Reining in Climate Change Starts with Healthy Soil

by

This is a lengthier post than usual, but I think it’s important information. One of the reasons I feel compelled to share in this blogging format at all is because I care deeply about the earth and the global climate change that now (finally!) I think everyone admits to. Even if there are still people who deny that humans are a factor, no one can deny the fact that it’s up to humans to change their ways in order to slow down the degradation, or else humans will soon no longer exist and then earth can heal herself. Although I care about individuals’ health, sense of beauty, and quality of life, an even bigger motivation for my sharing is to create real connections to nature and natural products that lead to less chemicals, less plastic, less artificiality, less waste, and less pollution. There are so many green options out there for people to choose, from herbs instead of pharmaceuticals, to organics instead of artificial ingredients, and green beauty products that offer countless layers of healing and long-term benefits instead of chemicals and short term cover ups. This connection is not only deeply fulfilling to the humans who embrace it, but the entire earth benefits as well. No connection is too small because it all adds up, and the earth needs all the humans making healing choices now.

The following portion of this post was provided by New Hope Network and written by Bill Giebler. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.

It’s barely May, but Aspen Moon Farm is bustling with fall harvest-like activity. The inclusion of seedlings in its offerings makes today’s farmers’ market preparations hum. At least half a dozen helpers line the long dirt drive up to the house, where owner Jason Griffith breaks for a sandwich in his enclosed patio. At 45, Griffith has been farming this plot of land in Hygiene, Colorado, for just a few years—but long enough to expand to 10 acres and learn some critical lessons.

“When I first started farming I was gearing all of my production toward ‘how many crops can I get out of this bed or that bed and how intensely can I plant?’” he says. That approach—despite organic and biodynamic cultivation—resulted in soil degradation, evidenced by diminished plant health and increased pests. Griffith reassessed his multiple annual harvests.
“We realized we were going to wear that field out quickly. It was interesting to see how fast it could happen.” Wearing out the field is not unique—modern agriculture relies on synthetic chemicals for fertility, too often viewing soil simply as an inert growing medium. What’s unique about Griffith—as with other small-scale organic farmers dependent on nutrient- rich soil—is he chose to do something about it.
Doing something about it is indeed the recommendation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Its 2015 report states that “33 percent of land is moderately to highly degraded.” In fact, the report reads, “the majority of the world’s soil resources are in only fair, poor or very poor condition.”
For Griffith, the solution unfolded by re-framing the farming effort. “It’s really just about changing the focus from the crop to the soil and what does the soil need so we don’t have to add a ton of fertility every year.” Reducing added fertilizers—natural or otherwise—meant giving scheduling priority to soil-building crops above revenue-producing ones. “Instead of setting up my schedule and saying, ‘I need to plant carrots, beets and all this stuff where I want, whenever I want,’” Griffith says, “I’m basically saying: ‘I need to have a cover crop in this field by this date.’” Then he determines what vegetables work in rotation. The result is a productive farm with a year-round focus on maintaining or improving soil fertility.
This emerging awareness often comes in three words: Soil is alive. And with that comes the breadth of reasons to take care of it. Hint: It’s not just about food.
THE DIRTY TRUTH
It would be difficult to find a more passionate soil advocate than Tom Newmark. The former CEO of New Chapter supplement company, Newmark is co-founder and board chair of The Carbon Underground and co-owner of Finca Luna Nueva lodge and biodynamic farm in Costa Rica.
By phone, Newmark launches into a landslide of daunting truths. “Because of the worldwide destruction of between 50 and 70 percent of the fertile soil in which we grow our food … ” he says, also citing the FAO, “we have only 60 harvests [years] left before the world loses its ability to produce any food.”
Beyond dwindling food production, Newmark lists impending dangers, such as desertification—or drying up—of farm and range lands and a water cycle “so warped and distorted that much of the planet is whipsawed by either drought or flood.” If you’re concerned about the devastating weather extremes that have become far too common, he says, “You have to be concerned about soil.”
He explains how soil carbon correlates with soil organic matter: the rich, decomposing material and microbiology of the soil ecosystem. Acting as what he calls “the soil/water battery,” each percentage point of soil organic matter is able to hold between 20,000 and 70,000 gallons of water per acre. “When you don’t have the top soil, when you don’t have the organic matter in the soil, then the soil can’t store the rain, and plants can’t handle climate extremes because they don’t have water reserves in the soil,” Newmark says. The ripple effect of this includes local relative humidity, which distorts cloud formation and rain. “The destruction of the planet’s soil therefore has an immediate and direct effect on drought, crop failure and desertification.”
Possibly the biggest and most overlooked ecological service soil provides, however, is its role in climate change—via carbon sequestration. Global soils are, in fact, massive carbon storehouses—yes, that carbon: the temperature-raising, sea level-raising stuff of inconvenient headlines. The opportunity to lock this excess atmospheric carbon into the ground is at the root of a movement called regenerative agriculture. But with this comes awareness of the inverse impact: the vast release of carbon by agricultural means. “In fact,” Newmark says, “somewhere around 40 percent of the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere comes directly from the soil.” That’s astounding in a world where human solutions to human-caused climate change tend toward the cars we drive and the lights we turn off. Newmark’s 40 percent is difficult to substantiate.
A U.N. paper puts it closer to 30 percent. But, says Newmark, that doesn’t account for the soil organic matter oxidized due to tilling or nitrogen fertilization.
Regardless, in the broad view of climate change there’s a double win that comes from carbon-rich soil. In addition to slowing or even reversing atmospheric carbon, soils richer in carbon (read: sticky, quenched) are also more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
This is good news, and it sounds even better the astonishingly simple way Newmark puts it: The soil lost its carbon, it wants it back and it knows how to get it. “There’s actually technology that is time-tested, safe and available worldwide for free that will take all the carbon we have irresponsibly let loose in the environment and bring it back to earth. That technology is called photosynthesis.” There’s a third win, too. Getting that carbon into the soil is synonymous with the soil fertility Griffith is looking for.
“The bad news is, we’ve absolutely botched things up with agricultural malpractice in the last 50 years,” Newmark says. “The good news is we can put the carbon back in the soil, recreate fertility, recreate the soil/water battery, recreate food stability and reverse climate change by using agriculture that is in accordance with the laws of nature and not at war with the laws of nature.”
FIXING NITROGEN
“The number-one thing we absolutely have to do is to stop using synthetic nitrogen fertilizer,” Newmark says. “It’s just that simple, and the research worldwide is clear: The use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer corresponds with the destruction of soil organic matter and the release of CO2 into the atmosphere.”
We have long known the dangers of nitrogen fertilizer. Its rampant use has been linked to coastal dead zones, fish kills, groundwater pollution, air pollution and even “reduced crop, forest and grassland productivity,” according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). What is newer to the dump on nitrogen is its direct correlation to carbon release and climate change. But, hold on: Nitrogen is a necessary plant nutrient, and the now 100-year-old ability to synthesize nitrogen from thin air is a key part of the agricultural “Green Revolution” that brought more food, more quickly, to more mouths in the mid-twentieth century. The need for nitrogen is what makes synthetic fertilizer so effective, and effectiveness is what makes its use so widespread.
What Newmark describes, though, is a distorted ecosystem, starting with an artificial growth factor—synthetic nitrogen—that stimulates a “rapid, wild cascade of growth of soil microbiome in an almost cancerous form.” Microbiological aliveness is a measure of soil health, but its unchecked growth creates an imbalance. It all comes down to complex underground trade negotiations, Newmark explains. In order to uptake nitrogen naturally, plants undergo an elaborate exchange with soil bacteria. Although both carbon and nitrogen are amply available in the air, they are inaccessible depending on who’s asking for it. Plants can’t get at the nitrogen; bacteria can’t get the carbon. “But,” says Newmark, “the bacteria have the nitrogen and the plants have this carbohydrate [carbon in the form of plant sugars] so at the tip of the root of every plant there’s an exchange that can happen, where the plants can swap their carbon-rich sugars for the biologically available nitrogen that the bacteria have. Brilliant!” And natural.

