Many of you who know me as an herbalist only, do not know the creative side of me.  I am also an artist, who loves doing graphic design and web design work.  I also do caricatures and pen and ink drawings.  I thought some of my readers would like to see some of my artwork.  To see these and more click on the link below:

What Is Gout and What Causes It?

3.      Avoid foods that are high in purines, like red meats (beef, pork and lamb). Eat foods low in purines, such as broccoli, fruits, pasta and rice.

4.      Limit or quit drinking alcoholic beverages.  Clinical studies have shown that alcohol increases uric acid. 

5.      Take vitamin C.  In a 2005 study done at Johns Hopkins University, it was found that 500 mg of vitamin C daily can significantly reduce uric acid levels in the body.

6.      Safflowers is a great supplement that helps get uric acid out of the body quickly.

7.      Omega 3s (fish oil) to take down inflammation and reduce pain.

8.      Take a Vitamin/Mineral Supplement to help normalize systems in the body.  Minerals help to alkalize and activate enzymes, which break down wastes in the body.

9.       Eat more fiber, or take a fiber supplement.  Fiber helps to flush uric acid out of the bloodstream. Foods high in fiber are apples, bananas, raisins and oats. Eat at least three servings daily.

Supplements That Help With Gout:

·         Vitamin C

·         Safflowers

·         Omega 3s (fish oil)

·         Super Supplemental Multi Vitamin & Mineral

·         Fiber

www.mynsp.com/herbbarn

There are a lot of people who are beginning to realize how important it is to shop organic and be careful about what kinds of foods and drinks they are putting in their bodies. They now realize that putting toxic food into your body is not healthy. However, most of these same people are still getting tremendous amounts of toxic chemicals in their bodies from an unknown source, even more than they were getting through their previous diets of processed and chemical laden foods. The source that is often overlooked is personal care products.  It is a fact that we absorb more toxic chemicals through the skin than through our mouths. The skin is the largest organ in the body and has the potential to absorb an even larger amount of  harmful toxins.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org), did research studies on personal care products, and found that over one-third of all personal care products contained at least one cancer causing ingredient.  In a survey they conducted, it was found that more than 25Many skin creams and lotions boast of having "deep moisturizing" qualities. In fact, 57 percent contain penetration-enhancing chemicals--these chemicals push the harmful toxins in the product faster and deeper into your skin and blood. A product survey conducted by the EWG in 2004 revealed that more than 25% of women and 1% of men use at least 15 products daily.  So what happens when lots of these chemicals are used daily?  You do the math.


The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics funded an independent laboratory test on 48 skin care products that are specifically for children, and the findings were astounding.  61% of all products tested contained two cancer causing chemicals in high levels, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

The Organic Consumers Association has a great list of the top ten cosmetic ingredients to avoid:





If you are interested in finding out if your shampoo, soap, deodorant, body wash, toothpaste, etc. is full of toxic chemicals, EWG has a great database where you can search products to find out.  This site also has suggestions for safer products that can be used.

Happy April Fools Day 2012!  I did something that was pretty fun for April Fools Day.  I "magically" filled three glasses with water and turned them upside down on the kitchen counter.  When everyone got home, they passed by, did a double take, and then asked me, "How did you do that?"  I smiled and told them that I am not only the "Hippie Herbalist", but I am also the "Magic Hippie."  For some people who are not real in tune with their surroundings, you might have to point the glass or glasses out :)  (See photo below)

Ever wonder what your shampoo, soap, toothpaste and makeup are made from?  Are they safe?  Here is a great way to find out.  Making some small changes could be very beneficial in the long run.

Great article about charities and health issues.

If You Are Supporting These Health Charities, You May Be Wasting Your Money - Evolving Wellness | Holistic Optimal Health

 

We see it everyday in the media.  Toxic food, toxic air, toxic water and everything in between!  It's no secret  that the incidence of serious disease has risen over the past 40 years.  Heart disease, diabetes and cancer are at an all time high.  But then we also keep hearing that obesity is at an all time high.  Could there be a link to environmental toxins that is helping to create a world full of overweight people?

According to this report on WSAV TV from Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head, South Carolina, there is a distinct link between pollution and fat storage in our bodies.

Now, I don't know about you, but I am having a hard enough time keeping my weight down after I got to a certain age.  Could it be that these toxins are reeking havoc with our fat cells (which actually store toxins), and on our hormones too?

A garlic, onion and honey mixture to help fight sore throats, colds, flu, lung congestion and sinus problems.

Ingredients:


Fresh garlic cloves
1/2 onion, chopped
4 - 8 oz. honey

1. Use a 4-to-8-ounce jar with a tight lid. Fill the jar with unpeeled garlic cloves, and one-half chopped onion.
2. Cover onions and garlic with honey.
3. The combination creates an elixir. You may remove or leave in garlic and onions.

Here is a great article from the Hartford Courant with ideas on how to save money and still shop organic.

Low nutrition foods, or what we refer to as "pseudo foods" are everywhere! They look like real food, but they are actually "malnutrition" in a bag, box, can or from a drive-thru window. They are also full of toxic chemicals, and deprive us of getting the much needed fuel that every cell in our bodies need. This is something we can only get from real food sources that have vitamins, minerals and enzymes in them. In fact, did you know that when a product say on the label that it is "enriched," that actually means that they have stripped most of the good stuff out and have most likely put chemicals, fillers and synthetic vitamins in them? So when we look at the misleading food labels and think that enriched means that they have added extra vitamins and minerals, what it actually means is that the processing of the food stripped the nutrition out, and they have added it back in with artificial nutrients, which are usually toxic. Not only are the "enriching" ingredients usually toxic, but they are also using toxic preservatives! So what are these pseudo-foods doing to our bodies? Let's take a closer look at some of the statistics.


