Herbal Collective Source

By Marilyn Zink

Clearing up and drying mucous membranes is often what one thinks about when its comes to colds.

One herb that does that in spades is goldenseal.
This herb will dry up the mucous membranes that is often the first line of defence for colds.
Generally, we start to feel better when the nose isn’t running so much.

But is it really the best approach?

When taking goldenseal, it is important to be aware of how much to take to have the desired effect.

Sometimes the approach to take is the more, the better.
But this is not always true, especially when it comes to a powerful herb like goldenseal - which has effects on several organs in the body.

Knowing the correct amount to take of goldenseal, how often to take it and how long to take it can produce the desired effect to combat colds and flu.

What about contraindications?
Can anyone take goldenseal?

This is a herb that can be taken singly or as a part of a formula.
What is the best way to take it to combat a cold or flu?

Keep in mind that not everyone can take goldenseal, as it can have contraindicaitons for those with high blood pressure.

Want to learn more about goldenseal?
Taken correctly, this herb can have a powerful effect on healing the body.

Learn more by becoming a member of Herbguide - where you can learn about the top 7 herbs for colds and flu.

By Marilyn Zink
When the Old City Organics health food store opened in downtown Nanaimo, it seemed it was meant to be.
After months of talking about it off and on, Maureen Coughlin and Tracy Stewart decided to open the store.
“It was almost like, don’t put too much thought into it, just do it,” says Tracy.
“We knew what we were passionate about,” adds Maureen.  “We knew we could work together and manage.”
The two had previously worked together at Island Natural in Nanaimo’s north end – Maureen for 11 years and Tracy for five years.
“Tracy and I both managed the supplement and body care section, doing the merchandising and helping customers with their issues,” explains Maureen.
Prior to that Maureen was a familiar face working at Blue Skies Natural Foods when it operated in Nanaimo’s South End many years ago.

Tracy and Maureen, who met at a yoga class, talked off and on about opening a health food store together.

“Just talking about it, we formulated a plan,” says Tracy.
“We knew we wanted to come downtown. Then this spot came up.”
The spot is a storefront  on the busy Fitzwilliam St. in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter, just up from the oceanfront.
Once the women decided on a location, everything happened fast. 

“It was 10 weeks from the time we looked in the window until we opened the doors,” says Tracy.
The store opened on Nov. 15 and public response was positive.
“It seems like  the neighborhood is thrilled to have us,” says Tracy.
“People have said it’s like a European feel, where you go out to get fresh food,” adds Maureen. “It’s community.”

The  store is described as an affordable  one stop community health shop, with an emphasis on fresh, local and organic foods.
“We knew we wanted to focus more on local,” says Maureen.
Making it affordable for customers is an important tenet of the store.
“People hear organic, they tend to think it’s expensive,” says Tracy.
But that’s not the case with their store. The store also carries a range of local meats, tea, herbs, tinctures, honey and body care – many which are produced on Vancouver Island.Maureen says they have more than 20 local suppliers including supplement manufacturers Purica and Harmonic Arts, both from Vancouver Island.
Tea comes from the Cowichan Valley, meat from Parksville, raw foods from Qualicum, produce from Nanoose Edibles and Compassion Farm.
“Nanoose Edibles supplied us all winter with greens,” says Maureen. “We work pretty closely with (owner) Barbara.”
 The store has gluten free products (80% of the groceries are gluten free), raw foods and vegan options.
“We do get a lot of vegans in,” says Maureen.
Raw foods such as breads, cheesecake, mousse, QB bars and even raw pizza are popular.
On Wednesday fresh breads and milk from Avalon Dairies are brought in, “so Wednesday’s a pretty bustling day,”says Maureen. The store also has a good selection of Bach flower remedies, essential oils, homeopathy as well as natural makeup, bulk grains and bulk herbs.

All staff have trained in natural health courses so they are able to help customers with questions or concerns regarding their health.

 Both Maureen and Tracy studied natural health courses from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and Tracy became a nutritional products advisor.

By Marilyn Zink

Do you have a natural health goal for 2012?
Many people make resolutions, but have you ever broken down your resolutions into specific goals?
For instance, a goal for health, a goal for business, a goal for finances, etc.

When you reach your goals, regardless of what they are, they can all contribute to better health for you, equating to peace of mind, happiness, balance in your life, less worry, etc.

So back to a natural health goal.
I’m going to pick losing weight and getting more exercise as these are the most popular resolutions.

Many people decide to cut back on unhealthy food (nothing like bingeing over the holidays to make us feel guilty) and exercise more by going to the gym.

These resolutions usually fail after 6-8 weeks. Why?
Because they are too vague.