Until the introduction of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, that is. With it the plant has received biologically available nitrogen without having to put forth the effort of feeding the bacteria. A conditioned laziness ensues, closing a trade that includes not just nitrogen, but a host of micronutrients, too. “The whole underground economy shuts down,” says Newmark, “because we’ve been giving crack cocaine to the plants.”
What needs to happen, Newmark says unequivocally, is “all agricultural systems that rely on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have to be abandoned, and they have to be abandoned quickly. We don’t have time to debate this issue.”
The second thing we have to do, Newmark says, is leave the carbon in the soil when it gets there. “If you have carbon that is in a relatively stable form in the soil, you have to leave it there, leave that structure undamaged.” But, he says, deep and repeated plowing, or tilling, breaks apart soil structure and releases CO2 back into the atmosphere. “We have to stop doing that,” says Newmark. “We have to stop ripping apart the thin layer of topsoil that covers much of our land surfaces on the planet.”

EASY DOES IT
While Newmark’s recommendations are satisfyingly simple biologically, they are not easy to apply within the existing industrial agricultural system—especially without consensus. In fact, many believe abandoning synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is akin to ditching the internet or stepping away from the car. Rob Saik, founder and CEO of Agri-trend, whose mission is “to help farmers … produce a safe, reliable and profitable food supply in an environmentally sustainable manner,” specializes in soil chemistry, plant physiology and crop nutrition, seeing GMOs and agri-chemicals as critical tools. “I think there’s a lot that can be done to make better use of nitrogen fertilizers,” he says. “The goal is not to reduce them but to use them more efficiently.”
Jeff Pizzey is a fifth-generation farmer in western Manitoba, Canada, and one of Saik’s clients. Pizzey says it’s synthetic fertilizers that allow him to grow as effectively as he does—as effectively as the world needs its farmers to. “What part of the population are you going to decide is not going to eat?” Pizzey asks about discontinuing synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. “There is absolutely no way that our world could sustain itself without it.”
Further, Pizzey says he’s able to employ a no-till approach because of synthetics. “That’s the one thing organic farming has not moved on from. Tillage is the only tool they have in their toolbox to kill weeds.” Because of genetically modified crop strains and their accompanying herbicides Pizzey can run his farm with minimal tilling.
“We use a disk drill, which basically cuts and slides the soil in a small band about three-quarters of an inch wide, places the seed and covers it back up again.”
Even the Rodale Institute, a world leader in practical organic farming research, agrees that no-till, by “relying on herbicides for weed control … cannot be directly adopted for use in organic production systems.” Rodale is researching and teaching methods to make no-till and reduced-till organic farming possible.
Aspen Moon’s Griffith does what he can as an organic farmer. “There’s not a lot of vegetable farmers that are no-till per se. We all have to turn in that vegetable residue to be able to get ready for the next crop.” The chisel plow Griffith uses to aerate and break up the soil is indeed more disruptive than Pizzey’s disk drill, but less so than a rototiller. “We don’t use a rototiller because … it inverts the soil.” Different microbes live at different levels in the soil, he explains, “so when you invert that soil every time, you basically kill the life of the soil that now has to rebuild.”
As for yields, Rodale differs markedly from Pizzey. Its 30-year trial reveals organic yields equal to or greater than conventionally grown controls—especially in drought years when organic soils show greater resiliency. Even studies that report lower organic yields show more nutritional value per acre. Newmark leapfrogs the entire argument. “Tell me,” he says, “how will conventional farms produce food with no topsoil?”

REVERSING THE DAMAGE
Agriculture, by nature, captures nutrients from the farm and exports them to market. With nutrients constantly being removed from the ecosystem, farmers need to manage soil fertility. How they do so is a defining characteristic. “We’re not trying to buy fertility to create a product,” says Griffith. “We’re trying to create fertility within the farm.”
There are two keys to that for Aspen Moon Farm. The first is cover crops.
With cover crops, nutrients collected through photosynthesis are captured and kept within the farm system. A cocktail of cover crops stocks the soil with different nutrients—including nitrogen. “A good cover crop should be able to feed next year’s crop,” Griffith says.
Griffith’s second key to building fertility is the inclusion of animals—not as product but as part of the operation. The best rule, Griffith says, works from cover crop through cow (quite literally) to chicken on the way to planting. “So the cow eats all that cover, which goes through its stomach process, turning it into almost compost right into the field. Then the chickens come by afterward, eat the bugs, eat the weed seeds, scratch it all up, spread it and then we’re ready to go.”

RUMINATING ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Bringing animals into—or back into—the farm system is intriguing, but counter-intuitive considering the well-documented negative impact the meat industry has on climate. Confined in large, dirt-floored feedlots, they poorly digest grain shipped from a thousand miles away and gas up the atmosphere with the resulting methane—a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2. Indeed, a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report released in early 2016 states, “Transitioning toward more plant-based diets that are in line with standard dietary guidelines could reduce … [2050] food-related green-house gas emissions by 29–70 percent.”

