Just about everybody knows what a dandelion is. In the western world it is a weed, but in many other societies it is an important herb that is used to treat many common diseases and conditions of the human body.
It is also a food, being used in salads and the roots are also used by some as a coffee substitute the same as chicory. It is also used to make a herbal tea, and most people have likely heard of dandelion tea. However, its medicinal properties are not so well known, even though it has been use for hundreds, if not thousands, of years for the treatment of many conditions including those associated with the gall bladder, liver and kidneys.
However, that is not all, and there are several more traditional uses of dandelion in the folk medicine of many different countries including conditions as diverse as water retention and eczema. So, taking all of this into consideration, what exactly are the main benefits of dandelion to the body and what is it that provides these benefits?
Dandelion contains its fair share of minerals and vitamins, and is rich in vitamin C of course, with its strong antioxidant properties. It also contains the antioxidant vitamin A together with several B vitamins and the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D, which is so important for the absorption of calcium by the kidneys and into the bone structure. The minerals it contains is like an encyclopedia entry of minerals important to the human body. It’s not so much what minerals dandelion contains, as what it doesn’t contain.
The list includes phosphorus, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, silicon, manganese and boron, and the organic nutrients include lecithin, carotenoids, terpenoids, tannins, sterols, choline, inulin, aspargine and so on. It would take a whole book to describe the health benefits of each of these, but an attempt will be made later to discuss the more important of them.
Suffice it to say that the list contains antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and substances that help to reduce blood cholesterol levels and also maintain the health of your blood and major organs. However, the effect of dandelion on the liver and the digestive system are due largely to substances known collectively as taraxacin. That is what gives dandelion its bitter taste.
What was once known as taraxin, is now known to consist of sesquiterpene lactones known as eudesmanolide and germacranolide, which although claimed to be unique to the dandelion, are very similar to other sesquiterpenes found in chicory. In fact, dicaffeolquinic acid and chicoric acid (dicaffeoyltartaric acid) have been found to comprise a significant proportion of the extract from dandelion roots, together with a number of phenolic acids and flavanoids. Each of these, of course, is important and effective antioxidants, responsible for many positive health effects in the body.
Among the more important of these is the stimulation of the circulation of the blood throughout the body. The sesquiterpenes are also believed to support the activity of the pancreas, and the presence of so many strong antioxidant species within the leaves and roots of the dandelion explains the traditional use of dandelion for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Antioxidants support the immune system that causes inflammation when it is under stress. Studies of rats have indicated that dandelion is effective in reducing acute pancreatis, which is itself an inflammatory condition. The large querticin glycoside and flavanoid content of dandelion root extract posses anti-inflammatory properties, and suddenly dandelion is beginning to take on the appearance of a ‘wonder plant’.
However, let’s get away from the technical stuff for a while, and check out exactly what you can use dandelion for. Pregnant and post-menopausal women can gain the benefit of all these nutrients detailed above by taking dandelion extract, and it also has a diuretic effect. Although mild, this can help to remove excess water from the body, and helps to reduce blood pressure and the effects of heart problems. LDL cholesterol levels can be reduced by virtue of its anti-oxidant properties, and can help to resolve minor digestive complaints.
Traditionally it is claimed to have been used as a laxative and a cure for rheumatism. The latter can be explained by its antioxidant effects, and the way the sesquiterpenes reduce the inflammation associated with rheumatism. It is this inflammation of the tissues that causes so much of the swelling and pain of rheumatism and arthritis. Anti-inflammatories help to reduce this effect.
Dandelion is also believed to stimulate the flow of bile from the gall bladder to the duodenum, and help promote the digestion of fats and oils, thus alleviating many of the digestive problems associated with a fatty diet. This also appears to have the effect of stimulating the appetite, and dandelion juice is frequently drunk before a meal for these reasons. It is believed to help bladder and kidney stones, and also helps to alleviate infections of the urinary tract.
Although dandelion is normally safe to take, those with problems associated with the bile ducts should not take it, and if you are already on diuretic drugs, or any medicines designed to lower your blood pressure, you should stay clear of dandelion extract. The same is true if you are taking lithium for manic depression since some of the components of dandelion juice can exaggerate the side effects. It is also recommended that diabetics do not use dandelion extract, and neither should anyone on blood thinning drugs such as Coumadin, or any other form of warfarin.
