It’s not too often that I get sick with a cold or flu, but when I do, I take it as a great learning experience to practice what I preach!  I do my best take good care of myself, so that I can be my very best in taking care of those I serve in my life and in my profession.

A few days ago I came down with a very painful sore throat, fever, and general symptoms of a head cold – stuffy head, foggy brain, and general low energy. So what did I do about it?

First, I asked myself what made me susceptible to being sick in the first place. Was I underslept? Over taxed?  The answer to this question provides a clue as to what medicine may be appropriate for the illness. The answer in this case was I went for a hike down by the ocean and was absolutely freezing with the unexpected cold winds. I was exposed to the cold for too long;  plus I was seriously underdressed for the weather.  Cold weather itself doesn’t cause illness – but it does stress your body leaving your resistance weaker so that if you are exposed to viruses, you can become sick. After the hike, I met up with friends who had lots of little children with runny noses. Once again, just because someone you are around is sick, doesn’t mean you will be. It’s the combination of lowered resistance plus exposure to infectious agents that makes one sick.

So those of you who have taken my homeopathy classes - what homeopathic remedy is fitting for acute illnesses that come on due to exposure to a sudden change in weather, especially wind? That’s right, Aconite.

The first thing I did was take two doses of Aconite. I instantly felt an improvement.  Aconite alone usually nips my acute illnesses in the bud.  However this time, I went to bed and had a very restless sleep (my cats decided to party all night long) so I didn’t have a good sleep which weakened my resistance even more. Nothing Aconite could fix.

So what did I do next?
I had some beautiful fresh organic Turmeric and Ginger that I bought at the health food store which I was preparing to tincture for medicine. Instead, I chopped them up and simmered them together for about 20 minutes (this is called a decoction) and drank about 2 litres throughout the day. It felt amazing. The colour was a stunning deep red/orange that was medicine for the eyes.  I knew I needed the nourishment, warmth, and comfort of herbs. These just happened to be the fresh herbs I had in the house that day, so I used them.  This is my favourite way to use herbs, use those that are in your backyard, or fresh in the home. It’s kitchen magic.  Using what you have on hand. Turmeric is known to be a powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-infective agent that is soothing and very healing. Ginger is warming, also a powerful anti-infective. Both are great for sore throats.  Herb students, what family do these herbs belong to? The Zingiberaceae Family of course!

Freshly chopped then simmered Turmeric and Ginger

I also took a few days off while sick. It’s important for the immune system to truly rest so you can heal. This actually speeds recovery time and allows your system to regain its strength to prevent contracting secondary infections (think of those folks who push themselves through a cold or fever only to eventually get a bad case of bronchitis afterwards that goes on for weeks).  Unfortunately in our culture, there’s this strange heroic mindset that encourages people to work through, push through illness, which actually creates a lot of problems later. It’s  like borrowing from our future health reserves leading to a weakened system.  This is exacerbated in work environments where employees do not have sick time.

I didn’t have the energy to think or move very much so I laid by my sunny window and soaked up the beautiful vitamin D through the sunshine. I did this for hours, as sunshine / vitamin D is also excellent for the immune system and uplifts the spirits. The warmth was wonderful for the deep chills I was experiencing.

In the evening, I simmered the same chopped Turmeric and Ginger from earlier in the day and this time added the decoction to a hot bath. It was exquisite!  I haven’t done this in years.  Ginger baths are an old hydrotherapy technique to stimulate circulation and pull chills out of the body restoring inner heat. That’s exactly what I experienced. I felt deeply warmed, the heat penetrating deeply and having a lasting effect. I jumped into bed with my hot water bottle, and then sipped on a cup of water heavily dosed with fresh Cleavers tincture that I made last spring. Cleavers are powerful lymphagogues, that is, they stimulate and clean up the lymphatic system (thus immune system) and ease swollen glands.

Finally, I could feel the throat mostly getting better, but some pain radiating up to my left ear. So homeopathy students, what do you think I did next? I took the homeopathic remedy Lachesis - a great remedy for sore throats or swollen glands, radiating to the left ear!

I slept really well that night. By the next day I was mostly better. However, I continued the cleavers for 3 more days, and also did three more evenings of Ginger baths for prevention, to make sure my system was in good shape. I generally recommend that for however many days you experienced sickness, spend that many days after recovery taking good care to nurse yourself back to health. Even if you think you’re all better. So, I didn’t feel well for two days, and by the third day felt normal. But I spent an extra 2 days taking cleavers, Ginger baths, and getting lots of sleep to fully recover.

Cleavers tincture I made last spring

Sometimes people jump right back into their life and stop taking nourishing herbs and foods after they are symptom free – only to get symptoms of ANOTHER illness a few days later.