But recent research suggests that large grazing ruminants—like cows—can be climate heroes as well. Leading the drive on this is the Savory Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting “holistic management” as a top effort to revitalize soil health and lock atmospheric carbon into the earth.
Holistic management is a carefully timed system of growth, rapid grazing and regrowth, says Savory’s Chris Kerston. Regrazing, too, but not too soon. Here’s why: As the grazed grasses start regrowing above ground, their roots retract, sloughing off dead root material—which is critical. “When that piece of root dies off down there … you actually just injected organic matter into the soil,” says Kerston. Essentially, the plant—through photosynthesis and root sloughing—is pumping solar energy into the soil. In this way, “you can build depth into the soil much deeper at a much faster rate.” After the grasses regrow, the pasture may look fully recovered, but more time is required to allow the roots to regrow. Only then is it time to graze again. “What ranchers often don’t realize,” Kerston warns, “is if you don’t wait long enough for the root to also regrow, then we have an unsustainable situation—we’re going into the negative in our bank account.” The soil is missing its carbon deposits, and the plant, with insufficient root regrowth and excessive withdrawals, is suffering. Eventually the grasses stop regrowing up top, too, taking the grass out of grassland. Hence, desertification.
“So what we want to have happen,” Kerston continues, “is we want our animals bunched and moving, but we want them to be gone long enough that the land fully recovers.” That nuance is the basis of holistic management, and it, says Kerston, “makes all the difference in the world. Quite literally.”
Bunched and moving is exactly what herds of large ruminants have been for millennia. The grazing was rapid, thorough and unselective because the animals were bunched and competing for limited grasses. They were bunched—and moving—because of the omnipresence of stealthy predators. “So in our sedentary ranching systems, when we started putting up barbed wire fences it was one of the worst things to happen to agriculture,” says Kerston.
Fortunately, bunched and moving can coexist with property lines, and this is where Savory’s holistic management comes into play: teaching ranchers how to choreograph the moves (and bunches) in a way that mimics the natural world, and teaching farmers how to create a beneficial mixture of flora and fauna working together, says Kerston. “If we put animals back on the land that is growing corn to feed animals thousands of miles away, that whole broken cycle stops.” Instead of eating bought feed, “the animals can eat crop residues, they can fertilize soils, they can actually break up the soil surface getting it ready for planting.”
Texas A&M’s Richard Teague, PhD, is among those to document the benefits of this specialized rotational grazing. Teague performed a large-scale multiyear study of regenerative agricultural practices. His study compared similar plots of land and employed different grazing methods on each, tracking the vegetation on lands with no grazing, continuous grazing (studying both light and heavy continuous grazing separately) and rotational grazing, “using light to moderate defoliation … followed by adequate recovery before regrazing.” Rotational or “multipaddock” grazing, he concludes, “had superior vegetation composition, higher soil carbon, and higher water- and nutrient- holding capacities.”
Returning key biological processes to their natural state seems to be at the core of transferring excess carbon from the atmosphere—where it’s a liability—to the soil, where it’s of vast benefit. That’s good news because it means soil loss and climate change have a common solution, and all we have to do to harness it is step aside. “We have 470 million years of experience of the ecosystem producing food: converting solar energy into calories available for biology to consume,” says Newmark.
When asked how quickly damaged lands begin to heal, Newmark’s response is short and cheerful. “It’s instantaneous!” It takes longer, he admits, to completely reverse the damage, but the healing starts on day one. Citing Teague’s research, he speaks of rivers that had disappeared or become seasonal during the downward spiral of desertification. In Teague’s study, he says, “those ephemeral streams became permanent streams. And this was in just 10 years!”
“I wake up hopeful every morning,” Newmark says, “because the solution is literally right beneath our feet.” (End of article.)

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone who took the time to do so feels hopeful and empowered to do something for the good of the earth’s health, as well as their own.

Herbal Perfume Base DIY Part 2

by

This is a follow up post to the one about making herbal perfume bases. After the tincture sits for about a month, it is ready to be strained and used as a perfume base. It can sit for longer than a month and potentially get a little stronger, but if you are like me and get antsy to get crafting, a month is long enough. I actually strained mine this time slightly before a full month was up, but I could tell from the scent and the color that it was ready. A note about the color~ when you make an herbal tincture it will inevitably take on the color of the herbs which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it may seem strange to put colored perfume on your body. The color does not show up on the body and I’ve never had it stain my clothes either so you don’t need to worry about that. If you do not like the idea of colored perfume, stick to essential oils in straight alcohol, or make an herbal oil instead because oils take on a lot less color. Here’s part two of making an herbal perfume base:

The final perfume I made with the 2 oz. spray bottle is the following:

50 drops ylang ylang

10 drops nutmeg

3 drops palo santo (because I’m out of sandalwood)

5 drops bergamot

This turned out to have a nice, fresh, gender-neutral, autumn day scent. If you watched the video you will know that I was thinking of adding jasmine but I’m just not really feeling jasmine-y this time of year. Nutmeg is a strong scent which is why there are only 10 drops while ylang ylang has 5 times as much, but the scent turned out to have a strong vanilla-nutmeg scent which just feels right for October. It could have really used some sandalwood but I improvised with the palo santo which is another essential oil that is extremely strong so only three drops of that one. The bergamot just gave it a light, happy finish as the only real top note in the mix.

Thank you for reading and please subscribe if you haven ‘t already for more herbal tutorials and wellness articles from the natural foods and products world.

 

Cinnamon Almond Granola

by

If you want to make your house smell exceptionally warm and cozy, I highly recommend making this granola. It is short on ingredients and easy to scale up or down or modify to your own particular tastes. I know some people who might want to add cardamom and nutmeg to the mix and honestly I would myself, but my kids tend to like cinnamon on its own so that is what I do. I used gluten-free oats from Bob’s Red Mill, but many celiacsbobs red mill gf oats and people intolerant to gluten cannot eat even certified gluten-free oats. This apparently has to do with the protein molecule being similar in structure to gluten, though it might also have to do with what/how the oats are grown and what has been sprayed on or near them. (Read more about this here or at least look at the graph and draw your own conclusions.) Whatever the reason, listen to your body about eating oats or not. I count myself very lucky to be able to digest oats because I love granola and using oat flour in baking. This recipe is a healthy combination for starting the day because of cinnamon which can help stabilize blood sugar, almonds for the protein and good fats, and coconut oil to keep one satiated longer. Here’s the recipe:

 

 

Cinnamon Almond Granola

3 cups oats (I use gluten-free)

Real Salt

1 cup slivered almonds

1 tbs cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp sea salt (I use Real Salt)

3 Tbs. coconut oil (Somehow didn’t make it into the pics, but very important ingredient!)

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract (make your own!)

