Changing seasons

We're approaching a time when the days are shortest and the nights are longest.  Like the rest of the animals, our bodies would like us to slow down.  In stead, we pile holiday activities on top of our already full work schedules. The patterns of nature suggest we slow down, but the patterns of our society suggest we keep on at a modern hectic pace.

How does one find balance, and therefore maintain good health, in the midst of such extremes?  Nature holds many answers to this question.  The trees have dropped their leaves, so follow their lead, and let go.  Prioritize, and take care of what's necessary, but let go of the superfluous.  The animals are gathering and bulking up, so nourish yourself well.  But before you reach for a nourishment band-aid (chocolate, for instance), you need to ask yourself, "What truly nourishes me?"  Your answers may surprise you, or they may feel familiar.

And alwa

Salt
Salt, a crystalline compound, essentially consists of charged particles that assist with the communication between  cells in our bodies.

Harmonizing with Spring

It's grim, rainy and cold out as I write, but the trees are covered in buds.  Some buds are tightly shut, while others have opened into leaves or flowers.  Some flowers are already spilling petals through the air and onto the ground.  In some places, the air is scented with cherry blossoms.  It's grey, wet and chilly, but it is Spring.

Spring is a time of bursting forth.  It takes a surge of upwards-moving energy to produce those buds, and to burst them open into the leaves and flowers they are to become.  This energy comes up from a plant's roots, from deep in the earth.

Just as the plants are in this process, so are we humans.  Now is the time to implement those ideas hatched in the dark of winter.  Now is the time, while the days are lengthening, when there is all spring, all summer and well into the autumn, to move these ideas through action into existence.

What if, however, you are having a hard time getting going?  What if you're feeling sluggish or stuck?  What if you just can't get organized or inspired to make your dreams come true?

You could seek support.  You could call upon friends or family, or you could ask for a little help from the experts on bursting forth: plants, and in particular, their flowers.

Flowers can be applied as essential oils, or ingested as teas, in tinctures or capsules, or in flower essences.  Flower essences are particular useful for emotional and energetic illnesses.  Here are a few you can use to get yourself up and running with Springtime energy:

Bird of Paradise by 3 Flowers Healing, from Hood River, Oregon:  This essence is excellent for bringing in the new, and for creating an openness in yourself for welcoming and adapting to that which is new.

Barrett's Penstemon by 3 Flowers Healing:  This essence gives a feeling of lightness and the ability to rise above.  Obstacles can be viewed from a vaster perspective with this essence so that you can see the ways around them, and also move about them with agility.

Walnut by Flower Essence Services in Nevada City, California:  This essence is excellent for letting go of past influences that keep you from moving forward, and for proceeding onwards with new certainty.

Blackberry by Flower Essence Services (FES):  This essence is good for those with good ideas, but who have trouble applying the elbow grease necessary to turn those ideas into reality.

Cayenne by FES:  This essence is good for overcoming inertia and stuckness.  It gets the blood and the energy flowing.

Olive by FES:  If you are too fatigued to get going, this is the essence for you.

Borage by FES:  This essence is for harnessing the courage necessary to make a bold leap, and to meet the challenges that lie ahead.  Often, this is all that's really needed to get something started.

Wishing you a springtime full of boundless energy and positive new beginnings.

Detoxify but don’t deplete

Even though we may be distracted by the trappings of digital and mechanized society, our bodies are part of nature.  It’s officially Spring as of 4:19 PDT today, March 20^th, 2011.  That means you can experience buds on the trees, crocuses popping out of the ground, birds and squirrels more actively flitting and scurrying about, and ever increasingly long days.  But it’s not just Spring outside.

It’s Spring inside too, in our bodies.  Just as nature awakens and bursts forth new life, so do we.  Some of the effects of this, we call “spring fever.”  You may want to be more active, spend more time outside, wake up earlier and/or stay up later.  You may want to drift about freely, without aim, and shirk the duties you’ve been burying your nose in all winter.  Go ahead!  Be alive, and enjoy life.  That’s what is happening in nature too, and the more we are in tune with nature, the greater our capacity for health.