With proper care, and the help of herbs and homeopathy you can shorten the duration of illness, prevent complications, and ensure illness doesn’t drain your vital force.

Even before herbs, homeopathy and food I strongly believe our mental attitude makes a huge difference in recovery. When I’m sick, I’ve learned to see it not as a nuisance, but as an opportunity to pause in the bustle of life, reflect on how I’m doing in all realms of my life, and give myself a break.

Many traditional systems of medicine view fevers as an event to burn off unwanted life patterns or even karma.  Acute illnesses have been viewed as opportunites to reset the immune system. I like this perspective, it’s empowering.  I personally experience a renewed sense of vigor after an acute illness – that is if I take good care during the illness and post illness as outlined above.

How do you experience acute illnesses?  Do you stop and take care of yourself, or do you push youself through it? What self-care techniques work for you, and where did you learn them? Join me in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

Jamie Capranos

As the heat of the sun wanes, what’s left of the harvest hangs on the boughs. Bright red hawthorn and rose hips will soon become ever-present against the muted colours of the coming winter. Their bright colour is inviting, beckoning for attention. And for good reason.

Hawthorne Tree

Hawthorne berries strengthen capillaries, blood vessel walls, and strengthen the heart muscle itself. They enhance the oxygen uptake of the heart muscle. As an all-round heart strengthener, use hawthorne as a nourishing preventative tonic, or, think of hawthorne whether you’re intending to use it to balance high or low blood pressure.  What’s so brilliant about this herb —  is it’s completely safe.

Hawthorne is a member of the rose family (Rosaeceae) – a botanical family known to lift the spirits and heal the heart chakra.  I regularly combine hawthorne and rose tinctures to use as a “Rescue Remedy” for those who experience shock, heartbreak, or trauma.  These two together are great to use on a long-term basis to soothe heartbreak, grief, disappointments, and to all round support the heart energetically and physically.  Nature is generous and wise at this time of year; fall and winter offers these two heart healers in a season when many people experience Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD), sift through their grief, and feel like winter pulls them into a dark night of the soul.  So in the dark of winter, be sure to make yourself a heart tonic of rose hips, hawthorne or both combined to bring the warm cherry red elixir into your heart to warm you.

Hawthorn berries just harvested

The leaves and blossoms of hawthorne, which are ready to be harvested in the spring, make a very beautiful, fragrant herbal infusion. The berries are ready to harvest once the first frost hits, usually late fall, and can continued to be harvested through winter. The berries are bright red to nearly black depending on the species.

The berries are high in antioxidants, which means they reduce potential damage to the cellular walls. Hawthorne is gently relaxing, which is important for the individuals who are stressed out – stress taxes the heart.

Rose hips are ready at the same time as hawthorne berries, and they usually grow near one another. Rose hips, like Hawthorne berries are high in vitamin C and cell protecting flavonoids. In fact, rose hips contain more vitamin C than oranges.

Rose hips just harvested

One of my favourite ways to use hawthorne berries is to prepare a decoction (slow simmer) of the berries, add honey to taste towards the end of the decoction, then add brandy to preserve. Voila, a beautiful hawthorne cordial or syrup. Naturally, you can add rose hips or other favourite herbs to this concoction. By definition, a cordial is A LOT of sugar or honey to make it really sweet.  While I like the word, cordial, I really don’t like masking the flavour of my herbs with too much sugar/honey.

By definition a syrup is simply a sweetened herbal medicine, usually thick in texture.  Once again, to make a syrup thick in texture, you have to use a heck of a lot of sugar, which I’m no fan of.  All that said, both hawthorne and rose hips contain a lot of natural pectin, so they will likely be thick and starchy brews, giving them a naturally thick texture.

Another lovely way to make use of either rose hips or hawthorne berries, is to fix them into a honey.  First, make sure the hips and haws are cleaned of any debris, and dried with a tea towel to remove excess moisture which is a given at this time of year.  Then fill a wide-mouthed jar either half or full way with your herbs, and cover with a high quality, raw, unpasturized honey.  Cover with a lid, and let your jar sit either on your kitchen counter, or near your woodstove / heater for at least a week.  Then remove the lid, and taste the gorgeousness of the season.  You do not need to strain/remove your herbs from the jar. Use a teaspoon of this heart healing honey any way you like: stirred into a cup of tea; smeared on toast, drizzled on warm pie; straight off the spoon. Just remember to thank the bees as you do so.

Honey is plant medicine too: Honey contains a broad spectrum of enzymes, amino acids, natural antibiotic, B vitamins, trace minerals and vitamins.

For those of you who are tincture makers – make your own cardio-tonic combining hawthorne berries (then flowers and leaves in the spring), rose hips, garlic and motherwort.  Naturally, you can make your own blend depending on what your favourite cardiotonics might be.