Preheat oven to 350. Place parchment paper down on a large, rimmed cookie sheet. Combine the first four ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well. Melt the coconut oil and honey in small sauce pan or just use your microwave for about a minute. Add the vanilla extract to the melted mixture and stir, then pour over the dry ingredients and blend until well mixed. Pour the mixture onto the pan and spread it out as much as possible. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes so that all sides of the granola are exposed at some point. When it turns golden and the kitchen smells mouth-wateringly delicious, it’s ready to cool down and be stored in a glass container, or munched all day long right off the pan.

This is a great addition to smoothies to turn them into smoothie bowls and will be nice to have as an after school snack all week too, if it lasts that long. The other breakfast food I’ve made for the week is a couple of batches of waffles. They are filling and the addition of chocolate chips makes the early morning wake-ups just a tad sweeter for my sons, especially my youngest who is naturally a late sleeper. Waffles are also easy additions to lunch boxes and if you’ve never tried peanut butter or nutella on waffles, you are in for a surprisingly good pairing. These can be especially nice go-to foods for those early days of switching to gluten free eating for newbies, especially for kids, when it suddenly feels like all the comfort foods are out of bounds. Waffles can save the day and I highly recommend employing any and all tactics for making the transition as emotionally comfortable as possible, because changing what you eat in a drastic way is truly life altering and that should be acknowledged. It’s a challenge in other words, and although challenges are necessary and generally for the greater good, so is honoring the emotions as one goes through them.

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone looking for gluten free or just easy breakfast recipes.

Happy October!

spider web

 

 

Immune Support for School Days

by

School started less than a month ago and all three of us in this house have already caught a cold. It isn’t just us either, people all over are discussing their kids being out sick or they themselves are coughing and reaching for tissues. Schools are just bacteria and virus playgrounds and no amount of hand washing nor desk cleaning is going to suffice (though it can help) so it’s worthwhile to work some immune support into you and your students’ bodies during the school year. In addition to my sons being at school, I started a job at a school last week and was reminded very quickly that the other years I’ve worked in schools were always full of colds and once, a very bad flu, and that was when I worked at a college so it’s not just elementary through high schools. I don’t want another year of viruses and other issues, so I’m planning on putting some real focus into not only supporting my and my sons’ immune systems, but also making my little classroom as healthy as possible. Bailey (above) is not happy with the transition of summer to school days either. She likes everyone home, right where she can see them.

astragalus

Astragalus is an immune supporting herb that can be used continuously, as opposed to the more well-known booster, echinacea, which is used during an illness, then must be stopped in order to stay effective in the future. I use astragalus in powdered form and add it to the adaptogen blends I make for the boys and my morning protein smoothies. It’s a mainstay. One of my herbal teachers said that in China they put a slice of the root in soups all winter, then take it out before serving the soup. I can’t verify that myself, but it sounds like a reasonable way to take advantage of the herb. The slices are known to look somewhat like tongue depressors (pictured above), and although it’s a root, both the smell and taste of the herb are somewhat nutty (at least to me). Next time I make soup, I’m going to try throwing a slice in there, and I’ve also been known to take the tincture version when I’ve felt rundown and there is a kids’ tincture too that is free of alcohol. There are pill versions too of course, so whatever is easiest for the person taking it. Astragalus can also help when you have an overactive immune system, such as with allergies or rheumatoid arthritis. It’s category is immunomodulator, meaning it helps amp up the immune system when it needs amping, but also can turn it down when it’s gotten too riled up for its own good. Although astragalus can help you get over a cold or flu, echinacea is my go to choice for really boosting the immune system to fight those. Echinacea is a fighter you bring in when you really need it, while astragalus is a daily supporter. Here’s a kid friendly echinacea for when the sniffles start.

Elderberry is another herb to have on hand all fall and winter and now is the perfect time to make some elderberry syrup which is something I plan on doing in the next couple of weekends (although you can just buy it if herbal crafting isn’t your happy place as it is mine, and here’s a kids’ version). Elderberry has a long history of use for a wide variety of ailments from urinary tract infections to allergies, but it is most known for its anti-catarrhal  and immune boosting actions which make it a natural for fighting colds and flus. It will no doubt be easier to get your kids to take elderberry as opposed to other herbs so it’s nice in that regard as well. Hippocrates himself referred to elderberry as his medicine chest for its many uses, and there is evidence of it being cultivated by prehistoric Europeans and the tincture has also been found buried in ancient Egyptian tombs. Due to its extremely long historical use and the many ailments it treats, it of course also has garnered quite a mythical reputation with stories linked to goddess cultures revering it and it being a portal to fairy lands. If you are lucky enough to have one growing in your yard, you might want to try taking a nap under it because it is said that you will have vivid dreams of fairies and you just might end up in their land, perhaps never to return! And also if you do have access to fresh elderberries, don’t eat them. They need to be dried before consuming.

For some serious immune support I wanted to incorporate more mushrooms into my supplement regime. I happened to find a tincture on the “last chance” end-cap at a local Whole Foods which was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find. It’s Host Defense’s Comprehensive Immune Support and it has an extensive ingredient list that I’ll post below so you can see it for yourselves. Host Defense is Paul Stamets’ company whose video I shared a few posts back and he is a true visionary and pioneer when it comes to the fungal kingdom.

Also, in an herbal documentary series I recently watched, mushrooms were discussed as having the ability to completely overhaul one’s immune system, but it does take some time. I’m looking forward to seeing how I progress with mushroom supplementation and will let you know in about three months if I see a difference, because that is a reasonable amount of time to be able to note any changes. My own herbal education and training really didn’t delve into mushrooms much and I feel like they have just recently been rising in popularity as the powerhouses that they are. I really am excited to experiment more with these strange beauties.

For the room itself that I’m in at the school, I plan on bringing in some plants to not only freshen up the air but also cleanse the air. Herbs will of course be my first botanical additions to the room, and I will probably go with thyme as my inaugural plant-baby there due to its anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-microbial actions. The room is actually the

classroom windows
Lake Washington is in the distance.

best room in the building with tall windows that have a great view, but those windows don’t open and the space is fairly small, so the air feels dense quickly once a few students start rolling in. Today I’ll be making an air freshening spray to use between the groups of kids to hopefully put a stop to some of the germ transfers, and also to just keep the room fresh and a pleasant place to be for everyone. Again I’ll be reaching for thyme, although in this case the essential oil, to add to some distilled water for the spray. I might add some ‘thieves’ style essential oil to the spray as well, or at least use it in an essential oil diffuser that I’m bringing in. This little room is about to become a germ’s worst nightmare and a lovely dream for the students and I to be in.

What do you do during cold and flu season? Or is there anything you add to your health regimen either before or after when you will be in a germ fest such as a classroom or airplane?

Thank you for reading and please share with any students, teachers, or parents of students that you know fight the good fight against colds and flues all year.

