets to the point of wanting to “check out”. I see this situation as one where there’s no energy, lots of irritability and frustration, body just feels heavy and weak, and yet sleep is not as restful as it needs to be.

Damiana is a tonic herb. Often included in blends- whether teas, elixirs, or tinctures- that can help bring balance and reconnect you with yourself and the world around you. This is what speaks to me about the herb. I see working with Damiana as creating and opening the space for other restorative and supportive practices to be implemented.

Head over to the Specialteas page and pick up An Austen Afternoon and give Damiana a try!

Herb Spotlight: Dandelion

Flux: that seems like a great descriptor for March. Part way in winter, part way in spring. Warm days, cold days, sunny days, snow days. A bit of all the things happen in March.

I definitely turn to herbs to help with this transition. Mainly, I turn to herbs that help me feel lighter, either mentally, emotionally or physically. These are herbs that help to detoxify my body or that taste bright.

Taste plays a huge role in what I reach for when I want to support myself mentally or emotionally. It’s the tea version of comfort food. 😊 When the seasons transition, I like to reach for herbs that are associated with the season to come. It’s my way of looking forward and embracing the shifts.

Physically, I look at how my body is feeling and where I need support. Is it sleep that seems to be suffering? Then I start to incorporate the herbs that help to relax and calm me in the evenings. Am I feeling rather sluggish in my belly area? I start adding in herbs that will help to move things along and increase digestion. Just a general feeling of being off? I reach for nourishing herbs that are nutrient-rich.

Let’s look at a common spring herb in a possibly new light.

Image by Dirk (Beeki®) Schumacher from Pixabay

Dandelion

Once a valued resource, the dandelion is now on the receiving end of curses and sprays as people try to remove this prolific herb from their lawns and garden beds.

It’s a multi-seasonal herb in that the fresh growth of spring leaves are tender enough to add into your salads and soups. The summer flowers are used in infusing oils (internal or external use). The roots are bitter and stimulating in the spring. Harvest the roots in the fall for a more nourishing effect.

Personally, dandelion is commonly added into my daily practice through my tea rituals, though you can take it as a tincture, as a food, or as an external application (infused oils).

Dandelion has a multidimensional purpose as one of our herbal allies. The first is that it is bitter. The leaves are milder in the spring when they are small and become more bitter as the season moves. Why would you want to include something bitter?

A little background on how our bodies work. Smell is the first step in digestion. Next up is the food acting upon our tongue receptors. Those two things tell our bodies to begin the digestive process. When you consume bitter foods it activates digestion and metabolism much more effectively. The bitter taste stimulates the secretion of bile, gastric enzymes and pancreatic enzymes. While we can say that it increases appetite, it does so while it also curbs overeating.

Why would we want to include this plant in our spring rituals?

For me, I want to feel lighter after the heavier foods of winter. Dandelion supports both kidney and liver functions. It’s a diuretic; one of the good ones. It encourages your body to eliminate uric acid (metabolic waste). Yet the leaf is a great source of potassium and other minerals, replenishing your body rather than depleting it. Herbalists may include dandelion when assisting your body with water retention, urinary and prostate infections, gout, arthritis, or rheumatism.

The root is also amazing and is what I tend to use the most. Here is the bitter along with the sweet (starch). A liver tonic which means it supports the liver in performing its role in our bodies. We’re looking at how it helps remove the metabolic wastes and excess hormones from our bodies. It’s that combination of stimulating digestion mentioned earlier along with the starches providing food for our good gut bacteria. Add in the diuretic effect and you have this great system of support for your liver. All this can ease inflammation in your body.

Are you looking at dandelion in a new light yet?

Contemplating its growing habits, I am in awe of the humble dandelion. Think about where you find dandelion growing. Can you think of a place it doesn’t grow?? Whether you live in the city, suburbs, or rural areas, you will find dandelion.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Let’s look at dandelion’s tenacity as a positive. Here is a plant that teaches us about persisting in spite of setbacks. Mow it and it grows back. Try to pull it out by its roots and inevitably, not all the root comes out. That piece of root picks itself up (metaphorically) and keeps going.

The dandelion is creative. It grows wherever there is just the smallest space for it. The dandelion thrives in your lawn just as well as a crack in the concrete.

Spring brings these tenacious, bitter herbs for us to enjoy. In nature it is a time of growth and on the medicine wheel this season is all about action. In what ways can you embrace dandelion’s qualities in your own life?

Herb Spotlight: Peppermint

Ready for a great tasting, easy to grow herb for your garden?

