Herbal Legacy Articles

By Dr. James A. Duke in The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods

To most people, “mint” means spearmint, peppermint, and fresh flavors that are associated with mouthwash or gum.  Actually, there are hundreds of plants in the mint family – I have over 70 of them in my garden alone.  Many of them are herbs that you’d recognize from your spice cabinet, such as basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, lavender, sage, and lemon balm.

All these spices are known for the great flavor they impart to foods, but they can do much more for your health.  Perhaps the most exciting breakthrough for the mint family is in the field of Alzheimer’s research.

Nutrient Nuts and Bolts: Members of the mint family, with their pleasant taste and aroma, are traditional stomach soothers, often in tea form.  Many of them also contain central nervous system stimulants, which work rather like caffeine, so they are nice alternatives to traditional coffee or tea.  These are the “uppers,” which include peppermint and spearmint.  Some mints, such as lemon balm and lavender, are actually “downers,” with sedative effects.  They’re also loaded with healthy-heart antioxidant compounds.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the mint family is that most of its members contain at least a half dozen compounds that prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine.  Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter that carries messages from one synapse to another in your brain.  When you’re deficient in this substance, the messages have a harder time getting through.  Keeping those connections strong may help us stay mentally sharp as we grow older, and adding more of the mint family to your diet just may be one of the keys to doing that.

How to Get More: The mind is certainly not something to trifle with, which is why I make mint tea part of my everyday routine.  By including a variety of mints (I often use rosemary, peppermint, and thyme), you can create an infusion with more than a dozen acetylcholine-preserving compounds.

Making the Most of Them: People often ask me about my recipe for mint tea, and I have to admit that I don’t really have one.  I generally take a pinch of this and a pinch of that, pour boiling water over it, and let it steep for 10 to 20 minutes before drinking it.  Over time, you’ll find that you like some flavors more than others, in which case you can add more of the mints you enjoy and less of the ones you don’t.  I have been known to make mint teas (and liqueurs) with a mixture of all the dozens of good-tasting mints in my garden.

Other Eating Tips: Another option for getting the benefits of fresh mint is to chop the leaves and add them to salads.  And, of course, many members of the mint family are ideal seasonings for a variety of healthful dishes.  You can put them into a muslin bag and steep them in your bath, since most of the acetylcholine-sparing compounds are transdermal, meaning they will go through the skin.

Printable Version: http://www.herballegacy.com/Mints.pdf

© Copyright 2010 Herbal Legacy.  All rights reserved.  No reposting or reproduction of any kind without written consent is allowed.

Bookmark to:

By Dr. James A. Duke in The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods

I usually don’t play favorites, but when it comes to foods, garlic tops my list of healers.  Though a recent high-profile study called its cholesterol-lowering ability into question, it still has enough heart-protective benefits to rank high on my list.  It has other great qualities as well, including immunity-boosting and antiseptic properties.  Onions share many of the properties and healthful benefits of garlic, so they also deserve a mention here.  And in my Farmacy, I grow a nice batch of ramps, members of the garlic/onion family that you won’t find in many supermarkets (unless it’s ramp festival time in West Virginia and Ohio).  All of these plants contain the very important compound alliin, which converts to the super-medicinal allicin.

Nutrient Nuts and Bolts: When it comes to the heart, you can thank garlic’s many sulfur compounds, including diallyl disulfide, which prevent clotting and allow for smooth blood flow.  Of course, garlic also contains over a dozen immunity-boosting compounds that can fight off colds and other infections, maybe even more effectively than popular herbs like echinacea.  Recent research has also shown that several compounds in garlic can prevent cellular changes within the body that lead to cancer.

Onions offer many of the same sulfur compounds as garlic, but they bring even more to the table with their high amounts of flavonoids, specifically quercetin.  This flavonoid has been shown in studies to reduce platelet clumping and even prevent some forms of cancer.  So far, there is no better food source of quercetin than onion skins.

How to Get More: The other advantage of garlic and onions is just how easy they are to incorporate into your menus.  I add both to virtually all my soups and stews.  And when it comes to salads, just about the only dressing you’ll see me use is vinegar and oil mixed with fresh garlic and fresh diced onion, often with hot sauce or diced hot pepper.  That mixture alone has hundreds of healthful compounds.  Sometimes I even roast garlic and put it on toast for breakfast.

