Herbalism and Critical Thinking.

Herbalism and critical thinking.

Herbalism and critical thinking need to be made as one. I wish that my formal herbal education had involved more focus on critical thinking. Unfortunately, the whole natural health movement frequently fails when it comes to critical thinking. A good critical thinker can take in information and discriminate between high quality information and low-quality information and between those useful details and those that are less useful. If you are Canadian and reading you might remember the great media literacy spot about the house hippos. This was meant to help people think critically about their media consumption.

Appeal to nature.

A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that undermines the validity of your argument. There are many different logical fallacies but today I am thinking about the “appeal to nature.” This fallacy is the notion that something is good, beneficial, or safe because it is “natural.” It corresponds with the rhetorical tactic that something is bad because it is “unnatural.”

Bloodroot.

On my walk today I came across a colony of bloodroot. I love spring ephemerals.

Bloodroot colony.

Bloodroot has notoriously been used as a component of black salve. People have used these salves for the home treatment of cancer and to remove warts, moles, and skin tags. Bloodroot is an escharotic. This is a substance that kills tissue, leaving the dead cells to slough off.

If a raccoon gets into my basement do I burn the house down?

Bloodroot – specifically the alkaloids in the root – are indiscriminate killers. Caustic to any tissue that it comes come in contact with. I went back to my notes from school before writing this post. I even wrote on the bloodroot handout – “kill the tumour but not the tissue around.” That’s incorrect. Applied topically the tissue dissolves. A scab forms and then heals and falls away – frequently leaving a gaping wound. I am not putting any images. Avail yourself of google. Bloodroot salves can lead to scarring, disability, and there is no way to know if they have removed all cancerous tissue.

When removing cancerous tissue doctors focus on clear margins. This means they remove all the cancerous tissue and then a bit more for insurance. A pathologist examines the cells at the margins to see if all cancerous tissue has been removed. A person slathering black salve on the skin at their kitchen table has no way to know if they have removed all the cancer.

As for warts and skin tags – liquid nitrogen works great.

Duty.

I was watching a cooking show this week. My new pandemic pastime. The chef being corrected was pushing back against the criticism she was getting. The chef handing out the criticism point blank told her that his job was to tell her the truth about how well or how poorly she had done. I was like – you are my new idol. I am an herbalist. As a practitioner I have a duty to continue to educate myself about herbs and their uses. I have a duty to ensure that my herbalism and critical thinking are as one.

I remember years ago my boss at the herb store took down some articles I had posted because she felt they were too negative. If hoodia doesn’t work for weight loss it doesn’t work. This is no more negative than pointing to a cardinal and saying it is a cardinal and not a blue jay.

Maya Angelou said “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Friendly Dandelions

Can there be any plant more supportive of human beings than friendly dandelions? So disheartening to me that people dismiss these lovely weeds and even hate them. We can eat the dandelions – the root makes a lovely savory drink, the leaves we can eat as greens, the flowers make dandelion wine. Who hasn’t made wishes with the puffballs? It is not enough for just our physical realities to be taken care of. We need to feed our spirits. We need wishes.

You have 1 wish. What will it be?

Make a wish!

I love how dandelion flowers track the sun. When the clouds move away from the face of the sun it is like the dandelions are celebrating the suns return. They make my heart smile. Dandelion flowers infused in oil make a lovely massage oil for sore muscles and for breast pain and cysts. It is strange that a plant so ubiquitous is actually an alien, native to Europe and Western Asia.

Medicinal uses of dandelion.

What medicinal uses does dandelion have? Dandelion root is a well-known herb used for the digestive system. It has an affinity for the liver and the gallbladder. The liver is one of the hardest working organs in the body. Day and night, it is on duty.

Dandelion root has a powerful but gentle action on the liver. It is a cholagogue and choleretic. As a choleretic it stimulates the production of bile from the liver. We need bile to emulsify fats. Excess bile is stored in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a suitcase tucked up against the liver that stores bile until we need it. As a cholagogue dandelion stimulates the release of bile from the gallbladder and liver.

This helps reduce congestion in both organs, reduce the likelihood of the formation of gallstones, and improves our digestion of fats. Dandelion is also depurative. Some older books will use the term alterative. This is an herb that supports the different avenues of elimination of the body. The primary organs of elimination are the liver, the kidneys, and to a lesser extent the skin. With dandelion we have an herb that can support the 2 major avenues of elimination.

The root.

Dandelion root is an excellent herb for the digestive system. It is a gentle stimulator of appetite and can be used when people are ill and have a disinterest in eating. Aside from its use to treat the digestive system as a whole, dandelion root has a particular affinity for the liver. The root is a hepatic, meaning that it improves the overall function of the liver and may also support the regeneration of liver cells.

Dandelion is also a hepatoprotective in that it protects the liver cells from damage from both endogenous and exogenous toxins. The majority of the herbs that are hepatoprotective (milk thistle being perhaps our best-known one) achieve their action via antioxidant mechanisms.

Research is underway at the University of Windsor into the use of dandelion root extract for fighting cancer. What I find exciting about this project is that they are using a simple water extract of dandelion root. If herbalism is people’s medicine, what could be more people’s medicine than a cup of dandelion root tea. Scientists are doing phase 1 clinical trials for drug refractory blood cancers. These are blood cancers that are resistant to the drugs commonly used to treat them.

Friendly dandelions.

