HEALING HERBS: Portulaca good for healing
Annette Maynard-Watson,
[email protected]
Added 22 August 2016
“The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the sun were gifts you gave . . . .”
– by Roberta Flack
I FOUND MYSELF looking into the mirror and singing the above song to myself last week. I believe I was singing it to create thousands of positive thoughts in my mind. Now you may ask why would Annette Maynard-Watson want to create so many positive thoughts? I was forced to go on a revival mission because I came across some very unfair allocations which were placed in my way to create happiness for someone else for the next academic year.
However, I spent much time talking to my family and coaches to pinpoint the best solution to cope with this injustice. At the end of the exercise, I formulated an excellent plan to cater to my spiritual growth. I will share this insight with you in November.
Readers, when you are faced with unjust situations, there are two options: face them and move on with positive solutions, or stay in the same place and complain. In this case I am moving on and using my spiritual gifts to empower others while singing positive songs to myself. We are all earth angels with the power to overcome the unjust.
As I progressed through this experience, silent doctor portulaca offered comfort. Portulaca is a very powerful, unassuming plant. Its trailing nature reminds us that growth is constant and we can regenerate and be omnipotent. Its amazing colourful flowers can motivate us towards happiness and eventually success.
Portulaca, or portulaca grandiflora hook, is a member of the purslane family. Its Latin name isportula which means “little gate” because the top of seed capsules will open like a gate. Go near and observe them. This type of portulaca is edible and the leaves, stems, flowers, juice and root are used for healing.
Research has revealed that the leaves can treat scurvy. It can treat cirrhosis of the liver, swelling, pharyngeal pain, sore throat, skin rash, snake bites, scalds and eczema. You can wear the leaves and flowers around the neck to relieve muscle spasms and neck pain. The Chinese use it to treat tumours and for cancer care.
Finally, I urge you to always try to be fair in making decisions about yourself and others. I take this time to apologise to all persons who felt I treated them unjustly. If I did, it was not deliberate.
So go out there and plant your portulaca and sing a sweet song.
• Annette Maynard-Watson, a teacher and herbal educator, may be contacted via [email protected] or by telephone 250-6450.
DISCLAIMER: It is not our intention to prescribe or make specific claims for any products. Any attempts to diagnose or treat real illness should come under the direction of your health care provider.
HEALING HERBS: Fighting sexual dysfunction the healthy way
Turnera ulmifolia
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• Annette Maynard-Watson, a teacher and herbal educator, may be contacted via [email protected] or by telephone 250-6450.
DISCLAIMER: It is not our intention to prescribe or make specific claims for any products. Any attempts to diagnose or treat real illness should come under the direction of your health care provider.
DISCLAIMER: It is not our intention to prescribe or make specific claims for any products. Any attempts to diagnose or treat real illness should come under the direction of your health care provider.
HEALING HERBS: Honeydew bursting with nutrition
Annette Maynard-Watson, [email protected]
Added 18 July 2016
Annette Maynard-Watson, [email protected]
Added 18 July 2016
HEALING HERBS: Motherwort great for women
Date March 02, 2009
by ANNETTE MAYNARD-WATSON
MOTHERWORT (Leonurus sibiricus) is a member of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) mint family. She captures your attention because of her corolla pink flowers on the plant's stem. Motherwort is rarely seen in Barbados; you have to search to find her.
My son Akinola and I located motherwort in the east of the island, perched on a hedgerow relaxing with another "silent doctor", pond grass. We "rescued" them and they are in my collection. Some are waiting to bloom, while the others are being dried to be transformed into healing remedies.
Drawing on my prior experience as a food and nutrition teacher and my studies at the Hospitality Division of the Barbados Community College, I deeply appreciate the nourishing and culinary value of our "silent doctors". I use motherwort as a tea and in salads.
Motherwort is tasty and relaxes you.
One source credits motherwort as being useful in the treatment of conditions related to childbirth. It promotes mother's milk flow. The herb contains a chemical called leonurine, which encourages uterine contractions. It has also been used as a uterine tonic before and after childbirth.
Additionally, it is said to promote menstrual flow and treat menstrual complaints.
It is often used by herbalists to treat menopausal complaints, nervousness, insomnia, heart palpitations, postpartum depression and rapid heart rate.
The herb may help heart conditions aggravated by nervousness. It also has the ability to reduce the effects of stress.
It was further noted that motherwort sometimes has been referred to as a cardio-tonic. Motherwort injections were recently shown to prevent the formation of blood clots, which, of course, improves blood flow and reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and other diseases.
It is good for hypertension because it relaxes blood vessels and calms nerves. Motherwort also may correct heart palpitations that sometimes accompany thyroid disease and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
Motherwort is useful for relief of headache, insomnia, and vertigo. It is sometimes used to relieve asthma, bronchitis and other lung problems. Another source noted that motherwort has a long history of use without any negative side effects being reported.
However, motherwort is not recommended for use by pregnant women, those who have heavy menstrual flow, or anyone who suffers from heart disorder or is taking any medication for a heart condition or thyroid disorders.
The Herbal Manual by Caribbean herbalist Kailash Leonce is also a useful reference for information on motherwort.
Before closing, let me say thanks to readers - young and old - for their overwhelming feedback.
I also want to thank the gentleman who left a message about English plantain but did not state how to contact him. Please call again with your contact information.
Next week, I'll tell you about a "silent doctor" that defends us while defending itself.
* Annette Maynard-Watson, a secondary school teacher and herbal educator, may be contacted at [email protected] or 250-6450.
click button below to read article "HEALING HERBS: Sago – a survival food
Healing Herbs - More in the mortar . . .