Something else that happens in the body during spring is a natural cleansing process.  The body wants to clear out the excesses of winter to make room for the more active seasons of spring and summer.  You can help this process along in many ways, ranging from more extreme fasts and cleanses to gentler detoxification processes.  If you are already feeling tired and depleted, if you are a generally sensitive type, or if you are completely new to detoxification methods, I recommend starting with a more gentle and nourishing approach.

Begin any detoxification regimen with a few simple life and dietary changes.  Even without fasting, your body can cleanse well, especially if you stop eating by 7pm at night, and eat only a light breakfast, such as a smoothie or fresh fruit and herbal tea.  Increase the amount of fresh and cooked fruit and vegetables you eat.  Decrease or ideally cut out refined sugars, white flour and hydrogenated oils.  Night is when your body does most of its cleaning out, so you can also help move things along by getting to bed by 11pm.  In this way, your body can do its cleaning without having to process any new stimulus of any kind, including television, conversation or reading

A few herbal teas that aid in the detoxification process:  For gentle but effective liver support try milk thistle seed, burdock root, dandelion root and blue violet.  For kidney cleansing try nettles and dandelion leaf.  For cleaning the blood try sarsaparilla, red clover and yellow dock.  For cleansing the lymph, try red root, blue violet, burdock and yellow dock.

Microgreens are an excellent addition to the diet at any time, due to their high vitamin, mineral and protein content, which are all completely bioavailable.  They are also excellent detoxifiers because of their high chlorophyll content.  For a more depleted constitution, try spirulina over any other microgreen as it is the most nutritive.  For a stronger constitution, try chlorella, the highest in cleansing chlorophyll.  For an energizing mineral blast and very strong detoxification for those with very robust constitutions, go for the blue-green algae.  Cereal grasses, such as wheat or barley grass and alfalfa leaf powder are also high in chlorophyll, and are very alkalizing.  There are also many blends of various

Always support the natural elimination processes through your skin and colon during a cleanse.  For gentle colon support, try aloe very gel.  Very a more intensive colon scrub, I recommend the “Intestinal Drawing Formula” by Health Force.  Skin is the main eliminative organ of the body.  “Dry brushing,” or scrubbing the entire surface of the body with a natural bristle brush before a shower is an ancient and effective technique for removing dead skin cells.  For best results and to improve your circulation, always brush towards the heart.  Another approach is a weekly sweat.  To do this at home, drink diaphoretic herbs such as peppermint, sage or elder flower, and then take a hot bath.  Scrub your self well, rinse off, and then continue to sweat by wrapping yourself in blankets.  Rinse off again once you’re done sweating.

Maintain your chosen regimen for a few weeks, or as you are able.  A more sustained, gentler detoxification is ultimately more effective than a quick one week fast.  Such methods tend to shock the body twice – when you begin it and when you end it.  Making more sustainable changes are ultimately better for your body, heart, mind & spirit.  And ultimately, isn’t that what you’re after?

Wishing you a happy, healthy & abundant springtime!

Beauty amidst the chaos

Rainbow Natural Remedies's purpose is to provide a healing environment where you can find a wide array of natural remedies and staff who are knowledgeable and care about your health. It has been a very busy week for us as many people have expressed concern and anxiety about the disaster in Japan. Below is a message I received from a friend who lives near Sendai in Japan. It points to what really matters for us and how a crises can provide an opportunity to appreciate and be grateful life and the comfort of having community.

  Hello My Lovely Friends,
  First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.
 
Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.
 
 During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
 
Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."
 
Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
 
We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.
 
 There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.
 
Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.
 
 And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.
 
They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others.  Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.
 
Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.
 
 Thank you again for your care and Love of me,
 
With Love in return, to you all,
Anne.

Radiation Detoxification

There is a lot of fear going around about the radiation leaks from the nuclear reactors in Japan.  The radiation is reputedly heading towards   our area in the Pacific Northwest, so it is wise to take some precautionary measures in terms of radiation detoxification.The most common request we are currently receiving at Rainbow is for Potassium Iodide as a radiation detoxifier.  We do carry this item, but we are sold out until Thursday, March 17^th.  For those of you interested in taking this remedy, please note that there are some extreme side effects, ranging from rashes to fever, nausea and vomiting to general weakness, diarrhea and black tarry stools to swelling in the neck and throat.  The main cautionary word here is moderation.  Introduce this remedy slowly, and watch to see how it affects you. If you develop any adverse reactions, stop taking the remedy, and try something else. There are many other remedies for radiation exposure that lack these unpleasant side effects.  Here are a few suggestions:

Seaweed and seaweed extracts are extremely high in iodine, particularly the digitata kelp, harvested in Iceland, Maine or Northeastern Canada.  In addition to being rich in iodine, seaweeds are good detoxifiers in general, and help to keep things flowing through and out of the body.