And finally, for those who tend towards anemia or low iron, combine nettle and hawthorne berries in an infusion set overnight for a rich, beautiful, iron tonic that is way more potent than any pill.  Nettle has the same mineral content as human blood, is incredibly rich in iron; and hawthorne berries (and rose hips) are very high in Vitamin C .  Vitamin C improves absorption of iron, so think of the two as necessary co-factors.

Herbs are so bountiful! I’d love to hear your favourite way of using hawthorne and rose hips; share below so others can read your recipes too.

Jamie

Have you noticed how commonplace gluten-free products have become on our grocery store shelves? Does it seem like everyone and their cousin is now  “gluten-free”?

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

First of all, gluten is not a grain – it’s a protein that just so happens to be found in many of them. Gluten is actually a form of several different proteins most commonly found in wheat and it’s grain cousins of barely, rye, kamut, spelt, durum,  graham flour and even oats. These proteins (collectively called gluten) create that chewy, gooey, texture that we’ve come to love in baked goods  and are freely used as a thickener and stabilizer in many products, such as gravy,  salad dressings, soup broth, and much, much more. For a full list of gluten-containing foods, I recommend you visit www.celiac.com.

It’s important to recognize that gluten alone is not bad for your health. However, due to the industrialization of food since world war II, wheat and its gluten-rich relatives have since become”bred” to produce even more  gluten then our parents and grandparents digestive systems are used to –  for the purpose of making better tasting breads and creating more food stabilizers and thickeners for the food industry.  Therefore the grains that contain gluten today far exceed the amount of gluten people even one generation ago were eating – combine that with the sheer volume of gluten-containing products we’re consuming today and you’ve got modern digestive systems seriously stressed. What does this mean? Our digestive systems haven’t caught up with the current food system trends.

Another probable theory (likely true) are that the changes in the composition of our gut bacteria (which are necessary for health and function as the bedrock of our immune systems) may be causing gluten intolerance. Why would changes in our gut flora be changing? A more sterile modern diet (bleached flours, pasteurized foods, refined foods and on and on) is one leading possibility.

This is one of my favourite classic gluten-free books. Great food photography too!

GLUTEN INTOLERANCE

Apparently 5-10 percent of all people may suffer from some form of gluten sensitivity. That could mean a wheat allergy or non-celiac sensitivity (digestive disturbance, tiredness, irritability etc after consuming gluten), or those with Celiac Disease.

Celiac disease is the diagnosis given to those who, upon eating anything containing gluten experience an abnormal immune reaction to the gluten protein. This reaction can produce symptoms of hives, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, constipation, iron deficiency, menstrual disorders and in extreme cases  infertility and anaphylactic shock which can be life-threatening.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE GUT?

When a person with celiac disease eats food containing gluten  (even trace amounts) their immune system reacts by damaging the small finger-like protrusions that line the small intestine called the villi . The villi are critical for life: they permit nutrients to be delivered to our bloodstream. If the villi are damaged or not present, then the person suffers from mal-nutrition regardless of the quantity or quality of food consumed.

The treatment for  Celiac disease is to completely avoid gluten 100 percent of the time.

Another great book, by the marvelous Shreve Stockton. A smart, articulate, and healthy-minded San Franciscian.

TESTING

Today there are lab tests that you can request from your family doctor.  However, you could also take at least a week off from all gluten-containing products (remember to read those labels, they sneak it in almost everything packaged) and see if you notice a difference in your digestion, mood, and energy levels.

GLUTEN FREE DIETS: CONSUMER BEWARE

One of the pitfalls of gluten-free diets is these foods are often highly processed and devoid of nutrition.  Gluten-free certainly does not mean healthy. However in recent years there are more nutritious products and recipes out there thanks to consumer demand.

The most important guideline for living a healthy gluten-free lifestyle – is the same guideline I’d give for living any kind of healthy lifestyle – avoid processed foods!

The biggest concern for those going gluten-free or who NEED to avoid gluten is that they are going to miss bread, pasta and baked goods for special occasions. Thankfully, it’s become fairly commonplace to find decent gluten-free bread, and even gluten-free English Muffins, bagels, waffles, raisin bread and tortilla wraps.

Here on Salt Spring, we have the beautiful Laughing Daughters Bakery, a family run bakery in the South End of the island. They sell their amazing treats at the Saturday Market, TJ Beans, Natureworks, and by now probably a few other places. They make a lovely bread that’s great to toast, cakes, cheese sticks, muffins, cookies, and many more goodies.

In terms of pasta – today on most grocery store shelves you can find lovely gluten-free pastas made from brown rice, quinoa and corn. You’ll have to find your favourite, but most are really great.

