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Herbs just part of good diet

In my last column I wrote about how a person’s weight is influenced not only by what they eat, but also by the quality of the food eaten and their body’s ability to absorbed nutrients.
RichardsHarleyMugMay23jer
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In my last column I wrote about how a person’s weight is influenced not only by what they eat, but also by the quality of the food eaten and their body’s ability to absorbed nutrients.

In this column, let’s explore how herbal medicine can provide vital nutrients while enhancing the body’s uptake of minerals and vitamins.

To begin, when an illness is chronic, herbalists turn to roots.

Those who heal with plants believe when an illness has settled deep in the body, roots that grow deep into the earth will provide the medicine needed.

One Christian herbalist I have study with put it this way: God made man from the clay of the earth.

Therefore, plants that penetrate deep into the earth and take up the complex minerals of the clay will heal him.

Or in other words, providing the body with essential minerals will support its ability to find balance. Balance includes a healthy weight.

To rebuild mineral levels in the body, I offer nettles (Urtica dioica) and yellow doc (Rumex crispus). Both these plants flourish in Alberta.

Combining these plants with rose hips (Rosa canina) will enhance the body’s ability to absorb the minerals contained within the plants.

Nettles, not only nourishes the body, it also reduces sugar cravings.

This is due to the plant’s high protein content. Drinking a couple cups of nettle tea a day, while eating a balanced diet will eliminate sugar cravings.

Many people while trying to loose weight will eat only vegetables and forget to add protein to their diet. Protein is essential for repairing daily wear and tear on the body, and maintains a consistent blood sugar level.

Insufficient protein in the diet results in hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia leads to sugar cravings and binging on food with little to no nutritional value.

The protein in nettles provides the extra protein the body needs to keep blood sugars balanced.

This in turn reduces sugar craving and eliminates the uncontrollable urge to snack on cookies.

In a weight loss tea, I like to combine sage (Salvia officinalis) with nettles. Sage is aids the digestion of fat. Many weight loss diets are low in fat.

But fat is essential for clear thinking, hormonal balance and the integrity of every cell in the body.

Fat keeps the body and mind soft and flexible, whereas protein makes the body strong. Combining nettles and sage aids the body in using these two vital food groups.

Sage also balances fluids within the body.

A diet high in simple carbohydrates, such as bread, muffins, cookies, etc., causes the body to store water. Sage will draw the stored fluid and aid the body in eliminating it, without causing dehydration.

Let’s return to yellow doc. Besides increasing mineral intake, yellow doc offers additional support in weight loss.

Its root is a specific remedy for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Those who suffer with IBS generally have challenges absorbing nutrients from their food. Simply put, the food travels through the entirety of their digestive tract either too quickly or too slowly. Yellow doc has the ability to respond to either situation.

If the digestive tract is sluggish it will encourage bowel movements.

If bowel movements are loose, yellow doc tightens the bowel up. In either case, yellow doc will improve the absorption of nutrients from food.

One other local plant specific to weight loss is chickweed (Stellaria media). Chickweed is also high in minerals and provides the necessary nutrients for health.

For someone struggling with weight loss, Chickweed has one other valuable action. It dissolves lipomas. Lipomas are balls of fat the body bundles and encapsulates.

They are associated with poor fat metabolism and are very difficult to get rid of once they have formed.

Chickweed tea, drank over a period of several months will shrink them to nothing.

Nettles, rose hips, yellow doc, sage and chickweed are just a few herbs used to help rebuild a nutritionally deficient body.

These herbs are not used to replace balanced meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are used to provide additionally nutrition and support while the person challenged with obesity discovers other tools and resources to loose weight and keep it off.

Herbs for Life is written by Abrah Arneson, a local clinical herbalist. It is intended for information purposes only. Readers with a specific medical problem should consult a doctor. For more information, visit www.abraherbalist.ca. Arneson can be reached at abrah@shaw.ca.