Virginia Ahearn

I had a most lovely evening last week; I gave a free lecture on herbal medicine at the Franklin Township Library. So many people in the audience had questions, from everything from allergies to menopause. I reflected on how much our culture does not support wellness; everyone is walking around with pain and symptoms of illness and imbalance. The stress of our fast-paced schedules and lives, tires our brains and our nervous systems to the point where they no longer function at an optimal level. When I walk into a pharmacy I look at all the over the counter medications that sells like crazy, and think “Wow, here is the evidence that we are just way, way, way out of balance”.

Hello everyone, please excuse my few month hiatus from the newsletter. I was refueling my energy reserves. Since it is spring, I am going to talk about allergies. Whether it is sinus headaches or itchy watery eyes and dripping nose, there is an herb for you!!

The use of herbs for healing and medicine has been in practice for thousands of years. This knowledge has been handed down through generations in cultures throughout the world, and the effectiveness of using plants as medicine has stood the test of time. Herbal medicine, along with many other forms of alternative and holistic medicine all made a comeback of sorts during the “New Age” movement in the eighties, however, most folks don’t have a clear notion of exactly what herbs have to offer us, let alone how they are used, where to buy them, how to prepare them, etc.

Goldenseal (Hydrastis Canidensis) is a wonderful, fabulous herb. It is a blood cleanser, antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, kills yeast, stimulates the liver and smooth muscle tissue, it is bitter, and a mild laxative. Some say it will even clean the system of recreational drugs to change results of drug tests administered at the workplace. What’s true and what’s not? Sounds like it can cure anything. Can it? Some people believe this and take it all the time. Should they?

One of my favorite herbs is known to many folks as a common, annoying weed. Each year this wonderful plant is sprayed with lawn chemicals, or dug out of the ground with a vengeance. I remember when I was a little kid, one of my jobs was to dig them up in order to keep our yard looking ‘well kept’. There was even a special gardening tool to dig them up: the dandelion digger.