Managing a viral infection
What do when you feel “a bug coming on” to support your immune system.
Food and medicine Foraging: Warragul greens & Sage
Warragul Greens loves some sunshine and thrives on moisture. You can train it up and over fences too.
Next you can see Common Sage or Salvia officinalis. ‘Officinalis’ means this is the official species used botanical/herbal medicine.
Commonly used in cooking, sage helps ensure digestive processes work well: especially to muster our bile flow to break down consumed fats/oils. You can use sage fresh or dried for later use.
In herbal medicine sage has a broad sphere of action: antimicrobial (including antiviral) taken as a tea and/or gargle/mouthwash; improving cognition and memory, reduces excess perspiration (sweating) in fevers or during menopause, reduces milk flow in weaning mothers. Commonly used in upper respiratory tract infections like sore throat and sinus issues.
For best effect and safety of any herbal medicine you must consult a Practitioner to guide you on the most appropriate dose and preparation FOR YOU . Generally sage in its basic leaf form for cooking or tea is considered a very low risk herb. Easy to grow from cuttings. Let me know if you’d like to give it a go to grow. I have plenty to share. This plant has travelled around our garden for about 25 years!
Food and medicine Foraging Series: Warragul greens
Food Feast: Warragul Greens/New Zealand Spinach aka Tetragonia tetragonoides. Easy nutritious green to grow in your garden (likes moisture) and you can find it along the Aussie shorelines (tastes a bit saltier). High in Vit C, magnesium, phytonutrients and fibre, this food has been a favourite of Australian indigenous peoples and early European colonists and had a resurgence of interest as a Bush Tucker option easy to grow in our own gardens. The leaf is mild to the taste and soft to the palate so easily incorporated into pies, pestos, salads and salsas. It contains some oxalic acid so those with kidney issues consult with a Practitioner first if you are concerned.
Maximise your immune system defenses
What to do? Physical distancing and Sanitising are the MOST IMPORTANT strategies in minimizing our exposure to COVID19. Apart from avoidance we can improve our immune system response to any viral/bacterial/fungal exposure by considering the following: Even if you’re not sick yet, then Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc – NOW – in appropriate…
Pain management through massage
Research on chronic pain has shown that massage can be as useful for pain management as paracetamol and Nurofen (and you don’t have to worry about constipation and other side effects). I’m running a 1/2 day Massage for Couples workshop on the afternoon of Sunday February 16th, 2020. Come along and you can learn…
Walk on the Wild Side of Monbulk (the magic of weeds)
Plants are amazing – they’ve been helping keep the human race healthy for millennia. They were here before us and they’ll be here a long time after us. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. These days we often walk right past the benefits they offer on the way to the chemist shop. Many beneficial plants we’ve…
The simple test that tells you more than any cholesterol test will about your stroke and heart attack risk
I’ve been impressed by the wealth of insight patients get when they do an Omega-3 index test. It’s a simple finger prick test. I haven’t used it as much as I would like – until now – because I’ve had to send clients off to a 3rd party laboratory. It tells you useful information about…
4 ways to beat procrastination
To procrastinate is to be human (if animals do, we haven’t worked out how to tell yet). But we know a lot more about how procrastination works, thanks to Dr Piers Steel, author of the book “The Procrastination Equation”. Thanks to Dr Steel, we can pull apart the behaviour we call procrastination and work out…
The Changeology of Good Health
I recently discovered the work of Sydney’s Les Robinson on Enabling Change and his book on the art and science of “Changeology“. As I explored his website and resources, it occurred to me that it was as applicable to individual health improvement projects as to world-changing community and social change work. Here’s what the model…
The iron deficiency that isn’t about iron
We meddle a lot with women’s bodies – contraception, HRT, low carb diets, extreme exercise. Our bodies aren’t machines – they’re complex chemical/electrical/biological systems. For some women, it gets even more complicated if they have food intolerances or chronic fatigue issues. Sometimes, when things get out of whack, the things we think to be CAUSING…
iso- what!!!! the benefits of soy in your diet
(even if you’re thyroid-challenged) Soy isoflavones and healthy eating Soy-based foods have been eaten for thousands of years in Asia – and have a strong cultural reputation for being healthy. Now we western sceptics have worked out the science behind that reputation. Soy products (if not over processed) contain some powerful anti-oxidants called isoflavones. These…
to B 12 or not to B 12?
Did you know that there’s a connection with Vitamin B12 and your heart health, mood and dementia prevention? “Vitamin B₁₂, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin that is involved in the metabolism of every cell of the human body: it is a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid…