The Humble Dandelion

Even now, my unmown lawn is covered in these beautiful little Sunshines-on-a-Stem. Most people write off this plant as just another invasive weed, but we herbalists know better. It is considered a valuable herb with many medicinal properties.  I use it in a number of my combinations to great effect.

The dandelion is most often used for its detoxification properties. It is well known as a liver and digestive cleanser, containing bitter principles that produce a tonic effect on these systems. Ever taken Swedish Bitters?

Keeping the Pressure Down - Blood Pressure, That Is

About a year ago, I had several people that I know talking with me about their high blood pressure and how difficult they were finding it to keep it under control even with their prescribed medications. Most of them say that they take their meds as directed and follow their doctors' dietary guidelines and were still having trouble keeping their numbers in an acceptable range. I wrote a blog post on my other blog that I have rewriten with my updated information added in.

Obviously, exercise plays a key role our health and it's true for blood pressure as anything else, even though the mere mention of this usually gets me an eye-roll, but I digress. Getting enough sleep is also very important as is maintaining a healthy stress level - sometimes considerably easier said than done which is when something like Tai Chi or Qigong can be beneficial.