So I got blocked by someone over at Truth Social who was pushing Amazon products in health groups. First, why anyone still supports a company that refuses to crack down on both plagiarism and digital art theft, amazes me. As an author with friends in the artistic space affected by this behaviour, I left and took my books elsewhere. Second, encouraging people to buy what they can often get for free in their backyard or in wild spaces, also doesn't make sense, because free sources make health and wellness more affordable. It's called foraging.
A recent push for a herbal supplement was for spurilina. The big claim to fame here is the chlorophyll. Dr Mercola, in a 2017 article shared a substitute that only requires gloves and maybe snips to get - stinging nettle:
"Nettles Compared to 'Superfood' Spirulina
Although spirulina technically does grow in 'the States,' it's only one — Hawaii, as well as other exotic areas of the world, so it's understandable that many think of it as not exactly around the corner. But first of all, what is it? If you've heard of blue-green algae, you're halfway there.
Spirulina's deep blue-green color reveals its active ingredient — chlorophyll — clearly. Health . com explains it as one of the oldest life forms on Earth and possibly consumed in Aztec and African diets centuries ago.
Today it's touted for its ability to strengthen the immune system, reduce fatigue and combat allergies. Nettles are another plant with chlorophyll that even rivals the amount found in spirulina, but they're often found in ditch banks, forests and riverbanks.
"Taken over time, nettle will strengthen your circulatory, immune, and endocrine systems to promote peak function. The stronger these systems, the better position our bodies are in to deal with whatever might come our way."
Cooked or dried, though, this pesky stinging problem goes away completely; good thing, too, because this free foraging food is highly nutritious, containing fiber, lecithin, chlorophyll, sodium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and vitamins A and C, according to Mother Earth News. It's been used in birth rooms and battlefields to stop bleeding, both internally and externally, and is considered to purify blood, as well. As a tea:
"It has been found to help cure mucus congestion, skin irritations, water retention and diarrhea … stimulate the digestive glands of the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Applied externally, nettle tea … relieves rheumatism in both people and animals, makes a first-class gargle for
mouth and throat infections, helps to clear up acne and eczema and promotes the healing of burns."
My daughter and I began foraging over 10yrs ago, and we will either take the top 8 inches or so, or if the plant insists, the whole thing. We learned how to use gloved/sleeved hands to snap off what we want. The seeds are useful in cooking and tea as a fennel replacement. So we dry both mature and young leaves at all stages of growth.
So I got blocked by someone over at Truth Social who was pushing Amazon products in health groups. First, why anyone still supports a company that refuses to crack down on both plagiarism and digital art theft, amazes me. As an author with friends in the artistic space affected by this behaviour, I left and took my books elsewhere. Second, encouraging people to buy what they can often get for free in their backyard or in wild spaces, also doesn't make sense, because free sources make health and wellness more affordable. It's called foraging.
A recent push for a herbal supplement was for spurilina. The big claim to fame here is the chlorophyll. Dr Mercola, in a 2017 article shared a substitute that only requires gloves and maybe snips to get - stinging nettle:
"Nettles Compared to 'Superfood' Spirulina
Although spirulina technically does grow in 'the States,' it's only one — Hawaii, as well as other exotic areas of the world, so it's understandable that many think of it as not exactly around the corner. But first of all, what is it? If you've heard of blue-green algae, you're halfway there.
Spirulina's deep blue-green color reveals its active ingredient — chlorophyll — clearly. Health . com explains it as one of the oldest life forms on Earth and possibly consumed in Aztec and African diets centuries ago.
Today it's touted for its ability to strengthen the immune system, reduce fatigue and combat allergies. Nettles are another plant with chlorophyll that even rivals the amount found in spirulina, but they're often found in ditch banks, forests and riverbanks.
"Taken over time, nettle will strengthen your circulatory, immune, and endocrine systems to promote peak function. The stronger these systems, the better position our bodies are in to deal with whatever might come our way."
Cooked or dried, though, this pesky stinging problem goes away completely; good thing, too, because this free foraging food is highly nutritious, containing fiber, lecithin, chlorophyll, sodium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and vitamins A and C, according to Mother Earth News. It's been used in birth rooms and battlefields to stop bleeding, both internally and externally, and is considered to purify blood, as well. As a tea:
"It has been found to help cure mucus congestion, skin irritations, water retention and diarrhea … stimulate the digestive glands of the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. Applied externally, nettle tea … relieves rheumatism in both people and animals, makes a first-class gargle for
mouth and throat infections, helps to clear up acne and eczema and promotes the healing of burns."
My daughter and I began foraging over 10yrs ago, and we will either take the top 8 inches or so, or if the plant insists, the whole thing. We learned how to use gloved/sleeved hands to snap off what we want. The seeds are useful in cooking and tea as a fennel replacement. So we dry both mature and young leaves at all stages of growth.
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