January 15, 2024 · 6:10 pm

On Cholesterol, or No One Really Likes Statins Do They?

Over the years it seems like I’ve heard about cholesterol continually. My first husband was always avoiding eggs and butter because cholesterol ran in his family, and my current husband Jon is locked in mortal battle with the matter of whether to take statins, which give him muscle weakness.

Historically I’ve avoided medical literature because … well, it’s pretty dry. Recently, though, I sat down and read about cholesterol because I want to help Jon deal with it. I’m an herbalist and feel confident that if I help him modify his diet and supplement with supportive herbs and relevant lifestyle changes we can ward off his doctor’s requests that he take statins. The proof will be in the pudding of his next cholesterol screening, but in the meantime we’re on this train. 

So, here’s what I learned about cholesterol, which turns out to have an actual purpose in our bodies:

“Stress, toxins, alcohol, and many other substances create free radicals in the body by catabolizing (breaking down) oxygen molecules into reactive oxygen species, which are single atoms of oxygen that have extra “unpaired” electrons.  These “excited” electrons cleave onto other electrons in body tissues and walls of arteries, creating micro-wounds.  This is the same process that causes metal to rust – aka oxidation…

… In order to repair damaged tissue, hormones signal the liver to release cholesterol, which is a life-saving endogenous antioxidant.  Cholesterol repairs the wound. But when this type of oxidation is continual, day in and day out, the excessive wounding creates an immune response, which generates more tissue irritability and more cholesterol, and that builds up into plaque…

Paradoxically, “… the discovery of cholesterol plaque build up in arteries led to a misconception that high cholesterol is a cause of heart disease.  In fact, one cause of heart disease is the inflammation that triggers the release of cholesterol…”  (Maier, from Energetic Herbalism)

So, cholesterol serves a function in the body – it tries to protect the heart. And, heat and inflammation are healed by cholesterol.  We are treating elevated cholesterol levels with statins, but we aren’t treating heat and inflammation with them. So we’re treating a symptom, not the cause of the problem.

… And statins can cause liver damage and the breakdown of muscle tissue.  Maier says it is important to check liver function every 3-6 months when taking statins.  I’ll ask if liver function tests have come up during Jon’s odyssey with statins – he hasn’t mentioned it.

So what are the recommendations for lowering cholesterol production/reduction of inflammation and heat of oxidation?

  • Lower Sugar Intake – sugar causes cell to make its own cholesterol, which isn’t taken up and contributes to ldl levels.   (it’s such a bummer about sugar. it’s so tasty)
  • Consume antioxidants: red, blue, and purple berries, including aronia berries, blueberries, pomegranates, elderberries, and dark green vegetables
  • Sedative sour herbs: sumac (Rhus spp) and hibiscus help clear inflammation, also Roselle (H. Sabdariffa) has antioxidant effects, esp related to cholesterol.
  • 1 clove of garlic daily 
  • 25 g of oatbran on breakfast cereal
  • 1-2 tsp of oolong (especially Pu erh tea/day  (from Ody, Complete Medicinal Herbal)
  • Oyster mushrooms seem to have a cholesterol-lowering affect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464610000630)

Some other interesting things to know about cholesterol and how it functions in your body:

  • Production of sex hormones, adrenal hormones including cortisol, corticosterone, and aldosterone
  • Production of bile
  • Necessary for production of vitamin D in the body
  • Important for the metabolism of fat-soluble vitamins
  • Insulating material for nerve fibers
  • Regulation of serotonin
  • Maintenance of cell membrane permeability
  • Essential role in preservation of memory

And about Red yeast rice extract - it is made from fermentation of rice with Monascus purpureus yeast.  This is the substance statin drugs have been produced from and is as effective as statins but takes longer (~6 months) to have an effect on cholesterol levels and must be taken with CoQ10.  CoQ10 is a hormone (called ubiquonone) which is found in every cell of the body and is stored in the mitochondria (organelles that power our cells). It also acts as an antioxidant.  Statins cause so much damage because they severely diminish natural production of CoQ10.  Red yeast rice does, too, but at a much lower rate. 

