It takes 300 tons of iron ore and 170 tons of coking coal to produce 260 tons of steel to produce one modern “green energy” windmill. (x.com/its_The_Dr)

Which is why I have suggested using hemp fiberglass instead of metal. Strong, and hemp fiberglass is a renewable and biodegradable resource. We can produce more of it and disposal won’t add to an overloaded garbage dump.

An advantage of an easily molded, pourable material, is in changing the shape and adding function. Windmill structure could be modified from spinning blades into a spinning funnel shape which could also be filtering the air as it passes through. With a plastic type material, odd shapes could be made in one piece in molds.

Pomegranate peel has chelating phytonutrients that clump with nanoparticles which can then be removed as a larger clump.

Nanoparticles can be a risk to human and marine life especially at lower concentrations, larger concentrations have a tendency to clump together and the body’s toxin removal systems are more likely to be able to remove the clumps while a few small nanoparticles tend to be absorbed deeper into the body from the lungs or digestive system. An air filter might include something that encourages the clumping of nanoparticles, or be made of fiber that contains chelating phytonutrients like pomegranate peel.

Pomegranate peel extract is being investigated for various health and industrial uses. It contains strong antioxidants and other chemicals that seem effective at adsorbing - clinging to the surface of - other chemicals and that feature has been used to form nanoparticles with gold or silver for antimicrobial use. Phytonutrients in pomegranate has antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic, and anti-worm (antihelmintic) properties and has proven effective as a food preservative. So, air or water filters that incorporate some pomegranate peel fiber or extract may help collect nanoparticles from smog or maybe even microparticles of plastic while also reducing oxidative chemicals and reducing or killing infectious microbes.

People picture the giant windmills, but small wind turbines are being used economically along highways or in smaller wind farms.

Smaller wind turbines are powering highway lights from the wind created by the passing cars. “Renewable resources” are in more locations than we might see at first glance.

Make those spinning turbines outfitted with air filters and they would also be cleaning the urban air - funded by the power of the passing traffic. That won’t work in a traffic jam though.

Filter type wind funnels could be attached to the roof level of skyscrapers and clean the urban air with wind power. Attaching the filter wind turbine to a power generating unit of some sort would be a bonus - a renewable energy source.

Wind power generated by highway traffic

Small vertical wind turbines have been used to generate power from the wind created by highway traffic. The turbines are located near the roadway in rows on divided highways, or in clusters between opposing lanes, Traffic Powered Wind Turbines, altenergymag.com; or singly: Power Generation of electricity on highways by VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) (ijcrt.org/pdf). Enough energy to run many homes can be produced - steadily, dependent on the traffic more than the weather.

Small wind turbines have also been attached to light poles and are being used increasingly in green energy design. They can be attached near or on buildings as they are small in diameter. See: Small Vertical Axis Wind Turbines for Energy Efficiency of Buildings, by Marco Casini, Journal of Clean Energy Technologies, Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2016, (researchgate).

Vertical Wind Turbines & air ripples aka turbulence

Vertically spinning wind mills have been created that may be more cost effective than the three blade style windmills. The vertical wind turbines can capture the wind from various directions and that maximizes the potential of the wind power. When grouped together the vertical wind turbines can reuse the turbulence created by the other turbines.

Imagine a giant room full of oscillating house-fans, the breeze created by some of the fans would be blowing on some of the others at various times. The breeze would ripple outward from each fan in airwaves of wind pulsing with the spin of the fan-blades. The streaming airflow within the area of the fans might be ricocheted back and forth between many of the fans, like a pool ball or pin ball that keeps bouncing off the walls or pinball paddles.

The other advantage besides maximizing capture and reuse of the of the wind and turbine airflow is the size of the vertical wind turbines - they are smaller in size than the three blade windmills, and each take up a smaller square footage of space and more of them can be placed closer together. (image of the spacing and size) The vertical wind turbines may also be safer for wild bird populations.

• For video and more information see: Small Turbines can Outperform Conventional Wind Farms, Stanford Prof Says, With No Bird Kill. (forbes.com).

• Dabiri Lab of Stanford University (John Dabiri, Ph.D. and team) has an experimental vertical turbine windfarm project in Igiugig Alaska. (dabirilab.com)

Natural Disasters Guide and Resources, and a guidance article about Trauma and the Brain

• A link for Natural Disasters Guide and Resources, a recovery/planning guide was shared with me to add to my earth-ocean.info site. It is a nice guide with infographic summaries of more detailed sections. (wizcase.com/blog/natural-disasters-guide-and-resources/) I am unaffiliated.

• A link for an overview about types of trauma from anxiety and depression to more severe PTSD, which can follow an accident, illness, or disaster, is available at How Trauma Affects the Brain - The Lanier Law Firm, lanierlawfirm.com. General wellness advice for coping after trauma is included, such as yoga.

Exercise helps the body to clear out toxins. Going for a walk and getting some sunshine can be good therapy. Talking to a friend or counselor may also be a need. Writing, journaling, art or music may all help work through strong emotions that may seem overwhelming yet wordless.

Poetry can Flow

Poetry can be simple prose, Or rhyming lines.

Poetry can convey a message

…in brief,

Or emote a feeling

During a time of need.

Socializing is innate.

We need to communicate,

to vent our thoughts,

free our mind,

let out our fears,

just unwind,

and feel heard,

even if

…’twas only the paper’s ears.

Be free, let yourself wander.

Only the paper can hear.

…Don Quixote had a sidekick, Sancho Panza who had a donkey, with ears. It is nice to share even if only the paper hears.

Disclaimer This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

Included in the article is the LifeStraw, an individual mini filter in the shape of a straw. The drinker can suck water directly from a water source - no additional device is needed. But water from a running river or large lake would be better than from a stagnant pond - clearer and more aerated. The company made the individual straws initially, useful for refugee situations when potable water is scarce. The company also makes a larger unit that water can be poured into and collected from after it gravity drips through a similar filter as found in the LifeStraws. (LifeStraw.com)

Printing out the document would be helpful for the directions for amounts of bleach to use to sterilize water, or How-To’s for other filtration methods and products. A simple method is to leave clear water (pre-filtered or not too dirty) in a plastic or glass bottle in the sun for a day or two. Laying the bottles on their sides for more sun exposure can help and placing them on metal can too. I noticed the metal tip regarding making my structured water in glass gallon bottles - setting the bottles of water on metal makes it get a little hotter, faster.

Bottled water for an emergency is unrealistic due to the amount needed per person becomes a huge mountain fairly quickly - do you want enough for 3 days? or one week? or a couple weeks?

• Cdc.gov suggests having at least one gallon of water per person in a household for three-day’s worth, as an emergency supply. (cdc.gov)

For one person that is only 3 gallons, for a family of four, that is at least 12 gallons. One gallon is minimal too. That isn’t providing much of a buffer for cooking or washing. What if the water is out for a week? that’s 28 gallons of water for a family of four. Having water purification tablets or a filter can expand water sources to a nearby river if necessary. A method for collecting water in a desert like setting that is in the article by Dr. La Guardia is the last photo story later in my post.

• This is a valuable document - worth printing out: Water: How to Guarantee Your Own Fresh Supply, by Dr. Ralph La Guardia, Medical Underground, (Substack).

Medical Underground

WATER: HOW TO GUARANTEE YOUR OWN FRESH SUPPLY

I am sure watching the current world events unfold, you, like myself, are left with a very strong and growing feeling of impending doom. Besides the ever-increasing threats of nuclear war and its horrors, there are wars brewing in China/Taiwan, Korean peninsula, Ukraine/Russia, and of course the always horrible wars between Israel and practically everyo…

Read more

2 years ago · 7 likes · 1 comment · Dr. Ralph La Guardia

The following photo stories were shared on x.com and are larger investments for ongoing homestead type of water filtration or collection.

• This resource site - SSWM Toolbox, has more examples of sustainable water management systems that various people have put into practice. We can learn from each other: https://sswm.info/about-toolbox - small community water management system examples.

Hydroponic gardening can get fancy with added fish filtration and fertilization of your garden water. The garden tubs are built on top of layers of water filtering sand, grit, or activated charcoal, and the water is collected from the base of those to be further treated for potable use.

A fish-pond system is used with hydroponic gardening and the garden beds filter the water for further use indoors. (x.com/Farmer31548981)

Video of the koi fish swimming. The ornamental fish are sold as ornamental fish in addition to fertilizing the water. (x.com/Farmer31548981)

The fertilized water is used to grow plants hydroponically - Aquaculture.

Window light, water insulated windows using glass bottles. (x.com/Farmer31548981)

(x.com/DouglasBRobert)

(x.com/Farmer31548981)

(x.com/armafair)

“NICE. Wish we could do that in the desert. We can do this.” - DEE, (x.com/Brown72107)

• See this article for the basic system: The Nomad Pavilion is a woven goat hair desert shelter that collects its own water (inhabitat.com)

Hurricane Info from a local person

Hurricane Milton shelter info from a local experienced person - a Tampa, Florida man. See therealpaulmueller.com for shelter details if in the Florida area. Click for video. (x.com/RealPaulMueller)

“HURRICANE MILTON Here is the very latest for animals and people. This is going to be a dangerous and catastrophic storm and there’s not much time left. It’s expected to hit Tampa Bay late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. I have included a list of shelters for eight of the counties that along the West Coast of Tampa, all of which are under hurricane watches. #hurricanemilton #tampa #animals #animalsoftiktok #animalshelters #foster #rescue #foryourpage #fyp

I have posted a list of shelters on my website at http://Therealpaulmueller.com” (x.com/RealPaulMueller)

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended for individual health care purposes.

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Having an Hand-crank Emergency radio is a good idea to be able to listen to standard AM/FM or emergency broadcast messages when your power is out.

• Hand Crank Emergency Radios pick up AM/FM type of channels or Emergency Broadcasts - I see that modern types have the ability to charge devices - that seems like a lot of hand cranking though. $17-40 dollar range (Amazon search handcrank emergency radio)

Having a CB radio or getting trained on HAM radio can also be a good idea for emergency preparedness. With those options, you are able to call out, send your own voice (or music or news update), over the radio airwaves. The distance you might reach would be localized compared to larger radio stations. CB radios are needed to get over mountain ridges. They can have about a 30 mile range based on conditions. Walkie Talkies can be useful for closer teams or families to stay in touch. Cell phones went out early and are still not working in the damaged region of Hurricane Helene.

• You could buy Don Shift’s book/s to learn more about CB Radio use (or other nonfiction topics: DonShift.com/nonfiction, he also has fiction books.) “Basic SHFT Radio” (Amazon) (x.com/DonShift3).

• CB Radio Graphics by DonShift.com, (x.com/DonShift3).

• HAM Radio would also be a worthwhile skill to learn and to invest in gear. A license is helpful for HAM radio operators, but in an emergency it has value and the airways are open for those with the gear even if you don’t have a license. (I don’t know the details).

“Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communications.” … Wikipedia.

For emergency water sterilization methods and products, see this article: Water: How to Guarantee Your Own Fresh Supply, by Dr. Ralph La Guardia, Medical Underground, (Substack).

Medical Underground

WATER: HOW TO GUARANTEE YOUR OWN FRESH SUPPLY

I am sure watching the current world events unfold, you, like myself, are left with a very strong and growing feeling of impending doom. Besides the ever-increasing threats of nuclear war and its horrors, there are wars brewing in China/Taiwan, Korean peninsula, Ukraine/Russia, and of course the always horrible wars between Israel and practically everyo…

Read more

2 years ago · 7 likes · 1 comment · Dr. Ralph La Guardia

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

Subscribe now

Why bother with house plants? Beauty, calming, and better air quality is possible.

“Spider plants are gorgeous, sprawling greens that clean the air and are pet-friendly! NASA’s study found that spider plants were able to remove 95% of chemicals from the air in 24 hours.

Spider plants filter toxins including:

• carbon monoxide; benzene; styrene; formaldehyde; xylene; toluene.

Snake plants are easy to grow and happy in all kinds of lighting situations. “They’re robust and statuesque, which means they don’t take up much room in terms of width, and they’re also one of the best air-purifying plants,” says Muñoz. This air-cleaning plant is also commonly referred to as mother-in-law’s tongue, thanks to the sharpness of its upward-growing green leaves.

Snake plants filter toxins including:

• benzene; formaldehyde; trichloroethylene; xylene.

Golden pothos - This leafy vine can be hung in midair or set on a shelf to climb all the way across it. Also known as the Devil’s Ivy, it grows steadily in low light or fluorescent light. It’s one of the easiest plants out there to keep alive.

Golden pothos plants filter toxins including:

• toluene; formaldehyde; xylene; trichloroethylene; benzene.

Philodendrons (including heart-leaf, elephant ear, and sellous philodendrons) are all effective air-purifying plants.

Philodendrons filter toxins including:

• formaldehyde

21 Best Air-Purifying Houseplants (architecturaldigest.com) *Peace lily and Aloe Vera are also on the list and a few types of Dracaena along with ferns, Bamboo palm and Gerbera daisy.

Snake plants may be divided at the connected base of roots but it also grows readily from cut leaves rooting and sprouting a new baby plant.

This video shows how to propagate Snake Plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, in a tub of water - in dark. It doesn’t say how long it took to sprout them. Warmth likely helps. She then arranges the trimmed sprouts in a clear glass of water for a table-top display. The sprouts will grow in the vase of water with the help of fertilizer enriched water occasionally.

More Science about the growth habits of Sansevieria/Dracaena is in the video farther below.

House plant care seems to have a large number of Youtubers with videos about caring for different types of plants. The ‘green thumb’ of a gardener is paying attention to how each plant grows and what it likes regarding warmth, light, and humidity - and remembering to water regularly. It is a chore, or a labor of love if you love the hobby.

How we can propagate plants also varies - some only grow from seeds, others may grow from leaf or stem cuttings or by underground roots or trailing vines. Seeds are generally slower to reach a large plant size than taking a cutting or dividing an overgrown clump of something - or giving trailing baby plants some dirt.

I am also propagating wild strawberries that were trying to grow on a mossy sidewalk from trailing vines with baby strawberry plants - somewhat similar to how a spider plant gets baby spider plants on a draping shoot-like extension which flowers first, then seeds and/or a baby plant forms at the node.

Tip in this video - let the leaf cuttings dry over night or for 24 hours before putting then in the dirt. It forms a sealed edge that is less likely to mold or get a plant infection. Be sure to plant them so up is still up, and down is still down. Marking the leaves with a Permanent marker as you are cutting them can help prevent putting them in the dirt upside down. ⬇️⬆️

Even more science - making the pitch to keep the Sansevieria name: SNAKE PLANT TOUR at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden — Ep. 303, Summer Rayne Oakes, (Youtube). *Long video, I skimmed it to look at the various cactus like snake plant varieties.

