AUGUST 16, 2021 MULBERRY

The Mulberry (Morus ssp) are small to medium sized tress. There are red, white and black varieties. I planted a Mulberry tree in my yard 3 years ago. Today it has fruit ready to pick and ingest.

Mulberry tress can be found along roadsides. Due to exhaust fumes from automobiles I would not recommend picking those fruit. Upon speaking about picking the berries—you must know this.

Do not eat the unripened fruits and leaves because they are slightly hallucinogenic

I have seen recipes for mulberry jam. I have seen more often recipes for mulberry fudge. It has a taffy like consistency and very messy to eat I will start making mulberry jam at the end of this year. I will leave some of the fruits for the birds in my yard.

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 13, 2021 OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS

All doctors have to realize this fact…Nutrition is one of the most important controllable therapies of preventing and fighting diseases. This is nutrition from your food and supplement. "“ Food is your medicine” I didn’t say that but Hippocrates did ! Unfortunately there are dietary fads. There are more than 100 diets on the market right now. Some diet have lasted like the Atkins Diet.

Who knows about nutrition. Certainly your mother, aunt and grandmothers have made observation about diet and nutrition through the centuries. Herbalists, farmers and vegetable farmers have made great observations. Research has shown that omega 3 fatty acids are essential for good heart, and brain health. One of my regrets is that I didn’t accept an offer to be the spokesperson for Nordic Naturals years ago. We know that eating saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats called omega 6 are bad. These interfere with many receptors in the body and cause disease.

Omega 6 oils are in corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil and canola oil. These must be avoided You need consume DHA and EPA components of omega 3 not omega 6. Many fish oils like Nordic Naturals contain more EPA than DHA. I try to take an extra DHA component for my brain Higher intake of DHA reduces incidence of Alzheimer’s disease by 60 %. You can also consume plant based omega from algae if you do not like omega oils from fish. Omega 3 reduces brain inflammation If you do not eat enough fish ( i use vitalchoice.com) then consume omega 3 from algae

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 12, 2021 NEUROPATHY

Neuropathy is more common than you think. It has many causes with diabetes being the major cause of peripheral neuropathy, Neuropathy occurs when nerve damage interferes with functioning of the peripheral nerves. Other causes include heavy metals, side effects of chemotherapy especially the platinum drugs, and status post shingles . It can be called idiopathic neuropathy if no cause is found.

There are conventional drug therapies as neurotonin or Gabapentum can be used The dose can range from 300- 2400 mg per day in divided doses. This can be effective but many patients cannot tolerate the side effects of the drug. There are other treatments available.

I utilize the homeopathic Hypericum perforatum ( St John wort ) from Boiron in daily divided dosages. In addition I have great results with R lipoic acid ( doses 1000- 1200 mg per day), methylated B complex vitamins, curcumin ( tumeric) and even DHA. I even have seen myo -inositol have great relief from neuropathy.

I also compound in cream form a formula utilizing the above and some lidocaine and GABA. This is applied at bedtime.

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 11, 2021 COVID VACCINE SIDE EFFECTS

This is a very sensitive blog There are 3 experimental COVID vaccines on the market - Pfizer, Moderna and J and J. I did receive the Moderna vaccine. There is a lot of controversy about these vaccines. There is documented 4,205 deaths from these vaccines. We have always had vaccine deaths recorded but the number of deaths prior to COVID vaccines was only 7 to 45 deaths. So there are problems. This does not mean you should not get the vaccine. I have seen many deaths from the COVID 19 virus. YOU must consider getting the vaccine

These vaccines are messenger RNA vaccines. What does this mean? mRNA vaccines inject a lipid encased artificial molecule designed to continuously reproduce the spike protein found on the COVID 19 virus.

Autoimmunity is a long term risk with these vaccines ( mainly Pfizer and Moderna) There are more than 28 human tissue components that can cross react with the spike protein in the mRNA vaccine,. This means that the tissue and cell components are at risk for autoimmune attack. The dangers of this process include triggering a range of diseases in the future as ALS, Parkinson’s ,Alzheimer’s and other autoimmune neurodegenerative diseases. With all this - YOU still must consider getting the vaccine. For this I have seen and read about the use of omega 3 DHA and EPA to reduce any inflammation in the brain and heart. DHA can improve autoimmune damage to many areas include the lungs

There are excellent studies of the use of DHA oils post vaccination. This can reduce release of harmful inflammatory cytokines from immune cells. I urge individuals to consume DHA for 3 months to one year. I do recommend some supplements post vaccination in addition to the omega 3 oils ( EPA and DHA). I recommend vitamin D at 2000 -5,000 per day, mixed tocotrienols, Buffered vitamin C, and curcumin. At this time you should avoid beta carotene as it can trigger harmful inflammation under these conditions. Be smart … take these

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 10, 2021 MEMORY

We all need to keep our brains healthy. We all need to improve memory. There are many supplements that can do this. There are DHA, acetyl L carnitine, vinpocetine, bacopa and many more.