Both Panax Ginseng, also known as red or Korean ginseng, and Eleuthro, also known as Siberian Ginseng have been effectively used to treat radiation poisoning.  They have the added benefits of revitalizing & energizing the system.

All microgreens, including chlorella, blue-green algae, spirulina, wheat grass, barley grass and alfalfa are high in chlorophyll, which helps to eliminate both radiation & heavy metals from the body.  In addition, they are excellent sources of vitamins, protein & minerals.  These are available both singly and in blends.  They can be mixed into water, juice or smoothies.  Some are also available in capsule or tablet form.

For those interested in more alternative remedies, Flower Essence Services designed a remedy specifically for survivors of Chernobyl.  This remedy, called Yarrow Environmental Solution, is designed to protect and cleanse the body’s energetic field of radiation as well as noxious environmental & geopathic stress.  As per the adage, “as above, so below,” if the etheric body is clean, the physical body will follow suit.

Other helpful radiation detoxifiers are bentonite and other clays, which can be taken internally to help draw out even severely lodged toxins from the digestive tract.  Pectin and lecithin are also helpful.

All of these supplements are available at Rainbow.  You can also pick up some high quality, non-pasteurized miso from your local co-op to help in the detoxification process.  Add some seaweed to your miso soup for a detoxifying yet nourishing meal.

In terms of health, it is also important to look at the emotional and mental state of a person.  Acknowledge but do not give into your fear.  It may be helpful to have the perspective that although this is scary, people in Japan are at far more risk than us.  Take a moment to quiet your fears, and send some good thoughts their way, that we may all experience ease, safety, peace and good health.  

Visit Our Sleep Center

If you're part of the 30-50% of the population that occasionally has difficulties sleeping, you might want to check out our Sleep Center in the Vitamin/Supplements section. Several approaches have proven effective over the years.

Yoga/Exercise -- We have numerous wonderful books on the subject

Herbs

Magnesium & Vitamin B

Homeopathics

Amino Acids

Visit the Vitamin Section for more!

Carlson Labs & Fish Oils

20% OFF all Carlson products into September... here at Rainbow...

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Putting their cheezy "family" oriented marketing aside, Carlson truly knows fish oils, probably better than any other company. They received the "superior taste" award in 2007 and have been around for over 45 years. They believe so fully in the beauty and cosmetic benefits of fish oils, as bestowed upon their family, that they've never had to hire some botox-faced model for their marketing materials. As the company approaches 50, they might have to reconsider that, but it's worked for them up until now. Several years ago they asked us to participate in a "Fish Oil Recipe Contest". The winners of that (Rainbow Remedies didn't enter) include "Lemon Garlic & Herb Popcorn", "Garden & Sea Salsa", and "Gorgonzola Bruschetta", all containing fish oil as one of the main ingredients. We have those recipes handily available from our beautiful Carlson display. Visit it at the store.

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If you're on the fence about fish oils and their omega-3 EFAs, here are some of the primary benefits:

*** Cardiovascular Health***

***Brain & Nerve Function***

***Healthy Vision***

***Immune System Health***

***Healthy Joints & Movement***

how ’bout a chakra cleanse?!!

There are many ways that one can cleanse, and knowing what area of your body you want to affect is a great starting point to choosing a cleanse.  Like all natural medicine, it is very important to understand your own body, life, abilities, and habits.  A cleanse can be very involved or as easy as taking an herbal pill morning and night for a few weeks.  know what you are capable of, then work from there.  Know also that the amount of input you are willing to put into the cleanse is in direct proportion to what you will receive from it.  Then be creative:  research foods that nourish and detoxify, look into the tummy temple and a sauna/steam spa for outside help, meditate, exercise, drink tea, drink water, focus on what you are trying to achieve and listen to your body when it responds.  The response and your willingness to listen will make later cleanses even more successful.