Peppermint is part of a huge family of herbs. It is actually a hybrid between two other types of mint, water mint and spearmint. Like all mints, Peppermint grows well in most locations. It prefers moist soil and will spread easily. In fact, the trick is to keep it from spreading everywhere! All mints have the square stems with opposite leaves. Peppermint has a purple stem. Out of the mint family, Peppermint is considered the herb with the most health benefits. It’s cooling, calming, and aromatic. Peppermint leaves make a great tea. You can find it in my Lavender Mint Dream tisane.

This herb is most used for cramping and upset in the digestive tract along with menstrual cramps, headaches, congestion, insomnia, nausea, and colds and flu. The menthol present in the herb is often extracted and used in a variety of products. It is this constituent that helps to soothe the smooth muscles of the digestive tract and uterus.

Mint has had a varied and useful past which is really fascinating to me. Early references to mint encapsulated all the varieties as there were no differentiation.  In ancient Palestine mint was an acceptable form of tax payment. In Greek mythology Pluto fell in love with a nymph named Minthe and Persephone in a fit of jealousy turned the nymph into the plant mint. Greeks also used mint to prevent milk spoilage. It has long been used as a way to mask distasteful flavors and to enhance flavors when cooking.

Some things to keep in mind with mint is some do not recommend it in large doses for pregnant or breast feeding women. Most cautions are about peppermint oil, which is highly concentrated and can be lethal in too large of quantities. The leaf is a much safe form. It is recommended for morning sicknes as a tea. The best thing is to consult your doctor or wellness professionals to determine its safety for you. It is possible to develop symptoms of an allergic reaction as well.

Resources:

• Castleman, Michael. The New Healing Herbs. Revised and Updated. Bantam Books. 2002. p.465-471
• Gladstar, Rosemary. Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs A Beginner’s Guide. Storey Publishing. 2012. p.184-187
• Peppermint. University of Maryland Medical Center. Retrieved on June 6, 2016. Retrieved from            http://www.umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/peppermint
• Peppermint. Mountain Rose Herbs. Retrieved on June 6, 2016. Retrieved from  https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/peppermint-leaf/profile
• Peppermint Oil. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health https://nccih.nih.gov/health/peppermintoil

Herb Spotlight: Lady's Mantle

Another beautiful herb in my Lady’s Herb tea is Lady’s Mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris. It may not be as well-known as Red Raspberry Leaf, yet this herb has a rich tradition in Europe for supporting a woman’s health. The Latin name, Alchemilla, refers to its common nickname “herb of the alchemist” stemming from this herb being both associated with the Virgin Mary and the belief that the dew collected from this plant has magical properties useful in alchemy(1,).

Lady’s Mantle is highly astringent. The plant contains tannins similar to what is found in tea. This is part of the properties that make the herb so beneficial for excessive bleeding. It is most often used in cases of heavy menstrual bleeding but it also works topically on sores and wounds to reduce inflammation and help the body heal faster. The herb is also used for cases of diarrhea.(1,2,3,4)

Lady’s Mantle is beneficial at all stages of a woman’s life and is often combined with Red Raspberry Leaf (3), as I have with Lady’s Herb tea. It can be taken to lessen chances of hemorrhaging during childbirth and is beneficial postpartum. Some women also take it as an infusion in the week prior to menstruation to ease heavy flows and to benefit from its sedative qualities to reduce cramping.(1,3,4)

Native to Europe, Lady’s Mantle also grows well in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. It is low growing and has green accordion-like leaves. The flowers are small and greenish to slightly yellow. If you grow this herb, harvest it in June or July when it is flowering. Flowers and leaves are the most commonly used parts.(1,5)

This herb is considered safe both in dosing and frequency but as always, consult with an herbalist or your doctor before you take this in therapeutic doses.(3)

Resources:

1. Gladstar, Rosemary. Herbal Healing for Women. Simon & Schuster. 1993. p.176, 199, 245
2. Hoffmann, David. The Herbal Handbook: A User’s Guide to Medical Herbalism. Healing Arts Press. 1998. p.148
3. Whelan, Richard. Lady’s Mantle. Retrieved on May 1, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.rjwhelan.co.nz/herbs%20A-Z/ladys_mantle.html
4. Nina from shalommamma.com. Lady’s Mantle an Herb for All Stages of Life (+ Happy Uterus Tea Recipe). Retrieved on May 1, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.modernalternativepregnancy.com/2013/04/01/ladys-mantle-an-herb-for-all-stages-of-life-happy-uterus-tea-recipe/
5. Fetrow, Charles W., Pharm. D. and Avila, Juan R., Pharm. D. The Complete Guide to Herbal Medicines. Pocket Books. 2000. p.321-322