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Dandelion - Not such a weed!

3/28/2010

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This bright yellow flower is often the curse of gardeners and makes an unwanted appearance on many lawns. However, the history and lore of this useful herb may make you look at it in a new light.

There is a story from Celtic lore, for example, which tells the origin of the flower. When man first appeared on the earth they couldn’t see the fairies, elves and ‘little folk’ who already lived there, so kept treading on them. To avoid this, the dwarves and the gnomes went underground to hide, whilst the elves went to live amongst the rocks. However, the fairies wanted to stay above ground to play in the open spaces in the sunshine. In order to avoid being seen by humans, they turned themselves into bright, yellow dandelions that grow in open sunny spaces.

This connection with fairies may explain why it has been associated with good luck and it is said that if you rubbed yourself all over with dandelion you will be welcome everywhere and your wishes will come true. The flower’s name comes from the shape of the leaves, which are thought to resemble the teeth of a lion, or in French le dent de lion – which became corrupted to dand-e-lion. The Latin name for dandelion,  Taraxacum, comes from the Greek word Taraxo meaning disorder and takos meaning pain, pointing to its early use as medicinal herb. In fact, although Avicenna the Arabian herbalist used dandelion in the 10th century, it did not appear in Western herbals until the 13th Century when it first got its English name. 


Of course, many people still call dandelion ‘wet the bed’ or ‘piddlybeds’ and in France it is often called Pissenlit. These names point to its use as a diuretic and modern herbalist make use of this to treat water retention, high blood pressure and kidney disorders. In fact dandelion is one of the best and most effective diuretics and because the leaves are high in potassium, it increases urine output without depleting the body of potassium as so many diuretic drugs do. However, dandelion leaves should never be used to replace drugs without consulting an herbalist or your GP.

Dandelion leaves make an excellent salad herb and the young leaves are commonly used in salads on the Continent to help stimulate the digestion, though this has never been the case in the UK. Culpeper, the famous 17th century herbalist noted, “You will see here what virtues this common herb hath and it is the reason the French and Dutch so often eat them in the spring; and now if you look a little farther, you may plainly see, without a pair of spectacles, that foreign physicians are not so selfish as ours are but are more communicative of the virtues of plants to people.”

The dandelion root is a gentle liver herb and is used to stimulate the appetite and to treat constipation. It promotes the flow of bile and is used for gallstones as well as to treat gout, arthritis and clears the body of toxins and excess hormones in conditions such as acne or PMS. It’s gentle stimulation of the liver also makes it  an ideal hung-over cure. 


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Sage - a natural healer

3/6/2010

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Sage is a well-known culinary herb, commonly grown in many herb gardens or pots. However, few people are aware of sage’s medicinal qualities or the high regard in which it was once held.

 Sage is a native of Southern Europe and likes a sandy, well-drained compost in a sunny position. It’s official name,
Salvia, comes from the Latin salvare, which means, ‘to save’ and points to its long use as a medicinal herb. The Ancient Greeks believed sage could render man immortal and there are numerous legends of long-lived Princes who regularly drank cups of sage tea whilst an Anglo-Saxon manuscript says ‘why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden.’ The Romans considered it one of the sacred herbs and harvesting the leaves was an important ritual. The leaves had to be cut using a bronze or silver knife and harvesters had to be barefoot, clean and dressed in white tunics. In the 18th century the Chinese prized sage so much they would trade one crate of sage for three of their finest tea. 

So what makes sage so sought after? Well, the plant contains powerful antiseptic oils and is still used for sore throats and mouth ulcers. Pouring boiling water on fresh sage leaves provides an excellent inhalant for infected sinuses.
  Its anti-microbial properties could also explain its use in stuffing with onion (which has similar properties) in the days when meat wasn’t always fresh. It also has the added bonus of being an excellent carminative, which soothes and calms the digestive system.

 But it’s not just its ability to kill germs that makes sage special. Sage also means wisdom and the herb has long been associated with longevity and restoring memory in the elderly. Research has shown that sage has the ability to reduce the action of an enzyme associated with dementia and medical herbalists often use sage, together with rosemary, to help patient’s with memory problems. It has been shown to significantly increase memory function in patients with Alzheimer. However, before you start eating lots of sage, you should be aware that it contains small amounts of Thujone, the chemical in Absinthe which makes drinkers of this liqueur go mad. So sage shouldn’t be taken in large doses or for more than 2 weeks at a time.

Also unique in herbs, sage stops sweating so is used a lot by herbalists to treat hot flushes in menopausal women. However, it has a powerful effect on the uterus and is used during childbirth to expel the placenta, so should never be used during pregnancy.
  The famous herbalist, Culpeper, recommends a decoction of the leaves and branches to help bring on women’s periods and expel the placenta after birth. He also recommends the decoction made with wine “takes away the itching of the testicles, if they be bathed therewith”. 

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    These pages are written by one of our resident herbalists, Tracey to provide information on common herbs

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