How to make Snake plants grow taller - in this video - He is guessing but it is not bad tips - Use a deep pot with good potting soil. Don’t overfertilize but do transplant and change the dirt occasionally. Don’t cut the root mass apart to propagate them from brand new starts if you want taller plants. Provide a sunny window with plenty of light . . . What I have found is that really good light is what helps mine grow tall, along with having transplanted them into good dirt. A grow light is what makes a difference for my plants with a lot of shade rather than sunny windows. They can get really tall with the grow light, or summer outside weather - three to four feet tall.

How to propagate plants varies by plant type.

Begonias - tropical flower - treated as an annual outdoor flower, or houseplant in non-tropical regions.

Begonias can often root in water or dirt from a simple cutting. Rooting hormone does help while it isn’t necessary for the Draceana/Snake plants discussed earlier.

Reducing leaf surface on a cutting can help with survival, so it has less to support while roots are forming. Remove the larger leaves or cut them in half to reduce moisture loss. A humidity tent might help them root. Water a cutting more often than the plant would need. Keep the soil moist but not flooded, while rooting.

Arrow Plants - tropical vine or houseplant, short shrub or gangly vine.

Arrow plants will show root buds when a vine section could be separated from the smaller base plant. https://greg.app/arrowhead-plant-benefits/

I hadn’t realized until today, looking it up, that the plant forms not very straight vines. The plant was so gangly and falling over in three directions that I had recently cut the dangling sprouts and started them in the large pot with some begonia clippings. The gangliness of the three stalks has straightened out and they seem happy.

The bushy base plant is starting another vine, it is getting root buds. The leaves stay small unless they are on the gangly vine according to info online. The plant doesn't get bigger than what I have in the brown ceramic pot (handmade by my mother).

One stalk of the Arrow plant is larger than the rest, and has started forming root buds. In a tropical Rainforest it would have a tree trunk to climb and bark to grow roots in.

Pothos - a vine that roots along tree bark, every leaf node could be a cutting. Philodendrons are similar.

One Pothos clipping took root out of ~ 4 that I had put around the base of this Arrow plant when I had moved it into a bigger pot. Now the Arrow plant is bigger and the Pothos needs to be given its own pot, or maybe it is doing fine. It looks happy and green. More on Pothos is at the end of this post. Pothos are a bit thicker of a leaf and can be in holden or light green colors.

The Philodendron in the hanging basket in the image is darker green than the Pothos at the top of the image. The Philodendron is hanging down in the image below.

Spider Plants, are also called Air Plants because they seem to grow in mid-air - or are like a spider hanging on its web.

Propagating spider plants is easy once you have the a plant with babies. Just clip off a baby that has roots and plant it.

The baby spider plants grow from the flowers, and or seeds form from the flowers. These spider babies (above image) don't have root buds yet and aren't ready to grow on their own yet.

Keep it moist consistently while it is establishing its roots. A humidity tent might be helpful and warm conditions, 70s'F, rather than 60s.

All of the larger baby spider plants, with root buds (image above), could grow given their own pot of dirt and steady moisture for a while. I particularly like this Spider plant. It was uniquely large to begin with and the only one with reverse, white outer stripes and a wide green center. Out of 22 spider plants I got in clearance holiday planters last December (2 per sickly Poinsettia planter), that plant had stood out, larger and greener than the rest. Maybe the expanded green area on the leaf gives the plant more chlorophyll growing energy than the typical variety with their mostly white leaves. 🤔

Propagating spider plants from rooted baby spider plants 🪴 is easy.

• Clip a baby spider plant that has root buds showing, from the mother plant, and start it in a four inch pot. Water ~ keep it damp while the roots are forming. Then water every 1-2 weeks once it is established.

• Maintenance: Spray with Neem/Dr. Bronner’s dilution every few weeks to keep the leaves shiny and bug free. Remove dead leaves and keep the soil free of composting material that might house insects or mold.

• Spider plants can grow fast given reasonable light. Transplant into a 6 or 8 inch pot when it has tubers filling its little pot.

• Signs it needs transplanting- it is drying out really fast. Or - It doesn't seem to be growing well anymore and is sickly. Dirt can become too salty and lacking in nutrients. Switching the dirt can help revive a sad house plant and make it happy again.

The large Spider plant has long tuberous roots. Large overgrown plants can benefit from being divided into 2-4 sections and repotted in more large pots - give it a similar height pit because the tubers are used to that size pot already.

Putting a house plant into too large of a pot can lead to it quickly growing long roots straight out to the edge of the pot where they then start circling the edge. Transplanting in gradual steps with a 2-inch larger pot each time will encourage full root growth between each jump up in size.

Larger pots are nice because they allow for less frequent watering, but they take up more space around the house. A root bound plant will dry out quickly between waterings though and that can be a sign that it needs to be transplanted or divided. Plant sharing clubs can be a nice way to give away extra houseplants if space is limited - divide the too large plant and put part of it back in the same pot.

Spider plants like a deep pot and prefer well drained soil to being in a hanging basket that has no drainage holes. The tuberous roots can store water for the plant, helping it during the forgot to water my houseplants ‘drought’, but chronically wet soil will cause the roots to rot.

In the image below, the Spider plant has reached the base and edge of the pot. It is ready to be transplanted and/or divided. The roots hadn't started circling the base of the pot so it isn't ‘rootbound’ yet.

Dividing my Spider plants became a photo journey.

The deer eaten plant is growing tiny sprouts. It is two clumps that are not doing well, overgrown root masses choke themselves out and overgrown leaves are more prone to have spider mites or aphids or something unwanted. I sprayed these down heavily with Neem oil & Dr. Bronner’s solution and also removed a couple slugs which eat holes in the leaves. It is good to clear away leaf debris from the soil surface occasionally. Mold and insects will grow in it. Moldy soil is not improving indoor air and no one wants aphids or mites.

Each of the deer eaten clumps became three smaller sections once I seperated the tubers. Just cutting in half wouldn't work well because they are intertwined, like knotted hair or octopus that got caught in the spin cycle.

To separate the larger clump, shake off all loose dirt and find the main plant stalks, spiders or octopus with frilly leaf hair, have entangled legs. Gently grasp the plant stalk/neck of two sections and wiggle and pull gently and they will gradually let go of each other. The plant needs to have been watered so the dirt isn't hard.

The overgrown pot became four sections once I had three separated, I saw that one was really two. The tangled roots seem to stunt the plant from getting bigger taller leaves. See how much bigger the tubers are on the plant that had been indoors, and not so entangled with its roots? While it was in a smaller pot, this plant had plenty of room to grow initially. The deer eaten plants had been ready to divide when I put them in the large pot this spring so they weren't doing as well even un-deer-eaten.

The two pots of plants became six pots, the largest plant with four small ones in the corners of the deep square planter; three 6- or 8-inch pots and one 4-inch pot - I am running out of empty pots.

How many house plants is too many?

When you can't keep up with the watering or run out of light areas, then you may have too many house plants. For better air cleaning benefits, though, we probably need more than most of us have. We might want one or two house plants per 100 square feet of indoor space (I’m guessing a full size one, rather than a junior). That’s about 10 or 20 of the good air cleaning species per 1000 square feet of indoor space. 🤔 And that is a lot of house plants and a lot of watering. It is minimally a weekly chore of an hour or two to take care of my numerous plants. They got a bit neglected some months. I like plant species that can handle drought occasionally.

The search results suggest a follow-up study showed less of a benefit for air cleaning than the NASA scientist’s study. It found that up to 1000 plants might be needed for ‘cleaning’ indoor air. (Brave AI summary) That would be more plants than space in the house → get a tent, sleep outside. The air really is substantially better when sleeping outside. I learned that while traveling and sleeping in my car.

It might also be a question of what are we comparing it too? A fan powered HEPA filtration air cleaner? House plants probably aren’t at that level of air circulation. And a HEPA air cleaner isn’t using up CO2 and producing Oxygen for us.

When I read a lay-reader book about the NASA plant study, some points were made about improving the air cleaning potential of your house plants:

1. Water the plant consistently. A dried-out plant will not be respiring much, so it won’t be cleaning the air much.

2. Misting the plants can help with increasing respiration if the plant is a type that likes humidity.

   1. Misting or spraying at the kitchen sink or in the shower occasionally can help give the whole plant a nice bath and wash off dust build-up. Houseplants do get dusty and that will make their leaves less efficient.

   2. Weekly spraying with Neem/Dr. Bronner’s diluted spray helps with cleaning the plants and preventing insect pests.

3. Letting houseplants get moldy and sick will not help your indoor air quality.

Plant services exist where a person who knows plants visits weekly to care for the plants the service provides. If a plant gets sickly, it is swapped out for a healthy one from the service’s greenhouse. Or some plant maintenance services might be available to care for the plants that you already have but don’t have time to care for. This could also be a potential small business to create for yourself if your area doesn’t seem to have plant maintenance providers. (Brave AI summary) We have outdoor landscaping, why not have indoor landscaping services too? (Money…)

https://www.rollingnature.com/blogs/news/spider-plant-nasa-approved-natural-air-purifier#:~:text=Fresh%20Air%20Guaranteed,have%20pets%20in%20the%20house.

Spider plants also grow seeds.

Pothos or Philodendron

Propagating Pothos or Philodendron is also fairly easy. Each leaf nodule has a root bud which it would like to grow into tree bark with. They are tropical vines. Keep a humidity tent over the cuttings, or root a vine tip while the vine is still attached to its original root base.

I have had one Pothos take root from a clipping stuck in an uncovered pot butbthecrest didn't survive. Using a moisture trapping humidity tent might help. That was recommended in the water rooting video for Snake plant leaf cuttings.

In the image below I am trying the second pot method, the vine is still growing out of the upper planter.

I added two spider plant babies too.

The air in the basement does seem fresher since moving the plants back inside. And it is gun to see the plants doing well, happy with their fresh dirt and bright grow light.

~~
Addition - plants shipped by mail may be packed ‘dry root’ as some states don’t allow soil to be shipped as it may harbor insect pests. Transplant your plant as soon as it arrives.

• This is a nice How to article for packing live plants to be mailed (mikesbackyardnursery.com).

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

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• The benefits of Frankincense, Lavender, Garlic, Turmeric/Curcumin, Ginger, and Cypress oils for breaking up blood clots and improving circulation are discussed in a video shared in a comment by Barry O’Kenyan, thanks: (Youtube). Video embedded later.

For poor blood circulation the (YL) 3rd Ed. Essential Oils Pocket Reference, Limited Condensed Version lists:

• Helichrysum, Lemongrass, Clove, Nutmeg, Balsam Fir, Orange, Lemon, Cistus. (page 85) and Goldenrod, Marjoram, Cypress, Myrtle, Grapefruit, Peppermint, Geranium. (page 107) (8th edition on Amazon)

Apply single oils in a 50/50 (or a greater dilution if sensitive) topically to carotid arteries and pulse points or the affected area of pain ~ 2-4 drops two to three times daily. A body massage with the oils two to three times a week sounds really nice ;-)

Blends to improve circulation:

• Circulation blend 1: Basil - 5 drops; Marjoram 8 drops; Cypress 10 drops; Peppermint 3 drops.

• Circulation blend 2: Basil 3 drops; Peppermint 2 drops; Cypress 4 drops; Marjoram 8 drops; Wintergreen or Birch 10 drops. ← that would be higher salicylate, more pain relief potentially. (page 107)

Blends for Varicose/Spider Veins:

For Varicose Veins: Helichrysum, cypress, wintergreen/birch, basil, peppermint, lemon, lavender. Apply on location 3-6 times per day, undiluted or diluted for your sensitivity level.

• Varicose Vein Blend 1: Basil 3-4 drops, Wintergreen/Birch 1 drop; Cypress 1 drop; Helichrysum 1 drop.

• Varicose Vein Blend 2: Helichrysum 2 drops; Cypress 2 drops. (page 108)

5 Stars for the Essential Oils Pocket Reference including niacin in their Circulation Disorders section:

“Niacin (nicotinic acid) is effective for dilating blood vessels and increasing circulation. The amino acid L-arginine and cayenne pepper have similar properties.

Essential oils may be extremely useful for promoting circulation. Myrtle, lemon and cypress have been used to strengthen and dilate capillaries and increase circulation. Helichyrsum, clove and citrus oils are natural blood thinners, balancing the viscosity or thickness of the blood, and they amplify the effects of cypress. Marjoram relaxes muscles and dilates blood vessels, while nutmeg acts a as a circulatory stimulant and anti-inflammatory. Goldenrod is a vein decongestant.” Essential Oils Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition, (3rd Ed. on Amazon) (8th edition on Amazon)

Filling your own Roller ball Bottles

Filling your own Roller Ball bottles with the blends you are using daily makes it a lot more convenient and therefore a lot more likely that you will use the oils. I do feel better when I use essential oils routinely, but I also fell out of using them, or didn’t refill roller bottles promptly. Life keeps rolling forward and I try to keep up. Making things simpler and in batches can help - I refill several roller bottles at a time when I am doing the fragrant but messy chore. See this post for more Do It Yourself info or links: (Substack)

Roller Bottle DIY section

Some people only add about 20 drops to a ten mL roller bottle. I like mine a little stronger with ~40-50 drops. A ten mL bottle holds about 170 drops. The Frankincense in my recipes is a prediluted brand, so those already have added coconut oil.

The MCT/Fractionated organic coconut oil is the same that I use to make structured water blended hot beverages.

The purple gadget in the image helps to remove and put on the bottle rollers. Mine came with a box of empty bottles. There are variations. That type is available here: (walmart.com).

It is easy to spill bottles while filling or assembling. I spilt part of one when trying to pop the roller ball on.

Oil can be scooped off a clean surface somewhat.

Steps to fill or refill roller ball bottles.

1. Count out the drops of your recipe into the empty bottles.

2. Add Fractionated coconut oil to fill the bottle. A large eye dropper makes it less messy.

3. Press in the roller bottle top with the help of the purple device. It would have been used to open bottles that need to be refilled, step 0.5.

4. Twist on the cap and make a bottle label if it is a new bottle.

5. Wipe up any spills and fasten everything tightly. Essential oils spoil if exposed to the air very long.

I refilled my two favorites and made and extra of the Breathe Clear. I also made my own version of a Crown Chakra blend I had purchased and made a new Clary Sage Breathe blend for diffuser use and an extra roller bottle because I had poured out too much MCT oil. 🙂

Filling and refilling your own Roller bottles makes it easy to use oils more often and cheaper. It can save a lot of money because the essential oil companies charge ~ $30 or more per Roller Ball bottle but each is filled about 4/5ths with inexpensive coconut oil. I can empty my favorite roller bottles in month or two. The ones I don't use don't get emptied….they have to handy or it is to forget to use them.