 

Mind-Gut Health Connection

by

I wanted to share this short article from New Hope Network that shows recent findings linking gut health with digestive health. This is something that has long been documented by Ayurveda, the oldest healing system in the world, by linking both to the vata dosha. There have been other studies as well, and even products aimed at optimal health for both. If you suffer from psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, OCD, and/or others, it is worthwhile looking at healing your digestive health as well. Here’s the article:

(This part of the post was provided by New Hope Network. I am a member of the New Hope Influencer Co-op, a network of health and wellness bloggers committed to spreading more health to more people.)

A Columbia University study has found that adversity early in life is associated with increased gastrointestinal symptoms that may affect children’s brains and behavior as they mature.
“It is too early to say anything conclusive, but our study indicates that adversity associated changes in the gut microbiome are related to brain function, including differences in the regions of the brain associated with emotional processing,” said Nim Tottenham, a professor of psychology at Columbia and senior author on the study.
The study, “Mind and Gut: Associations Between Mood and Gastrointestinal Distress in Children Exposed to Adversity,” was published online March 28 in the journal Development and Psychopathology.
“One common reason children show up at doctors’ offices is intestinal complaints,” said Tottenham, who is an expert in emotional development. “Our findings indicate that gastrointestinal symptoms in young children could be a red flag for future emotional health problems.”
Scientists have long noted the strong connection between the gut and brain. A history of trauma or abuse, even in the second through sixth weeks after birth, is associated with a higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome and more than one third of mental-illness diagnoses in one’s lifetime, according to previous research. This study was designed to determine when childhood adversity begins to affect the gastrointestinal system.
“The role of trauma in increasing vulnerability to both gastrointestinal and mental health symptoms is well established in adults but rarely studied in childhood,” lead author Bridget Callaghan, a post-doctoral research fellow in Columbia’s psychology department, said in a released statement. In addition, animal studies have demonstrated that adversity-induced changes in the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria in the body that regulates everything from digestion to immune system function—influence neurological development, but no human studies have done so, she said.
“Our study is among the first to link disruption of a child’s gastrointestinal microbiome triggered by early life adversity with brain activity in regions associated with emotional health,” Callaghan said.
The researchers focused on development in children who experienced extreme psychosocial deprivation due to foster or institutional care before international adoption. Separation of a child from a parent is known to be a powerful predictor
of mental health issues in humans. That experience, when modeled in rodents, induces fear and anxiety, hinders neurodevelopment and alters microbial communities across the lifespan.
The researchers drew upon data from 115 children adopted from orphanages or foster care on or before they were 2 years old and from 229 children raised by a biological caregiver. The children with past caregiving disruptions showed higher levels of symptoms that included stomach aches, constipation, vomiting and nausea.
From that sample of adoptees, the researchers then selected eight participants, ages 7 to 13, from the adversity exposed group and another eight who’d been raised by their biological parents. Tottenham and Callaghan collected behavioral information, stool samples and brain images from all the children. They used gene sequencing to identify the microbes present in the stool samples and examined the abundance and diversity of bacteria in each participant’s fecal matter.
The children with a history of early caregiving disruptions had distinctly different gut microbiomes from those raised with biological caregivers from birth. Brain scans of all the children also showed that brain activity patterns were correlated with certain bacteria. For example, the children raised by biological parents had increased gut microbiome diversity, which is linked to the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain known to help regulate emotions.
“We observed that early adversity was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in youth aged 3-18 years (with the largest effects observed in late childhood),” the authors wrote. They also found that adverse caregiving experiences in the earliest days of life alters the gut’s biome; that variation affects how the brain’s emotion networks develop.
“The fact that early experiences of caregiving adversity increase the risk for both GI and mental health problems, as well as being associated with changes to the GI microbiome, suggests that the timing of this exposure (infancy to early childhood) coincides with the sensitive period for the maturation of each of these systems,” the authors wrote.
More research is needed, but Tottenham and Callaghan believe their study helps fill an important gap in the literature.
“Animal studies tell us that dietary interventions and probiotics can manipulate the gut microbiome and ameliorate the effects of adversity on the central nervous system, especially during the first years of life when the developing brain and
microbiome are more plastic,” Callaghan said. “It is possible that this type of research will help us to know if and how to best intervene in humans, and when.” Callaghan and Tottenham are working on a larger study with 60 children in New York City, New York, to see if their findings can be replicated. They expect the results later this year.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the Dana Foundation, the American Australian Association and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

(Me again) If you missed my digest blend DIY (above) a while ago, the link is here. Thank you for reading and please share with anyone who has digestive or emotional/mental issues! Best health to you and yours <3.

Herbal Perfume Base DIY

by

It’s really nice to have an herbal oil or herbal extract as your natural perfume base because it adds another layer of scent and benefits to your perfume. It also lessens the amount of essential oils you need in your perfume, making the end product more affordable and sustainable. Essential oils are wonderful, therapeutic, beautiful gifts from the earth, but they should be used sparingly as their production can and does take an environmental toll in some cases. Sandalwood, for example, has become endangered due to over harvesting and some other environmental factors, which is also why its price has been steadily and substantially increasing. It often takes an enormous amount of botanical material to make an essential oil, and the more material it takes the more expensive the resulting essential oil. Rose and Jasmine (link is to an absolute) are classic examples of this, and one way around the steep environmental and personal financial price, is to make an oil or extract from the flowers yourself. It takes 60,000 rose blossoms to make 1 oz of rose essential oil, and it takes even more Jasmine than that, but to make an oil or extract, you can use a lot less and end up with a great product although not as potent. Vanilla is another great herb to use as an oil or extract because vanilla can’t be made into an essential oil, it can be made into an absolute which is generally found already mixed with jojoba oil, so using it in an alcohol based perfume is not rose and vanilla in oilrecommended other than as an extract itself. I like to make my perfumes that are alcohol base with vanilla extract, then add essential oils to it. You don’t need to just pick one herb though, you can add herbs together for a unique, multidimensional scent as your base, then layer in the essential oils to create something completely your own~ a true signature scent.

Today I made rose vanilla oil and rose vanilla extract for my perfume bases. The extract will take 4-8 weeks to cure, but the oil is ready in a few hours (thanks to the quick method) so I can start experimenting with some fall scents right away. Below is what I did, but remember that you can do this with any botanical ingredient that you like. If you have something growing near you that isn’t found as an essential oil, I especially encourage you to try working with that and seeing what kind of special, local scent you can create full of originality and terroir. Go for it!

Thank you for reading/watching and I hope you are inspired to create your own multilayered natural perfume or cologne with an herbal base. Let me know what your favorite combinations are~ I’d love to hear!

