Herbal Collective Source

By Marilyn Zink

Everyone experiences stress and I mean everyone - even plants!

You can tell a plant is stressed when it’s leaves droop - either because it’s just been moved or because it’s not getting enough water or nutrients.

But I’m here to talk about stress people experience - whether it’s from moving (that’s a biggie) financial stress (another biggie), relationships that are stressed, stress from health issues or other sources of stress. Though I think those are the four main sources of stress, unless you can come up with others.

I know about moving stress, as we recently moved. It’s unsettling and frustrating trying to get things organized and finding that some items have broken in the moving process.  But moving can also be good stress, as it’s cathartic when you realize it’s time to let go of some things and maybe get some new things to be better organized in your new place.

People have different ways of dealing with stress - and some ways just aren’t good. Using alcohol inappropriately or operating on a short ‘fuse’  with tempers that explode can just cause more stress. Sometimes a simple incident escalates into a major one if stress isn’t handled appropriately.

I like to use natural health techniques such as herbs and feng shui techniques to deal with stress. My personal favourite for herbs is lavender. But there are other useful herbs for stress as well.

Feng shui is another good way to deal with stress. Organizing your home or work environment with good feng shui so everything is in harmony can make all the difference as a place to feel good.

These are healing techniques and when you know about them, you just use them next time a stressful event occurs.

Find out how to use some of these natural health techniques and much more in a powerful free stress-busting event, where all you need is your phone.

By Elizabeth Herman

Summer finally seems to have arrived and that means more time outside.  Let’s take a look at some of the medicinal herbs growing all around us and consider how we might put them to use on the inevitable bumps and bruises that go along with time spent outdoors.  Many would call these herbs weeds, but their “weediness” means that they’re always around when we need them.  Lucky for us!

Plantain, both the broad-leafed variety (Plantago major) and the narrow-leafed variety (Plantago lanceolata) is one of my favourite lawn and sidewalk weeds and a great herb to teach children how to identify and use.  It has a reputation as a “drawing” herb, meaning that it helps to draw out unwanted items that find their way into our skin such as wasp venom and splinters.  It is easily applied as a spit poultice: find a clean specimen, chew it into a ball, and apply it to the affected area.  The mucilage in the leaves has a soothing effect on inflamed skin due to insect bites, scrapes, cuts, burns, and bruises. The tannins in the leaves are astringent and antimicrobial thereby helping to tone and heal wounded tissue.

With all the rain we were having, it is still possible to find the lovely little spring herb Chickweed (Stellaria media) in the shadier areas of the yard.  Long eaten as a nutritious spring green, Chickweed is also an excellent herb for the skin, especially itchy skin.  It can be made into a spit poultice for those emergency situations, but is also very effective if juiced or made into a tea.  Unlike many herbs, it must be used fresh to be effective.  Use it to soothe insect bites, contact dermatitis, scrapes, and burns, including sunburns.

They say that once you have Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) in your yard, you’ll never get rid of it.  Fortunately, it can be put to good use!  Comfrey leaf contains a chemical called alantoin, which stimulates cell proliferation and promotes wound healing.  It is very effective for shallow wounds, bruises, and scrapes but should not be used on deeper wounds because it may cause them to close over at the surface before deeper healing has taken place. 

For deeper wounds, Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is the herb of choice.  Yarrow contains essential oils, which give it antiseptic properties and is also anti-inflammatory and astringent.  Yarrow is effective at stopping bleeding and the leaves can literally be crushed and inserted into the nostril to stop nosebleeds.  Funny-looking but effective in a pinch!

Last but not least is St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), so named because it blooms around the feast of St. John, the 24^th of June.  St. John’s Wort is useful for cuts and scrapes, but has earned a reputation for burns in particular.  Extracts of St. John’s Wort have a strong antiseptic and astringent effect that counters infection, tightens damaged tissue, and stimulates scab formation. 

All of these herbs can be easily made into infused oils and stored until needed.  Simply fill a jar with freshly dried herb and cover with olive oil.  Set the jar in a warm, sunny place to allow the oil to extract the herbal constituents.  After about two weeks, strain off the oil and store it in an airtight container in a dark place.  The infused oils can be applied directly to the skin or, for those ambitious medicine-makers out there, made into creams and salves. 

 If you’re not already familiar with these plants, take a guided plant walk, look for pictures online or find yourself a good plant identification guide before attempting to use them.  I’ve provided the Latin names so you can be sure you’ve got the right plant.  Wishing you all a safe, fun-filled summer in the great outdoors!This article was first published in the Herbal Collective’s July/August’10 issue. Get a Herbal Collective magazine delivered to your door. 

By Marilyn Zink

It’s been about 10 days since I started my weight loss plan by removing sugar and white flour products from my diet.
I confess I haven’t been 100% faithful, but I have stuck to it pretty much every day. I did use a bun for my salmon burger and used whole wheat tortillas to make burritos and quesadillas.

Despite that, I lost about 3 pounds. I was hoping to lose more but that would require 100% commitment. Still, I want it to be a healthy weight loss.
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, after some time towards your weight loss goals, you might slip up a few times.  You might question if you should keep going.