Making the Most of Them: Now I know what you’re thinking: “But Dr. Duke, what about the smell?”  Well, as much as it pains me to say it, studies have shown time and again that the more garlic stinks, the better it works. 
That’s why I often use it raw in salads or even eat whole cloves of the stuff if I don’t have anything social going on that day.

This isn’t to say that you can’t get benefits from cooked garlic; you can.  But you lose 40 percent of the original potency after garlic is cooked for 10 minutes, and you lose much more after 20 – but you never lose it all.  So, if you’re making a soup or stew, it might be a good idea to wait until near the end of the cooking time to add garlic.  Green tea, parsley, and coriander all have a unique ability to partially quell the smell, so you may want to consider brewing green tea and garlic together or adding parsley to a garlicky salad.  Or if you have a new potential client or lover or relative coming over, eat some parsley or coriander and drink some green tea quick!

Other Eating Tips: If you’re going for full effect and eating whole cloves of garlic, it’s important that you nick the surface of a clove first; that is, don’t swallow it intact.  I thought that was the way to go until my garlicologist, Larry Lawson, PhD, told me the skin should be broken before garlic enters the GI tract to get its benefits.  This ensures that the medicinal compounds of the bulb are released and will begin working more quickly in the body.

Now back to onions for a minute.  In one of the funny quirks of nature, most of the helpful flavonoids, such as quercetin, are found in the skin of the onion.  That’s why I always put the skins in a mesh bag and steep it in soups and stews when I’m making them.  Just remove the bag before serving.

© Copyright 2010 Herbal Legacy.  All rights reserved.  No reposting or reproduction of any kind without written consent is allowed.

Bookmark to:

Dr. John R. Christopher

Most of us don’t think of wheat, the staff of life and the staple of many Westerner’s diets, as a healing herb. The dried grain in itself provides optimal nourishment as a basic food – it contains protein, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates for energy. But what turns it into a powerful healer is germination: grow wheatgrass and you have an ultimate healer.
 
Dr. Ann Wigmore was the first to popularize wheatgrass for healing. She noted that wheatgrass has live minerals, live vitamins, and live trace elements at a pH very close to that of human blood.
 
Wheatgrass is 70% chlorophyll. The chemical structure of chlorophyll is similar to that of the hemoglobin of the blood.  Chlorophyll purifies and builds the blood.  It also arrests the growth of unfriendly bacteria, assisting the body in attaining optimal health.
 
Wheatgrass is high in vitamins A, C, and the B vitamins. It contains minerals and trace elements necessary to your body. It is rich in calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in just the right proportions for optimal calcium assimilation (you can’t absorb calcium well unless these three elements are in correct proportion). It also contains sodium, potassium, sulfur, iron, cobalt and zinc. It is loaded with enzymes, which will create youth and health for you. It contains all the essential amino acids, which is great news for the pure vegetarian who is trying to follow Dr. Christopher’s nutritional guidelines.
 
Wheatgrass helps detoxify your body by breaking up impacted matter in the colon. It helps fight infection throughout your system and builds your immune system. It contains lecithin, which will help break down fats in the lymphatic system and feeds the heart. In experiments with anemic animals, their blood count returned to normal after four to five days of receiving chlorophyll.
 
Wheatgrass is entirely nontoxic. It can be used internally or topically without fear of side-effects. Used in conjunction with the Christopher Cleansing Program it can do much as a tonic aid toward relieving pain and suffering of so-called incurable diseases.
 
You can purchase flats of wheatgrass at your local health-food store, or you can grow your own.  Fill a nursery flat with a few inches of soil, making sure it is nice and even. Moisten the soil evenly. Then soak 2 cups of hard red winter wheat overnight. Place on soil in a single layer, leaving no empty spots. Cover with a half-inch of soil. Keep moist; in a few days you’ll have beautiful wheatgrass four to six inches high, which is ready to harvest. Place by a window or outside on a mild day to green up.
 
Cut bundles of this wheatgrass, rinse it well, and juice it in a slow, manual wheatgrass juicer. If you use a blender or highspeed juicer, you can oxidize important lifegiving elements. Drink two ounces night and morning by swishing each mouthful to mix the saliva with the wheatgrass juice. You may experience a “gag reflex” because the wheatgrass juice is so concentrated, but persevere, and you’ll begin to see a miraculous increase in energy and vitality from taking daily wheatgrass juice.
 