Have you noticed that there are far more overweight and obese people in the world now, than there has ever been before. Here is a quote from Dr. Jeffry Weiss that really forces us to take a look at what has happened: In the period 1950-2000, "obesity rose by 214% until today, where 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are categorized as being overweight or obese. The average American weighs 30 lbs. more today than 100 years ago.


Early man ate only enough to meet his caloric requirements. Present day inhabitants continue to eat for a very different reason: to gain a euphoric feeling through the chemicals released in the body by the foods we eat. And what are these chemicals that are so powerful as to induce behaviors that are sometimes irrational and often detrimental to our health and continued evolution? Endorphins.

Ye Old Herb Barn: Are You On An Emotional Rollercoaster?: Flower Remedies To The Rescue! http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Alvesgaspar/Posters In the 1930s, Dr. Edward Bach , a surgeon fr...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/6105263663

Honeybee Deaths Linked to Corn Insecticides: What was killing all those honeybees in recent years?  New research shows a link between an increase in the death of bees and insecticides, specifically the chemicals used to coat corn seeds. The study, titled “Assessment of the Environmental Exposure of Honeybees to Particulate Matter...

So now we can't pollinate our food supply without the bees?  What kind of future does that leave for our children?  A future of hunger, the absence of the beauty of flowers etc.?  The implications here are huge!  This could effect entire ecosystems.

If it's killing the honeybees, what is it doing to us, not to mention the animals that are fed a diet of corn?  It seems that we can't fight the big corporations, many have tried to fight it, and many have failed, and even been ruined in the process.  So what is the answer?  One thing to think about is how to get these toxins from food out of our bodies.

Homestead-Survival

Ingredients:


Orange peels

White Vinegar

Quart jar with lid

Directions:  Fill a quart jar with orange peels.  Cover with white vinegar.  Let sit for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.  Strain out the vinegar and use as an all purpose orange oil cleaner (hint - the vinegar extracts the orange oil from the orange peel, that's what makes this cheap and easy cleaner so awesome!  Put this in a spray bottle and you have a very economical cleaning product that works great.)


Cool idea that I saw in a facebook post by Homestead Survival at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Homestead-Survival/189287804456890  

Many herbalist and natural healers wouldn't go through cold and flu season without certain remedies.  One of the remedies that are tried and true, even supposedly by such noted herbalists as Dr. John Christopher and Rosemary Gladstar, is Fire Cider.

Fire Cider

I use it as an effective, inexpensive tonic, in small quantities at the first sign of a cold or flu, or even to prevent myself from getting sick if someone else in the family has come down with a bug of some sort.  This remedy is truly amazing, and a must-have in my herbal pantry.


1 quart Organic Apple Cider Vinegar


1/2 cup Horseradish root grated


1/8 cup of Garlic chopped


1/2 cup of Onion chopped


1/2 cup of Ginger grated


1 tsp Cayenne


Directions


Place all ingredients in a quart jar and cover with Apple Cider Vinegar and Cover tightly.  Steep this mixture for 8 weeks, and then strain into a clean jar.


Uses


Can be rubbed into achy joints and sore muscles.


Soak a clean cotton cloth and place on chest for congestion.


Can be drank straight or in water or juice.  Start slow and don't over-do it at first.


Can be mixed with some honey to help ease a cough.


Note:  Be aware of your own individual heat tolerance.  Everyone is different.  You might want to experiment with quantity.

Gallstones: A Major Health Risk - Article - iHealthTube.com

Here is a great article on why gallstones present a major health risk. It has become so commonplace to have gallstones and to have a gallbladder removed, that most people don't even think about why the condition is there in the first place, what purpose the gallbladder serves; or even that there are things that may be able to be done to lessen the risk of gallbladder and liver health issues.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, there are many toxic substances that are found even in the so called "safer" products.  Many everyday products that were tested were found to have chemicals that are harmful for asthmatics and others that were hormone disrupting.  These harmful chemicals were found to be especially high in fragrance products and sunscreens.  They were even found in toothpaste!  You can see the article for yourself here:  Toxins found even in ‘safer’ products - Chicago Sun-Times

Now, I don't know about you, but it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me to use toxic toothpaste, or any other products with cancer causing, hormone disrupting, allergy enhancing chemicals in them.  Try as we might, we really can't control all of the toxic chemicals that we are exposed to.  So what can we do?  We can clean them out of our bodies.  So how can we do that?  Check out this link:

We all have grown accustomed to reading food labels and seeing the advertising on food.  Many of us have decided to eat healthier, and look for foods that are natural.  But what does natural really mean?  Some of the packages say organic, but what is the difference?  Is there a difference.  You bet there is.  Here is a link to a site that will help us all understand what we are really buying.
http://www.generationsoforganic.org/all-about-organic/organic-vs-natural/

 

A friend sent this to me.  It's interesting, thought I would share this... 

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. 

It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings. 

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter? 

Both have the same amount of calories. 

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams;compared to 5 grams for margarine. 

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study. 

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. 

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and
only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods. 

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years . 

And now, for Margarine.. 

Very High in Trans fatty acids. 

Triples risk of coronary heart disease . 
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol) 

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times.. 

Lowers quality of breast milk. 

Decreases immune response. 

Decreases insulin response. 

And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING! 

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT 

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). 

You can try this yourself: 

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things: 

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) 

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast? 

Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to butter them up')! 
Chinese Proverb: When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.