Recently a family member called me asking about natural suggestions for his high blood pressure. The first thing we talked about was potassium. The majority of Americans don’t get enough potassium, and low potassium is very closely associated with high blood pressure. (One VERY important note here is that low potassium can slow down metabolism of glucose, leading to high…
I read an article this morning that infuriated me. Nutshell version of the article is that another study confirmed that two of the most commonly used drugs for chemotherapy of breast cancer (paclitaxel and doxorubicin) cause cancer cells to grow in other parts of the body. Other studies have shown that the entire class of chemotherapy drugs cause cancer cells…
Seasonal Affective Disorder, also called Winter Depression, effects about 24% of the American population. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is depression that a person experiences only during the late fall and winter months. Their depression lifts as Spring approaches and the days lengthen. There are several theories as to why this occurs. The shortened days cause a change in serotonin production.…
Hey local people, It just got easier to buy my hand crafted herbal products! I have taken out shelf space in Angel’s Antiques in Opelika. msquill now occupies “white display case” #40. It’s easy to find: Walk in the door and past the cash registers, turn left and I’m the last display case on the main aisle. Right across from…
Two weeks ago as my husband and I were walking around our property to see what kinds of plants are growing (remember, we moved 4 months ago, so we are learning what grows wild here), we notices an odd vine growing out front near the house. Neither of us recognized it, so, like so many other “weeds” we can’t identify,…
Yesterday evening, as I was preparing for my Chamber of Commerce presentation today, I realized that I was out of licorice root. My husband volunteered to drive out to the local natural food store to grab some for me. When he returned, I looked at the bag he presented me and declared, “That’s not licorice.” My husband insisted that the…
My family and I participate in LARP (Live Action Role Playing, for the uninitiated) We play in SCA and Amtgard. My kids play at sword fighting and archery with foam weapons. It’s great exercise, educational, the people are pretty awesome, and it’s just a whole lot of fun. Well, this weekend, we were playing and someone threw a javelin. (they…
I have a friend with sciatica. It interferes with everything she does. Work, home and social life suffer because of the pain her sciatic causes her. There are some days she can barely walk. I’ve been working with her to improve her diet, reduce the internal inflammation, and stop muscle spasms. I am teaching her herbal and non herbal ways…
Licorice has been used medicinally since the beginning of recorded time. Licorice was found in King Tut’s tomb right next to his gold, jewelry and other treasures. Ancient Egyptians viewed licorice as a “cure-all, “ and as such it was very valuable. In the 3rd century B,C Theophrastus determined licorice was good for coughs and all pectoral diseases. In the…
Pokeweed, or Phytolacca americana is native to North America. Until this morning I had never actually seen Pokeweed outside of my herbal books. My children and I were taking a nature walk along the walking and biking path near our home. I saw beautiful plant with big droopy berries that looked kind of familiar. But I really couldn’t place the…