Yes, most definitely. With the weight loss plan I have been following, I have never been hungry. Ok - I was hungry a few times because I left it too long between lunch and dinner.

That is not a good thing. Because when you get to that stage where you experience that gnawing feeling in your stomach, you’re ready to eat almost anything and will likely eat too much.  So, make sure you have a healthy snack.

My healthy snacks have consisted of peanut butter on rice cakes, a handful of nuts or those little cans of tuna where you can get an Italian version with beans and corn or a Thai version with rice.  These are healthy and filling, as the protein fills you up.

That’s one thing that’s really important. Make sure you eat enough protein. I had a 3 egg omelette one morning for breakfast, nothing else, and I was full.

So even if you backslide on a diet, just keep on following the plan. I’m sticking to my no bread, no sugar plan. I want to lose another 3-5 pounds by next week.

By Marilyn Zink

I just read an article on Yahoo that stated the four bad habits of poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking and drinking too much can age you by 12 years. That’s a significant number of years. We all know about the smoking, drinking and exercise. It’s the poor diet where people can be a little fuzzy.

What one person thinks is a healthy diet isn’t for another person. If you took people who ate dairy products and red meat regularly (what my husband calls a meatarian), vegetarians, vegans and raw foodists and put them all in a room, you could come up with some pretty interesting conversations.

I’m what you might call a quasi vegetarian. I eat eggs and fish, but no dairy or other meat products. I like a Mediterranean type diet fused with West Coast (got to have salmon, wild of course), Mexican and Asian foods. It’s a combination of fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy grains, lean proteins and good fats. You just have to go easy on the tortilla chips and guacamole when it comes to Mexican food.

What’s even more important is that a healthy diet is low in simple sugars. Why is sugar so bad? Sugar - and that means fructose, glucose, corn syrup, etc. can cause inflammation in the body. An inflammatory condition can lead to disease. 

Here’s another reason to avoid sugar. Eating sugar spikes insulin levels and leads to cravings for more sugary foods. So the more sugar you eat, the more you want, the fatter you get. Eat less sugar and more healthy foods like lean proteins and good fats and you stay fuller longer.  Eat proteins with every meal and combine fats with carbohydrates so you digest it slower.

So you eat less food because you are satisfied.  I have a theory which is actually quite factual that people can lose weight by giving up bread and sugar. That would mean anything made with white flour and all types of sugar products.

I have put that theory to the test this week, because I want to lose some weight for summer. All the weight loss programs I’ve seen have utilized meats and dairy, which I avoid. I have avoided bread and sugar, including fruits (except for grapefruit).  I have eaten rice, but always with fats or proteins.   And I haven’t been hungry!

I have been using herbs and spices and making up meals in my slow cooker. I will keep adding to this blog with more information on the types of foods a vegetarian like myself can use to lose weight. I also look forward to your comments!

Laser acutherapy and neurofeedback therapy are two new health and wellness services offered by the Honeymoon Bay Lodge & Retreat set in the beautiful Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Laser acutherapy is similar to acupuncture except that a soft laser is used in replace of needles. The soft laser is placed on the acupuncture point, stimulating it similar to the way acupuncture needles do. It is primarily used to serve two purposes: an anaesthetic effect and the stimulation of acupuncture points in a therapeutic program. The procedure has some distinct advantages over the traditional needle method. Many patients who are usually afraid of needles, such as children, prefer this. Use of a laser makes it typically a non-invasive, aseptic procedure which significantly reduces the pain and recovery time associated with invasive treatment and improves circulation.
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Neurofeedback therapy, also known as EEG Biofeedback or Neurotherapy, is an exercise for the brain that helps to improve and regulate brain function. It is ideal for people who feel like they are stuck in a certain way of functioning and want to change. It helps reduce stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and it has also shown to help those with addictions, attention deficit disorder, autism, and with chronic pain relief. It can improve performance in areas of concentration and attention. Learn more about neurofeedback at www.eeginfo.com.

Chris Clarke, B.C. and his wife Jennifer, have joined the wellness team to provide these services.
Chris holds a Masters’ of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology (M.A.C.P.) and practices as a British Columbia registered clinical counselor (R.C.C.) on Vancouver Island. He has also practiced in the natural health field for over 13 years and is a registered nutritional consultant Practitioner (R.N.C.P.)

Jennifer, a Natural Health Practitioner, has more than 15 years experience in nutrition, herbology, massage, Chinese Medicine, spa therapies, and natural health testing. With a special interest in detoxification, lymphatic drainage, relaxation, and stress reduction, Jennifer has been an informational resource in the widely expanding area of natural medicine. She can help clients choose an individualized program to meet their nutritional and lifestyle needs.

The Retreat also offers a full spectrum of body treatments, including the ultimate relaxation massage to help your body unwind or clients can soak in the saltwater hot tub or relax in the infra-red sauna. There is an executive chef who is happy to accommodate individual dietary needs, using local organic foods.

Honeymoon Bay Lodge & Retreat, a not-for-profit, health & wellness centre, is 1.5 hours from Victoria or Nanaimo in the Cowichan Valley.
Call Toll-Free 1-888-749-4252 or 1-250-749-4252.