It’s important to know that red yeast rices is a symptomatic treatment in that is lowers cholesterol levels but is does not treat inflammation, which is the cause of the elevated cholesterol production.  (above from Maier, Energetic Herbalism)

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 30, 2023 · 1:12 pm

Awesome Herbal Burn (or all-purpose) Salve

dated burn salve tin label

One night this week I decided to roast some honeynut squash for dinner. We store our cast iron pans in the stove sometimes, and that night that was where they were. Jon started the oven and sometime later we realized the pans were in the oven heating up, so we removed them with hot mitts and went back to slicing squash, listening to Ike Quebec (jazz) and enjoying a glass of red wine.

Predictably, moments later I reached to move the pans aside and, touching the pan handle, burned myself. Sizzle – ouch!

I remembered immediately that this summer during my course in herbalism I made all-purpose (aka burn) salve, and reached into the cabinet for it. After a few minutes of rubbing the salve into my burned skin my hand felt miraculously better.

To be honest I was surprised.

I knew the salve would have healing properties, I knew the the scarring I usually have on my hands after burning myself in the kitchen would likely be far less angry and noticeable. But I didn’t expect that the salve would stop the pain. I was astonished that it did. By the time we sat down to dinner I didn’t have any pain.

the salve consistency shown in jar and on fingers

Rosemary Gladstar, who shared this recipe in an herbalism class I took this year, says that this salve is an all-purpose salve and can be used for rashes, cuts, wounds, even diaper rashes. I made it for myself as a burn salve – I knew it would come in handy.

In the past I have tried other burn remedies from the pharmacy — cooling sprays, antibiotic pain relieving creams … and of course running burnt skin under cold water. Always I’m left with a day or two of burning pain and a blister or mark that lasts days or weeks. Not this time.

I did run some cold water over the burn immediately, and only for a moment, before applying the salve, but the salve made all the difference. So I want to share how to make it for other cooks who, like me, sometimes burn themselves in the kitchen, or for anyone that’s looking for an honest and effective skin salve. Enjoy!

Rosemary Gladstar’s All-Purpose (aka Burn) Salve recipe

1 part st. john’s wort leaf and flower

1 part comfrey leaf

1 part calendula flowers

olive oil (or sunflower oil)

beeswax

Step 1: Place each of the herbs in a glass jar and cover with 1-2 inches of oil. Place in a sunny window and let infuse for 2-3 weeks (I left mine a little longer). Strain and rebottle. label and date.

To make the salve strain the oil. For each cup of herbal oil add 1/4 cup beeswax. heat the oil and beeswax together over very low heat to melt the beeswax. The beeswax will thicken as it cools.

To check for firmness do a quick consistency test: place 1 tablesppon of the mixture in the freeze for a minute or two. check to be sure its the firmness you want. For harder salve, add more beeswax, for softer salve, add more oil.

When you are happy with the consistency of the salve remove from heat and pour into glass jars or tins. Store in a cool dry place.

freshly jarred st johns wort oil and cbd salve

Please feel free to send me any questions you have about the salve or the process of making it!

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

October 24, 2023 · 4:03 pm

New Moon in Libra over Cape Cod Cranberries

libra tatoo on inside of Inga’s saturn finger

The Moon was new in Libra this last time on October 14th … Libra, our sister of relationships, give and take, harmony, cooperation, socializing and diplomacy…

I find myself wondering where (other than in my lovely daughter’s handshake) our sister libra is hiding, lately.

Wherever she’s got to, I’m hitting pause to look at what I’m doing to channel some of her grace and good looks in my own space.

I’ve noticed over the last few weeks (maybe longer) that it’s been harder and harder to conjure a smile, harder to keep a cool and lovely demeanor. We are short-staffed and under increasing pressure at work. The news is full of war images and climate change looms large.

So I took a walk looking for libra. I left my desk early after a long day of trying to do too much with too little, put on my shoes and a jacket, and drove to a nearby cranberry bog. We recently downsized to a little cape on Cape Cod (more on that in the next blog), and our spot is close to a bog that stretches for a few acres. It’s privately owned, sports a sign that reminds folks to clean up after their dogs, and was just recently harvested. In the photo below, taken last week, the bog was flooded and the cranberries are floating on top of the water.

So I drove to the bog, parked my car, and started to walk. Crickets chirped. I passed a young man wearing sound cancelling headphones. I walked for a while, came to a small white shack that seemed to house a pump for managing water in and out of the bog. I paused to look at the pipes that emerged from it’s clapboard side, went into the ground, and emerged into a stream along the edge of the cranberries. And then I started back the way I had come.

