Who says healthy food can’t taste good?  You and I know better.  It is the very herbs, the lowly plants with so many beneficial properties that give our recipes flavour.  Is it any coincidence that they are so protective of us and so delicious to us as well?  I don’t think so.  A quick tour around the world reveals that almost every culture has incorporated a variety of antibacterial herbs (AKA plants, AKA medicine) into food preparation and daily life.  Basil and garlic or their close relatives are a pair that appear across many different cultures in many parts of the world.  They are beneficial taste wonderful together.

In the 16th century in European medicinal practices powdered dried leaves of basil were inhaled to treat respiratory infections, chest infections and headaches.  The leaves and flowers have traditionally been used in Asian medicinal practices for many things but notably as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral plant.  The smell of basil alone is divine and can help increase mental clarity and calm.  Crushed fresh basil can be used directly on insect bites and sores.  Basil can be used fresh or dried in food and tea or distilled into essential oils.  Basil can also be tinctured using ethanol or glycerine, macerated in oil or vinegar and now CO2 extracted.  I love adding fresh basil to my juices along with lemongrass and Thai pepper.  As a fresh herb it has a bright flavour and can instantly create refreshing dips or sauces.

Garlic has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic and other Asian herbal traditions as an anti-parasitic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, decongestant and expectorant.  I like to call this parasite modulating, microbial modulating, inflammation modulating.  In Western practices garlic was one of the primary ingredients in the “four theives vinegar” when in the legends it enabled four thieves to raid bodies during the plague without contracting the disease themselves.  I would like to point out that the plague referenced is the Bubonic plague which was spread through insect bites from rats containing certain bacteria.  The plague is often referenced as an example of garlic’s antiviral activity and while each of the four thieves’ ingredients may have antiviral properties this specific plague is not evidence of that.  Feels good to get that off my chest.

Garlic is now used for everything from circulation to joint pain to candida.  Garlic is a strong plant and is actually usually recommended to be taken for a short time and then taken a break from before returning to it.  Some buddhist traditions do not support the use of garlic and onions (alliums) in food because of their stimulating effect.  If I am not mistaken garlic and onions sprouted beneath the devil’s feet himself as he left the garden of Eden.  Garlic can keep evil spirits, apparently fleas or even your loved ones at arms length because of its pungent smell.  Because of this many people choose to take garlic capsules.  This can be a decent idea but the problem with some of these is that alisin, the primary active ingredient in garlic becomes ineffective when improperly prepared so check with the company.  Alisin is made by an enzyme in raw garlic that is inactivated by heat.  The alisin itself is not destroyed by heat so as long as the enzymes are given the chance to build alisin before they are deactivated it will be present in the final product.

The taste of cooked/roasted garlic can be more forgiving and softer than the harsh spiciness of raw garlic so when preparing raw recipes with garlic it is important to use a little less than would be used in the cooked counterpart.  I do use garlic in my juices and raw sauces but sparingly because of this.

If the aliums are difficult to digest because of their FODMAP content then try green onions, chives and garlic scapes (the arial parts of the plant).  In general the FODMAP carbohydrates will be stored in the roots and not the flowers and green leaves/stalks of these plants.

Together garlic and basil may have been traditionally protective with a broad range of antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic, and antibacterial characteristics.  Both of these herbs have been used safely for millennia across cultures.  These herbs taste wonderful and are rich in minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.  Celebrate garlic and basil with one of the pesto recipes here.

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Echinacea has become the icon of “alternative” cold and flu management.  It really is a stunningly beautiful and powerful flower.  Having a passion for edible flowers and for herbal medicine I have long been fascinated by echinacea.  I am fortunate that in my neighbourhood it is very popular to grow echinacea and it is possible to see the two most popular types growing nearby.  Of course our cold/flu remedies are made from the root of the plant.  Wild echinacea has been severely reduced and is in danger because of wildcrafting for medicine.  I try to make sure to take the herb when it is suited and not abuse it.  There are times when echinacea can be very effective but it does tend to be overused or misused so may be better replaced by a more appropriate or specific herb.  Here are some situations where echinacea can be particularly effective and some where I don’t bother.

