I don't always get to wild harvest the medicine I make. But when I do...it's incredible. I should also say...empowering. St. John's Wort is one of those herbs. It's known to bring light into people's lives. This is especially important for those of us who have long winters. St. John's Wort is the perfect sidekick to a diet rich in vitamin D for those dark months. 

I am happy to say that my harvest and medicine making is now complete! Head over to my Store to purchase a bottle for yourself!

(but please scroll down and read the contraindications for this herb...it cannot be mixed with pharmaceuticals)

It's that time of year.
Johnny and I caught a bug this week so I thought I'd revisit some of my cold/flu protocols. I realize I haven't been on top of my game lately, ideally I would be doing some proactive/preventative care every single day, in sickness and in health, but we all fall off the band wagon sometimes.
Here is my protocol for supporting yourself with a cold:

Photos from:
http://www.christopherhobbs.com/wp-website/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Usnea-booklet-text.pdf

Uses:
Fungal infections
Acute bacterial infections
Lupus (auto-immunity)
Second and Third degree burns
Athletes Foot
Ringworm
Urinary tract infection
Colds/Flu
Tuberculosis
Sinus Infections

Preparation/use
Tincture:
1:5 (herb to liquid ratio) 80% Alcohol
Dilute in water as it can be an irritating tincture

Specific dose:
Dropper 2-3x a day for acute bacterial infections

It's normal. It really is.
Stress. Depression. Panic. Unease. 
It gets worse with that slow, mellow, drowning on the daily. 
It gets worse when we aren't in control.
When we have no sanctuary.
Nothing to look forward to.
It's when we're misunderstood.
It's when we're exhausted but can't sleep.
It's when our mind doesn't turn off.

At night.
I lie awake.
​Trying to come to terms.
Trying to control what happens next by thinking about it endlessly.
Sometimes my heart beat won't slow.
Sometimes my mind won't just go
To sleep.

They should put me in AA.
My hereditary marks me with Allergies and Anxiety.
Allergies I've fought with healing foods and cleansing.
Anxiety rears it's head when I'm fending
off the daily demons.
When I have no control.
Nothing to look forward to.
And nothing to hold.

Our culture has founded this feeling.
By aggressively speaking:
"SUCCEED SUCCEED SUCCEED"
"DO IT ALL. DO IT ALL. DO IT ALL."

Wendell Berry comes in beautifully 
And says,
"When despair for the world grows in me 
and I wake in the night at the least sound 
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, 
I go and lie down where the wood drake 
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. 
I come into the peace of wild things 
who do not tax their lives with forethought 
of grief. I come into the presence of still water. 
And I feel above me the day-blind stars 
waiting with their light. For a time 
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."

We need to gather up a tool box
And fend off the thoughts 
When they become all-consuming
When they steal our joy
And our sleep

We need to plan adventures
Things to look forward to
We need to meditate
Take baths
Read books
Write poems
Take herbs to support us
Eat food to stabilize us
Go into the wilderness
Get away from everyone
Love ourselves
Let others love us

Anxiety is hard to combat. Sometimes our circumstances are unavoidable but with a tool box in place we can support our bodies through it.

{I've created two herbal supports for Anxiety and have a third for Depression on the way. The mind is what fascinates me the most and I plan on specializing in Nutritional Therapy, Herbalism and Poetry Therapy for those who suffer from the debilitating aspects of Anxiety. You're not alone…not even close.}
​

            We all know the blunt fact: sugar is bad for you, yet we don’t know how to curb our ravenous cravings for this white gold. The alluring sweets and treats enter our vision and waft into our noses on the daily, whether we have them in our household or not. We have to pass them in the grocery store when we’re stressed out and weak from a day at work or we have a child relentlessly tugging on our arm to buy them sugary snacks that we end up indulging in as well. We have to see magnificent cakes and pastries on the menu at restaurants and behind thin glass at our coffee shops. We have treats offered to us by friends and displayed freely down long tables at weddings, waiting for us.
           The problem of sugar cravings goes incredibly deep. We’ve actually changed our taste buds by overpowering them with sweeter and saltier things than you could find in nature. This is because we’ve isolated sugar from the sugar cane plant. The sugar cane plant, believe it or not, is very high in minerals, this is the same with things like berries and fruit, they have sugar in them but they also have minerals, vitamins and fiber. When sugar is isolated it’s more intense and it damages our bodies when separated from it’s co-factors. The damage I am talking about comes in a few forms, the first is the elevation of blood sugar causing blood sugar dysregulation, fatigue, insulin resistance and diabetes.  The second is something called glycation, put simply, this is when sugar and proteins react with one another to create “sticky” proteins that end up damaging body systems including the brain and our arteries. (think Alzheimers and congestive heart failure) So sugar is something we don’t want to mess around with or take lightly.
            The other day I was presented with a beautiful piece of cake. I thought to myself, I’ll try a bite! It was made with high quality ingredients and complex flavors. The first bite was good, the second bite was less appealing and by the third bite I couldn’t handle the sweetness. This is because I have trained my taste buds to appreciate the sweetness in natural things, like fruit or raw milk. The sweetest thing I eat is a Paleo Dutch baby (which is basically eggs, arrowroot flour, coconut milk, vanilla and lots of butter for cooking) with berries on top. I never add sweeteners, not even honey anymore. But guess what? I don’t miss sugar one bit, and I don’t crave it anymore. It’s possible for you to get here too!
            The problem is the food industry has made things sweeter and saltier every year so that our taste buds will change. Slowly but surely we are unable to resist unhealthy foods because of our intense cravings. But there is hope.  
 
