Herbs and Spices as a Path to Health and Wellbeing
As a passionate home chef, I can’t imagine cooking without a full array of herbs and spices. And as an herbalist, I can’t imagine creating a health protocol without the use of herbs and spices. Fortunately, culinary and medicinal herbs are often one and the same. As Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and […]
Current Research on Herbs and Nutrients Holds Promise Against COVID-19
I’ve grown frustrated and concerned over the degree to which the news surrounding COVID-19 focuses on fear and the promise of a ‘super hero’ vaccine that will eventually save us. Every week, I come across research that supports the use of herbal and nutritional compounds, diet, and lifestyle that have been shown to be of […]
Nutritional Impact on Immunity and COVID – 19
Although statistics show that people over the age of 65 have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and dying from complications due to underlying conditions, it appears that it has more to do with nutritional status than age alone. It’s true that the older we get, the more nutritional deficiencies we may have, primarily because […]
New information on Coronavirus Transmission and Susceptibility
In the attempt to tame the COVID-19 virus, scientists around the world are working to understand how the disease is spread and how best to approach prevention and treatment. But with the avalanche of information we’re presented with every day, it’s easy to come away with more questions than answers. There are a couple of […]
The Courage to Step into the Great Outdoors
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson There are plenty of good reasons to be outdoors this summer, and now we can add ‘safe haven’ to the list. As we all know, strict isolation strategies have been employed since mid-March to curb the spread of the pandemic. The […]
Health Optimization and Adaptogens
Health Optimization and Adaptogens – An Effective Strategy Against Pathogens In general, I am astonished by how little attention is placed on the value and importance of good health in our society. In the face of the current pandemic, with underlying co-morbidities present in an estimated 60% of the population, increasing the risk of death […]
Quercetin’s Remarkable Health Benefits
The vibrant colors we observe in plants serve a different role depending on the organism being considered. For the plant itself, the pigments may aid in the absorption of light and photosynthesis, as well as contribute to metabolism and reproduction. For birds and insects, the pigments provide a signal to the availability of food, such […]
Zinc: The Most Important Nutrient for Immunity
How Zinc Supports Immune Function Zinc is well known for the significant role it plays in immune response and immune health. It enhances both innate and adaptive immunity, is vital for immune cell function, and is crucial for the formation and modulation of inflammatory processes. In persons with zinc deficiency, zinc supplementation improves not only […]
The Truth about Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
False information can spread like wildfire, particularly during times of fear and uncertainty. Right now, there is misinformation circulating about elderberry (Sambucus nigra) and COVID-19. Elderberry extract is being falsely accused of triggering a cytokine storm or cytokine release syndrome (CRS), an intense inflammatory response that can be deadly. During the SARS epidemic, CRS caused […]