Several studies have shown that bacopa can improve memory. Bacopa monnieri is an ancient herb used in Ayurvedic medicine to enhance brain function. Bacopa monnieri (also known as brahmi, water hyssop, Bacopa monniera, and Herpestis monniera), is a creeping perennial with small oblong leaves

Bacopa monnieri has been used by Ayurvedic medical practitioners for centuries for a variety of purposes, including improving memory, reducing anxiety, and treating epilepsy. Bacopa monnieri contains powerful compounds that may have antioxidant effects

I even found a double blind placebo controlled study . It found that 62 patients in this study improved working memory and better visual memory in patients that consumed bacopa versus placebo. Another small study involved using 320 or 640 mg of bacopa versus placebo. Even at the lower dose of bacopa there was significant improvement in memory A larger study involving 465 elderly people 300 mg of bacopa for 12 months. Again this study showed improvement in memory in the bacopa users.

The purpose of todays blog is to start bacopa. Call Botanical Bounty at 646 723 1823 for your boost in memory

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 5, 2021 HONEY MUSHROM

All mushrooms are fascinating to me. From their growing, to where they are located in the world and to its medicinal properties Honey mushroom also known as Armillaria mellea is considered effective for epilepsy in traditional Chinese medicine. This mushroom helps reduce dizziness, tinnitus and does increase blood flow to the brain

After reading Christopher Hobbs book, Medicinal Mushrooms The Essential Guide I learned more about this mushroom. It can used as a substitute for a Chinese herb called Tian ma/ This is expensive herb in the Chinese culture.

I highly recommend Christopher Hobbs book to anyone interested in mushrooms. Whether you want to wild craft these mycology species and even eat them you need to know something about mushrooms.

The honey mushroom in found in abundance in fall and early winter. They can be ingested . Most are mild tasting and some can be a bit bitter. It has been reported that gastrointestinal upset may occur eating honeys if they are not well cooked.

Buy the book…

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 4, 2021 MONARCH BUTTERFLY

Slowly but gaining momentum is the presence of the Monarch Butterfly. There have been many books written about the Monarch Butterfly. As equally important to me as bees are the other pollinators. For this reason I read as much as I can. I plant flowers for are species of pollinators including the Monarch Butterfly. I am a activist on NO PESTICIDE use as this is the main reason for the decline in pollinator population as honeybees, brown bats, and butterflies.

Happiness comes in many forms. One of the happiest moments is sitting on my front porch watching the Monarch Butterflies on the Butterfly Bush.

Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is a beautiful, fast-growing, deciduous shrub with masses of blossoms—long, spiked trusses—that bloom from summer to mid Fall. There are a variety of colors. I have a species of deep violet.

The monarch butterfly is in trouble. Their numbers are down 90% of what they w ere in 1992. And the milkweed plant population, which is indispensable to the monarch, is also down 90%. Milkweed plants are the only source of food for the monarch caterpillar. But these plants are rapidly disappearing, due to the loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live.

You can help. Be an activist. Find a cause and help. Join www.saveourmonarchs.org . Recently I read about the epic migration of the monarch butterfly. It is amazing about their journey( or flight paths). I learned about east and west migration of this butterfly. Fascinating

Until tomorrow…

AUGUST 3, 2021 CBD FOR PAIN

Life has really flown by .. Before I knew it, my 60s have arrived and then I started to have new gifts. These gifts are knee and back pain, more stress and sleep issues. I knew I would get hand /finger pain as my father had issues with arthritis. Are these the beginning of the ‘ golden years’ ?

I have been preparing for these new gifts with my knowledge of herbs from Mother Earth. One of those gifts have been from the Hemp plant. I would have known of hemp from my 20s although not fond of THC/marijuana. About 6 years ago I discovered the benefits of the hemp plant from companies like Canbiola, Charlotte’s Web , Zebra CBD and many others. The AMA made a statement that 70 % of CBD products didn’t contain the amount of CBD stated on label. I started to research companies.

The earlier results of the benefits of CBD were good , but more clinical studies were needed. Those clinical studies have been done . There are tinctures, capsules, salves, cream and gummies on the market from various companies.

The various uses and benefits of CBD go beyond joint pain, anxiety and sleep. There are many clinical benefits of CBD and its cannabinoids. I use CBD for sleep on most nights and apply a CBD salve to my hands when not needlepointing.

Try CBD .. you will be pleasantly surprised

Until tomorrow…