At the onset of a cold or flu

Echinacea has been shown to increase phagocytosis and in this way can improve immunity and help our bodies fight off various infections.  Echinacea has been used to treat syphilis, topical infections and lesions more than it has traditionally been used for respiratory infections.  At the onset of symptoms of any infection echinacea can be effective.  I take it when there is something going on with my skin or when I start to feel a cold taking hold or I get a scratch outside and want to give myself an advantage.  Echinacea is antimicrobial (microbial modulating) and so works by directly kicking the bacteria out when they have overstayed their welcome and also by helping our immune systems to do this themselves.  Echinacea also encourages the development of our digestive mucosa, increasing digestive immunity, protection and the opportunity for the development of even more over time.  Echinacea is best when taken frequently throughout the day for a short number of days so if I find it is not working for me sometimes it is because I am not using it enough or frequently enough.  I enjoy it in teas however it can also be taken as a tincture making it more portable for use throughout the day.  The most desirable medicinal constituents are in fact alcohol soluble so the tea may not be effective for increasing immunity outside of the digestive system.

When there is lymphatic congestion

Echinacea can be very detoxifying because it helps to move lymphatic fluid.  Our lymphatic fluid is like the waste disposal system (the garbage trucks) of our bodies.  Our lymph carries cellular waste and other things that we don’t want in our blood any more.  The problem with “lymph” is that it doesn’t pump itself like our blood does.  Lymphatic fluid can be moved through muscular contraction like exercise or movement and can also be moved through massage!  We can pump our lymph through hot/cold alternating baths or therapy.  Echinacea can be very valuable for taking the burden off of our immune systems at the onset of a cold or flu by encouraging lymph flow so that our bodies can focus on fighting the flu more effectively, again, when taken regularly.

When there is warmth

Echinacea is a slightly cooling herb so is great paired with warming spices and herbs such as ginger or is great when there is excessive heat in the body.  This means that when I “feel cold” (kind of subjective I know) I don’t opt for the echinacea.

Now here are three more situations where I do not take echinacea.  As I spoke to above I feel this gorgeous and endangered flower is quite overused and I will opt for something else when doing so feels appropriate.

For the duration of the cold

I usually stop with the echinacea if the cold goes past the initial
battlefield stage.  This can be surprisingly difficult to do because it seems to be in everything!  When my body is finished with the fight I do like to move on to a more appropriate herb like goldenseal which actually dries the mucosa or sage which moistens and can help reduce spasms.  Something else might be right for you, really depends on the cold.

During times of normal health

Echinacea can be a very powerful herb and thus I do not take it as a 

preventative measure for anything.  There are some herbs that I don’t mind taking on a daily basis but echinacea is not one of them.

When it is wildcrafted

I prefer to purchase the cultivated rather than the wildcrafted echinacea because of the problems of over-foraging.  Many packages now state whether the echinacea in the products is farmed or found.  Of course I would like to grow my own.  If you have experience growing your own echinacea please let me know in the comments below.  If you have experience making gorgeous food goodies with it then even better!

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After my date with auto-immunity I wound up pretty depleted.  I began working on, and continue to work on, my adrenal health.  I think this will always be the case as I am very type-A and am used to using up all of my energy.  

I have fallen in love with sea vegetables and tonic herbs and I don’t regret my journey for one minute especially when the information I have gathered can help someone else.

I notice I’m not the only depleted one. Is it seasonal? A little. Is it our go-go-go lifestyle?  Yes.  Our belief systems?  The causes of stress are many and ultimately we pay the price with flatlined adrenals that are propped up by stimulants and cortisol.  I’ve made a list of my top five functional foods (for today, LOL) that help to support and balance stressed adrenals.

Each of these herbs can benefit a long-term stress situation involving inflammation and a compromised or dysregulated immune system. Does this sound familiar? Join me in learning more about these top five adrenal tonic herbs.

Eleuthero
Also known as Siberian Ginseng (but not allowed to be called that any more) Eleuthero has many helpful properties during times of stress. It has been used in traditional Chinese Medicine since 190 AD or earlier. It is high in Eleutherocides which are immunostimulants so can be good for stimulating the immune system. It can stimulate energy and increase endurance. Eleuthero has been taken to help speed healing of inflammation or injury. I like the taste of Eleuthero and often use it in elixirs, usually in the form of a tincture.

Cordyceps
When I first found out about cordyceps I didn’t want to take it because it is typically a fungus that cannabalizes a caterpillar and is then harvested. I have since learned that my favourite suppliers do not use the wild harvested cordyceps because it is just not sustainable and is too expensive for their clients so they use cultivated cordyceps that is not grown on insects. Phew! I love cordyceps because not only is it good for increasing energy and levelling blood sugar it is also a great immune stimulant which is beneficial for lung health. It has been shown to benefit healing even from lung cancer. I like it because it can help me to feel energetic but also increase my stamina over time rather than crashing out. Cordyceps tastes quite good and is in the flavour family of carob for me. It has a richness without a bitterness which I find easy to incorporate into recipes so really enjoy its versatility.

Reishi
Another great herb for the immune system Reishi is actually a fungus that grows on a variety of trees and will even grow in sawdust or straw. Reishi is one of the amazing functional foods I plan to plant in my forest garden…. Reishi is great for modulating the adrenal gland but is also helpful for the thyroid due to its Ganoderma and its high selenium content. It is an immune system stimulant and has been studied extensively as a cancer treatment. It can be beneficial for the liver and can reduce fatty deposits. Reishi can also help to regulate blood sugar. I have found that a good quantity of reishi taken in the evening over a short number of days can help to reboot sleep cycles and stop insomnia in its tracks. Reishi has been used for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and benefiting the heart. Some say that reishi can make you feel loved. I believe it to have a very loving energy and find it really nourishing.

Chaga
Chaga is another fungus found on birch trees. It is a parasitic fungus that grows on a live tree. It looks a little ugly but tastes quite good. Chaga has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, is an immunostimulant and an adaptogen for the adrenal glands. Like reishi it is high in selenium. Chaga has anti-inflammatory properties on top of all of the other benefits. It is one of the highest sources of anti-oxidants that I know of and has good levels of B 1, 2 and 3. It makes a great tea or ice cream and can be mixed well with other flavours without adding bitterness. Even kids seem to like Chaga.

 

Devil’s Club
Devil’s Club is so close to my heart that I almost didn’t want to write about it here.  Before I was introduced to this herb I really disliked it because it seemed to be everywhere and always at the bottom of a hill I was falling down or the only thing to grab onto beside a rushing river.  It seemed I was forever battling Devil’s Club… until I started looking for it.

I met a woman who grew up harvesting her own Devil’s Club for anti-inflammatory salves and she taught me how to talk to the plant and harvest the roots. Devil’s Club is a powerful adaptogen, great for the adrenals that can give the user a feeling of strength and resilience. It has great anti-inflammatory and blood sugar regulating properties. Specifically the ROOT of Devil’s Club can be used for adrenal fatigue. The berries are poisonous.

Devil’s Club propagates itself very slowly and it takes plants several years to grow to the point where their roots would be harvested or they could be reproduced.  The seeds take two whole years to germinate.  Wild harvesting of Devil’s Club and destruction of their native forest habitat is becoming a bigger problem and the future of this plant is uncertain. I would hate to see it gone after being used responsibly by First Nations people for thousands of years. I am still learning about responsible wild crafting and am going to attempt to plant more Devil’s Club than I harvest in the hopes of keeping this plant thriving in the forests here.

Devil’s club is a sacred plant so be responsible.

As always post your responses in the comments below. Have you tried these herbs? How did they taste and how did you feel?

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I love pumpkins and other winter squash with their imperfect asymmetrical beauty. I love their bright embodiment of summer in the remembrance of the the flowers that once graced their vines. They last so long and keep so well that their flavour and colour can brighten meals throughout the winter. Heirloom pumpkins are particularly exciting with their knobby, warty, blue, orange, red, huge and tiny shapes and sizes.

Not only are pumpkins beautiful but they are excellent sources of some very important nutrients. Pumpkins are high in vitamin K, the carotenoids (vitamin A precursors), vitamin E, potassium, choline and magnesium.

Iron

One cup of raw pumpkin provides between three and four milligrams of iron depending on the source of the information. Let’s split the difference and say three and a half which would be 20% of the RDA for iron daily. When thinking about juicing pumpkin we know that it would be easy to juice several cups of tiny pumpkin cubes at once. It would also be fabulous to use the pumpkin juice in a chia pudding or add some greens and lemon or orange to the juice to provide even more iron for yourself from multiple sources. Pumpkin also plays well with some other high iron raw foods such as sprouted lentils and pulses. There are many ways to use pumpkin to meet your daily iron needs.

Beta Carotene

More and more vegans and raw food educators are talking about vitamin A and our different abilities to convert beta carotene to vitamin A which has led to some deficiencies. Through studying a bit about genetics I have come to the realization that any impairment in the conversion of beta carotene to vitamin A is a percentage. This means that if s persons’ conversion is impaired by say 40% and they are smart and they are aware they just need to eat twice as much as they would normally be expected to. I dislike using the RDA as a barometer for healthy intake but as an example our cup of pumpkin pieces contains seven times the RDA for daily intake for beta carotene. This is great news. Studies have also suggested that pairing beta carotene with a fat source such as avocado, flax or coconut for example can dramatically increase the conversion rate. found a 12-fold increase in the efficiency of conversion when pairing carrots with avocados.

Beta carotene provides antioxidant activity and vitamin A is important for immune system function, for skin integrity including in the digestive tract and for eyesight among many other uses. You never have to feel powerless or be guessing whether you are getting “enough” vitamin A. By focusing on those carotenoids like in our soup and by optimizing their conversion you are taking charge of your health.

Manganese

We spend so much time talking about magnesium and potassium, two other minerals found in good quantities in pumpkin, that I would love to talk about manganese today. We don’t need much of it but we do need it! Our cup of pumpkin pieces provides 20% again of our daily requirement. Manganese is very important for collagen production in the skin and for blood sugar regulation. It is important in gluconeogenesis, in which we convert amino acids in times of stress to sugars to fuel the fight or flight mode. When this is not regulated it can lead over time to high blood sugar levels. More research is necessary in order to determine exactly what is going on with this deficiency.

Hazelnuts, spinach and kale are some other good raw sources of manganese. Garnish your pumpkin soup with kale or add kale pieces throughout and garnish with pumpkin seeds to add even more manganese to your meal.

The more we know the more empowered we will be to take action daily and take back our health. Both knowledge and action on their own are not enough, we need both. Let us start this week with the pumpkin.

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I realized several years ago I had no idea how sesame grew or what the seeds looked like on their plant. I ended up growing some in my garden but it unfortunately they never bore seeds.

See below for some pictures of sesame plants in a field and the seeds in the pods. When the seeds are ready the pods split open and reveal the seeds inside. Legend has it that this phenomenon is where the phrase “open sesame” comes from.  Interesting right?

There are some very interesting properties of sesame that can benefit us when eaten as a part of a diet very high in greens and raw vegetables and fruit.  (The more I learn about our food ingredients the more I appreciate that each item is only as good as the context of the diet in which it is consumed.)

Sesame has been shown to have some anti-inflammatory properties.  In a study conducted by Tabriz Medical University in Iran sesame seeds were found to be superior to Tylenol in reduction in pain.  This study was conducted with participants suffering from osteoarthritis affecting their knees.  They used a dose of 1/4 cup of sesame seeds per day over two months.  This is possible of through crafting dips, dressings, desserts and sprinkling seeds on salads however this is quite a large amount of these seeds.  Sesame seeds may not be right or easy for everyone to consume at this quantity.  Also not knowing the context in which they were consumed it may be possible that a different amount would have benefits depending on what they are partnered with.

One important thing to note about sesame seeds is their fatty acid content.  While sesame seeds have been shown to reduce pain and even reduce certain white blood cell reactions in some people they will also contribute omega 6 fats to the diet which can enable inflammation in the body.  Sesame seeds have negligible amounts of omega 3 fats.  This means for example in the 1/4 cup of sesame seeds there could be 10 grams of omega 6 fats. Adding two to four tablespoons (extra) of chia seeds can balance this out.  So at least a 1:1 ratio.

Please see the recipe for balsamic fig spread to start experimenting with sesame in your dips and let me know what you come up with in the comments on the plant powered probiotics app or site.

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