Mycellium pack a ton of nutrition and medicine into their fruiting bodies or Mushrooms. Most of us are used to and absolutely comfortable with a few mushrooms on or pizza or added to stir-fry, but we don’t often think of those as particularly medicinal. The real medicine comes from the stuff that tastes bitter and earthy, like Reishi or Turkey Tail, right?
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What do White or Button mushrooms, Crimini or Brown mushrooms, and Portobello mushrooms have in common?
They’re actually the same mushroom at various stages of development. Agaricus bisporus is the official name for the common grocery store mushroom most of us are familiar with.
Shiitake Mushrooms are not exactly what you think of when an Herbalist starts talking about Medicinal Mushrooms…but they really ought to be! They’re loaded with safe and gentle medicinal properties that the wiser Herbalists use regularly to prevent illness and restore balance when needed.
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Full of lactic acid, anti-oxidants, and digestive fire, kvass is an old tonic fermented either from rye bread or beetroot. It’s a household mainstay in Eastern Europe, and is sold commercially in multiple countries. Recipes are simple enough to make at home.
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Hops have been the bittering herbs for beer for a few centuries now. In more recent years here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s as if brewers have gotten drunk off the bitter Hops brings to the feremeter- Extreme IPA has become the standard beer here, with extreme being the important element in that moniker. These beers are quite medicinal in strength. Between the higher alcohol levels that draw higher levels of medicinal constituents out of the hops and the sheer volume of hops brewers are using, Extreme IPA beers are starting to taste more like tinctures than like beers. If that’s your jam, great. But, if hops isn’t the best herb for you, it’ll come as a relief to know that there are a lot of other herbs you can try!
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Mead, strictly speaking, is made with honey, water, and yeast. Nothing more. It’s a fabulously medicinal and Divinely Delicious medicine in its own right. Truly, I could write a book just on the virtues of Mead, as have many enthusiasts and experts already done. Mead combines the medicinal properties of Honey, which are plentiful, with the gut-friendly medicine of fermentation. A glass a day of mead can help improve digestive health and prevent a wide variety of digestive complaints.
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It’s come to my attention recently that many folks don’t know what Kombucha is. I was shocked, but upon reflecting over the past decade since I first began drinking it I realized that it wasn’t until I moved out to Eugene, Hippy-Capital of the World, that I discovered this amazing fermentation.
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Berries don’t get a ton of credit for their medicinal power. Maybe that’s because they’re so...
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Gardens, like diet and exercise, are all highly individual. They need to be. What’s worked so well for my friend, Master Gardener Sue Sierralupe, for instance, seems to fail miserably for me even though her techniques are proven and so many of them are super easy. Why? Because she gardens in a way that matches her personality, physicality, and energy. She’s naturally matched her garden to her constitution, and it works brilliantly!
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Blueberries and Bilberries come from the same family, the Vaccinium family, making them relatives of other famous berries like the Cranberry, Lingonberry, and Huckleberry. They’re a family that’s spread through out the world, making their homes in virtually all the climates Mother Earth has to offer. So what makes Blueberry specifically special?
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Oats, Avena sativa, are easy to grow, harvest, process and incorporate into a nourished, resilient...
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We humans have had a long history with Avena sativa, or the common oat. We began cultivating this...
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Research has shown that oats represent a sound unbroken link to our herbal lineage. A solid one-third of my herbal library refers to oats as a trophorestorative; soothing, nourishing and nervine. The message is steady and consistent, much like Avena herself: Take peace, take comfort, take strength.
Here are some of the ways I roll with oats, Avena sativa…
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Peony, known as bai shao or chi shao in TCM, is among the more common and famous of Chinese herbs, especially for women in their child-bearing years. Paeonia lactiflora is the one you’ll commonly find in gardens and nurseries. Paeonia officialis or P. Corallina are …
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Aster’s place in the herbal garden has been a practical and joyful one, even though most of us have long ago forgotten that Aster carries an important medicine into our midst. This peppy, bright little flower is one of the garden’s best-kept secrets, …
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