Gluten free lasagna!

My dear friend Amy Phillips lives a gluten-free lifestyle  and is well-known for her amazing gluten-free treats! I asked her to offer up some words of wisdom and a recipe for my readers. She says:

Gluten Freedom – “The level of health, comfort and well-being you will feel far outweighs any sadness for “missing out.” If you are going to an event where you know there will be gluten-containing treats, bring a little stash of your own. Don’t assume there will be a dish you can eat, bring snacks for when you attend potlucks – I always make a substantial dish that I know I  will be content with if that’s all that’s present for me to enjoy – then if there’s more, it’s a bonus.”

Amy’s Amazing Cookies (quick and easy to prep and bake)

Mix together:

Earth Balance
A liquid Sweetener (maple syrup, honey etc)
1 Egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
Ground almonds
A little rice or other gluten-free flour
Pinch of baking powder

Mix and bake at 350 F until lightly golden. Proportions? I make them up depending on my mood and how many cookies I want…”

Thanks Amy!

These are so fantastic! I highly recommend you try them. If you have a favourite gluten-free recipe, I’d love to hear about it. Please post in the comment box below so others can see them too.

Blessings,

Jamie Capranos

I haven’t had much time to blog lately as I’ve been so busy putting in the garden and harvesting spring herbs. Here’s what I’ve been up to this week

Freshly harvested nettle tops

As most Salt Spring Islanders know, nettle can be used as any other tender green one would eat. Nettle pesto, nettle soup, nettle stirfry, sauteed nettle, and a more decadant treat….

Nettle lasagna!

The lasagna went over very well in my home. The trick is to steam the nettles then SQUEEZE the water out of them fairly well before combining with ricotta cheese.  Seen here: gluten-free lasagna noodles, home-made tomato sauce, nettle mixed with ricotta, and a little organic mozarella on top. Total prep & cook time under 1 hour!

For more info about nettles, see my blog post all about them here and here.

I also made a litre of an amazingly potent Cleavers tincture. Cleavers are a very humble yet incredible powerful little healer.

Cleavers (Galium aperine) a powerful herb that acts upon the bladder and lymph glands.

Cleavers can be a real gem for those who suffer from recurrent glandular and bladder infections. Cleavers has been used in western herbalism as a gentle, non-toxic yet very powerful mover of cellular waste. It’s usually found in immune and skin herbal formulas. For more info on how to make your own fresh plant tinctures, see my post from last summer here.

I’ve been enjoying watching the first calendulas open and adding them to my salads. Once there are enough calendula’s open and sunny, I’ll harvest them to make an oil and a tincture.

I loving adding Oregon Grape flowers (Mahonia aquifolium) to my salads. One of my absolute favourite tastes of spring! If you haven’t nibbled on these yet, I highly recommend you try them.

And I just planted Ashawagandha starts. I’ve never grown this herb before –  I’m very eager to get to know it more intimately.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an herb commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine, and is known as an adaptogenic herb. Adaptogens help the strengthen your resistance to stress while also increasing energy.

What have you been harvesting?

Okay, back to the field!

Jamie

Happy Equinox!

What an exciting time of year! I’m breathing a sigh of relief – finally, the first fresh baby greens in the garden ready to harvest for the daily salad. And the nettle! This is the perfect time of year to be harvesting nettle tops to steam like spinach (and drink the water from steaming to get those lovely minerals!)  …. more about nettle in just a few days…..

While I have such deep gratitude for the amazing local grocers that fill the produce department with organic greens through the winter season, nothing makes me feel more abundant than having my own greens just outside my front door or down the road at the local farm stand.

And as I’m getting ready to plant my first garden at this new house, I’m thinking a lot about food: How many of us, myself included, can easily take for granted the fact that we can just pop down to the grocery store and fill our cupboards with wonderful organic food. It’s easy to forget that the organic movement started as a small grassroots one, that it was very small “mom and pop” health food stores who risked themselves financially and lost popularity contests for many years while standing behind what they believed in. Do you remember the days when it was difficult to find organic whole brown rice? I do, and I’m from the big city of Toronto.

And even though we’ve come this far, such that organic is the new norm here’s a short video reminding us that we still need to remember that there are politics in food.

Robyn O’Brien business woman turned corporate food analyst speaks about her child’s sudden allergy sparking her sudden passion for cleaning up the food supply.

A mother of four children  she asks the simple yet poignant question, how can a child be allergic to food?

Thank you to my friend and colleague Shannon Cowan for bringing this excellent TED talk to my attention.

P.S. If you are a subscriber and experiencing trouble viewing the video go here and try viewing it from my home page.

Enjoy!

Jamie