 

Clean and Green Natural Products

by

The latest samples from New Hope Network included some especially clean and green products. Of course there were a couple of CBD items as well since CBD is still going strong despite rumors and confusion persisting. Just as a reminder, I’m not paid for posts in conjunction with the New Hope Network, we are a co-op of bloggers who have agreed to share with our audiences information and products that we believe in. It’s a passion of mine to connect people with more natural products because I truly think natural foods and products are not only healthier for the people who use them, but for the planet as a whole. Plus the natural world has so much to offer which has been largely forgotten by the mainstream since industrialization, and if we can embrace our natural options in combination with all our modern advancements, we are going to head into a better future with more balance, depth, and greater wisdom.

matcha

Like CBD, matcha is having a moment too, and with good reason. It is a powerhouse of antioxidants and basically gives all of green tea’s benefits except more, plus it’s so full-bodied it makes a great latte. I drink mine sans milk and love it, although I have gotten a matcha latte with coconut milk a few times while out and can see how that’d be addictive too. Aiya’s matcha to go is a convenient way to carry your matcha around with you. The box says that no sifting or whisking is required but I have been whisking these anyway because it doesn’t hurt and you can almost always find something to stir with no matter if it is a traditional matcha tool or not. These packets don’t have any added sugar (some other brands do!) and the taste is rich, green, and delicious. These are great for travel or to sick in lunch totes or work bags. 

This protein powder from Natreve is a great example of a clean product that packs a huge nutritional and taste punch. My son was wow’ed by the taste of his breakfast smoothie and I this it’s pretty exceptional too~ the smell alone is like a fresh baked cookie. It’s vegan, soy and gluten free with no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors. It is also low sodium and has 25g of protein per scoop (it’s a big scoop!) with only 1 g of sugar and 150 calories. I’m looking forward to trying more of their flavors although my son will probably want to just stick with this s’mores sundae one.

This Bean to Bliss Bar not only has 40mg of CBD in it, it’s main ingredient is cacao which has long been used for its calm and happiness-inducing attributes. This tastes quite good and the ingredients are certainly a smart and clean combination of  mood supporting and enhancing ingredients though I personally can’t attest to any overwhelming feelings of bliss. That most likely has way more to do with my current state of going through a hard time than the product though so I’d love to hear other people’s experiences with this bar.

The CBD oil from CV Sciences has 9mg of CBD per serving and is flavored with peppermint. The peppermint flavor is nice, but it doesn’t actually cover up the hemp taste which if you have tried you know is a very strong. It kind of tastes like the peppermint is sitting shotgun with the hemp oil in the driver’s seat because the tastes are just about equal on the tongue. If you want CBD without the taste of hemp, I suggest avoiding tinctures all together and opting for softgels instead, but if you do like the taste then tinctures are a great choice because they don’t have to travel through the digestive system which may or may not be behaving optimally. (Let’s face it, most are not.)

This cute little Mothers Healing Balm has a great texture and the scent is light and pleasant. We didn’t have any wounds, rashes, or insect bites to try it out on yet, but the ingredients are promising with herbs such as calendula, witch hazel, and lavender in there. My dog did in fact get into a scrap with a raccoon a couple of mornings ago, but her wounds seem to be more psychological than physical, which is saying a lot since she’s already quite a neurotic beast. We’ll have to save this balm for our next wound, bug bite, or rash, and with a house containing two teen boys, it won’t be long I’m sure. This balm was formulated by a mom and an herbalist to treat a wide variety of skin issues.

Remember when healthy fats were all the rage? They are still important for healthy brains, eyes, and hearts, keeping inflammation down, mood regulation, and healthy joints, even if they aren’t in the spotlight as often as they were a few yeas ago. This omega 3-6-9 supplement from truelixir is vegan, gluten and allergen free, reflux-free, and additive-free. The softgels are a nice, smallish size and awfully pretty. Some omega supplements are huge and many do cause reflux issues and most are not vegan, so these are a rare combination indeed.

Thank you for reading and let me know if you have tried any of these products and your thoughts on them!

 

 

 

 

 

Magical Mushrooms

by

From the psychedelic to the medicinal, mushrooms offer us a gateway into the expansiveness of life. Is there any other kingdom more otherworldly and multi-dimensional than the fungi kingdom? They are prized culinary delicacies, with some fungi such as European white truffles costing over $3,500 per pound, and even the more common morels and chanterelles can cost $220-$250 per pound when sold dried. Not all mushrooms are edible though of course, which leads to some confusion and reticence around them for some, and it is part of their allure for others. One group that are taken in for psychedelic mind expansion is the psilocybin group of mushrooms.  Humans have apparently been using psilocybin shrooms since prehistoric times, with evidence indicating these were part of religious rituals, and those spiritual pursuits continue today. Even animals ingest psychedelic substances, not just mushrooms by any means, so as with all herbal knowledge, the predominant theory is that we humans learned from the animals that there are benefits to using these substances, despite the obvious inherent risks. (Not surprisingly, hallucinating animals are not acting at their top form in terms of survival.)  This article on Psychology Today is a fascinating read about animals tripping and what role in survival hallucinogens may play.

Medicinally, mushrooms are revered for their immune support and are the first kingdom of choice recommended by many natural health practitioners when supporting a person through a major health crisis such as cancer. As a side note, I’d like to say it is my personal belief that we are extremely lucky to be living in an era where we can be treated by modern medicine with all its advanced technology and practices, and we are also able to work with the herbs and natural ingredients that have kept our species alive for all of humanity. There is no need to choose one and throw the other aside. In China there is a common practice called fu zheng therapy used with cancer patients to add in individualized herbal blends to their care regime to support them through chemo and radiation, and to rebuild their immune systems. This enables the patients to suffer less from the harsh medical treatments by counteracting some of the side effects while also boosting their own natural defenses. This is just an example of how the two systems, modern and ancient, can work together in a complementary way for the best experiences and outcomes. If you want to see a fascinating video about the power of mushrooms, this one below will make you a true believer in the power of fungi:

Even when just trying to bolster immune systems through a flu season or a particularly stressful time, mushrooms such as reishi and chaga can offer deep, dynamic support. In an herbal docu-series I recently watched, the following were recommended as discussion starting points with your natural health adviser: reishi for colon cancer, turkey tail for breast cancer, shiitake used in cooking to protect bone marrow and keep white blood cells from plunging, and chaga for intestinal cancers. (All those links are to Host Defense supplements which is Paul Stamets‘ company. He is the expert in the video above↑.)