These first two blends are by my bed and I use both several times a day or at night. The Bruise blend I use as needed for my sore spots or on my neck for a headache - Cypress is good for that.

• Tachycardia/Racing heart Ylang Ylang blend: Ylang ylang - 30 drops; Eucalyptus - 10; Frankincense- 20 (4). «< could save a lot of money or side effects from anti-anxiety meds.

• Breathe Clear blend: Fennel - 10 drops; Camphor - 20; Geranium - 4; Rose - 2; Frankincense - 20 (4); Eucalyptus - 10. «< my version of Vick's VapoRub.

• New today, Clary Sage Breathe Clear / Diffuser blend: - I made some bulk for use in a diffuser and then filled a roller ball bottle one fifth with that and topped with MCT oil.

  • Clary Sage - 60; Eucalyptus ~ 80; Camphor ~ 80; Citronella - 10; Rosewood ~ 80. *I bought some larger bottle oils that have eye droppers so just fill and squirt ~ it is a rough count. Wholesale Botanics, it was a good price.

• New today, Crown Chakra blend: Clary Sage - 20; Lavender - 20; Cedarwood- 10; Frankincense - 20.

• Bruise Relief Blend: Cypress - 10; Camphor - 10; Eucalyptus - 10; Cedarwood - 6; Frankincense - 10; Geranium - 6. «< this is what I made for my broken toe and it is nice.

The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Clary sage essential oil as support for Glandular and Hormonal health. It is commonly recommended for female health support. (3rd Ed. on Amazon)

• Cedarwood - Nervous system and Respiratory system support.

• Geranium - Emotional Balance and Skin & Hair support

• Fennel - Digestive/Elimination and Glandular/Hormonal support.

• Frankincense - Nervous system, Immune/Anti-infectious, Emotional Balance, Anti-aging and Skin & Hair support.

• Rose - Emotional Balance and Skin & Hair support.

• Ylang ylang - Cardiovascular system, Glandular/Hormonal, and Emotional Balance support.

• Camphor is not included, other oils in my blends are included in the list in the next section.

~~

Several of the oils in the video plus a few others are mentioned in a poorly referenced article about oils for improving blood circulation or blood pressure. 10 Essential Oils For Blood Circulation In 2023 (Increase Blood Flow) (healthwatchlist.com) The following is the list from the article, but with my rewrite/fact check and additional cautions.

1. Ginger - may be pain relieving used topically (diluted) on sore muscles or joints, reducing inflammation, and improving circulation; a warm sensation may be felt in the area it is applied. If the oil is pure, read the label, it should be edible and a drop or two could be added to a hot beverage or added to recipes. It would be a digestive aid and could help pain and inflammation. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Ginger for Nervous System and Digestive/Elimination support.

2. Cypress - helps reduce muscle pain and headaches. Improves circulation, detoxification and is relaxing for the nervous system. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Cypress for Cardiovascular System, Muscle & Bone support.

3. Eucalyptus - the phytonutrient eucalyptol dilates blood vessels and increases circulation. It may help relieve fatigue. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Eucalyptus by species which are all good for Respiratory System support, and Muscle & Bone is mentioned for Eucalyptus globulus which is a commonly used species.

4. Coriander - may relieve pain and reduce blood pressure and improve blood lipids. It may provide a diuretic effect. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Coriander for Digestive/Elimination and Glandular/Hormonal support.

5. Wintergreen - may reduce clot risk from platelet aggregation and improve circulation. It is ‘blood thinning’ with similar chemicals as aspirin. Cautions: Topically, wintergreen can feel very cooling, or it might be experienced as a hot or burning sensation for sensitive skin. Do a test patch on a very small area first. Avoid overlapping use of Wintergreen oil with other salicylate medications or overusing it topically as it is absorbed well. Covering a large amount of the body would be a really large dose compared to using some minty pain creme on one sore wrist or knee - as an example. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Wintergreen for Muscle & Bone support.

6. Juniper - may help with detoxification and reduction of uric acid. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Juniper for Digestive/Elimination and Emotional Balance.

7. Black Pepper - may help with blood lipids due to the terpene limonene. Also aids digestion and may help improve constipation. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide doesn’t list Black Pepper essential oil in the Body Systems Chart, Appendix B, pp 227-237.

8. Lavender - anxiety and stress relief, may help promote sleep It helps dilate blood vessels. Safe for use undiluted topically, though dilution for sensitive or young skin is always recommended. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Lavender for Nervous and Cardiovascular support, Emotional Balance and Skin and Hair.

9. Neroli - essential oil of the flowers of bitter orange trees. May improve circulation and lower blood pressure. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Neroli for Digestive/Elimination and Skin and Hair support.

10. Cumin - pain relief, may help with blood lipids. The Essential Oils Pocket Guide lists Cumin for Digestive/Elimination and Immune/Anti-infection support.

The list of 10 oils is based on this article (healthwatchlist.com) plus I added info from (3rd Ed. on Amazon) .

Disclaimer: This information is being shared for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

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This post is about edible essential oils which includes any pure essential oils that were made from food type herbs or seeds. Basically, if the herb/seed the oil is made from is a food, then the essential oil should also be a food - unless it wasn’t made with pure processing techniques. If an essential oil bottle says for topical use only it might be due to FDA labeling laws being so picky, but inedible solvents might have been used or added to dilute it. Look for a product label that says 100% pure, no solvents used in the processing, and which is not marked as a perfume product. A company website should have information about their quality control process.

How much of a dilution?

I did some math on this recipe topic in a previous post, so I am skipping the math - the dilution ratio which I have found easy to use in the kitchen, is about 50-80 drops of essential oils (5 mL ~ 85 drops) in a one-ounce (30 mL) eye dropper bottle filled the rest of the way with fractionated (MCT) coconut oil (leave a little room empty to put the eye dropper back in.

Here are my today’s blends - ginger is being removed from my old trial recipes.

The blends are not rocket science - kitchen science can be mellow. Does it smell and taste good? I am just throwing some oils in bottles with some kitchen common sense involved in the proportions. Oregano oil can be overpowering, and Caraway and Celery are noticeable, wherever they are present. Cardamom is a little cinnamon like but has its own spicy flavor.

1. Cilantro - 40 drops, Lemongrass - 10, Caraway - 10, Cardamom - 10

2. Marjoram - 20 drops, Tarragon - 10, Caraway - 10, Celery seed - 6, Cardamom - 15

3. Summer savory - 20 drops, Tarragon - 10, Rosemary - 10, Celery seed - 10

4. Oregano - 6, Rosemary - 10, Summer savory - 10, Marjoram - 10, Caraway seed - 6.

Blend #3 and 4 smell great and both include Summer Savory and other herbs used in the traditional blend called Herbes de Provence — Adding the celery or caraway seed adds an extra bitter accent and are essential oils that may be good for liver health.

Summer savory is a pungent herb in the mint family with a flavor similar to thyme and sage. Use in moderation. It blends well with other strong herbs in the mint family like rosemary and oregano. Summer savory is used in the traditional blend called Herbes de Provence. (spiceography.com/cooking-with-summer-savory/)

These blends may be a little mint/salicylate rich for my health. I don’t need a lot to add some flavor to a meal though - 1/4- 1/2 of an eyedropper up to one or two fuller tubes will season a salad or bowl of soup.

“Herbes de Provence is an aromatic mixture of dried Provençal herbs and spices, which traditionally includes thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and bay leaf.

Herbes de Provence are most commonly used in French cuisine, though the flavors also pair well with Mediterranean cuisine.” (masterclass.com)

Blend #2 is going a little more spicey with caraway and celery seed and cardamom.

Blend #1 is heavy on cilantro and the caraway stands out with a lemony backdrop.

Why bother using essential oils in foods or topically or aromatically?

Use essential oils for the same reason as using herbs and spices - to add flavor and to provide health and mood benefits. Mind clarity and decisiveness can be a benefit, not just reduced anxiety. Building with cedarwood and other fragrant woods was part of the Biblical directions that ancient people were directed to follow. Many of the ‘anointing with oil’ rituals would have been the same as “sanitizing surfaces and oneself with oil prior to being allowed in the presence of the ‘Powerful Ones’ ~ ‘alien visitors’ ~ ‘gods’. Cedarwood has mind clearing benefits - clarity of thought would be helpful in your human servants/managers.

This post has details about the aromatic chemicals within the oils, or the whole herbs and spices, which are particularly healing for us.

Healing Spices - a brief book review

Rather than being an Essential Oil book, this book about the benefits and how to use spices in your cooking is worth the library card or purchase price - “Healing Spices - How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease”, by Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, with Debora Yost, (2011). The recipes look good and are based on the cuisine from around the world but with a focus on southern India cuisine. Ideas for typical use are numerous for each spice/herb and there is one recipe included for each.

While this book is still available as a full-price new book - it appears to have a lot of used copies online available at low prices - making it a good deal. (abebooks) This is a reference book. Each herb/spice section includes a fairly thorough review of medical research regarding the health benefits and the culinary tips share many common uses or blends for the herb.

Towards the end of the book is a section full of recipes from around the world for making your own spice mixes and rubs. Spice rubs are rubbed onto a cut of meat before marinating it or roasting it. A couple pages are devoted to Curry blends from different regional areas. A summary section at the back is included which shows which herbs/spices might help a medical condition and the dose used in a medical study. The book has an index but not a full academic Bibliography of the medical research that is reviewed. I checked the book out of a library, but it would be worth owning.

Addition - I read the introduction - the author worked in the gene tech pharma world and discovered TNF protein. Her background was based in northern India and a culture of home remedies and cooking with spices. She started researching the healing benefits of turmeric on her own - her gene tech pharma world was not interested at the time. Her motivation to write this book - regarding there now being a large body of research showing the healing benefits of herbs and spices - it still isn’t being discussed. People aren’t yet receiving the benefits and in part she thinks it is because they aren’t being told by doctors, but also because they don’t know how to use herbs and spices in the way she grew up with from early childhood.

“These studies haven’t escaped the attention of the FDA and National Institutes of Health (NIH) — but our government isn’t acting fast enough to inform the public that the typical American diet is sorely lacking in spices. They aren’t even mentioned in the USDA’s food pyramid! That’s why I wrote this book.” - Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, Jan. 2011

“In a survey of cookbooks by food scientists, 9 percent of recipes contained at least one spice; the average was four.” Where you are dining in the world matters - four would be a low end number of spices in Indian, Indonesian, and Thai cooking, while American recipes might have one or two. (page 8, “Healing Spices - How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease, Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, Jan. 2011, (abebooks)

Even the Polish list of traditional herbs and spices was generous compared to much of standard American dishes - the end of this post has a lot of recipe and some herb and spice information. Caraway seeds and tamales, and leaf wrapped foods around the world is the muddled theme:

In brief directions for topical or edible use

Essential oils are potent, and caution is needed to use them safely for that reason. They are medicinal and excess for some types can burn the skin or inner mouth if undiluted or not diluted enough for sensitive skin. Younger children and older people may have more skin sensitivity to ‘hotter’ oils like clove oil or cooling oils like mint. Some essential oils are edible but only 1-2 drops per pot of soup - oregano essential oil is intense in flavor and also on skin - it needs to be diluted for topical use.

Oregano essential oil is a very strong antimicrobial, and iron chelator too, and can be used topically diluted in a carrier oil ~ 1 drop to a teaspoon of coconut, almond, or olive oil. The palms and soles of the feet are particularly absorptive and use twice a day can help a patient heal and seems to improve circulation at a local level and may speed healing of bruises.

Generally Regarded as Safe for ‘typical’ use - GRAS - many food oils are considered GRAS. This link has the FDA GRAS list for essential oils and solvent free oleoresins and it includes a lot of plants/oils. What is the typical use may be the catch point. Some oils are better tolerated as edibles than topicals and vice versa. (accessdata.fda.gov)

GRAS link excerpted from this post:

I also mentioned this post with essential oils for liver health - I have had to reduce use of those blends I made with clove essential oil as it seems to have more salicylate than I can tolerate.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

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Symptoms of liver dysfunction that might show up in the feet -

1. Neuropathy - pins and needles or a burning sensation in the feet when you try to walk after sitting for a while.

2. Spider angioma - capillaries show as red stripes on the skin surface

3. Nail bed changes color.

   1. Mostly white nail bed with a darker band at the top.

   2. More advanced/severe liver dysfunction: Yellowing/jaundice can show up as yellower looking nail beds - instead of a whitish pink.

4. Pruritis - itchy feet - can be intense and lead to frequent scratching on feet, hands, arms and legs.

5. Swelling - edema of the feet or ankles.

Things that can help liver function:

1. Intermittent fasting, or at least stop snacking between meals. Try to give the liver 4 hours between meals to digest food before adding more. Free foods for between meals include calorie free beverages and electrolytes and water. He recommends working up to a 18 hour fast, 6 hour eating window - that is fairly narrow, eating only from noon to 6 pm is the example. People with mood issues or a tendency towards low blood sugar may not feel good on that level of fasting.

2. Avoid simple sugars and high fructose corn syrup as it can add to Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

3. Avoid alcohol - it can cause alcoholic fatty liver disease, and or have asparagus along with it. Shop for lower pesticide wine or clear hard liquors like vodka or tequila. Avoid beer altogether as it causes estrogen dominance which can lead to man boobs and also isn’t good for women.

4. Choline / phosphatidylcholine - egg yolk is a good source, organ meats, caviar, mushrooms, red meat.

5. Bitter phytonutrients in the diet: arugula - bitter salad greens, organic coffee, lemons and limes, herbs like oregano, rosemary, basil, dill, parsley and thyme, pomegranate or citrus peel, Bitters, horseradish. Bitter nutrients stimulate bile function in the gallbladder.

6. Red light therapy.

7. Castor oil pack over the liver for an hour or overnight. (cold pressed, hexane free castor oil). Overnight is good because 2-4 am is ‘liver time’ in TCM, when we do a lot of cleansing bodywork.

8. Let go of anger, fear and resentment. It seems to cause harm to the liver - standard recommendation from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

• How Your Feet Are Warning You About Liver Problems! (5 Warning Signs) - Ben Azadi, (Youtube)

• *Click through for various free guides in his show notes. Keto diet seems to be his specialty - it can be helpful for short term weight loss, but needs to be rotated with more nutrient rich carbohydrate foods at times - it can be worked into an intermittent fasting lifestyle and might better reflect what our hunter-gatherer ancestors were used to in their lives.