To achieve any resolution you need to have a specific end goal and visualize that.
So pick a date to achieve your goal. Let’s say you want to lose 25 pounds by the end of March.
That is an average  weight loss of 2 lbs a week, very manageable.

Now how are you going to lose that weight, exactly?
From a natural health perspective, eating more fruits and vegetables is a good idea.
Cutting out the processed foods and saturated fat is another good idea.

I find that the motivation to stick with a goal comes with getting excited about acheiving that goal.
For myself, I have found a protein drink that is a meal replacement which I can use for lunch with a light soup or salad.

Many people are sensitive to gluten, but even if  you’re not, cutting back or elminiating breads and baked goods made with wheat is a great way to start losing weight.  Try drinking a healthy smoothie every morning instead of coffee

So creating an alternative plan that you can get excited about will inspire you to stick with the plan of losing weight.

Do the same thing with exercise. If going to the gym seems boring and too much work, create an exercise plan that gets you excited. Maybe a dance class once or twice a week.

Go swimming or take up badminton or racquetball. Sports with racquets can be great calorie burners while swimming is an overall good body workout.

Go in the company of friends who will encourage you and inpsire you to keep going.
Mix up your exercise, so the body is always challenged and you have something to look forward to.

Now, to achieve any resolution you need to stick with it for 90 days.
It’s been said that 30 days is the length of time you need to create a new habit and after 90 days it becomes a lifestyle.

Visualize yourself happy, healthy, fit and trim and you will get there. 
Best wishes in achieving your resolutions.

To get more tips on losing weight and staying healthy in the New Year, get the Jan/Feb,’12 issue of the Herbal Collective.

Marilyn Zink is the publisher of the Herbal Collective magazine.  

By Marilyn Zink

Peppermint is one of the herbs that is popular at Christmastime.
What would a candy cane be without peppermint?

But peppermint is also popular in hot chocolate mixes and in chocolate treats, such as peppermint bark or a square or dessert.

While peppermint has a wonderful, breath-freshing flavour, it also has many therapeutic qualities.

Peppermint tea is good for the digestive system, so drinking this tea is particularly useful during the festive season when one has overindulged in rich foods.

In Roman mythology, peppermint originates with the nymph Mentha, whose beauty was so intoxicating to Pluto he professed his love for her. But Pluto’s wife was so angry she crushed Mentha into dust on the ground.

Poor Pluto had to transform her into the peppermint plant as he could not change her back. So Mentha was given a fresh scent so she would smell sweet whenever stepped on.

Peppermint is one of the most highly regarded herbs for soothing digestion, but it also has a stimulating quality that can help improve concentration and mental focus.

The essential oil of peppermint is also wonderful to use as well for digestive issues, if dislikes drinking the tea. 

Add 4-6 drops of the essential oil to a tablespoon of massage oil and rub over the stomach to relieve indigestion, flatulence and diarrhea.

The oil will also help to relieve nausea and will calm inflammation. Be careful when you use peppermint - if used at night it will be too stimulating and interfere with sleep!

Then you will need a calming oil such as lavender to relax enough to sleep.

Peppermint essential oil is wonderful to use in the bath and in bath salts.
To learn how to make bath salts with peppermint essential oil (or any other oil) visit Herbguide and choose full access membership.

It’s a sensitive topic – sexual and reproductive health.
Yet Susun S. Weed tackles it head on in her new book ‘Down There, Sexual and Reproductive Health, The Wise Woman Way.’Weed writes about various female issues such as vaginal dryness, vulvodynia (intense pain of the vulva), endometriosis, cervical issues and oh yeah, orgasms.There are also male issues affecting the penis, the testes and the prostate.Weed talks about the herbs that apply to these issues and how people can use them.
Herbs like comfrey, yarrow, oatstraw and saw palmetto for the prostate in men.
Specific instructions are provided and healing recipes in the ‘herbal pharmacy’ section of the book.
Some of these recipes have interesting names, such as ‘Bladder Buddy Brew,’ or ‘Crotch Cream,’  or ‘Potency Potion Soup’ and ‘Belly Laugh Bowlful.’Despite their names, the recipes are steeped in herbal wisdom designed to heal the body where it is needed most.With nearly 500 pages of herbal wisdom, it’s a book many people would love to have on their shelves. 

Now readers have a chance to win the book when they join Herbguide as a full access member. The book draw will be just before Christmas on Dec. 22.

Make sure you are on the Herbal Collective’s newsletter to get notified. This is a real book and the prize will be mailed out to the winner.

Why are we doing this?
Because we want to get the word out to as many people as possible that herbs really can improve your health, simply, effectively and often inexpensively.

Won’t you help spread the word?

Marilyn Zink is the publisher of the Herbal Collective magazine and administrator of Herbguide, a community site with information on all aspects of herbs.