The most common aim for cleansing is the liver, kidney, and colon.  This is understandable since these are the systems that filter and detoxify constantly, and its always a good idea to clean your filter once in a while. But there are many other systems that can be addressed and "cleansed" (this words becomes a bit overused, maybe conditioned is more appropriate) such as the lymph system, the circulatory system, the endocrine system, skin and even brain!

But lets not stop there!  You could even go so far as what I recently did in creating a chakra cleanse.  My intention was to raise my awareness of each of the chakra systems and how I relate to each of their energies.  I focused on one chakra a day for a week starting with the root chakra and moving up to the crown.  I organized the food I ate, the colors I wore, meditations, actions for the day, elements, scents, and interaction into each chakra's realm.  I learned alot about myself from this cleanse, where I responded well or not, which day was harder than others...This was less of a "cleanse" and more of an opportunity to create conversation with my body, mind, and energy patterns.

But I believe this is always what these systematic regimes are about, giving your body and spirit recognition in its actions and processes and supporting what all the many parts do.  All cleanses or conditioning treatments should be done with intention, awareness, creativity and compassion for your body and its incredible abilities.

Blackberry…like the leaf, not the phone :)

i have been away for a few weeks, so the tea blog has been on hiatus.  but now i am back....back in black (berry...sung to ACDC's famous song)  i know, silly, but i can't resist silly humor like that at times.

Rubus spp.  (but be sure because red raspberry is also from the genus Rubus, and although it does have similar properties...red raspberry has other uses specific to that plant)  There are many species of blackberry....a few can be: villosus, canadensis, fruticosus, laciniatus.  

it is a fitting day for blackberry leaf tea here in Seattle.  it is warm and slightly muggy.  it seems funny to say that after being on the east coast for a couple weeks, where this sort of muggy would be a pleasant break.   the energetics of blackberry leaf is cooling, and it tastes really nice on ice, with a bit of a sweetner like honey or maybe even lemon balm glycerite would be tasty.

medicinally the leaf of this plant is used for its astringent quality.  it is used in that way for diarrhea, and can be used on infants as well, according to Ellingwood.  in Mary Bove's book on children and infants, she recommends the mother drinking the tea for babies under the age of 3 months.    it is also used for many skin inflammations, as a poultice or a wash.  as a mouthwash, it can be helpful for weak gums and is great as an aid in a sore throat gargle.

so whether you have loose bowels or just want to cool off with a tasty beverage...try some blackberry leaf tea.  you're gonna love it!

enjoy!

melissa

Cooling, Relaxing, Summer Spirit Tea…

Hot and all in a summer tizzy? Try this tea I've mixed for you all, mostly from herbs that are very common to the Puget Sound local area. ($3 per 2-ounce package, at our herb counter) It will be good warm to start off the day, or nice and refreshing iced in the sultry afternoon. Try a little honey or other natural sweetener with it.

Spearmint -- cooling and flavorful;

Catnip --  relaxing and healing for the stomach;

Lemon Balm -- uplifting, and relaxing to the nervous system

Blackberry Leaf -- immunity and strengthening of physical resistance;

Star Anise -- reduces exhaustion and lack of appetite due to heat ;

Comfrey Leaf -- powerful healing for the stomach and internal organs;

Lavender -- relaxing and aromatic;

Motherwort -- reduces anxiety and tension, strengthens the heart, brings on mid-summer night dreaming...

Enjoy!!

Vita-Coco — July Staff Favorite

I think most of my fellow staff members would agree that the VitaCoco Coconut Water found in our cooler is the BOMB! Absolutely the best when it's hot... like now it's about 90 degrees and I just want to drink it all day! We have Plain and an Acai/Pomegranate flavor.

Here are some of the benefits:

* More electrolytes than most "sports" drinks

*More potassium than two bananas

*Helps rehydrate after fluid loss and prevent cramping from exercise.

mmm, mmm - Bilberry

Vaccinium spp.