Summary points in a reply:

@marisajurgens3022, 2 months ago

1. neuropathy of the feet

2. your nails changing colour

3. spider angiomas

4. pruritus - itchiness

5. swollen feet

Help:

• - Stop snacking, start intermittent fasting

• - avoid alcohol consumption

• - bitter foods

And an alternate reason for tingling or pain in the feet - a pinched nerve in the spine:

@PhilLesh69, 2 weeks ago

“Tingling feet can also be a symptom of spinal injury.

For about three months I would constantly feel like my socks were wet or on really bad days when I happened to lift something heavy over my head at work it would even feel like someone stomped on both of my big toes. It was actually painful and tingling.

I really thought it was liver or heart related. But it was actually a crushed vertebra pinching the nerves that lead to my feet.”

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual healthcare guidance.

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Many of the special diets used with autism don’t recommend any use of soy - if gluten and casein/dairy are problematic then soy probably is too because the same enzyme, DPP-IV is needed. I haven’t tried it but that enzyme is in the product Digest Spectrum by Enzymedica. (Enzymedica.com) Vegetable capsule, looks good ingredients, price seems low (under $15) but it is a 30-capsule bottle and 1-2 capsules per meal or more are recommended. Using some enzyme to make a somewhat restricted diet better digested might work better than trying to use enough to eat standard amounts of dairy, gluten/wheat, or soy.

Using extra firm tofu in a vegan diet does make it easier to get protein rich foods with less work for me in the kitchen. At the end of this post I have a list of the bean soup batches that I’ve made since mid-March. I average ~ 2 pounds of dried beans five times a month, to feed two people, one or two servings per day.

Saponins

Saponins can have health benefits in moderation but excessive amounts may add to leaky gut issues. The chemicals can be used as emulsifiers and are described as cholesterol lowering but also cytotoxic - saponins can kill cells. (Timilsena, et al., 2023)

Lima beans and lentils are lower in saponins than garbanzo beans and most other dry beans. Limas, lentils and garbanzo have less harmful lectins than other dry beans that have the kidney shape 🫘, and Adzuki beans are different too (small, round & reddish beans, healthline). Adzuki beans made into a spicy stir-fried Chinese dish with dried shiitake and red pepper. Chinese Stir-fried Adzuki Beans with Shiitake - Vegan Vegetarian Recipe, Vegan International, (Youtube)

Saponins are soap like in the way they can cause membrane damage and a leaky gut. Of the beans without the PHA lectin, (see below), garbanzo beans have the most saponins. Extended boiling does not break down saponins but fermentation does. Tofu is greatly reduced (590 mg/kg) from the original soybean (10,600 mg/kg).

Moderate or small amounts would be more tolerable to the body than large amounts or daily use.

Lectins - phytohemagglutinin (PHA)

All beans of the Phaseolus vulgaris species have the kidney bean shape but they have different colors and sizes, and also include green beans.

The Phaseolus vulgaris species of beans contains a lectin called phytohemagglutinin (PHA) which is very effective at penetrating our gut lining, leaving it more “leaky”, and also the lectin causes damage in the body after entering the bloodstream. It can puncture the membranes of red blood cells causing clumping of cells or even cell death.

*This helps explain why a vegan diet for someone with pyroluria, like me, might be bad - more red blood cell breakdown means more loss of vitamin B6 and zinc and that would be a quicker route to a deficiency if I forget to take my high dose supplements. More B6 is needed than is feasible from diet alone and zinc would need the really rich sources like shellfish, which I can’t have due to previous autoimmune antibodies.

Lectins can bind with a receptor, blocking receptor function.

Soybean’s agglutinin lectin (SBA) also can be a cause of leaky gut. Peanut lectin (PMA) also can puncture the gut lining and has been measured in the bloodstream less than hour after eating it.

Lectins in peas (PSA) and lentils (LCA) are less toxic but may have some negative effects too.

Peas are so high in salicylates that they are more troublesome for me than other legumes.

It could seem like you were having variety if you rotated use of black beans, cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, green beans, kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans, and white kidney beans. BUT you wouldn't be, they are all Phaseolus vulgaris in multi-colored beany costumes.

Oh.

• Info from the book The Paleo Answer by Loren Cordain, (Thrift Books).

Loren Cordain also mentions oxalate as another reason to avoid or be careful about eating beans. Black beans are quite high in oxalate but also are a good source of delphinidin. Brown garbanzo beans are high in delphinidin (an Nrf2 promoting anthocyanidin) but low in oxalate. Chana dal, brown chickpeas with a spicy onion and tomato sauce, is a dish frequently served in Indian restaurants. (cookwithmanali.com)

I learned of a high protein low carbohydrate seed which is lower than others in lectins and saponins - Lupin beans, also called lupini, are used in the Mediterranean and Middle East areas and India more than in the US, but they are gaining in popularity here. They are higher protein than other beans which vary from 7-9 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving of cooked beans (about 1/4 cup dry).

Some varieties of lupini beans are bitter from alkaloid content, other varieties have been bred to be less bitter. The beans are fairly rich in magnesium and calcium but do have quite a bit of phosphorus. Unfortunately for me, I can’t eat them because part of the excellent protein content, is plant albumin. That means it would have some of all the essential amino acids, like hemp kernels, and for the same reason. I found I couldn’t eat hemp kernels or I would get my autoimmune symptoms.

“A ½-cup serving of cooked lupini beans contains about 100 calories, 13 grams of protein and 2 grams of dietary fiber and is a good source of zinc and magnesium. A higher protein content and increased interest in plant-based proteins may be to thank for their recent rise in popularity in the United States.”

“A traditional Italian Christmas holiday dish combines lupini beans with green or black olives.”

“Dried bitter lupini beans should soak for several days. The “sweet” variety need to soak only for a few hours. Cook per package instructions. Lupini beans have thick skins, which are edible but are often removed before eating.” (foodandnutrition.com)

A pound of dry beans is about 2-2 1/2 cups which makes 8-10 half cups of cooked beans, or about 4 entree servings with roughly 14-18 grams of protein, or ~ 2 ounces of meat equivalent. While beans do provide a decent amount of protein, it is a lot of carbohydrates and fiber, therefore limiting other starchy vegetables and grains in the meal can help to not overeat carbs and skimp on the protein rich beans.

One and half cups of beans would be a more generous protein serving for an entree, but would be adding even more carbs and fiber. Having some nuts or seeds that are lower in starch can help provide more balanced macronutrients in a vegan meal. Vegan diets are really too high in fiber for fast growing children with their smaller stomachs. Removing the skins on lupini beans is often part of the preparation as the peels are more fibrous than typical, although edible. A vegan diet can be a lot of chewing if you are avoiding processed meat-alternative foods or cheese-alternatives (other than traditionally fermented tofu).

Seeds are a very good source of phospholipids which helps with endocannabinoid formation:

…and with energy production - Magnesium-Adenosine Triphosphate.

Our ATP molecules are Adenosine triphosphate and they need magnesium too. Or magnesium needs ATP molecules to be carried in a non-electrically active form - non-active until the energy is ready to be used. Mg-ATP is another name for ATP.

However, excessive intake of phosphorus in ratio to calcium and magnesium intake may lead to demineralization of teeth and bones (osteoporosis).

The following post has a Table that ranks beans, nuts, seeds and some grain/flours for their phosphorus intake, and calcium, magnesium and protein amounts.

Bean soup menu planning - and puree texture.

I need to cook a two to two and half pound batch of bean soup about every 4-5 days to feed myself and my mother, one or two servings per day. It gets to be a lot of cooking over the course of time. She needs pureed texture, and has improved again in appetite, so I am now pureeing about 3/4 of the batch for her and make some other stuff for me to eat too.

The veggies I choose are easily pureed, onion, leeks, celery, parsnip or celeriac, sometimes a turnip or beet, and I try to add some greens - flat leaf Italian parsley, cilantro, or dandelion greens, occasionally beet greens but those are higher oxalate. Yucca root and beets are high oxalate, so I boil those separately, drain and then add to the soup. Other veggies, like fennel bulb and asparagus puree well and I make those as an extra vegetable on the side. Broccoli doesn’t puree that well, it leaves stem bits. Yes, I can also strain the puree, but that is yet another step. Sweet potato and carrot puree also is a side dish puree for my mother. (I have to avoid concentrated vitamin A or beta carotene sources). Scrambled eggs still work for her.

We are on a low histamine diet and her Alzheimer’s symptoms have improved a lot as I’ve figured out what makes her worse. Canned foods are a real problem - anything aged tends to have more histamine.

I used to stick a dated label on each glass jar of soup, but it might be 8 jars every batch, so I started keeping a dated list on the fridge instead. Five batches per month is the average. I have reduced use of Phaseolus vulgaris species as I learned more, and black beans were such an oxalate problem that I had already stopped using those very often.

• 3/16 - White bean soup with parsley - *Phaseolus vulgaris

• 3/21 - Red lentil soup

• 3/25 - Black-eyed peas with leeks

• 3/30 - Split pea soup

• 4/4 - White bean soup * Phaseolus vulgaris

• 4/9 - Red lentil and golden beets

• 4/15 - Split pea soup

• 4/20 - Black eyed peas

• 4/49 - Red Lentil soup

• 5/4 - White bean & cilantro *Phaseolus vulgaris

• 5/12/13 - Red lentil

• 5/17 - Black-eyed peas

• 5/23 - Red lentil

• 5/30 - Split pea soup

• 6/6 - Red lentil

• 6/11 - Split pea soup

• 6/17 - Red lentil & dandelion greens

• 6/24 - Garbanzo & lima bean & parsnip, pom peel & parsley

• 6/26 - Red lentil, golden beet & parsnip

*The split pea and red lentil soup don’t need the lengthy soak time, so when I need a quicker batch, (it’s morning, and I forgot to presoak beans last night) they get made instead of black-eyed peas, limas, garbanzos or a Phaseolus vulgaris type.

Today’s batch is presoaked, waiting to be cooked, and it will be black-eyed peas with garbanzo beans.

I need to buy some more dried beans, I am running low again. The list above represents almost 25 pounds of dried red lentils.

~~

This is a mistitled post, so I am adding grains and seeds info.

This article says sorghum, millet, teff and fonio are lectin free and gluten free grains. However, millet and sorghum are goitrogenic so it isn't a complete win.

Raw wheat germ and whole grain wheat is high in wheat lectins. Presoaking, sprouting, fermenting (sourdough), baking, and broiling were mentioned elsewhere as methods that reduce lectins.

Buckwheat is gluten free but has other lectins, (and it is quite high in oxalates). Pressure cooking can reduce lectins.

This article provides more information on each of the listed gluten free, lectin free flours. Chickpea flour is not lectin free sonit was not in the list but is discussed in the article as it is gluten free and is commonly used now. .

https://creativeinmykitchen.com/quick-guide-to-lectin-free-gluten-free-flours/#:~:text=The%20root%20flours%3A%20cassava%2C%20tapioca,sorghum%2C%20millet%2C%20teff%2C%20fonio

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

(Timilsena, et al., 2023) Timilsena YP, Phosanam A, Stockmann R. Perspectives on Saponins: Food Functionality and Applications. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 31;24(17):13538. doi: 10.3390/ijms241713538. PMID: 37686341; PMCID: PMC10487995. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10487995/

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Caution: It is important to not eat raw or undercooked lima beans as the precursor chemical contains hydrogen cyanide. Cooking makes it convert to thiocyanate which is still an antinutrient that impairs iodine metabolism and can add to risk of goiter. (Loren Courdain, PhD, The Paleo Answer, page 144-145)

Wakame seaweed salad for one serving -

• Presoak 1-3 tablespoons of the dried seaweed, five or more minutes, it can sit a while if you get busy. Amount to use depends on your appetite, or it keeps well for a day if you make extra. It grows! Kids could have fun with this! So can adults ;-)

• Drain the seaweed and add 1-2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

• and a couple tablespoons or slices of raw sweet onion, sliced thin or chopped small.

• Add 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or soy sauce if you prefer that and tolerate it.

• Add a 1/2 cup of cooked & chilled limabeans (more resistant starch bonus). *I made a pound last night - they had been one of my ice packs - bless their little frozen beany hearts.

Add salt to taste (unless soy sauce was used - that is adding salt to it) or hot pepper or other seasoning if desired and enjoy!

Portion - this is a side dish amount

This amount would be a side dish that provides some protein rather than being a full entrée. Serve with some Tandoori chicken for an international mix-up. Or Vietnamese style salad rolls that have a protein filling. Ginger stir fry with a meat, fish or organic tofu sounds good too, skip the rice for a moderate carb diet. The lima beans are a carbohydrate equivalent.

For a vegan entrée, protein from 1 1/2 cups beans 🫘 would be a main dish equivalent, and no other carbs would be needed for the meal because the beans are high carb. Have veggies with them, like the Wakame seaweed, and a healthy oil. Or some nuts and seeds which provide fats and protein and a little carbohydrate.

Fats are needed in a meal to make it seem satisfying to the brain.

The lima beans in this particular recipe had some avocado oil added before they went in the fridge. The sesame seeds are providing fats too.

This earlier post has images of dried seaweed products including Wakame and a link to the post about fucoidan and breast cancer.

Most people in modern life cultures likely could use more iodine than we get because we are getting too many goitrogenic substances. Extra iodine is generally protective however glutathione production and adequate antioxidants are also needed to protect the thyroid from oxidative aspects of iodine metabolism. That topic is in a different post, part of or the last in the Hashimoto's series:

*I do have a couple drafts on iodine or/thyroid in the works but still need to work on them.

** Happy Mother's Day!

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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I can't find my coffee filters but wanted coffee so I went campfire style - one spoonful gently simmered in a pot with about four cups of water.

Ten to 20 minutes gently heating produced coffee.

Strain your coffee into a large glass jar, 2 quart size, and compost the coffee grounds.

What you add to you hot structured beverage is up to you except the spoonful of MCT oil or ghee (clarified butter) is needed to make it structured.

Coffee is niacin rich so I gave been adding my reduced amount of niacin (50 mg) to my hot beverage in the morning along with a 1)4 teaspoon of potassium bicarbonate to offset the acidity.

I also like a spoonful of stevia and real Vanilla extract. I add a squirt of cannabinoids, THC and CBD, and one of my essential oil blends, the Parasympathetic blend is in the photo, (a simple blend of Lemongrass and Clove) and I add two drops of Myrrh oil.

*Adding liquid trace mineral drops screwed up the chemistry though, it didn’t turn into the creamy texture. Gritty cardamom tended to settle out too. What works well is the edible essential oils which mixes well with the MCT oils, and things like vanilla extract or the Stevia powder which readily dissolve in water. Chaga powder works.

Then blend for 30 seconds. Hot liquids will crack modern day plastic blenders or smoothie makers - lesson learned the hard way, with repetition. So glass jar and a hand blander works good. *However the hand blender to make a puree soup is not very smooth, it makes a ‘Lumpie’ instead of ‘Smoothie’.

Your jar for blending needs to be only half to 3/4 full because the vortex created while blending rises up along the edges of the jar and will spill all over if the jar is too full.

The beverage changes color from black coffee to cappuccino creamy colored. And that is the texture too - creamy.

It made two large mugs of structured coffee for me and it tastes great. A little bit of grit just adds a bit of authentic campfire experience to the morning.

Stevia - I use a fluffy product that can be swapped for sugar on a 1-1 ratio. It dissolves fairly well in hot or cold compared to a different brand. I also like the fluffiness for making a travel mix to have in my purse. I add sodium or potassium bicarbonate with the stevia powder and some cardamom or other powdered herbs for flavor. I could add a little niacin powder too. That mix is handy for adding to take-out coffee or at a restaurant.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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Our feelings are wordless and our verbal rational mind tries to put words and reasons to feelings that might originate in old intergenerational trauma from violent events or food scarcity. Instead we tend to look around us and think our immediate situation was causal for feelings that might have to do with wordless instincts embedded in epigenetic changes from our grandmothers' time of life, when she was pregnant with our mothers.

Anger might also be situational to the present and that might include nutritional needs being unmet, or sleep, or pent up feelings from lack of exercise and too much modern blue light and EMF and internet scrolling. To feel less angry we may need to consider what we are reacting too and whether it is internal (a need for magnesium) or external (a need for quiet in the work environment).

In Tibetan Medicine spending time in nature is encouraged and looking at the interconnectedness of our lives with others and with our surroundings.

This post is in follow-up to Learning self appreciation Hawaiian style - Ho’oponopono, (Substack).

• The following is an excerpt from the book: Tibetan Medicine and You - A Path to Wellbeing, Better Health, and Joy, by Miriam E. Cameron and Tenzin Namdul, 2020. (GoodReads) (Rowman.com)

Miriam Cameron is a registered nurse with a PhD in nursing and philosophy/bioethics who has been studying Tibetan Medicine since 1994. Tenzin Namdul is a doctor of Tibetan Medicine. The book is a collaborative work with a goal of bringing the benefits of Tibetan Medicine practices to Western medicine practitioners. (GoodReads) (Rowman.com)

Meditation on Anger, pages 224-225

Tibetan medicine teaches that thoughts impact health and happiness. Kind thoughts calm mind and body. They help you to think clearly and make good decisions.

In contrast, anger increases the heart rate and blood pressure and depresses the immune system. When you are angry, you breathe in a shallow, erratic manner. You get too hot, which affects your entire body. Your cells fail to let go of toxins and become properly oxygenated. Angry thoughts decrease your ability to see things clearly and choose wisely. Anger can kill you.

Meditating on anger will help you to develop mindfulness, awareness of the present moment. When mindful of your anger, you more easily will let it go, rather than express it, ruminate on it, and/or suppress it. Hidden anger comes out in depression, headaches, infections, inflammation, skin rashes, and other symptoms. By meditating on anger you figure out why you're angry. You can read it out and behave with compassion and wisdom.

• Sit comfortably in a straight back chair on a meditation cushion or on the floor or lie on a bed with your arms by your sides and your legs stretched out.

• Straighten your back and breathe deeply; close or lower your eyes and relax.

• Breathe in a circular manner, through your nostrils, from your abdomen, slowly, deeply evenly, with your in-breath the same length as your out-breath, and no break in between; keep breathing in this manner throughout the meditation.

• Think of a situation about which you are angry and fully feel your anger; determine where in your body are holding anger and why.

Try to understand your anger and what underlies this negativity.

• Do you feel abused? If so, how can you kindly set limits and protect yourself?

• Are you afraid of losing something you have or not getting what you want? If so, remember the folly of being attached to what is impermanent (see chapter 7).

• Did someone disrespect you and you defended your ego to save face? If so, keep in mind that you're empty of inherent existence, and your ego doesn't really exist, (see chapter seven). Breathe out your anger, fear, and all other negativity; feel purified in mind and body. Fill yourself with compassion towards yourself, everyone and everything.

When you're ready, fully open your eyes and keep breathing in a circular manner.

Bring into your everyday life the purity, peace, and compassion that you cultivated during the meditation. Make amends for treating yourself and others with anger. Kindly set appropriate limits to protect yourself from individuals who are angry. Anger is contagious. If you don't safeguard yourself, you are likely to become angry again.

Miriam E. Cameron and Tenzin Namdul, Tibetan Medicine and You, pp 224-225, 

See this post for the introduction to the book and topic of Tibetan Medicine and You: Compassion, Anger and Codependency, from the perspective of Tibetan Medicine. (peace-is-happy.org) or on (deNutrients.Substack)

And a follow-up post has graphics about Tibetan medicine concepts:

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

Blends can be used to suggest your own blends. I prefer to avoid citrus oils because I do seem to be sensitive to topical or internal use of them. Making my own blends makes it easier to skip the citrus and substitute Lemongrass essential oil instead. It also has limonene which makes the characteristic citrus aroma.

Brief post, I’m jotting down notes in a format that won’t turn into an oily unreadable label.

Parasympathetic blend

(a citrus free version of this product)- edible oils in MCT oil so I can make my hot blended structured water beverage with it. Mixed in a 30 mL eyedropper bottle:

• Lemongrass essential oil - 30 drops

• Clove oil - 20 drops

Related post from the Vibrant Blue Oils site: What is the Parasympathetic State?, (vibrantblueoils.com) Jodi Cohen recommends using the blend topically on the vagal nerve areas of the neck. The Parasympathetic response of the body is the opposite of the Autonomic fear response with the fight/flight patterns of behavior. We digest food well with the Parasympathetic system activated and we don’t when the fear response is active. It is a bit of a teeter totter - we don’t get both at the same time, one or the other is active. Modern life tends to keep us continually in the fear response metabolic patterns of the Autonomic Nervous System.

“It is important to note that different application points yield different results. You can significantly amplify your results by intentionally applying essential oils on specific healing points known as acupuncture points or reflexology points that are correlated with specific organ systems or regions of the brain, like the vagus nerve. For example, acupuncture points behind the ear and around the neck are the most effective points for stimulating the auricular branch of your vagus nerve. A neural anatomy study showed the vagus nerve is most accessible for stimulation via the lower half of the back ear.  Research on “acupuncture and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) found that acupuncture points produce clinical benefits through stimulation of the vagus nerve and/or its branches in the head and neck region that are anatomically proximate to vagus nerve pathways there, where the VNS electrode is surgically implanted.” (Study)” - Jodi Cohen, What is the Parasympathetic State?, (vibrantblueoils.com)

Aside - Cypress oil applied at that behind the ear area of the neck has really helped relieve my occasional migraines.

Liver/Detox Edible Blend

- MCT oil as the carrier, mixed in a 30 mL eyedropper bottle.

• Lemongrass - 20 drops

• Cilantro - 20 drops

• Celery Seed - 10 drops

• Clove - 10 drops

• Rosemary - 10 drops

Some math: This is a bit stronger than my salad dressing blends. 70 drops in ~ 500 drop container = I think, a 14% dilution meaning you get 1/7 of a drop of essential oil blend in each drop of the dilution. One drop of a pure essential provides ~ 60 mg of the essential oil. One milliliter of the dilution - the eyedropper tube if filled completely - would provide about 17 drops of blend, divide by 7 and we learn that one full dropper might have 2.4 drops of the pure oils, or 143 mg.

Liver Support Topical Blend - Fractionated Coconut oil as the carrier, mixed in a 30 mL eyedropper bottle.

• Cypress, Juniper, and Guaicwood - 15 drops each

• Geranium, Lavender, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang - 10 drops each

This is also a stronger blend, but prediluted for topical use, no other carrier oil needed. 95 drops diluted in 500 drops is about a 20% dilution. One mL eyedropper tube might contain 3.2 drops of the pure oils, or 194 mg; 1/4 tube might contain 48 mg, slightly less than one drop of the oil blend - and that seems like a nice amount for topical use over a small area of the body.

Checking the chemistry for synergistic blending

It would be good to check the synergistic balance against the info in this post:

• Edible essential oils & why we benefit from using the fragrant gifts from nature. (Substack)

In it we learned of a power trinity of phytonutrients to use for maximal healing benefits - combine oils that contain sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes and phenylpropanoids. David Stewart shares these three groups of chemicals which are commonly found in many favorite essential oils but not necessarily all three in the same single oil. Used in combination, they may maximize the effectiveness of a blend against chronic disease. (Link) Phenylpropanoids are precursors for many potent flavonoids like quercetin, luteolin, baicalin and caffeic acid. (Ramaroson, et al., 2022)

Lemongrass provides a lot of monoterpenes:

Lemongrass essential oil contains: “citral, geraniol, myrcene, limonene, and linalool, have significant antifungal activity” (Mukarram, et al., 2021) Citral has a lemon aroma and is also in citrus. It is an unsaturated aldehyde but is made of a combination of monoterpene aldehydes. “Citral is a mixture of neral and geranial which are monoterpene aldehydes (Maarse, 1991).” (Citral) Geraniol is a monoterpene alcohol. Myrcene is an acyclic monoterpene. Limonene is a monoterpene. Linalool is a terpene alcohol which can be synthesized from the monoterpene alpha or beta pinene. Pinenes are unsaturated bicyclic monoterpenes.

Clove provides phenylpropanoids, sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes:

The major phytonutrients in clove essential oil are: Eugenol, Eugenyl acetate, β-caryophyllene - “S. aromaticum is rich in many phytochemicals as follows: sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, hydrocarbon, and phenolic compounds. Eugenyl acetate, eugenol, and β-caryophyllene are the most significant phytochemicals in clove oil.” (Batiha, et al., 2020)

Eugenol is a phenylpropanoid. (Mohammadi Nejad, et al., 2017) Eugenyl acetate is a related compound to eugenol, and is also called acetyleugenol. It is also a phenylpropanoid compound. (Haro-González, et al., 2021) β-caryophyllene is a bicyclic sesquiterpene, (Caryophyllene), and a similar compound found in clove oil, α-humulene, is a monocyclic sesquiterpene. (Batiha, et al., 2020) Monoterpenes found in clove oil include alpha and beta pinene. (Haro-González, et al., 2021)

“Eugenol, a phenylpropanoid, is pale yellow oil with a spicy aroma with the molecular weight of 164.2 g/mol. This molecule is a weak acid which is soluble in organic solvents and specially extracted from clove oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil and bay leaf.” (Mohammadi Nejad, et al., 2017)

I think a break is warranted - this was supposed to be a short post. The combination of Lemongrass and Clove alone provides a balance of the three desired compounds: phenylpropanoids, sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes. (David Stewart, lensoils.com/tag/david-stewart/ or Link)

The Essential Life, 9th Ed. (oillife) is a handy reference for basics about the single oils, and the phytonutrients but Pubmed has more info. For Clove essential oil, (page 164), we learn that it might help thyroid conditions and a slow metabolism - take in a capsule or use topically, apply to the big toe (that must connect with the thyroid via a Prime Meridian channel/Primo Vascular vessel). The list of things it may help is extensive and finding out that it contains some of all three of the power trinity of phytonutrients may help explain why it can help Alzheimer’s dementia, toothache, poor circulation or metabolism, fight yeast, parasites, and other infections, support the liver during hepatitis, and improve osteoporosis, cancer, or foot fungus.

Disclaimer This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

Reference List

(Batiha, et al., 2020) Batiha GE, Alkazmi LM, Wasef LG, Beshbishy AM, Nadwa EH, Rashwan EK. Syzygium aromaticum L. (Myrtaceae): Traditional Uses, Bioactive Chemical Constituents, Pharmacological and Toxicological Activities. Biomolecules. 2020 Jan 30;10(2):202. doi: 10.3390/biom10020202. PMID: 32019140; PMCID: PMC7072209. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7072209/

Caryophyllene, Science Direct, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/caryophyllene

Citral, Science Direct. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/citral See: Toxicological Aspects of Ingredients Used in Nonalcoholic Beverages, Canan Ece Tamer, ... Gülşah Özcan-Sinir, in Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 2019

Essential Oils, Cancer & The Blood Brain Barrier, blog by Deborah Stauss, original article by David Stewart, March 22, 2016, Link or for just David’s article lensoils.com/tag/david-stewart/

(Haro-González, et al., 2021) Haro-González JN, Castillo-Herrera GA, Martínez-Velázquez M, Espinosa-Andrews H. Clove Essential Oil (Syzygium aromaticum L. Myrtaceae): Extraction, Chemical Composition, Food Applications, and Essential Bioactivity for Human Health. Molecules. 2021 Oct 22;26(21):6387. doi: 10.3390/molecules26216387. PMID: 34770801; PMCID: PMC8588428. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8588428/

(Mohammadi Nejad, et al., 2017) Mohammadi Nejad S, Özgüneş H, Başaran N. Pharmacological and Toxicological Properties of Eugenol. Turk J Pharm Sci. 2017 Aug;14(2):201-206. doi: 10.4274/tjps.62207. Epub 2017 Aug 15. PMID: 32454614; PMCID: PMC7227856. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7227856/

(Mukarram, et al., 2021) Mukarram M, Choudhary S, Khan MA, Poltronieri P, Khan MMA, Ali J, Kurjak D, Shahid M. Lemongrass Essential Oil Components with Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Dec 22;11(1):20. doi: 10.3390/antiox11010020. PMID: 35052524; PMCID: PMC8773226. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8773226/

(Ramaroson, et al., 2022) Ramaroson M-L, Koutouan C, Helesbeux J-J, Le Clerc V, Hamama L, Geoffriau E, Briard M. Role of Phenylpropanoids and Flavonoids in Plant Resistance to Pests and Diseases. Molecules. 2022; 27(23):8371. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238371 https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/23/8371

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The book opens with chapters or sections on a variety of conditions or systems of the body with strategies for selfcare or other information about risk. These pages include essential oils, herbs, homeopathy and naturopathy recommendations for treating the condition.

The book has lovely color photography and shows how to perform exercises or yoga positions. Massage for self, others, and for baby too is demonstrated in step by step color photography along with a few pages of sensual touch for couples.