Here are some steps:
 
 #1 Add in the Minerals/Vitamins/Amino Acids that your body really wants.
To start, we should add in healthy foods that meet our deepest body desires for minerals, vitamins and satiation. A lot of times sugar cravings are caused by deficiencies. Here are a few possible deficiencies and which foods to start incorporating:
 
Chromium:  An essential nutrient for blood sugar regulation, an essential component of Glucose Tolerance Factor, which helps insulin bind to the appropriate receptor on the cell surface Functions in fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism
Found in: Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans, calves liver, chicken
Carbon:
Fresh Fruits
Phosphorus:
Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains
Sulfur:
Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage
Tryptophan:
Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
 
#2 Add in Bone Broth soups.
Bone broth is incredibly high in minerals. Because sugar cravings can be caused by mineral deficiencies, as I mentioned above, this is a must have in the diet.
 
#3 Add in Healthy Fats.
Fats are incredible for satiation and curbing cravings. Including these in your diet not only gives you more satiation but healthy fats actually slow the absorption of sugar into your blood stream so that you don’t have a blood sugar spike.
Add these into your diet: Grass fed animal products like Lard and Butter, Coconut Oil, Avocado, Fish Oil, Etc. Healthy fats are long lasting energy sources that will curb your cravings and leave you feeling satisfied for much longer than a carb heavy meal.
 
#4 Lower Carbohydrate intake: especially refined Carbs.
Carbs actually turn into sugar in your body so it’s best to minimize those and get them in the form of vegetables and fruits.
 
#5 Add in more of the other tastes.
Because we have been overpowered by sugar and salt we should begin to incorporate more of the other flavors into our meals and switch our sugar and salt intake to what you see listed below. Surprisingly the bitter flavor can actually be helpful when trying to curb sweet cravings so start eating more bitter greens like Arugula.
 
Sweet
Fruit, grains, natural sugars, milk

Sour
Sour fruits, yogurt, fermented foods

Salty
Natural salts, sea vegetables

Bitter
Dark leafy greens, herbs and spices

Pungent
Chili peppers, garlic, herbs and spices

Astringent
Legumes, raw fruits and vegetables, herbs

#6 Start tapering your sugar intake.
It’s better to add in healthy, satisfying foods to begin supporting your body and changing your taste buds before removing processed, sugar-laden foods cold turkey. You will be much more successful if you do it this way. It can take 6 months for your taste buds to change so you’ll need to be patient. Week by week start removing your typical treats while incorporating all the foods I mentioned above.
 
#7 Clean out your pantry and Have healthy snacks available.
You can’t control the temptations once you leave the house, but you can control your pantry. Do a pantry clean out of all the unhealthy snacks and replace them with other options. If you don’t have options ready you are more likely to cave and go buy something. Some of my favorites to have on hand:
 
-Hard Boiled Eggs
-Apple and Nut Butter
-Berries
-Homemade Nut Granola with Grass Fed unsweetened yogurt
​-Bacon wrapped Dates
 
#8 Accomplish other things when having sugar cravings.
When you notice a sugar craving coming on, and you’re not hungry, go do something else epic. Write a poem, take a walk, go to the library and check out a book on a subject you really want to learn about. Use your sugar cravings to accomplish great things instead of giving into them. It will give your brain the much needed distraction AND you’ll be doing something beneficial for yourself.
 
            There is a lot more I can say about sugar and cravings but this is a good place to start. If you want to be like me, where you have your cake and you don’t want to eat it, then start implementing these steps. Sugar intake is made all cute in the form of pretty deserts, which are okay to indulge in once in a while, but when sugar rules our lives and we can’t control our craving we need to seriously consider a drastic change.
 
For more help or support in this area contact me for a one on one consultation: forestandfieldnutrition@gmail.com

Tags: Sugar Cravings, Nutrition, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Desserts, Holistic Health, Portland Nutrition

Case Study: I had a random pain develop in my hand a few months ago that wouldn't go away. It was sharp and uncomfortable in certain positions i.e. shooting archery and gripping things. I had just recently finished my first batch of BONE Salve and decided I would try it out on myself. Within 24 hours the pain was gone! It's come back since then so this time I will be using my salve over a longer period of time in order to facilitate more lasting healing. The the main plant I use in the salve is called Comfrey, it's nick name is Bone Knit and it has been used for healing breaks and sprains with great success.

I have my BONE Salve for sale HERE. I can do custom larger sizes as well.