Both the leaves and the fruit can be used medicinally...however, we stock just the dried fruit, which is the most commonly and studied part of the plant.  so, took about 2 tablespoons of the dried fruit and brewed it in about a cup or so of water.  by brew, i mean I made a decoction.  and by decoction, i mean bringing the water and herb to a boil in water and then lowering to a simmer for about 20 minutes or so.   the water turned a nice deep purple and i added just a tiny bit of honey to it.  i thought about some apple cider vinegar, just cause i am into that kinda thing...maybe next time.  this time, i wanted to taste more of the bilberry.  and it was delicious!  it didn't even need the honey, it was sweet and flavorful.  it would be a great tea for kids, or to add to another tea for flavor.  or jsut by itself everyday as a tonic.

if you did it everyday as a tonic, some of its uses might be helpful to know.  to see if you are someone that could use a bilberry tonic.  it is great to the vascular system.  things like Raynaud's syndrome (cold hands and feet), venous disorders during pregnancy, varicose veins (venous insufficiency), hemorrhoids.  According to Mills and Bone, it decreases vascular permeability, and so therefore increases capillary integrity.  it is also used in my vision supplements.  it is astringent and can be sued for diarrhea, and is great for inflammaotry bowel conditions.   so, there i would be thinking a yummy tea for my kids if they were having diarrhea or some digestive thing with loose stools.  and like other dark berries, it is antioxidant as well.

what a pleasant tea for this sunny seattle day.  would be great on ice as well!  or made into a syrup.  or used in some yummy cocktail.  and you know there's delicious bilberry jam out there as well.

drink up!

i bet i'll be having more bilberry tea from now on...and wouldn't you know, i could use it after all my pregnancies i got a little venous insufficiency myself!

Melissa

Bayberry, what have i got myself into?

so, seriously people.  this is another week where the herb i am drinking matches up with symptoms that present themselves in my family.  and this time it was me!

I woke up one morning with a swollen left gland under my jaw line.   it quickly turned into a sinus issue with incredible pain and a sore throat.  gargling with saltwater and turmeric powder really soothed the sore throat, works every time.  but i was still left with this awful sinus thing.  aha!  bayberry!

Michael Moore  suggests that it "increases lymph circulation and helps prevent the ineffiecient, poorly drained engorgements of the sinus membranes."  it is very astringent, which can help tone atonic tissues.  in my notes from herb school, James Snow lists it as a stimulating anticatarrhal and decongestant.  the botanical or Latin name for bayberry is Myrica cerifera, but the species californica is also used...though less often.

so, I mixed up some bayberry...and added osha, thyme, balsam root (which i never would have thought of if it weren't for drinking it earlier in this blog) and red root.  man, was it astringent!  that bayberry really puckers you up.  the tea was sorta red and had this dark, thick look to it...probably a combination of all the herbal magic going on.  I have to say, it really helped.  The next day, i was in much less pain in my sinuses and was feeling much less tired and sick as well.  Cheers to bayberry and friends.

but now i am left to wonder what herb is next?  and to hope that i don't have to get sick to see that it works!

melissa

barberry…right in time

Berberis vulgaris   you knew when i would need you most.

last week i drank this tea...and again, i was pleasantly surprised that i did not hate it.  not that i think i hate herbs...it's just that as a tea, i guess i expect them to taste nasty.  so, i usually prefer tincture.  which is nasty a times, but smaller doses, and quick to get down.  plus the alcohol sorta sometimes gives the illusion that i am having fun.  just kidding.  :)

So...barberry.  the day i drank it my family came down with a stomach bug.  puking, diarrhea, feeling tired.  these are some of the things that barberry is good for!  so, i brought some home and brewed it up, nice and strong.  and i made my three kids drink a cup...and my husband.  i just made a fun time of it, and told them..."ok, we're gonna drink some nasty tea!" with a smile on my face.  the older two winced a little more, and with lots of coaxing about how they wouldn't get sick if they drank this...they finally got it down.  truth be told, they both had the same initial reaction to tasting it....they'd rather get sick!  opun more reflection, they choked it down.  my youngest though...she had been throwing up already that day...and she was happy to drink her "nasty" tea...so she would get better.  and she was very pleased with herself.  and she did get better.  only one other kids threw up, and that was only once...with no other symptoms.  and the biggest kid, my husband :), he did get sick...but i think he didn't get enough tea!

so...i am excited to see what this week brings....in tea form and otherwise!

peace...Melissa