Yoga poses spaced out over a ten week course are included in mini photographs with lists for each week’s poses to work on. Positions to use for menstruation discomfort and other common complaints are included. General fitness exercises get a few pages in a later chapter.

Essential oils are mentioned in brief, pages 136-141. Bach Flower Remedies and Homeopathy get one page each. This book is nice as an Encyclopedia provides a little bit about a lot of topics. Then a Chapter on Aromatherapy includes detailed charts and directions for essential oils and has entries for quite a few oils. Massage with essential oils is demonstrated. pages 246-321.

The many step by step exercises and massage techniques are a big value in this book, at a glance. I want to do the ten weeks of yoga poses now that I have seen it.

Trying a few poses reveals that I NEED to. So stiff and sore in my left shoulder - overuse of my right arm maybe and slight scoliosis since childhood. My left side is my weaker side. Use it or lose it. Time to move more and sit less.

The Naturopathy chapter includes diet and nutrition with a helpful one week menu for basic healthy meals with more vegetables and variety than typical. Summary lists are included for nutrients and the most commonly used essential oils.

~~

Tangential thought - is kaempferol found in essential oils or would it only be in water and alcohol extracts? The answer is the later, water or alcohol extracts will contain kaempferol. It is a potent flavonoid like quercetin which can reduce inflammation and fight microbes for us. It can help protect the brain too. KamuKamu berries and tomatoes are a source - KamuKamu are in the tomato family. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/kaempferol-derivative

Essential oils can add to our lives but the whole foods are great too. A rich tomato sauce made with olive oil and phospholipid rich leafy green herbs would likely be forming more bioactive liposomes that contain water soluble nutrients in the center and fat soluble ones in the liposomal membrane. Beta-carotene would cling to oil in the sauce and kaempferol would be retained in the watery tomato broth as long as gentle heating is happening instead of vigorous boiling.

Essential oils topically and/or internally for Pain and Inflammation

Using some Cedarwood, Eucalyptus, Manuka, or other oils prior to or after a workout can help muscle soreness. Cypress can help stiff joints and Cedarwood may too. Dilute and use topically over the sore areas. There are plenty of others that may help too. See image below with oils or blends that may help Somatic or Skeletal muscular pain.

• Backaches (basil, bergamot, birch, copaiba, coriander, cypress, eucalyptus, frankincense, helichrysum, lavender, lemongrass, marjoram, peppermint, turmeric, wintergreen, and ylang ylang.

• Muscle cramps or Charley horse (arborvitae, basil, birch, cypress, laurel leaf, lemongrass, marjoram, peppermint, pink pepper).

• Headache (basil, blue tansy, cardamom, cilantro, copaiba, frankincense, guaiacwood, helichrysum, juniper berry, laurel leaf, lavender, lemongrass, marjoram, peppermint, rose, rosemary, Siberian fir, Spanish sage, thyme, and wintergreen).

• Headache, migraine - basil bergamot, clove, coriander, frankincense, guaiacwood, helichrysum, lavender, melissa, patchouli, peppermint, marjoram, Roman chamomile, rosemary, rose, Spanish sage, spearmint.

• Joints - birch, copaiba, ravintsara, Siberian fir, and turmeric.

• Referred pain (regional pain related to organ or another area) - frankincense, helichrysum, and Juniper berry.

• Spinal conditions - birch, lemongrass, Siberian fir.

• Tissue damage / Injury - birch, cedar, clary sage, copaiba, frankincense, helichrysum, lemongrass, marjoram, myrrh, sandalwood, vetiver.

• (The Essential Life, 9th Ed., image page 455)

Usage tips - Topical, dilute essential oils in a carrier oil such as almond, grapeseed, coconut, or olive oil. For adults, one drop to five drops of carrier oil should suffice (~ 1/4 teaspoon). For children or more sensitive skin, dilute with one drop to 20 drops of carrier oil (~ 1 teaspoon).

For pain and inflammation, apply to the painful area, frequently until symptoms subside. Every 20-30 minutes at onset, reduce to every 2-6 hours for acute pain, and then 2- 3 times daily for chronic pain. Layering a few different oils can be effective - start with one, and follow up with another after a few minutes.

Internal use can also help pain and inflammation, particularly for chronic pain and internal use may be needed for internal pain. Edible oils can be diluted with a few drops of carrier oil and taken in capsules or water or food. Empty vegetable cellulose capsules are available for sale bulk, and should be pretty inexpensive for lots of them. buying one bottle of empty capsules (as I saw on a MLM company site) would be a REALLY expensive way to buy them.

Example empty capsule product (amazon.com) *I am unaffiliated.

Powdered things could be packaged into capsules all at once, but the essential oils would need to be made into a capsule every day. I don’t think the cellulose capsules will hold the essential oil for very long before it would start oozing out. Fill the empty capsule and take it right away is how I’ve used empty capsules and essential oils. Oregano oil is so strong in flavor that it is generally given in a capsule for medicinal use.

Essential oils in homemade soap

Soap making fans - nice, very thorough video about making your own soap using oils and lye. The example includes lavender and ylang ylang essential oils for fragrance. (Youtube) In the comments we learn that in the Philippines where the flowering tree is wild, ylang ylang is pronounced ee-lang ee-lang.

• BEGINNER YLANG YLANG LAVENDER SOAP MAKING LESSON | Essential Oil Cold Process Bar Soap DIY w/ Recipe, Wild Backyard Soaps, (Youtube) *Recipe in the text box below the video.

Math fun - in her 44 ounce batch of soap loaf she used 2 ounces of essential oils, one part ylang ylang (more expensive) to two parts lavender, to cut cost. It made ten bars of soap. She uses a generous amount of essential oil she said because she likes her handmade soap to have a strong aroma - but without anything artificial. A little clay in the soap can help absorb toxins from the skin and the essential oils are good for the skin too.

2 ounces = 60 mL divided by ten bars of soap = 6 mL per bar, slightly more than a small size bottle, ~ 100 drops.

That is a generous amount. The aroma fades when exposed to the air, so it won’t last that long in a bar of soap laying on a counter.

Essential oils mixed in a massage oil that remains closed and in a dark cupboard will last a lot longer. Glass bottles are recommended though instead of plastic. The strong solvent effect of essential oils can break down plastic and may be leading to microplastics dissolved in your oil.

Essential oils represent a lot of plant material.

A four ounce bottle of Lavender essential oil costs $85 (mountainroseherbs.com) and one ounce of Ylang Ylang essential oil costs $30 (mountainroseherbs.com) depending on where you buy it.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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How much seaweed to eat for iodine and fucose and other trace minerals and fucoidan? For general health rather than breast cancer specifics, having a serving of seaweed daily should be fine for most people, or a few times a week, or any rather than none….

Selenium is needed for preventing hyperthyroidism. It is also a good idea to have a couple selenium rich Brazil nuts per day or 100-200 mcg is a typical recommendation.

And this older post is related, on the topic of iodine, structured water and fluid balance for health - and it has a Jello photo. Bonus:

Wakame salad is served chilled at some Asian or Thai restaurants. It might have a little sweet, a little hot pepper, a little onion and or garlic and some vinegar as dressing.

My single serving batch in the photo included one tablespoon of dried wakame, two thin slices of sweet onion, about a tablespoon of sesame seeds and one of apple cider vinegar. Initially soak the wakame in a 1/4 cup of water for five minutes. Add the seasonings and extra crunch and it is ready to serve.

It was good.

• I added a list of seaweed types on the last page of a one week menu prepared by another dietitian that is focused on increasing trace minerals in your meals. I added a few notes and a longer section about the most commonly used seaweed types and their typical iodine content. (pdf in my Dropbox)

• And this post has more information about beans, nuts, seeds and grains with good mineral content - increasing magnesium and calcium in ratio to phosphorus is the goal of my selections and a spreadsheet. Meals for trace nutrients - iodine, chromium, zinc and copper. (Substack)

• This post has a Wakame salad with Ground Ivy salad dressing - also spring photos of flowers and buckthorn clearing. Ground Ivy vs buckthorn; Recipes - Lima bean pumpkin seed salad and Wakame seaweed salad. Round one goes to Ground Ivy in the Ground cover Battle Royale; buckthorn control tactics; plus two recipes at the end. (Substack)

Kombu is very large leaves, on the plate in the photo below. A little goes a long way in a soup broth. It adds creaminess to the broth and flavor. Salicylate and glutamate may be reasons for caution with the amount you use.

Wakame is huge. A one inch piece for soup may get lots bigger if it had been folded. I added one unfolded piece about one inch square to a pot of bean soup.

Above, four inch wide folded leaf of Kombu. Below, a one inch piece of a single layer of Kombu with a tablespoon of Wakame and Hijiki.

Hijiki and arame are similar in a Thai noodle soup. They add black ‘noodles’ to the mix. They might also be rehydrated, drained and then stirred for a crispy texture. The soup would be healthier though. I prefer the slightly chewier texture of hijiki but it may have a contamination risk I would need to look up.

No Nori rolls in that last picture, but the basic how-to roll them is in this post (Veggie Nori Rolls) and a filling recipe is in this post (Content vs Content Marketing & overstuffed Nori rolls).

~~~~

Infrared sun tea season will be able to move into suntea season soon.

I made a batch of Wormwood suntea and it has some kick (I bought the Absinthe kind without realizing Sweet Wormwood is different). I ran out of, or lost, my bottle of artemisinin. I add about a teaspoon to a glass quart bottle and leave it for about 8 hours.

Also in my fridge is a larger batch made with skullcap, rooibos, pomegranate peel, and yarrow powder. That is tasty from the rooibos I think. I use about a tablespoon of skullcap, a teaspoon of rooibos and of yarrow powder and about a one 6th piece of outer rind of a smaller pomegranate, dried or fresh.

And I tried a smaller batch of sumac lemonade (about a tablespoon in a quart glass bottle) - it really is like lemonade!

Disclaimer: This information is being shared for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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Once used to vanilla extract, an alcohol based extract, the essential oil of vanilla seems incomplete. Yes, vanilla aroma is there, but less.

ESSENTIAL OILS ARE AMONG OTHER POTENT SEASONINGS USED AT THE TABLE - TO THE DINER'S PREFERENCE.

However essential oils can also add a lot of flavor that is super fast to use. Best practice is to add the volatile oil immediately before eating the food - add it at the end of cooking or at the table individually like we add salt and pepper to taste.

Hot pepper sauce is an example of a phytonutrient food that is added to taste at the table. Powdered Sumac is also used in that way and powdered lime or lemon in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Essential oils are so potent that one drop might be too much and one drop of several oils to make a blended flavor, would be way too much for a single serving.

Making a diluted blend allows a diner to add a mixed flavor of oils at the table to a single serving and easily be able to add more if they want a stronger flavor.

ESSENTIAL OILS IN COOKING OR BAKING - 12 DROPS IN A BATCH OF 24 SERVINGS IS GIVING ABOUT A HALF A DROP PER SERVING. DON'T OVERHEAT!

I also use oils in cooking and baking - easy yes, but the flavor just seems less substantial than using the whole spices or herbs.

In a spicy baked good, about 24 muffins worth, I will add 5-6 drops of Clove, Cardamom, and 6-8 of Ginger. It does give a zingy flavor and aroma but the powdered spices give a fuller flavor, in my opinion.

To test my theory, that flavor blends in a dilution would be nice to use for single servings, I made four blends. Three for use in food, diluted in Fractionated Coconut Oil, and one to use in my hot structured water beverage, diluted in MCT Coconut Oil. *Organic oils.

For my experiment I had some empty one ounce, 30 ml eyedropper bottles. 30 milliliters is about 500 drops. I made a one tenth dilution by adding about 50 drops of essential oil to the 30 ml bottle and filled it with liquid coconut oil. This turned out to be a mild dilution. I might add a half dropper or two to a bowl of soup or salad.

And for my hot beverage, I might add one or two dropperfuls to three mug batch of blended MCT oil structured water hot beverage. Picture below has oils I add to my hot beverage mixture, individually or in varied combinations.

Aside - Myrrh oil likes to turn right back into a tree resin given the opportunity. It's bottle becomes a sticky mess that tastes good. In the photo above there is an empty 5 ml Myrrh bottle next to a 15 ml Myrrh bottle and a 30 ml eyedropper bottle with my Carrot Cake blend of oils. To the left is Fennel essential oil which is yummy with fruit or in a beverage and if soothes histamine symptoms.

Carrot Cake Blend: 10 drops each of Carrot Seed, Ginger, Madagascar Vanilla, and Cardamom essential oils, and 6 drops of Clove essential oil.

Ginger blend - I use with soup: 10 drops each Ginger, Lemongrass, Marjoram, 6 drops Carrot seed, and 5 drops Cardamom. **this blend is good for a Thai soup broth effect but, I will probably adjust it slightly.

Dill blend - I like this blend on salad: 11 drops Dill seed, 10 drops Ginger and Lemongrass, and 6 drops Carrot seed.

Marjoram blend - I like this blend with hot soup particularly for the immediate Marjoram and Savory aroma or on salad: 10 drops each Marjoram, Summer Savory, and Carrot seed, 6 drops Dill seed.

Carrot seed oil may have liver healing benefits. They all have healing benefits 😃 that topic needs a different post. This is the “it tastes delicious" post

The flavor of Carrot seed oil is carrot-like but excess can become more bitter than desirable. I don't eat carrots because of my retinoid toxicity risk so it is nice that the essential oil seems okay for me. Dill seed tastes like dill pickles which I love and can't have because fermented foods are histamine foods. It is also a prominent flavor in a blend - meaning make it the dominant note or use less than other oils in a blend - similar with the Carrot seed oil.

Marjoram and Summer Savory are like spending a day in a sunny meadow.

The aroma when adding to a hot soup is immediate, so at the table use is a good place for essential oils in my experience, when pre-diluted. I could increase number of drops used by doubling probably, but found that fairly dilute is convenient. Add a dropperful over the top of the soup at the beginning and add another half way through.

It is better for the oil quality of the single oils to not open the lids very often. These blends have lasted me about a month already. I need to refill the hot beverage Carrot Cake blend and the other three are half full.

30 ml bottle = 30 eye droppers full.

I made a new batch of Carrot Cake blend for structured water hot beverages and I added some Myrrh to it, to reduce frustration with the sticky Myrrh bottle.

Carrot & Myrrh Cake - 10-11 drops each Myrrh, Carrot Seed, Ginger, Madagascar Vanilla, and Cardamom essential oils, and 6-8 drops of Clove essential oil.

I also made a new salad or soup blend - Italian Salad Pizazz

Marjoram oil - 8 drops, Oregano - 6, Rosemary - 9, Summer savory - 7, Celery Seed - 8 drops.

Fill with a little more than two tablespoons of Fractionated Coconut oil, but then the bottle overflows when you put the eyedropper in. <User error> Two tablespoons is ~ 30 mL or one ounce.

I used the last lettuce leaves experimenting with the blend so this salad is chopped cauliflower with cilantro and pecans and two not full eyedroppers of Italian Salad Pizazz and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Crunchy and really good. Now I want more.

The dilution level is good for instant use and did not sting at all topically - the overflow became hand lotion. Oregano oil can sting topically if not diluted enough and is recommended for edible, diluted in a capsule use, as a therapeutic antimicrobial.

Food flavor drops to prevent picky eating? Starting with a baby’s formula? . . . It’s an idea I had a long time ago.

An advantage of leaving the blends fairly dilute is that makes them handy for use with children or for people who aren’t used to strong flavors. There is also an advantage for picky eaters or for those with mental quirks about specks in their food - essential oil blends are not adding specks of herbs and spices in the food.

The very dilute blend might even be tolerable and safe for older babies. Food flavor drops is an old idea for me. I noticed as a counselor that people like to take action - they want to ‘DO’ something about an issue. It may give a sense of control when a situation seems confusing, new, or out of control. As a counselor for early childhood care, there was often a need to encourage people to STOP doing something that they were doing. Having a substitute action to offer instead can make it easier to encourage changing the other habit.

As a lactation educator, I learned that breast milk may decrease picky eating because the baby is getting vegetable and other flavors in the breast milk - it isn’t always the exact same sweet taste. So I thought formula feeding parents might love to be able to add veggie essence drops to their formula feedings to help introduce more flavor early in a baby’s life. Essential oils are veggie essence drops but would be way too potent unless greatly diluted.

My math may be wrong but the Marjoram blend with 36 drops in a bottle with a capacity of 500 drops would make it a 7% dilution. Giving baby one drop of the blend would be giving 0.07 drop of the combined essential oils. *Hypothetically, this is not individualized health care guidance or a recommendation. An eye dropperful would be about one milliliter and it might contain 17 drops of the dilution and 1.2 drops of the combined essential oils. Topical guidance for use of essential oils for infants is dilute 1 drop to 20 drops carrier oil, which is a 5% dilution. A blend intended for topical use with infants might be reduced then to a total of 25 drops in the 30 ml/500 drop bottle.

~~

Two related posts:

Edible essential oils & why we benefit from using the fragrant gifts from nature, (deNutrients.Substack).

and Myrrh, (deNutrients.Substack).

Disclaimer This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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In order to have energy for an active physical and mental life, we likely need to have enough iodine and other vitamins and minerals. Iodine in particular is needed for a vibrant life. Lack of iodine can cause symptoms of apathy, depression, and physical symptoms of feeling cold too easily, fatigue, and constipation. Everything in the body is happening slower - energy is not being used efficiently and weight gain becomes very easy on not very many calories.

We all have a need for iodine in our diet and/or supplements, not just pregnant and lactating people. Someone with hyperthyroidism may need to avoid iodine rich foods however and choose supplements that do not include iodine - at least until the over-activity of the thyroid gland is normalized. Selenium is needed to prevent excess thyroid hormone from accumulating. Two Brazil nuts per day or ~ 200 mcg is a typical goal for selenium intake.

Iodine intake has a recommendation of 150 mcg/day which is very low. Minimally 250 mcg is recommended for pregnancy and lactation and that may be a better goal for everyone else - or higher. The average intake from seaweed in the Japanese diet is 13 mg - 1300 mcg. That is a big difference form 150 mcg but they have low rates of breast cancer in the average population and do not have excessive hyperthyroidism. So who is wrong? I think the US recommendation is wrong and have used a higher dose 12.5 mg Iodine/Iodide supplement called Iodoral.