Be sure to replant in time so that you’ll have a constant source of fresh wheatgrass.
 
Dr. Christopher recommended this schedule: when you get up in the morning, take a drink of 1 quart warm water, 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses, and the juice of ½ lemon to clear any leftover digestive liquids from the stomach. In a half hour, take your two ounces of wheatgrass juice. This can be taken straight or diluted half and half with distilled water.
 
Source: School of Natural Healing 100-herb syllabus
 
For a printable version of this article please visit:
 
http://www.herballegacy.com/Wheatgrass1.pdf

© Copyright 2010 Herbal Legacy.  All rights reserved.  No reposting or reproduction of any kind without written consent is allowed.

Bookmark to:

by Dr. John R. Christopher

Cultivation, Collection, Preparation

Any humus, moist soil will support the growth of Peppermint admirably. When you plant it, you should be sure to contain it if you don’t want it to overtake the rest of your garden. Be sure that you are planting Peppermint starts if that is what you want. Peppermint is a different plant from spearmint. It has a dark-green, smooth leaf, while spearmint is hairy. When you chew Peppermint, it gives a cool feeling to the mouth, while spearmint does not.

The usual method of Peppermint culture in America is to dig runners in the early spring and lay them in shallow trenches, 3 feet apart in well-prepared soil. The growing crop is kept well-cultivated and absolutely free from weeds and in the summer when the plant is in full bloom, the mint is cut by hand and distilled. A part of the exhausted herb is dried and used for cattle food, for which it possesses considerable value. The rest is cut and composted and eventually plowed into the ground as fertilizer.

Liberal manuring can make the difference between a mediocre crop and a good one. Peppermint is said to require, per acre, 84 lbs. of nitrogen, 37 lbs. of phosphoric acid, and 139 lbs. of potash. Ground bone and lime do not seem to be of much benefit. Good, well-rotted compost should supply most of the needed elements.

Peppermint requires frequent irrigation if the soil does not remain moist on its own. It is important to keep the soil constantly moist though well-drained. Absorption of water makes the shoots more tender, thus facilitating cutting, and causes a large quantity of green matter to be produced.

Few pests trouble Peppermint, although crickets, grasshoppers and caterpillars may do some damage.

The herb is cut just before flowering. Sometimes a second crop can be obtained, much like hay. It should be carried out on a dry, sunny day, in the late morning when all traces of dew have disappeared. In many places, the herb lies on the ground for a time in small bundles, raked into heaps.

For companion planting, Peppermint planted or strewn between cabbages protects them from the white cabbage butterfly. Peppermint growing with chamomile will be hindered in its oil production, while the chamomile itself benefits from this association and will have higher oil content. Peppermint, if planted with stinging nettle, will have nearly double the oil content.

In the home garden, pick the plant’s tops just before the flowers burst open. Dry it quickly in a warm, airy place out of direct sun. When it is completely dry, crumble it and store it in a cool, dry, airtight place. Be sure to cap it well each time you remove some of the herb for use.

When you make the tea, never boil it. Add boiling water to the crushed herb, lid well, and allow it to steep for three to five minutes. The herbs medicine and flavor reside in its volatile oils, which will escape if the herb is boiled.

© Copyright 2009 Herbal Legacy.  All rights reserved.  No reposting or reproduction of any kind without written consent is allowed.

Bookmark to:

by James A. Duke, Ph.D.
The Green Pharmacy

Okay, so you’ve got a big peppermint patch, or whatever, growing in your garden or on your windowsill.  Now what?

First you must harvest your herbs.  You can snip off leaves and use them as needed.  Taking a cue from the American Indians, the romantics among us like to thank the herb for serving us and apologize for mutilating it.

Down in Panama and Peru, I listened as Indian shamans sang long chants to the herbs they were about to harvest, often while facing the East.  When I’m not in a hurry, I remember that the plants, too, have lives, and that their lives sustain ours.

In fact, the more we clip the leaves of medicinal plants, the more medicinal they become.  This makes sense botanically because herbs’ medicinal constituents are basically part of the plant’s self-protection system.  Harvesting the leaves makes the plant respond as if it’s under attack (which it is), so it produces more of what protects it.  Studies have shown that infections, insect infestations and leaf-plucking, among other attacks on the plant, increase the levels of some of the same chemicals that we view as medicines.