A couple of kids on bikes zoomed by me. The trail along the bog was sandy, behind me they stopped suddenly, stuck in the sand. Shadows reaching over the tree line to the west were growing longer, but the sun on the east side of the bog, where I was walking, was still warm.

My mind was strangely quiet – there was less monkey brain than usual. Mallard ducks glided over the surface of one of the bog’s streams. Further on, seven ducks sat on a berm sunning themselves, their beautiful feathers reflecting autumn sunlight. And there were voices behind the tree line to the east. I turned right to cross a berm toward the west side of the bog, where my car was parked.

A man and his son approached, emerging from shadows, the boy flicking a stick into the water happily. When we crossed paths, the boy looked me in the eye and said “hello!” before continuing on his way. His father and I nodded acknowledgement in turn, and they continued on their way into the sun-soaked east side, toward the ducks. It felt harmonious, even lightly social.

Returning to my car I found two others parked next to me, all in a row, arrived after I had. I presumed they were there to watch the sun brighten the bog and then sink behind the trees. Maybe they did this often and knew they’d see ducks paddling through the water, and listen to crickets chirp.

I felt the hint of. a smile cross my face.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

July 26, 2023 · 11:37 am

Santorini

Santorini is volcanic, sun drenched. It’s dramatic, beautiful, and full of art. This week, it’s also hot as hell. There are fires in Rhodes – another island in the greek Aegean. But here, it’s business as usual, except for the heat.

We’re staying at a wonderful place – the Christos Apartments, Oia. It’s family run, two brothers, a father originator, the family. They are hospitable, help with our arrangements, and there is a beautiful terrace overlooking the sunset – the photo above is mine from last night from that terrace.

Oia is said to be the most beautiful place on the island. After touring a few spots I agree.

The catamaran cruises are wonderful. The archaeological tours are amazing and educational. There are talented, educated, kind people from all around Greece summering here for extra income – driving, sailing, waiting tables. They are horticulturalists, builders – coming from other professions to spend a few months here with the tourists on this beautiful island. They work long hours, though.

The way to see the island properly is to take a catamaran.

Aside from relaxing over the water and catching many rays, the views are mind blowing – and cannot be done the remotest justice with my camera – and one can truly get a sense of the place. The others on the tour were mostly Americans, the “transfer” – a taxi lift – somewhat chaotic with cliffside views – ended with a drop off on the pier and a welcoming crew ready to take us out. After enjoying views of the islands we stopped to swim and the chef made us a lovely spread of all sorts of delicious food. The crew was Anatalie, Cosmos, and two other unnamed smiling crewmates – one identified as “the chef!” and one that steered the catamaran. Anatalie navigated the shifting deck with true sea-legs, taking pictures on request and answering questions. Cosmos, an agriculturalist that grows olive trees in a place I can’t remember on the mainland, was friendly, talkative, down to earth, and tied us up at all stops.

The archaeological tour felt like more than I paid for. We expected to tour Akrotiri – a greek Pompeii that dates back about 2000 years earlier than Pompeii. We were treated to a tour of mount Elias first thing – a beautiful monastery atop a mountain.

Our tour guide Tanya of Kamari tours spoke to everyone in their native tongue – Greek, English, German, and French. At least. There may have been other languages. We saw Pyrgos, which was beautiful – full of architectural interest, toured a cave that was once the home of native santorinians, learned many things of interest, including about how donkeys stable in caves to stay cool, capers plants that grow everywhere, and wine vines that are not trellised but instead wrap in circles.

We learned about private churches and why there are stones in roofs (to give builders and workers a foothold).

And she walked us to a terrace overlooking red beach, which was very dramatic.

There were winds this week – they were heavenly. Not as many today, though. I’m told it’s the hottest day so far at 45 celsius. And of course the trend is… warming, warming. Our AC is out; we have a fan, now, and as I write we come to just after 6pm – two hours before our magical sunset here in Oia (pronounced EE-a) and the temps starting to ease, there is a breeze starting to appear.

Tomorrow we have a wine tour – we learned one of the oldest (perhaps the oldest?) export Santorini has. I’ll write more about volcanic beaches, ancient cities, and nights on the caldera in the next post. For now, I go to find some souvlaki and watch the sunset….

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

June 26, 2023 · 5:24 pm

The Remembering

Harvested Chamomile flowers

Medicine as an art and science holds us all in a little bit of awe. The ability to heal — whether it’s a broken bone, chronic pain, or heart condition — commands a kind of respect and reverence from most of us that few professions outside of medicine enjoy.

We entrust our medicine, mostly, to our doctors, who in turn practice a kind of allopathic medicine that focuses on drugs, radiation, surgery, and other interventions for acute problems, often to life-saving effect.

Short of needing treatment for acute problems, though, we have what some call “the people’s medicine.” Things like fatigue, pain, constipation, depression, and other conditions may require allopathic intervention, and/but we also have the means to provide ourselves with support and encourage healing and well-being using foods and plants that come from the land, are gentler, and are more based in simple plant medicine.

I bought chamomile seeds last year, spread them in the garden, and watered them. German chamomile is easy to grow and I soon had a pretty patch of chamomile flowers. I admired them but I didn’t cut them. I was too busy working my corporate job, taking care of the family. But also, I was acquainting myself, learning about the chamomile.

They self seeded and again – miraculously, I felt – I have a beautiful patch of chamomile in about the same place as they grew last year. This year is different, though. I felt like we’ve been introduced, like we are friends, like they’d come back because they like me. And I felt comfortable asking for some flowers.

chamomile growing in my herb garden

The photo at top was taken just after cutting some of the flower heads the week before last. It’s not easy! Leaning over a patch of chamomile and carefully cutting the flowers into a bowl takes some back strength! But I had a bowl of beautiful, delicate flowers to show for my efforts when I was done. Here they are drying on a board:

Dried, they make a lovely tea that encourages relaxation and sleep. I’m often pretty tense and find sleeping hard. But on the nights I made myself a cup of this tea I slept a lot better. I was more relaxed and felt better in general. And chamomile helps reduce inflammation, which I’ve had in my knee, lately, and which seems to be improving.

I realized, cutting the flowers and drinking them as tea, that somehow the whole thing was very familiar, like I remembered the experience rather than discovered it new. The taste and affect of the tea was the same – as if I’ve felt and tasted this before. It was a more intense relaxation and rest than the chamomile tea I’ve purchased, and that felt familiar, too. Like medicine.

I have begun to learn about herbalism. The teachers I’ve met so far say that if you’re called to this discipline it’s more of a remembering than a learning.

I think they are right.

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

April 4, 2023 · 4:58 pm

Equinox Unfolding

Miniature Daffodils emerging - March

A friend of mine used to say “spring always comes.” That sentence is loaded with meaning, of course, and the comfort that comes with that simple statement goes deep and far.

Happily Roger was proven right again this year and spring dawns in the northeast as usual — as usual…

snowbells

Just that phrase. Since 2020 nothing has felt “usual” – but spring has come, *as usual*, thank the gods. Snowdrops have come and gone, crocus and daffodils are up, tree buds are visible and I’m thinking about summer porch furniture. As usual.

Some other usual things … the mailboxes of our hometown after a winter of (not much) snow plowing:

Mailbox plowed to the ground. The rest of the post is still buried.

Year after year we marvel at the ingenuity of people’s solutions to this perennial problem. People are very creative!

broken duck-taped mailbox
Hellebore

Yes, the comfort of the usual, maybe not entirely predictable things. Welcome, spring.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , ,

March 27, 2023 · 5:11 pm

Egg Business

Yes, we’ve entered egg season. Not just because it’s Easter time and every store features chocolate eggs of every color and size, and marshmallow chics, but also egg production is in full swing here. We started to find small eggs during the last week of January, which really surprised me, but now! We have tons of eggs every day.

I got these new chicks at the end of last summer – a little late to be getting chickens, actually, bug they grew fast and by the time the cold New England nights set in they were pretty well grown.

Now our girls, based on my advanced math (number of eggs – number of chickens), produce more than one egg per chicken on some days. And even though I love to cook and bake– and I really like scrambled eggs with fresh chives from the kitchen garden and flourless chocolate cake– that is just too many eggs for us to eat.

So now I have a small overstock business.

Besides producing a million eggs, chickens are miraculous. They are beautiful – their feathers are so soft and colorful. They have downy fluffy bloomers:

That is serious chicken porn in that picture. They make lots of manure that is awesome for my garden (a little tough to shovel but you can’t have everything). And they have so much personality. Each one of them is an individual. The chicken in the photo above, named Summer, greets me every day at the door when I enter the henhouse.

A final word on chicken eggs. They are a little like a box of chocolates. You never really know what you’re going to get:

Some eggs are big (double-yolkers). For scale, the others are large eggs!

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 18, 2022 · 10:49 am

Versatile and Beautiful Lavender

Summer Lavender Grosso

Above, a hedge of lavender next to my driveway popped into glorious fragrant bloom in June. I don’t know who was more excited – me or the bumble bees.

I can never bring myself to cut the flowers while they are in full bloom – the sun on the flowers is too glorious. But when they’ve passed their prime they still cut beautifully and are wonderfully fragrant.

Cut lavender fills the kitchen with fragrance

When my son’s girlfriend saw my giant pile of cut lavender she immediately thought of lavender lemonade, and took a handful to make lavender syrup. It was delicious.

Easy to grow and easily available, lavender will grace your garden, attract pollinators, and is truly a sensory joy. Lavender is drought tolerant, does well in zones 6-10.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

May 28, 2022 · 4:29 pm

Weeds

A good-sized pile of weeds for this early in the year and the hoe that helped dig them out.

I don’t know anyone that likes weeding. It’s back-breaking, necessary work. Sure, there’s some satisfaction in a weed-free garden bed but it’s short-lived. The weeds are back almost immediately, it seems.

So today was weed the garden beds day. I didn’t get them all weeded – I only managed to weed two of them. It was overcast, which is good weeding weather, and it had to be done.

And it’s fine. Pulling weeds from around the lettuce and knowing I’d be eating it in a salad later created a sense of calm and purpose. I took a break around noon, cut enough lettuce to fill a big colander, pulled a couple of radish, and came in to enjoy a nourishing lunch. It’s the most basic luxury to have to pay attention to when it rains (or doesn’t) and to know that aside from the nutrients in the soil there’s just water and sunshine in your food. And no plastic waste.

young swiss chard and pepper plants in the near bed, cutting lettuce behind it, beets and asparagus in the rear.

Back to weeding… I always joke with my husband that grass only grows where I don’t want it to. It never seems happy to grow on the designated lawn area, it much prefers my garden and our driveway.

Other “weeds” – verbena, squash, and tomato that self seeded, were spared. It’s tough to pull plants I’ve actually bought/planted just because they are growing in an inopportune spot. I dug out some verbena and put them in a spot near the kitchen window where I can watch the monarch butterflies visit their vivid purple flowers this summer. And the squash and tomatoes… I have a suspicion the squash is actually pumpkins. Last year they took over the garden because I felt bad pulling them out. In the end they crowded out the butternut squash, which I won’t let happen twice.

wildflowers in the west field

And then there are the pretty weeds, like the wildflowers that grow in our fields. These pretty daisy-like flowers pictured above, buttercups, purple, red, and blue flowers… we mow around them.

I’ll leave you with a photo of our cat, who really enjoys watching all of the activity at the birdhouse you can see pictured. It is nestled in a giant beast of a climbing hydrangea that has taken over one wall of our garage and is adjacent to a raspberry patch that is trying to take over the west field. Smudge (the cat) may be aware that there is a nest with baby birds … and the constant coming and going is the parents feeding their little ones. Or maybe not.

I always wonder what our cats are thinking.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

May 22, 2022 · 8:46 pm

May in New England is Heaven

Lilacs nodding in the sun

Many would say that the months between and including December and April are too damn cold in New England. On most days I am among those people, saying to anyone who will listen that New England is no place to age.

But then May comes.

Along with the trees bursting to life in bright spring green, pink, white, red and yellow, the lilacs appear. For a couple of weeks the air is fragrant with them. Lilly of the valley perfume the air at night, a sweet, haunting, beautiful scent. And (where applicable) strawberry flowers open delicate white petals to the new sun.

Strawberry flowers

And the forget-me-nots, chives with their globes of purple flowers, bleeding hearts– all of this after the famous bulbs. It’s like having a baby – you forget the pain of childbirth when you hold a baby in your arms. A similar thing happens here in May. The discomfort of winter fades and softens, replaced by wonder, joy and pleasure. Also lettuce, snap peas, radishes and rhubarb. 🙂

forget-me-nots

As I write this I’m sitting on the porch listening to crickets. The last of the day’s light illuminates the sky in periwinkle-gray, the trees make dark silhouettes and the last intrepid birds are still singing — calling home family members that have stayed out too long, perhaps. A flash of pink lightening in the sky.

Pretty heavenly.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,