~~~

37. Creativity, August 6, 2002, European Ashram, Bad Antogast, Germany

"Creativity brings a new beginning for "time". When you're creative, you break the monotony of time. Everything becomes fresh and alive. Creativity brings along with it a new round of enthusiasm. Both creative and procreative impulses in nature are associated with enthusiasm. When you're enthusiastic, you're closer to the creative principle of existence.

Deep silence is the mother of creativity. No creativity can come out of one who's too busy worried, over-ambitious, or lethargic. Balanced activity, rest, and yoga can kindle skills and creativity in you." - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, (Notes for the Journey Within, page 162)

• The book Notes for the Journey Within - Essential of the Art of Living (2023) is a compilation of knowledge sheets written between 1995 to 2022 by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. (cavalierhousebooks.com)

Related links

• Iodine needs are discussed in the previous post: Iodine in pregnancy and lactation, also estradiol, anandamide and female tendency for a good mood. Iodine is essential for growth of the body and brain and the body preferentially uses a woman's iodine stores for her fetus and breast milk. Women can become depleted with each additional pregnancy. (deNutrients.Substack)

• More information about iodine and selenium food sources, and the issue of halides in hypothyroidism is on page G9. Iodine & Thyroid. (effectivecare.info)

Fullscript

Readers can order supplements at 20-25% off through a wholesale professional dispensary by signing up under my account. (Sign up here.) You will be able to order from protocols I have shared or order from the catalog. Products by Ortho Molecular Products will need a plan from me and the system notifies me if you want to order one. Look for a plan from me after you place the request - give me a day or two to get the email. Orders over $50 get free shipping.

• Thyroid Support & Iodine Protocol: This link should take you to a protocol for thyroid support which includes the high dose Iodoral and has examples of a few other things that can help including the B vitamin inositol and the medicinal mushroom cordyceps - which can also be purchased as a dried mushroom to add to soup. Delete any products you aren't interested and add others if desired. The

• Pregnancy Support Protocol: This link should take you to a prenatal protocol with product examples that you could order if desired. It includes a referenced protocol by Fullscript, to which I added additional iodine and a substitute prenatal multi that has less iron - still lots though.

• A new feature offered by Fullscript is the ability to enter all of your current supplements and the total amounts are added up for a grand total of them all. That can be nice in case mixed products are leading to too much of a good thing - too much of some nutrients can become a negative. It would also allow me to see what you are using if you wanted my input. (Add your supplements here.)

The science… not Trademarked…is enlightening.

Dopamine and thyroid hormone are closely linked - each can affect levels of the other. Increased levels of dopamine will lead to a reduction in Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and then less thyroid hormone would be produced. (Kaptein, et al., 1980) Higher levels of thyroid hormone, T3 and T4, stimulate induction/growth of dopamine producing neurons which would lead to more dopamine being produced, (Lee, et al., 2019), …and possibly more creative thinking.

During prenatal and early infancy, low level of thyroid hormone are devastating to long-term mental health and cognition because of the role it plays in development of brain cells. Elevated levels seen with hyperthyroidism can also cause permanent problems for a developing fetus and is linked to epilepsy in the child. (Alcaide Martin and Mayerl, 2023) Excess thyroid hormone would be over-stimulating production of dopamine producing neurons within the fetal brain, and then the child might have too much dopamine chronically. *Yes, lots of Google search results - too much dopamine is linked to epilepsy and with schizophrenia.

“[Thyroid Hormone] TH and TH signaling components as a proxy for TH action have been unraveled in the embryonic brain at very early stages. T3 (3,3′,5-triiodothyronine) and its receptors have been detected in the human brain from the 10th gestational week (GW10) onwards—hence, even before the onset of endogenous fetal thyroid gland function in the second trimester in humans and at embryonic day 17 (E17)-E18 in the rat [5,6,8,9]. Thus, TH acts on brain development already when the fetus fully depends on maternal TH supply.

Consequently, impaired maternal thyroid function compromises embryonic brain development and culminates in a low IQ, cognitive impairments, or behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the offspring [10,11,12,13,14]. Moreover, maternal hypothyroidism has been linked to neurological disorders in children, including autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety, increased seizure susceptibility, and epilepsy. Maternal hyperthyroidism, likewise, results in an increased risk of developing epilepsy for the child [11,12].”

Since dopamine is increased with addictive behaviors including use of Social Media, video games, or other highly stimulating media, then those activities could be leading to a chronic reduction in TSH and reduced production of thyroid hormone. And low thyroid hormone levels can lead to depression and apathy, and maybe reduced decision making or clarity of thought . . . even if we had enough iodine. Lack of iodine would add to the risk of hypothyroidism. (Alcaide Martin and Mayerl, 2023)

Low iron levels and possibly an imbalance between thyroid hormones T3 and T4 and the dopaminergic system may be factors in Restless Leg Syndrome. The restlessness tends to be worse when dopamine levels are higher. (Pereira, et al., 2010) Dopamine is an excitatory brain signaling chemical (neurotransmitter).

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

References

(Alcaide Martin and Mayerl, 2023) Alcaide Martin A, Mayerl S. Local Thyroid Hormone Action in Brain Development. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 2;24(15):12352. doi: 10.3390/ijms241512352. PMID: 37569727; PMCID: PMC10418487. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/15/12352

(Kaptein, et al., 1980) Kaptein EM, Spencer CA, Kamiel MB, Nicoloff JT. Prolonged dopamine administration and thyroid hormone economy in normal and critically ill subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1980 Aug;51(2):387-93. doi: 10.1210/jcem-51-2-387. PMID: 7400302. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7400302/

(Lee, et al., 2019) Lee, EH., Kim, SM., Kim, CH. et al. Dopamine neuron induction and the neuroprotective effects of thyroid hormone derivatives. Sci Rep 9, 13659 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49876-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49876-6

(Pereira, et al., 2010) Pereira JC Jr, Pradella-Hallinan M, Lins Pessoa Hd. Imbalance between thyroid hormones and the dopaminergic system might be central to the pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome: a hypothesis. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2010 May;65(5):548-54. doi: 10.1590/S1807-59322010000500013. PMID: 20535374; PMCID: PMC2882550. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2882550/

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DNA changes can lead to cancerous cells. Oxidative stress damage can be reduced by having plenty of nutrients to help protect the body. These include a need for plenty of magnesium, vitamin C, iodine, glutathione precursor amino acids, and B vitamins. Polyphenols and fragrant terpenes and other volatile aromatic chemicals have protective effects for us and for the plant.

Particularly powerful anti-cancer herbs include oregano and bay leaf, also known as Laurel leaves, were found most effective from a group of ten herbs that were tested against a precancerous cervical cancer cell line (Barrington and Lall, 2018) and oregano has been found helpful against breast cancer cell lines. (Al-Kalaldeh, et al, 2010)

Other herbs have more phytonutrients that help other types of problems. Nature gave us a way to tell them apart by aroma and the bitter flavors. When we feel sick, we can learn which plant helps to make us feel better and identify it by smell or taste. Taste and odor receptors act like functional machines throughout the body doing things like promote melanin production. They don’t just detect taste and smell in the nose and on the tongue. There are many receptors for bitter flavor throughout the body with functions that are largely still unknown. (25)

Great grandma may have known though, about the health benefits of Bitters, a digestive tonic that was commonly sold prior to modern medicine, that included aromatic, and probably bitter, herbs. (Wikipedia/Bitters) Some popular tonics might have been more alcohol than health aide but bitter citrus peel or herbal mixes could help health or digestion.

The bitter flavor is also very potent compared to other taste receptor types like sugar, sweetness.

The concentration of sugar/glucose needed to activate the sweet receptors would be much greater, larger amounts would be needed to activate a sweet taste receptor, compared to the amount of a bitter tasting chemical needed to activate a bitter taste receptor, Beta-ionone is a very potent aromatic chemical. Only very small amounts are needed to activate the odor receptor that it matches. A very low dose provides the violet aroma for the people with the genetics to smell it and a large dose would smell like pungent cedar wood to anyone.  

Potency means dosing by taste can be more precise, too much tastes way too strong, pungent cedar wood, no violets anymore, and would likely be too much of a medicinal dose, and/or it might be. Thanks nature if that  is the idea. Think of hot pepper, a little adds zing to a meal, too much can cause a burning nose or eyes or tongue if you overdid it.

Eating whole foods helps guide you to healthy foods in safe amounts. Taking herbal supplements can have unknown risks due to either human potential errors in quantity or quality of the contents of the capsule or tablet, or simply your physiology and the herb not matching well. Small amounts taken gradually, only one new thing at a time, can be a better way to test if new herb or foods kind of work well for you, or really isn’t a good fit for you and your personal body chemistry.

Nature may have worked out a partnership where the flavorful aroma, taste, and colorful appearance of plants helped to guide us to eat foods that are also healing. We survive with the healthy benefits of the tasty plant, and then we plant more of the crop, and it also survives, and as species we both continue to adapt to the beneficial partnership and we both survive into the future, hopefully.

Odor receptors and taste receptors are able to detect many specific chemicals. The odor receptors are more varied than the taste, much more varied. And so if we pay attention we can learn which aromas, along with which tastes, help with which types of aches and pains or moods. As we learn and pay attention to how we are feeling, we can also learn and pay attention to which strategies help us to feel better. 

Strong tastes may help with dosing - some hot pepper (capsaicin) or black pepper (piperine), is good and a little more is too much or way too much. Both have medicinal benefits for the body at doses that would be very small amounts of the spice. While one phytonutrient may be thought to be the main chemical with medical action, such a piperine in the black pepper or capsaicin in the hot pepper, many whole foods contain a mixture of phytonutrients that all may act in slightly different ways, beneficially, within the body. The mixture of actions within the body may be more beneficial together, synergistically, an additive effect, than any one extract might have been as an isolated supplement. So the black pepper may have other terpenes also that help in addition to the piperine.

Anti-inflammatory foods and phytonutrients , and sunshine and exercise!

Other anti-inflammatory foods include, besides violets with beta-ionone, that promote the anti-inflammatory Nrf2 pathway and inhibit the inhibitory NF-kB pathway, include ginger, (zerumbone/gingerol), green tea, (EGCG/gallic acid), garlic, (aged garlic extract), Hops, (xanthohumol), which is happy news for beer lovers, that’s the herb used to make beer, and fish oil, the omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. (de Paiva 2005) (Sun 2017) (Gupta 2010) 

The female hormone estrogen is anti-inflammatory, and chemicals that act like it, called estrogen agonists, are also, which includes genistein from soy beans and resveratrol (Houghton 2016) from "grapes, wine, grape juice, peanuts, cocoa, and berries of Vaccinium species, including blueberries, bilberries, and cranberries." (lpi.oregonstate.edu) Agonists are chemicals that can activate a receptor, such as the estrogen receptor, while antagonists would inhibit or block the receptor. So the healing phytonutrients may be agonists for beneficial chemical receptors and inhibitors of inflammatory ones.  