Collection Times

Although some herbalists argue for harvesting herbs early in the morning while there is still dew on them, I disagree.  That dilutes the herb with water, meaning that it has proportionately more water and less chemical until it’s dried.  In my view, you get the greatest concentration of plant chemicals and the least water when you collect leaves during a hot, dry day, but before the leaves have wilted.

Roots are best collected in spring or fall.  Bark may be collected in spring, especially if the compounds you seek are in the living bark.  If you’re collecting seeds for food, I recommend that you get them before they have dried out and hardened.  But if you’re harvesting them to plant next year rather than to use immediately, you may want to wait until they’ve dried out.

Feel free to use herbs fresh, especially in cooking.  Fresh culinary herbs and spices almost always taste best.  You can also freeze them, dry them or use them to make tinctures.  (When harvesting fresh culinary herbs, I generally use a plastic bag to help retain the moisture.)

Preserving the Goods

If you intend to preserve your herbs for future use, it’s cheaper to dry them.  Collect them in a brown paper bag rather than a plastic bag, and write the name of the plant and the collection date on the outside of the bag.

If you don’t stuff it too lightly, many herbs can be dried right in the bag.  I always make a run through my herb garden with paper bags before the last killing frost, collecting herbs for my winter medicines, soups and teas.

Check your brown-bagged herbs after about a week, and if they are not clearly drying – becoming papery and crumbly – spread them out on newspapers or clean wood or screen in a dry, shaded area so that they can dry out before mildew attacks.

When it comes to success in drying, a great deal depends on your local weather conditions.  In arid weather, herbs may dry too rapidly, especially in direct sunlight.  In humid and especially in foggy weather, you may have to apply heat by baking the herbs in an oven to get the moisture out.

Once dried, herbs can be kept in paper bags or stuffed into plastic bags.  You can also use glass jars with lids.

Light, heat and oxygen are the enemies of herb potency, so store your herbs in a cool, dark place, like a cellar or cupboard far from any heat source.  To minimize the oxygen around stored herbs, fill your containers as full as possible and move the herbs to smaller containers as you use them.

Bookmark to:

by James A. Duke, Ph.D.  – The Green Pharmacy

Growing an Outdoor Herb Garden

In my Herbal Vineyard, I have some 200 species of herbs, most of them medicinal.  During the growing season, one of my great pleasures in life is to stroll the grounds and check on all the plants.

Growing and using these herbs is one of the most healthful activities I engage in, and I heartily recommend it.  No matter what you grow, gardening is a therapeutic, self-empowering hobby.

If you do have garden space, here are the perennial medicinal herbs that I recommend.

Chasteberry: A perennial flowering shrub, this is a great herb for treating women’s problems.

Goldenseal: An antibiotic herb, goldenseal grows best when planted in a shady area.

Lemon balm: Also known as melissa, this weedy antiviral mint has sedative properties.  Although it sometimes looks like it has died away, it always comes back.

Mountain mint: An insect-repelling herb that should be more popular among gardeners than it is.

Oregano: Another weedy mint – a great source of antioxidants.

Self-heal: The reputation of this mint as a panacea is only slightly exaggerated.

Spearmint: This herb is about as good as peppermint for settling the stomach.

St. John’s Wort: Simply the best herbal treatment for depression.

Tansy: This herb contains some of the same anti-migraine compounds as feverfew.

Valerian: The roots contain a great anxiety-relieving sedative.  But be warned – the tea smells like dirty gym socks.

Wild yam: Many herbalists recommend this herb for women’s reproductive health.

Willow: The willow tree’s easy-peeling bark contains the herbal version of aspirin.

Growing an Indoor Herb Garden

I love my Herbal Vineyard, but you don’t need an estate – or even a yard – to grow medicinal herbs.  All you need is a kitchen windowsill where you can grow a potted aloe plant – your instant, herbal emergency kit in case of accidental burns.

There are many other herbs that you can raise on a windowsill or on your back porch.  If you’re a city dweller, you can find space in a roof garden, courtyard, balcony or fire escape.  Quite a few medicinal-culinary species that are native to semi-arid climates will also flourish on sunny kitchen windowsills.  Here are some to consider.

Basil: This insect-repelling herb is recommended for treating bad breath and headache.

Chives: Along with their cousins garlic, leeks and onions, chives help prevent cancer and treat high blood pressure.