If you are dealing with a serious health condition such as cancer, you really do need to consult with a trusted natural health practitioner such as a naturopath or a TCM or Ayurvedic practitioner. If you want to consult a clinical herbalist, you can find one on the American Herbalists Guild website and keep in mind that many do consultations over skype or the phone so they don’t have to live near you. Be sure to interview them first and make certain you are on the same page with them in terms of values and expectations because you want to work with someone who will be an advocate for you, not pressure you into doing something you aren’t comfortable doing. For example, an advocate will work with your regular physician and specialists by communicating directly with them instead of pressuring you to just do what they recommend whether your doctor agrees or not.

One way to try getting more mushrooms into your diet is to try some functional foods and beverages such as these coffees and hot cocoas from Four Sigmata. I’ve tried several of their products and there is absolutely no mushroom taste to them, only mushroom benefits.

Thank you for reading and please share with anyone looking to add a little mushroom magic to their life.

06 (2)

P.S. Here’s a joke I heard: A mushroom walks into a bar and the bartender said, “Sorry. We don’t serve food here.” And the mushroom replied, “But I’m a fun-gi.” Hehe. Much better when told in voice instead of writing but still, the morel of the story is, I’m a sucker for a good pun.

 

Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

by

This is a repost of one of my most popular articles from December of 2017. I would like to add saffron to the anti-depressant category because current research is proving that even just cooking with the herb is helpful in uplifting moods. It is also proving beneficial as an appetite suppressant and as such it is showing up in weight loss supplements. Also, I’ve written about CBD several times now but it needs to be listed here too because it can definitely help some people with their anxiety.

Ahh, the holidays….nothing like high expectations and extra obligations to turn up the heat on stress and anxiety levels. It’s a shame that the most joyful, festive, family-oriented time of year also has to be one of the hardest for many people. Stress and anxiety cause problems all year long of course, but it seems like this time of year people are rushing around much more with longer to-do lists and shorter fuses. Luckily for us, the natural world has plenty of help to offer, so much so that it seems pretty clear that nature would really like to tell all of us to chill out a bit. Since there are so many options out there, I’ve limited this post to just a few herbal and natural choices that cover the range of stress and anxiety from mild to intense but it’s still rather long. If you don’t see what you are looking for, feel free to contact me.

Nervines are a class of herbs that focus on the nervous system. They share similarities with adaptogens, which I posted about earlier, which are a different class of herbs that offer help with stress and anxiety by balancing out the body overall, with specific attention paid to the endocrine system. A great, concise article about the difference between adaptogens and nervines and when to use which can be found here. Nervines are good for any kind of stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and certain types of pain. They range in their strength from gentle tonic (such as Skullcap) to powerful sedative (such as Valerian). Most fall in-between the extremes and you can find plenty of blends that allow the herbs to work in a synergistic way.

Kava Kava is one of the most popular calming herbs, but it’s also an herb that has some warnings attached to it. Although it’s been in use in the South Pacific for its relaxing and euphoric qualities since ancient times, there have been a couple of issues recently that could indicate Kava might be damaging to certain people’s livers. It’s all quite inconclusive but some products do come with a warning on it, and some stores just stopped selling it, although it is still readily available in capsules, tinctures, and teas both online and found at brick and mortar stores. If you have an overload of toxins in your body, or a compromised liver for any reason, you might want to stick to other calming herbs or blend of herbs. Also, if you are taking it as a tincture, be prepared for it to numb your lips at first~ that just means it’s a potent product and it is a good sign.

Valerian which is also found in tincture, pill, or tea form is deeply relaxing and often part of herbal sleep aides. If you are not familiar with the herb, be forewarned that it has a strong scent although it doesn’t taste bad at all. More than once I’ve smelled the herb near someone or in their pocket and mistakenly thought the person was ill because it is that strong (and I have an over-active nose). If you need to address insomnia, Valerian is a good place to start.

Skullcap is also found in insomnia formulas but is milder and can be used throughout the day as a tonic for the nervous system. This is a particularly good herb for you if you find that your brain gets stuck on repeating anxious thoughts or has circular patterns of negativity.  Capsules and tea forms are also available.

3C30A19B-59C5-4AA8-BCFD-B51E902630A1[1]

Blends are a healthy option if you are not sure which herb is best for you. Herb Pharm makes one which has a unique lavender taste and also comes in capsule form.

For children, the line Herbs for Kids makes a couple of non-alcoholic blends, a Valerian based one and a milder Chamomile based option. Herb Pharm also makes a kid- friendly blend to help with nighttime and nap-time that is also alcohol-free.

Most people know St. John’s Wort is good for minor depression such as the kind caused by seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It takes two to three weeks to feel the benefits of this mild tonic nervine but it really does have the ability to make one’s outlook a bit sunnier. In fact, St. John’s Wort can increase one’s photo-sensitivity so if you live in a sunny climate, do be aware that your skin just might surprise you with its quicker than usual darkening  or reddening. I actually love this about the herb because SAD is related to lack of sunshine and vitamin D, so what does St. John’s Wort do? It increases your sensitivity to the sun! I actually make my own and use it every winter to combat the grey PNW days. All the citrus essential oils act in the same way by the way~ they too increase your photo-sensitivity and they are also anti-depressants, so if you are using them in a body oil or body spray you should keep that in mind.

A word about deciding how to take your nervines. Tinctures are a great option because if you put the liquid right under your tongue you will feel the effects almost immediately. (It might burn so have some water nearby to wash the rest down your throat.) Stress and anxiety often lead to less than optimal digestion which may inhibit the results of a capsule or tablet, so if you use a tincture or tea, that alleviates the potential problem of not getting the most out of your supplement (and therefore your money). Of course, use whatever form works best for you because in the end, the best form is the form you actually take.

There are other natural products that help with stress and anxiety as well. B vitamins are important for daily stress management and are often even labeled with the word ‘stress’ right on the front them. If your daily tension levels are high then looking into a total B could prove beneficial.

As discussed earlier, vitamin D plays a role in SAD and is especially important in places where the word ‘overcast’ is in the daily forecast. Using a liquid formula is the most affective way to take D, other than getting at least a half hour of sunshine on some bare skin every day. (And that includes no sunscreen for that half hour.)

For times when your anxiety is high because of a certain event, or you are anticipating something stressful, then GABA might be your answer. GABA is a neurotransmitter already found in our brain that has anti-anxiety action. This study gives a brief explanation of one test and what the results were if you are interested. My naturopath actually first suggested GABA to me for times when I had to take my kids to get shots because of the extreme stress around those situations. (The GABA was suggested for my kids but I needed it too!) We use the chewables or lozenges because they are faster acting and personally, I feel the effects far greater than with capsules.

Essential oils are really at their prime working on stress and anxiety. They are definitely nature’s messengers telling us silly humans to relax, enjoy beauty, and quite literally to stop and smell the roses, or at least the rose oil. Neroli blossoms used to always be part of bridal bouquets because of their calming attributes and the essential oil continues that tradition of being a powerful anti-anxiety oil. Lavender is well-known as a relaxing scent and it combines beautifully with almost any other essential oil. Combining it with Neroli creates an affective anti-anxiety spray or oil, and combining Lavender with a citrus oil creates a lovely uplifting scent for diffusing or wearing. As mentioned above, all the citrus oils are anti-depressant (and also mildly stimulating), but the best ones for uplifting your mood are  Orange, Grapefruit, and Bergamot.

Clary Sage is often referred to as a ‘euphoric’ and it combines well with Bergamot for an uplifting, anti-depressant effect. I like to make body/room sprays that are half Clary Sage and half Bergamot.

F5819F24-E430-43E6-A5D7-C2277A95D067[1]

Making body oils is a great way to wear your anti-anxiety and anti-stress essential oils like a shield. You can put the oil on the bottom of your feet, all over your body, or make a stronger scented perfume oil or spray that you can reapply to your pressure points throughout the day. There are so many natural options for help with stress and anxiety that you really don’t need to just push through those moments, days, or seasons alone. Of course, always consult a medical professional if you are struggling to the point of it disrupting your daily activities, but know there are plenty of natural options to help you enjoy your life fully and with optimal health.

Peace to all of you this season and please share this with anyone who might be looking for a little natural help with stress, depression, and/or anxiety, and subscribe for more posts like this one on a weekly basis.

Quick Fixes for Acne

by

Now I’m not talking about cystic acne here or any other more serious acne condition, although some of this might help those conditions, but what I’m referring more to is the occasional bumps and blemishes that everyone deals with (especially teens and women of child-bearing age) from time to time. Most people understand there is a connection to what is happening internally to what shows up externally and it isn’t solely a matter of how you care for your skin, though the common myths of chocolate causing acne or skin being ‘too oily’ persist. Chocolate only causes problems if you have a dairy intolerance and you eat milk chocolate, or an intolerance to chocolate itself, which would be a darn shame. Food intolerances definitely play a role in skin health though and I certainly experienced that with gluten before going gluten-free. It was one of the things I noticed before ever getting tested for gluten intolerance because of course I had more than an inkling I had a problem with gluten before confirming that which is how I got tested in the first place. I don’t expect many people are tested for gluten intolerance unless they themselves ask to be, which is just another way one has to advocate for themselves when it comes to the modern medical system. As a side note, my physician who ran the blood test said that she doubted I was gluten intolerant because “not many people are”. (Not true.) Then her nurse called back with the results telling me that the results showed such reactivity to gluten that I was a celiac. (This was misinformed. You can’t tell if someone is a Celiac through a blood test.) So she told me to go to a gastroenterologist who took one look at me and said, “You probably aren’t celiac. You’re too dark! Celiacs are from northern Europe and you look southern European.” (This is problematic for two reasons other than the fact he was diagnosing me from my coloring~ Italy has the largest confirmed population of celiacs and I am pretty sure they are considered southern European. Also, I’m French, German, and Irish~ not exactly southern European.) I said, “Shouldn’t I just get the test done to make sure I’m not celiac since that’s a serious, hereditary disease and I have kids?” And he said, “Why? All you can do is not eat gluten whether you are gluten intolerant or celiac. It’s the same protocol either way so I wouldn’t recommend it. Your blood test shows you clearly shouldn’t eat gluten so don’t eat gluten.” I was too baffled by such an unusual exchange to argue especially since normally I find doctors to be overly exuberant about tests, but since he was recommending I not have an uncomfortable procedure for once, I went with it for better or worse.

Anyway, back to acne. Acne is one of the rare occasions you can use essential oils directly on your skin without a carrier. You can put a drop of tea tree or lavender on a blemish to diminish it. It isn’t immediate but it will work over a couple of days time. From an internal standpoint, acne generally is associated with digestion and/or hormones. Food intolerances are clearly part of the digestive component and they can wreck havoc on skin in other forms from eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and more. Avoiding the foods one is intolerant to is obvious, but also improving digestive processes can help long-term. Using digestive bitters and/or enzymes before eating helps with breaking down the food. Adding fresh or dried herbs to food can also improve digestion, or drinking herbal teas with an aim to cleanse the liver can help. (Most skin blend herbal teas you find on the shelves of stores include herbs which cleanse the liver and blood, and therefore deliver cleaner building blocks to the skin.) Taking probiotics and/or eating foods that have natural probiotics in them, such as kombucha and apple cider vinegar, help too. Fresh veggies, especially greens, are generally recommended, but in my research into digestive health I’ve learned that if you have digestive issues, you will get more from your veggies if they are cooked in some way, such as in soup. Fresh veggies have the enzymes which is great, but if the digestive system is compromised it needs more than those fresh enzymes to break down the food a bit and truly reap all the benefits from the veggies. I personally like sweet potatoes best of all for skin.

As far as hormonal fluctuations go with teens and also with women’s monthly cycle, taking adaptogens on a regular basis can help with hormonal balance. Teens do need to exercise some caution with adaptogenic herbs because adaptogens work primarily through the endocrine system which houses and transports hormones, and although adaptogens are generally very safe for most people, they should really be said to be safe for adults. Ashwagandha should be used only in small amounts and for shorter amounts of time with breaks in between. Ginseng should not be used by people under age 30. Seriously! It’s a potent herb for increasing (especially masculine) vitality and can cause ill effects if used incorrectly. Adaptogens such as Eleuthero and Astragalus are good ones for teens.

For women, chaste berry or vitex is the classic women’s hormone regulatory herb. There are teas, capsules, and tinctures to enable easy use. It can also be found in blends to support cycles and aid reproductive health overall.

Using clean and green products on the skin is important too. This line from Alba Botanica has been great on my son’s teen skin. I got him on the following as soon as he started having a blemish or two, and it works like a charm: the cleanser, astringent, these patches or the gel (use one or the other), and there’s also this scrub for the body is other areas besides the face are a problem. If he forgets to use it because he’s not at home, then inevitably one or two little buggers will pop out, but as soon as he uses the products again, they go away, usually literally overnight. It isn’t expensive either which is a nice plus.

If you are interested in something a little fancier and definitely as clean and green as you can get, evan healy has a whole line dedicated to acne. We haven’t tried those specific products of hers yet since the Alba has been doing the trick, but I’ve used many of evan healy’s other products such as this serum and they are extremely high quality and definitely work well.

What have you used that has worked on acne?