Food groups and phytonutrient groups that are particularly anti-inflammatory include many colorful fruits and vegetables. (G10.1, (Houghton 2016) Trying to add one more vegetable or fruit at meals and snacks may be a simple way to protect against long term risks of chronic stress and the resulting inflammation it can cause. Reducing inflammation can also help with chronic pain, improve energy levels and mood, act as an anti-anxiety and anti-depressant - so is getting out in the sunshine for some healthy exercise. [Excerpt from the Love & Forgiveness episodes of How Are You Feeling? transcript has links to the audio]

Essential oils or whole herbs and spices? Which is better?

That depends on what you want to use it for.

Essential oils are aromatic chemicals which are ‘volatile.’ That means they are small and evaporate readily into the air — where we can smell them. In the nose they are small and lipid based so they can rapidly diffuse across membranes of the four to five cells that separate our nose from a major nerve that goes straight into the emotional center of the brain and our Reticular Activating System, (RAS). The RAS pays attention for us and even while we sleep it can arouse us from sleep from an odor. This would likely be a survival trait. It would be protective if we smelled smoke in the middle of the night to be startled awake - or if we smelled a Saber Tooth Tiger and lived in prehistoric times.

Back to the point — essential oils can be extremely rapid at affecting our mood or health due to the rapid absorption through the nose (immediate or within minutes) or slightly slower affects from topical or edible use (within ~10-20 minutes or extended benefits over time).

However in cooking, extremely volatile chemicals are easily lost during the cooking or baking process. Essential oils are best used right at the end of food preparation or added individually at the table which can allow people to choose their own amount. The tongue helps guide us to the amount of a bitter nutrient or other types of nutrients if we listen to our hunger and fullness signals instead of eating rapidly. (*It takes 20 minutes for food to empty from the mouth to the stomach. If we eat too fast it can be easy to become overfull 20 minutes after we do stop eating from feeling a full stomach. The esophagus is still full at that point in time.)

Whole herbs and spices retain more flavor and infuse flavor more fully into a cooked dish. The Nrf2 promoting foods and herbs listed on the graphics would all be adding anti-inflammatory benefits to the diet. They contain beneficial water and fat soluble phytonutrients and a cooked food with water and fats might retain both types in the broth. Using whole herbs and spices in cooking seems to provide a more balanced and stronger flavor to my taste. However Essential oils are flavorful and fast and it can be a lazy way to better nutrition and better flavor.

Having blends diluted in a carrier oil can make it easier to add a complex flavor profile to individual servings of food or beverages. That also saves time opening all the single oil bottles and not opening the main bottle is better for preventing oxidation of the oil. I will add a post later with some edible blend examples.

• Essential Oils, Cancer & The Blood Brain Barrier, blog by Deborah Stauss, original article by David Stewart, March 22, 2016, Link, via Pat from my Telegram chat group, thanks Pat! And thanks for the support for my mother from Pat and others here. Thanks everyone.

• (Ramaroson, et al., 2022) Ramaroson M-L, Koutouan C, Helesbeux J-J, Le Clerc V, Hamama L, Geoffriau E, Briard M. Role of Phenylpropanoids and Flavonoids in Plant Resistance to Pests and Diseases. Molecules. 2022; 27(23):8371. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238371 https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/23/8371

David Stewart shares three groups of chemicals found in essential oils that in combination can be very effective against chronic disease Sesquiterpenes, Phenylpropanoids which are precursors for many potent flavonoids like quercetin, luteolin, baicalin and caffeic acid, (Ramaroson, et al., 2022), and monoterpenes.

“Sesquiterpenes are compounds of three isoprene units, which is fifteen carbons and twenty-four hydrogens per molecule- molecular weight 204 amu. There are more than 10,000 kinds of sesquiterpenes. Sesquiterpenes are the principal constituents of Cedarwood (98%), Vetiver (97%), Spikenard (93%), Sandalwood (Aloes) 90%, Black Pepper (74%), Patchouli (71%), Myrrh (62%), and Ginger (59%). They are also found in Galbanum, Onycha, and Frankincense (8%).

Sesquiterpene molecules deliver oxygen molecules to cells, like hemoglobin does in the blood. Sesquiterpenes can also erase or deprogram miswritten codes in the DNA. Sesquiterpenes are thought to be especially effective in fighting cancer because the root problem with a cancer cell is that it contains misinformation, and sesquiterpenes can erase that garbled information. At the same time the oxygen carried by sesquiterpene molecules creates an environment where cancer cells can't reproduce. Hence, sesquiterpenes deliver cancer cells a double punch - one that disables their coded misbehavior and a second that stops their growth.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has said that if they could find an agent that would pass the blood-brain barrier, they would be able to find cures for ailments such as Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Such agents already exist and have been available since Biblical times. The agents, of course, are essential oils - particularly those containing the brain oxygenating molecules of sesquiterpenes.”

https://mynewlifespa.com/blogs/news/93311169-essential-oils-cancer-the-blood-brain-barrier * this link copied a paper by someone else and added more about Frankincense from elsewhere. I found a different link with three blog type articles including this one by the author David Stewart, lensoils.com/tag/david-stewart/

More about Myrrh and sesquiterpenes is in this post:

A link about the monoterpene Pinene was shared by Nattering Naybob in a comment on this post. Turpentine isn’t the only source of alpha or beta pinene. Pinene smells like pine trees but is also in dill, basil, parsley, and orange peel. It is potent against virus and other microbes, and helps reduce inflammation and calm anxiety. Alpha and beta pinene have slightly different properties and fragrances.

“While pinene is abundant in many strains of cannabis, it’s also present in pine trees and other conifers, orange peel, dill, basil, and parsley. Pinene is so prevalent in plants that researchers have identified around 200,000 varieties of this terpene. Because of how often pinene appears in nature, researchers have broken the compound down into two unique subcategories; alpha-pinene and beta-pinene, a-pinene, and b-pinene for short. […]

a-Pinene has shown amazing potential as an anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, pain reliever, anxiety-reliever, and even a tool to battle short-term memory impairment. This terpene is so powerful that it’s used in drugs to treat kidney and liver issues as well! […]

There are few systems in the human body more important than our brains. That’s why when compounds like alpha-pinene show neuroprotective properties, people pay close attention. During early animal studies, researchers found that alpha-pinene specifically showed potential in battling Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, amnesia, cognitive dysfunction, and overall memory loss. While the research in humans is still limited, the possibility of pinene and medications with high pinene content is huge.” https://leafwell.com/blog/pinene

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

Reference List

(Ramaroson, et al., 2022) Ramaroson M-L, Koutouan C, Helesbeux J-J, Le Clerc V, Hamama L, Geoffriau E, Briard M. Role of Phenylpropanoids and Flavonoids in Plant Resistance to Pests and Diseases. Molecules. 2022; 27(23):8371. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238371 https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/23/8371

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The book has very easy to use pages summarizing a variety of most typically used strategies for a condition such as Liver disease, High blood pressure or Infertility. Essential oil recommendations are included for each condition along with commonly used herbs, nutrient or functional foods. "Foods that Harm" and "Foods that Heal" are included for each condition along with the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective for the issue. A variety of other tips or strategies are included in "Other Remedies."

High Blood Pressure - diffuse Lavender, Ylang ylang, Rosemary or Frankincense essential oils. Frankincense and Lavender oils are generally safe for topical use undiluted but the other two need to be diluted in a carrier oil. Herbs - Hawthorne, garlic, and ginger, also fish oil and CBD, magnesium and potassium are mentioned. (page 249)

Osteoporosis - "Mix 2-3 drops Cypress, Helichrysum, or Fir Needle essential oils in a 1/4 teaspoon of coconut oil and apply to the spine and hip three times daily." Herbs - Black cohosh, Horsetail, Dong quai, fish oil, also the mushroom Rehmannia, spirulina and algae, bone broth or collagen protein (*avoid commercial bovine sources which is most products on the market). Calcium, magnesium, vitamins D and K2. (page 265)

Shingles - "Combine 3 drops of Myrhh, Oregano, Thyme, or Geranium oil with 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil and rub onto the affected areas." Herbs - Echinacea, Astragalus, Olive Leaf, also vitamins B12 and C and zinc are mentioned. (page 277)

Liver disease, page 259:

The book also has a variety of recipes towards the end and opens with overview chapters about Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herbs, Cannabis, Essential Oils and other topics covered in separate chapters.

Chinese Medicine 24-Hour Circadian Clock

Adrenal Body Battery - things that recharge us - invigorate us, versus things that deplete our energy and increase the overall stress load on the body.

Chicken soup is an ancient remedy indeed - “Dr. Axe Immunity Bowl” - a chicken soup recipe that includes medicinal shiitake mushrooms and probiotic miso paste to add flavor to the bone broth (ideally bone broth). Cauliflower is a purine rich vegetable and a source of vitamin C and kale is a green leafy veg with beneficial vitamin A precursors, iron, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals. Collard or beet greens would be a healthy swap or spinach, moringa leaves, fenugreek, watercress or other greens. Purines are a precursor for us to make more ATP or more RNA or DNA which we need for making new proteins or for growing cells.

Disclaimer: This information is being shared for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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• Acupressure with Essential Oils - A Self-Care Guide to Enhance Your Health and Lift Your Spirit, by Merina Ty-Kisera, LAC.

Page 111, Chapter: Headaches be gone, shares that Cypress, Lavender and Lemongrass can sooth muscle tension and pain, and to apply at points

• GB20 - at the base of the skull, fleshy bumps to the side of the center, where you rub anyway when your head hurts with muscle tension in the neck.

and

• LI4 - press the webbed area between your thumb and first finger with your other thumb and fingers.

Those points really helped relax my tense muscles and headache.; I used Lemongrass followed by Cypress.

• and Cypress on GB41, the outer side of your foot, more towards the ankle than the toes, also helped; (or Peppermint, but I can't use salicylate rich mint oils).

Congestion and sinus pressure was part of the headache

• Page 112 suggests Lavender or Eucalyptus for that type of pain on points BL2 (near the inner end of the eyebrows), LI20 (on the cheekbones near the nostrils and ST3 (about an inch towards the ear from LI20)

Fennel oil is wonderful for histamine excess reactions. It can be calming within a few minutes. It also helps congestion and lymphatic drainage.

There are many potential causes of migraines.

Inadequate magnesium, B vitamins, zinc or sodium may all be migraine factors, or poor sleep or dehydration with too little water, sodium, potassium, magnesium or calcium - if our electrolytes are off, than headaches and muscle cramps are likely. being overly acidic within the body can also be a cause of muscle cramps and tension at the back of the head.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR CONGESTION & OVER-ACIDITY WITH MUSCLE CRAMPS - LEMONGRASS AND FENNEL ARE TWO THAT MIGHT HELP.

• I was given an encyclopedia style book, The Essential Life - The World’s Most Trusted Essential Oil Reference Guide, 9th Ed.. It is brand specific for doTerra blends, but the phytonutrients properties of single oils are not brand specific as long as an essential oil is of reasonable quality.

• Essential oils that are made from edible plant material like Lemongrass and Fennel are considered GRAS, Generally Regarded as Safe to consume, by the US FDA. Essential oils are used in commercial foods for flavor and as food preservatives (Rosemary is frequently seen on labels for that purpose).

• The process of making an essential oil is distillation based so any impurities would be from the metal containers being used or from oil soluble herbicides or pesticides which have permeated our ecosystems even when a farm is not directly using the agrichemicals.

I flipped open the book to page Lemongrass and found that my Thai soup additive is a decongestant for nose or body/edema and topical use was recommended for painful muscles and joints. It also can help cramps and lactic acid excess and frozen shoulder/stiff muscle pain - use on the areas of concern.

That sounded good and I grabbed my Fennel bottle too as it sounded good at the time too. I then flipped to page Fennel and yes, it also has decongestant properties and topical use on the chest/throat was recommended. It also can help edema, fluid retention and cystitis, overly acidic conditions, gout, kidney stones, and muscle cramps or spasms.

• The Essential Life - The World’s Most Trusted Essential Oil Reference Guide, 9th Ed., 2023, Total Wellness Publishing, (oillife.com) *The publishing company and sales site are independent from doTerra but the book is about doTerra products and was compiled from a group of contributors. It has a lengthy citation list - from the copyright information page. This book was a gift from my doTerra consultant. It is very nice, with beautiful photography.

• Thanks Tara! (Sign up link for doTerra) if you would like to get the 25% member discounts for free, the annual membership will be waived. Tara Wagner would be your consultant too then. She provides good education about essential oil use as well as some gift incentives and a private Facebook community for questions.

• Minor flaw with the book for my old eyes - I do need reading glasses for some of the page's font. There is not always enough contrast between the font color and the background photo on some pages for visually impaired readers - in part due to the gorgeous photography as the background on many pages. It is a lovely book.

Intuitive self-care can get things wrong, but the idea is that often our gut instinct is guiding us to something we need. That is in the realm of “mystery”, but why should we expect to understand everything about everything?

Slathering on lots of lemongrass and fennel essential oils, a few drops in my massage oil mix, really did seem to help and I repeated it this morning after a Magnesium chloride bath. A few drops for the sole of each foot, a few more for the chest and sore shoulders. When using a couple oils you could mix them or layer one, then the other on the target area. Acupressure points could also be held for more healing potential.

~~~

That last section was from a previous post with more information about Traditional Chinese Medicine, liver health and congestion. I have had some liver issues which got better with some changes on my part. The essential oil books and some TCM books have been helpful along with tips from my Substack readers. Thanks!

Disclaimer This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health guidance.

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The oils recommended include highly antimicrobial oils: Oregano, Thyme, Basil or Balsam Fir Cypress, Wintergreen, Marjoram, and Peppermint. Personally I have to avoid salicylate rich Wintergreen and Peppermint.

Other highly antimicrobial essential oils include Rosemary, Clove, Eucalyptus, Summer Savory, Bay Laurel and many others. The nice thing about essential oils is that the same phytonutrients can be found in different plants so you can substitute oils that you have or that work with your body.

The amount of essential oils and undiluted aspect might be a lot for someone. Diluting with a carrier oil and using fewer oils may be better. And which oils are used could also be modified to match what you know suits your body.

I followed along with the demonstration with self massage. I used Oregano oil, Marjoram, Manuka, and Clove oils. I was able to focus on my feet, lower back, neck and shoulders - the parts of body I could reach. I also add some clove oil to my abdomen and liver area most days too to aid liver health.

A similar demonstration video of the Raindrop massage technique is available here:

The gentle massage motions are somewhat like doing myofascial release massage. This myofascial release massage video focuses on stiff neck and shoulder muscles.

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.

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