Dill: This herb is deservedly famous as a remedy for colic and gas.

Fennel: This herb is good for treating upset stomach and indigestion.

Hyssop: Mentioned in the Bible, hyssop contains several antiviral compounds and is useful in treating herpes. (It’s also under review as an AIDS therapy.)

Lavender: Some varieties of this lovely herb are loaded with sedative compounds that can penetrate the skin.  Toss a handful into your bathwater if you want a nice-smelling way to relax.

Parsley: Best known as a great source of chlorophyll for combating bad breath, parsley is rich in zinc, which is good for men’s reproductive health.

Peppermint: This a major source of cooling, soothing, stomach-settling menthol.

Rosemary: Rich in antioxidants, this tasty culinary spice may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Sage: Sage shares much of the medicinal potential of rosemary.

Savory: Europeans add this herb to bean dishes to reduce flatulence.

Thyme: This is one of the best sources of thymol, an antiseptic, stomach-soothing compound that helps prevent the blood clots that cause heart attack.

Bookmark to:

by James A. Duke, Ph.D.
from The Green Pharmacy

Being a botanist, I have a particular interest in herbs that can hold back the aging process.  But I’m forced to admit that I think lifestyle changes are a whole lot more important than herbs.

Not being a doctor, I don’t prescribe, but I would not hesitate to suggest the following to my 30-year-old daughter so she could hold on more tenaciously to her vibrant youth.  Come to think of it, this is good advice for men and women of any age who are trying to hold back the clock.

Drink two antioxidant herb teas a day.  Good research suggests that oregano, rosemary, bee balm, lemon balm (also known as melissa), peppermint, sage, spearmint, savory and thyme contain significant levels of antioxidants.

Eat at least one big salad a day.  You can use both wild greens – things like purslane, if you have access to them – and a variety of domestic salad vegetables, such as spinach and chicory.  Green leaves are chock full of antioxidant nutrients that help protect you from heart disease, cancer and other degenerative diseases that tend to come on as we age.

Eat one or two Brazil nuts a day.  The average Brazil nut contains more than the Daily Value of the antioxidant mineral selenium – 70 micrograms.

Eat a handful of sunflower seeds a day, along with a sprinkling of other nuts.  Among nuts and seeds, sunflower seeds are one of the better sources of Vitamin E.  They’re also cheap.  One caution, however: If you’re watching your waistline, don’t eat more than an ounce of nuts a day.  Nuts are high in fat.

Eat at least one broccoli spear, carrot and celery stalk a day.  They’re all high in fiber.  Broccoli and carrots are also high in beta-carotene, the powerful antioxidant that the body transforms into vitamin A.  Celery is high in apigenin, a chemical that expands (dilates) the blood vessels and may help prevent high blood pressure.

Drink a fruit smoothie every day.  Take any fruits that appeal to you – apples, oranges, bananas, grapefruit, melons or berries – and run them through a blender.

Replace one meat course a day with a vegetarian dish.  One of my favorites is guacamole – mashed avocado.  You can lace your guacamole with onion, hot chili peppers, garlic and lemon juice and sprinkle it with chopped nuts such as hazelnuts, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, peanuts or Brazil nuts.

Use olive oil.  Corn oil and other vegetable oils are polyunsaturated oils.  Olive oil is a monounsaturated oil.  There is a complex chemical explanation for how these differ, but all you really need to know is that there’s a good reason to believe that monounsaturated oils are a lot better for you.  In salad dressings, replace polyunsaturated oils with olive oil.

Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.  Also eat a good selection of herbs, legumes, nuts and spices.  These are the foods that our ancestors consumed back in the days before the invention of burgers, hot dogs, pizza, ice cream and all the junk we eat today.  They ate more nutritiously than we do.

Make love regularly with someone you love.  There’s no explanation needed here except that it’s good for you.

Go for a walk every day.  Weather permitting, get outdoors and take a vigorous half-hour walk.  Use the time to unwind and commune with the natural world.

Don’t smoke.  This goes without saying.

Don’t drink alcohol. 

Don’t sunbathe – ever.  You probably get enough sun to produce a healthy amount of vitamin D with moderate outdoor activities that don’t involve actively seeking the sun.
NOTE: Dr. Christopher felt it was healthy to get sun every day.  For more information see this article: http://articles.herballegacy.com/sun-exposure-how-much-is-too-much/. The School of Natural Healing advocates Dr. Christopher’s approach.