Dandelions leaves and flowers.

While dandelion root has an affinity for the liver and the digestive system dandelion leaves have an affinity for the urinary system and for the kidneys in particular. Dandelion leaves are one of the best diuretics we have. A tincture of dandelion leaves increases not only the frequency of urination but also the amount of excretion. What I like about dandelion leaves is that they are the equal of the most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical diuretic (furosemide), however, unlike medications that increase urination and simultaneously cause the body to lose large quantities of potassium – dandelion leaves contain large amounts of potassium that help replenish the body’s potassium even as it increases urination. There are 9 different secondary metabolites in dandelion leaves that have a diuretic action. 100 g of dandelion leaves contain 247 mg of potassium.

Diuretics are the most important category of herbs when we are looking to heal the urinary tract. Those diuretics that are also urinary tonics are even more healing. Diuretics heal and restore function to the urinary system. By increasing the flow of urine, they increase the concentration of constituents in the urine. Many diuretics are also urinary tonics. Stronger diuretics act by irritating the kidneys – imagine your eye watering when you have something caught in it. These diuretics are not tonics and are not suitable for long-term use. Dandelion leaves do not work in this way.

Harvesting friendly dandelions.

Harvest friendly dandelions year round. The leaves of dandelion are most potent for harvesting early in the season before even the flower bud has formed. Harvest the flowers later in the season, roughly in mid-May. Make 2 separate tinctures and combine them after pressing. A good combination would be 1/4 to 1/3 of dandelion flowers, with 3/4 quarters to 2/3 dandelion leaves. I have not experimented with a tincture that was a blend of leaves, flowers, and root. That might be something to try this coming season. Dig roots in the fall after the leaves have died back.

I feel like dandelion is a good neighbour (a strange way to describe a weed that neighbours have come to strife over). A plant so well-spirited and cheery. Ready, willing, and able to provide help.

More dandelion wisdom.

Yellow Birch

Yellow Birch

I think there is a term for moments when we are fully in the moment. Can’t remember the term right now. I caught the light hitting this yellow birch just at the right moment. I’m not the world’s best photographer but a smart phone means I can take many photos and then choose the best one. I need to add “improve photography skills” to my list of nine zillion other things I am supposed to master as a small business person. This yellow birch was just off trail in a new spot I was exploring. We are more than just physical beings. I know how privileged I am to have the majority of my physical needs met.

The challenge is how I can move in the world to help others have their needs met. Part of my work as an herbalist encompasses this. An unhoused person doesn’t need a tincture – they need a home. It doesn’t have to be either/or. In fact, I don’t think it should be. I can work for justice on the macro level while also meeting people where they are on the micro level. We need bread and flowers. I may have caught the philosophical tail between my teeth. I do know that it is moments like the one I shared with this birch that feed my spirit and give me the spiritual strength to grapple with how I will live my life.

Trout Lilies

Trout Lily

Folklore suggests that they are called trout lilies because the leaves are thought to resemble the body of a speckled trout. Personally, I see the sparkle of the sun on water when I look at the leaves. A spring ephemeral they blanket our nearby woods in early spring. A member of the Lily family, Trout lily (Erythronium americanum) is also sometimes called Dogtooth Violet. This is in reference to the shape of the corm. The corms, as well as the leaves, can be eaten. The leaves are mucilaginous and have a slight acrid taste. In large quantities they are emetic. I will sometimes munch one or two leaves on a hike or gather a handful to add to salad. I have never dug the corms as they are quite small and to me not worth the effort for the reward.

Trout lilies are slow growing and until they mature will only have one leaf. They are sterile til about the seventh year when the plant will flower. The plant will then have two leaves and the flower stalk. While they spread mostly by runners (fewer than 10% of the flowers will set seed) they do have a symbiotic relationship with ants. The seeds are attached to a nutrient rich structure called a elaiosome. Ants carry the seed back to their nest. They eat the elaiosome and then discard the seed. The flowers of trout lily also provide an important early spring food source for pollinators.

Out in the forest

A selection from this week’s time out in the forest. I am so fortunate to have a large wilderness area near me. Even saw a deer this week. I saw coltsfoot flowers. Frogs eggs, mallards, and chickadees. Once you hear them calling ‘cheeseburger’ you can’t unhear it. I am looking forward to munching on some trout lily leaves and of course – fiddleheads. Plan to make some spruce tip jelly and this might be the year that I make spruce tip sugar. I’ve been thinking of getting my food handler’s certificate so that I can make food based herb products for sale. It’s a new moon tonight so I think I might sit out and enjoy the stars.

Speckled alder.

Goldthread

Time out in the forest is so restorative to my soul.

From top to bottom we have alder (Alnus incana) – what I like about this photo is that you can see both the catkins and the cones that alders have. I personally don’t use alder in my practice but it is known as an excellent lymphatic.

goldthread (Coptis trifolia) – A berberine containing plant it is an excellent anti-bacterial. The size of the roots makes it an herb to use sparingly.

and a fungus I think is a Ganoderma (not 100% on my identification) and not sure which one it is. Mushroom identification is not a strength of mine. The only one I find in abundance around me is birch polypore so the rest I prefer to buy from folks with the expertise.

I wish I had something more interesting to share this week. The pandemic continues unabated and we are still days away from the new measures having an impact. Stay home as much as possible and if you can safely enjoy some time out in the forest I whole-heartedly recommend it.