Date: November 23, 2009
Brief BY ANNETTE MAYNARD-WATSON
INDEPENDENCE GREETINGS!
"There is more in the mortar than in the pestle" is a popular Bajan proverb heard frequently during Independence.
This utensil is another healing gift which our fore-parents gave to us. It is relaxing and precious and its ethos is enriching. No home should be without one.
During a lecture delivered to Eden Lodge Primary School at the invitation of Mrs Bishop, the students enjoyed the rhythm and tempo emitted from it, as their teachers not only demonstrated how to prepare a healing tea from colic mint and sugar apple leaves but showed how it is used to relieve stress. They enjoyed it. The mortar and pestle can be considered "unsung heroes".
The word mortar comes from the Latin word mortarium meaning product for grinding or pounding. Pestle comes from pistillum meaning ponder. The pestle is a heavy stick with rounded ends and the mortar is a round deep bowl. Some of them can reach above knee height. If you examine it closely you will see a resemblance to the human reproductive organs and how snuggly they fit into each other, symbolising creation.
Most people who practice natural healing and dispense "silent doctors" to assist with better health, would usually have a wooden mortar and pestle as part of their practice or health shop. It is nature's emblem of authenticity, respect, duty and culture. That is why during Independence we constantly remind our school children about it. In some parts of the motherland the newly-wed must take a mortar and pestle to the new home.
My use of the mortar and pestle dates back to childhood, my grandparents and mother used it especially for making seasoning. I particularly enjoyed grinding turmeric and "Bonnie peppers" to make hot sauce.
It has the following advantages:
* It is a mini gym as it strengthens arm muscles
* Assists with blood circulation and the cardiovascular system,
* Helps to refine motor skills
* Conveys a sense of satisfaction and keeps connection to culture
* The rhythmic pounding takes you to a state of peace where communication with the Creator becomes very personal and relieves stress
* Eliminates impersonal bonds which are evident with the blender, allows you to live in the moment and it emits first-class healing because as you grind your "healing herbs" the aroma you inhale can assist with immediate relief.
Our independence carries much historical significance for healing. Cou cou with okras; Conkies that contain pumpkins, banana leaves and the mortar and pestle amongst others are just a few of the "wonders of Independence healing".
I strongly believe that our foreparents desired good health for their descendants. Thus, they left these significant gifts, to maintain/retain a nation of healthy, not sick people.
As we continue to celebrate Independence we must ask ourselves: "Am I utilising these healing foods/gifts for maximum optimistic health?"
* Annette Maynard-Watson, a teacher and herbal educator, may be contacted at [email protected] or 250-6450.
DISCLAIMER: It is not our intention to prescribe or make specific health claims for any products. Any attempt to diagnose and treat illness should come under the direction of your health care professional.
Date: November 23, 2009
Brief BY ANNETTE MAYNARD-WATSON
INDEPENDENCE GREETINGS!
"There is more in the mortar than in the pestle" is a popular Bajan proverb heard frequently during Independence.
This utensil is another healing gift which our fore-parents gave to us. It is relaxing and precious and its ethos is enriching. No home should be without one.
During a lecture delivered to Eden Lodge Primary School at the invitation of Mrs Bishop, the students enjoyed the rhythm and tempo emitted from it, as their teachers not only demonstrated how to prepare a healing tea from colic mint and sugar apple leaves but showed how it is used to relieve stress. They enjoyed it. The mortar and pestle can be considered "unsung heroes".
The word mortar comes from the Latin word mortarium meaning product for grinding or pounding. Pestle comes from pistillum meaning ponder. The pestle is a heavy stick with rounded ends and the mortar is a round deep bowl. Some of them can reach above knee height. If you examine it closely you will see a resemblance to the human reproductive organs and how snuggly they fit into each other, symbolising creation.
Most people who practice natural healing and dispense "silent doctors" to assist with better health, would usually have a wooden mortar and pestle as part of their practice or health shop. It is nature's emblem of authenticity, respect, duty and culture. That is why during Independence we constantly remind our school children about it. In some parts of the motherland the newly-wed must take a mortar and pestle to the new home.
My use of the mortar and pestle dates back to childhood, my grandparents and mother used it especially for making seasoning. I particularly enjoyed grinding turmeric and "Bonnie peppers" to make hot sauce.
It has the following advantages:
* It is a mini gym as it strengthens arm muscles
* Assists with blood circulation and the cardiovascular system,
* Helps to refine motor skills
* Conveys a sense of satisfaction and keeps connection to culture
* The rhythmic pounding takes you to a state of peace where communication with the Creator becomes very personal and relieves stress
* Eliminates impersonal bonds which are evident with the blender, allows you to live in the moment and it emits first-class healing because as you grind your "healing herbs" the aroma you inhale can assist with immediate relief.
Our independence carries much historical significance for healing. Cou cou with okras; Conkies that contain pumpkins, banana leaves and the mortar and pestle amongst others are just a few of the "wonders of Independence healing".
I strongly believe that our foreparents desired good health for their descendants. Thus, they left these significant gifts, to maintain/retain a nation of healthy, not sick people.
As we continue to celebrate Independence we must ask ourselves: "Am I utilising these healing foods/gifts for maximum optimistic health?"
* Annette Maynard-Watson, a teacher and herbal educator, may be contacted at [email protected] or 250-6450.
DISCLAIMER: It is not our intention to prescribe or make specific health claims for any products. Any attempt to diagnose and treat illness should come under the direction of your health care professional.
THE power of marigold