Don’t take life or death too seriously.  That can age or kill you.

Don’t be a dietary faddist.  It’s never a good idea to base your diet on just a couple of foods, even fruits or carrots.  Vary your diet, your food sources, your mode of preparation and even the company you keep when you dine.

Don’t let industry outvote the environmentalists.  If you do, we’ll all pay the price eventually.

NOTE: The School of Natural Healing recommends you also take the 5 supplements every day that Dr. Christopher recommended.  You can find those here: http://articles.herballegacy.com/supplements-for-maintaining-good-health/.

Bookmark to:

by Yvonne Salcido, MH

Interestingly enough the impetus for Dr. Christopher’s beginnings in the health field was his study of nutrition.  He was searching for correct principles to regain his health and did so by studying the holy word of God.

He learned that there are immutable biological laws that govern cellular health, and when these laws are broken disease will eventually follow. We reap what we sow. The thing that is hard for most of us to swallow, is the daily choices we make do affect are health.  Are we digging an early grave with our teeth?

There are so many conflicting messages on the subject of nutrition all around us. You can hear something on the news one week and the next week exactly the opposite.  I remember in college a totally opposite perspective given in lectures by two different professors in Nutrition.  At the time I thought the professor that agreed with my taste buds must be teaching truth because it was the “norm.”  Finally thru life’s experiences (“the school of hard knocks”) learned correct principles thru The School of Natural Healing. My taste buds have greatly improved and I have seen marvelous healing take place in myself and many others thru these correct principles. The foundation truths Dr. Christopher taught are timeless and provide a sure foundation for nutrition. 

Dr. Christopher taught that our food should be what our creator intended. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Most people think we have to have meat and dairy to survive. Dr. Christopher taught that meat is to be used sparingly in winter or time of famine. In Webster dictionary the definition of sparingly is “hardly ever”. I must admit I was surprised when I first looked it up. Most Americans think that sparingly means two-three times a day. We have been taught so many incorrect principles thru the media.

We are the only nation that weans its babies and then puts them on another mammal’s milk. We have the highest incidence of osteoporosis in the world. Harvard University did a study that proves dairy causes osteoporosis. It is a bad choice if you want to get your calcium. How about eating broccoli, celery, and almonds these are packed with more calcium than milk. Vegetables are loaded with minerals, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and phyto-nutrients in abundance! Since I have given up dairy I don’t have hay fever, sinus infections, and laryngitis constantly.

Let me suggest five things to improve your daily nutrition. First, let your foods be in their wholesome state the way nature made them. Ezra T. Benson said “Let your food be as close to nature as possible.”

Second, avoid anything toxic or habit forming such as: Coffee, carbonated drinks, teas that have habit forming properties such as caffeine, tobacco, drugs and any addictive foods, sugar etc. Processed foods are highly addictive.

Third, “Fresh Is Best” - live foods beget health and vitality whereas dead, over-cooked foods beget disease and death. The average American only consumes 5% of total dietary intake in the form of fruits and vegetables. No wonder many complain of lack of energy!

Fourth, the “Staff of Life” (wheat) was not meant to be ground to powder and cooked at high temperatures. Try low-heated, sprouted, or dried breads, cereals, and cracker recipes. You will feel so much better. Remember a staff is to support not the mainstay of a nutritional program.

Fifth, eat “in the season thereof” - nature really knows what foods are best for you in each of the beautiful seasons. This prepares you for the next season ahead in the perfect way. Plant a garden -  this a great way to enjoy all the delicious fresh fruits and vegetables you desire.

Adherence to these correct principles will give you a life of health and happiness!

Bookmark to:

by Yvonne Salcido, MH

HISTORY: Sprouts have been used for thousands of years. The Chinese have records of using sprouts 5,000 years ago for nutrition and healing. The Roman soldiers used them in the long journeys. In the Bible Daniel used pulse, which was a mixture of grains and sprouted seeds. This is how he and his companions increased their health and wisdom.

BENEFITS: Scientific studies have shown that by sprouting grains, beans, seeds, and nuts the nutrition levels of proteins, vitamins and minerals increased 300-1000%.  By sprouting you have released the protective coating of the grain so the digestive enzymes are released. This makes them easily digestible for babies and the elderly.

FACTS: By sprouting your grains and beans you can remain healthy and strong having fresh food with high protein, vitamin and mineral content.  If you are short on storage space you can have one 45 lb. bucket of sprouting mixture and have a year supply for one person.

Sprouting is easy and you can have fresh produce in 3-4 days!!!

HOW TO SPROUT: Place seeds in glass quart jar or sprouter.  Cover with water, let sit for 24 hours.  Then drain and rinse 3 times a day for 3 days. During this time cover with towel to keep in the dark for 2-3 days, then you can remove the towel and let them green up. They are good by the handful or in salads, sandwiches, or your favorite recipes.

Printable Version: http://www.herballegacy.com/Sprouts.pdf

Bookmark to:

by Norma Cook, MH

It has been said that too much carrot juice turns the skin yellow/orange.  However, it is not the carrot turning the skin yellow/orange but the release of bile. R. W. Walker states:  “Intestinal and liver diseases are sometimes due to a lack of certain elements contained in properly prepared raw carrot juice.  When this is the case, then a noticeable cleaning up of the liver may take place, and the material, which was clogging it, may be found to dissolve.  Frequently this is released so abundantly that the intestinal and urinary channels are inadequate to care for this overflow, and in a perfectly natural manner it is passed into the lymph for elimination from the body by means of the pores of the skin.  This material has a distinctly orange or yellow pigment and while it is being so eliminated from the body will sometimes discolor the skin.  Whenever such a discoloration takes place after drinking carrot or other juices, it is an indication that the liver is getting a well-needed cleaning.”

Allopathic doctors speak of a condition called Carotenosis (yellowing of the skin) in “The Doctors Book of Food Remedies” as a harmless condition, remedied by stopping the ingestion of carrots for a while, until the skin returns to its natural color.  They state that this has been reported by and is seen most often in children who have been fed a lot of pureed carrots.  However, Dr. Walker states, “It is NOT the carrot juice itself nor the carotene that comes through the skin, as this discoloration will take place even if the juice is filtered to the point of clearing it of all the color pigment. It is just as practical an impossibility for the carrot pigment itself to come through the skin as it would be for the red pigment of the beet to turn the body red or the chlorophyll of the green vegetables to paint the skin green from within.”

Jaundice is defined in the “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” as a yellowing of the skin and eyes that is caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the blood.  Bilirubin is a yellow-brown substance that results from the breakdown of old red blood cells.  If the waste product is not removed from the bloodstream by the liver, as it should be, a backup of bilirubin in the blood occurs, producing a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes.”  …”Jaundice is not a disease in itself, but a sign of any one of several blood or liver disorders.  Among the conditions that can cause jaundice are cirrhosis of the liver, pernicious anemia, hepatitis, and hemolysis, or some type of obstruction in the path of the bile flow.”

With regard to Jaundice, Dr. Christopher reminds us that the liver is the main seat of the problem.  The bile does not excrete properly and is passed off into the blood stream and the body tissues, causing a toxic condition (called cholemia) causing indigestion, sluggishness, fatigue, constipation, upset stomach, chills, vomiting and fever.  The stools become light clay or chalky color, the skin takes on a gold cast, yellow shows in the whites of the eyes, and bile deposits in the skin cause itching.  Carrot juice will bring the skin from clear to yellow (as the liver clears) and then back to normal, which is a sign that the bile is now cleared and flowing properly into the intestinal tract…”  Dr. Christopher advised to proceed with caution since rapid unloading of toxic bile may upset the body and induce vomiting as well as turn the skin extremely yellow.

The carrot may be juiced eaten whole, raw or cooked.  The juice is preferred, as the healing factors are sufficiently concentrated to supply the system with what it needed.  If juiced 1-6 pints a day of the juice may be taken orally, or as a wash or in a poultice form externally. 

R. W Walker states that raw carrot juice may be taken in any reasonable quantities from one to six or even eight pints a day.  This has the effect of helping to normalize the entire system.  It is the richest source of Vitamin A which the body can quickly assimilate and contains an ample supply of Vitamins B, C, D, E, G and K.  It helps to promote the appetite and is an aid to digestion.”

One of the juice choices on the Three Day Cleanse created by Dr. Christopher is carrot juice, where one drinks a glass of carrot juice every waking hour for three days.  He also includes it in the Incurables Program as a possible juice choice for a week, drinking as much as one desires of the fresh juice daily for 6 days.

Bookmark to: