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.