Although dandelion can be a very effective natural remedy for many conditions, you should always refer to your physician before taking it, since it could interfere with any medications you are currently taking. Your doctor might also be aware of certain medical conditions you have that, while you are not being treated for, could deteriorate in the presence of one of the constituents of dandelion extract.
Although all of this could suggest that dandelion is dangerous to take, in fact what it indicates is that it is very effective against many conditions, and that taking it could lead to the effects of an overdose of the treatment you are already on. Had it not so many contra-indications, dandelion wouldn’t be as effective at doing what it does.
About the Author More information on dandelion root tea is available at VitaNet ®, LLC Health Food Store http://vitanetonline.com/
Technorati Tags: dandelion tea benefits
Now is a good time to touch on some distinguishing identifying plant characteristics!
Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale)
- official (designated Latin name) medicinal and nutritive qualities have been treasured and trusted for millennia.
- are common plants, but not ordinary.
- have non-edible uses like for dye, and many edible uses, including salad, cooked green, cooked vegetable, fritters, coffee, and…TEA!!!
- grow in mesophytic, xerophytic and hydrophytic habitats (grow in moderately moist, dry, and wet conditions and environments).
- range worldwide from the arctic to the tropics, especially in sunny areas.
- thrive in flower beds, lawns, pastures, meadows, roadsides, throughout moist and open places.
- solitary yellow flower heads grow atop unbranched, hairless, leafless, milky, hollow stalks that later yield downy white tufted “parachute” seedballs.
- outer bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals) of its many-rayed yellow flowers are reflexed downwards.
- irregular lobes and jagged margins of the lance-shaped leaves are deeply notched.
- leaves and flower stalks all—every last one of them!—grow straight out of the ground directly from the taproot in a basal rosette configuration.
- reach a height of about 2-18 inches (5-45 cm.).
The descriptive name of the plant comes through the Middle English form of dandelion, dent-de-lioun, borrowed from the Old French dentdelion, from Medieval Latin dēns leōnis, literally, “tooth of the lion,” (from the sharply indented leaves of the plant) < Latin dēns, dent-, tooth [cf. dental, dentist] + Latin leōnis, genitive of leō, lion [cf. Leo, lion]. The word dandelion occurs in an herbal written in 1373, and in a proper name (Willelmus Dawndelyon) in a document dated 1363. Numerous folk names for this widely-used herb identification include bitterwort (taste), blow ball (and make a wish), cankerwort (natural remedy), clock flower (to “tell time”), doonheadclock, lion’s tooth, priest’s crown, pissabed (diuretic proterties), puffball, swine snort, wild endive, and yellow gowan (yellow kind of a common daisy).
Technorati Tags: dandelion, dandelion identification, dandelion tea, dandelion tea benefits
Dandelions belong to the big sunflower family Asteraceae (formerly Compositae), along with over 10% of the world’s flowers. Blossoms are organized into an involucrate pseudanthium in the form of a head (or capitulum). This immediately recognizable characteristic-even from a distance-makes dandelions and their relatives the easiest, and possibly largest, family of flowering plants to identify.
The successful floral configuration surprises almost everyone; indeed, a dandelion is not simply one flower, but perhaps a hundred. Each flower makes a dry-seeded fruit (an achene) attached to a downy parachute, forming the fluffy white puffball every child likes to blow away into the wind (and then make a wish).
Composite blooms are mostly two types of flowers: ray flowers (outer “petals”, as pulled off a daisy, “…loves me, loves me not…”) and disc flowers (inner center, like the “eye” in Black-Eyed Susans). This exclusive asteraceous inflorescence likely ensures being the best-represented plants in any chosen backyard.
Dandelion relatives include herbs, shrubs, and some trees, food and ornamental plants such as:
ARTICHOKE
ASTER
CHAMOMILE
CHICKORY
CHRYSANTHEMUM
DAHLIA
ENDIVE
LETTUCE
MARIGOLD
SAGEBRUSH
STEVIA
THISTLE
YARROW
ZINNIA
With Kevin’s Low’s kind permission, we will show you here his photographs of a dandelion relative (white ray flowers as “petals” surrounding yellow disc flowers clumped in a central cluster) that is “growing wild all over the place” in Malaysia:
We look forward to learning the name of this plant and if it is edible/medicinal, perhaps like chamomile tea… If you know, please write us your comments! Thanks! We look forward to hearing from you!
Technorati Tags: dandelion, dandelion tea, dandelion tea benefits
Common activities children like to do with dandelions include plucking a bright yellow blossom and holding it under someone’s chin “to see if they like butter”, and forming a golden crown, necklace, or bracelet by making a cut in one flower stalk and inserting the blossom of different flower stalk into it, one after another.
A folk name for dandelion, yellow gowan (gowan: yellow kind of a common daisy) refers to the blooming dandelion’s bright golden yellow. Is there any other color?
Click the Pretty Pink to order these dandelion relatives.
Technorati Tags: children, dandelion, tickled pink
Dandelion root makes magenta when using alum as the mordant. Alum is a salt that in its most common form, potassium aluminum sulfate—or potash alum, is used as an additive in small amounts to make pickles and maraschino cherries, and in another common form, sodium aluminum sulfate, is an ingredient in commercially produced baking powder. If you use a tin (a “tin can” is a top commercial choice for storing food) and vinegar mordant you can get purple. Add no mordant to get a yellow dye, the color from using the flowers alone.
Would you like to make your own dandelion-dyed napkins and a matching tablecloth to enhance your enjoyment of every cup of dandelion tea you drink? Well, let’s get started! First, go get some dandelions.
How to dye using dandelions
Using an enamel or stainless steel pot that you will not be using for cooking, soak dandelion roots—or whole plants—overnight in water. Bring to a boil in the same water and then dip them out with a wooden spoon.
Wash the material you wish to dye in warm soapy water and keep it wet. The dye bath is your key to color. If you wish your pigment to be colorfast, put a mordant in the pot with one cup of water: about a half teaspoon of alum mordant for every two ounces of material, taking care not to breathe in the mordant fumes.
Heat—do not boil—gently and stir until dissolved, add 2 quarts water, and stir well to mix. Your saturated textile goes into this bath; bring up to a slow simmer. Turn down the heat as the water begins to boil; simmer 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
Note: When dyeing, ensure the fabric stays completely covered with water, and remember, materials appear darker wet than dry.
Turn off the heat, let cool, squeeze out excess water, and then rinse in warm water to remove the alum. Different dye materials will dye at different speeds. After the dyebath starts to simmer, check in 15 minutes if you wish to have a pale color. Leave the material in the dyebath longer for a deeper or richer color. For full color saturation, leave overnight in the dyebath. This dyeing process can make for a fun dandelion teatime; enjoy experimenting!
Technorati Tags: dandelion, dandelion tea, dandelion tea benefits, dandelions
By Joy Mary
The first line of a little known song asks the question, “How many dandelions this year will grow?” Indeed, in some parts of the North America hills are yellow with dandelion flowers in the spring. Most are either ignored or poisoned as a nuisance. If we had known what this article will reveal, we might have gathered them instead of treating them as a curse.
The name dandelion comes from the French phrase ‘dent de lion,’ meaning ‘lion’s tooth.’ This refers to the jagged-edged leaves of this weed. The fancier scientific name is Taraxacum officinale. Unlike calendula (marigold) which is not the same annual flower found in American gardens, dandelion the herb is exactly what you think of growing in your yard or on a hillside. What makes this common weed so great?
All the dandelion plant is useful. The roots can be eaten as vegetables or roasted and ground to make a type of root “coffee.” A quick look through the internet reveals the flowers are used to make wine, in cooking (dandelion flower cookies?), a syrup, jam, and an oil to rub on sore joints. But the leaves have the most diverse list of uses.
First, dandelion leaf is an excellent source of sodium, iron, vitamins A and C, beta-carotene, and especially calcium. Dandelion might have been one of the “bitter herbs” mentioned in the Bible. The leaves add bitter flavoring to salads or can be cooked like spinach. The best leaves are those bright green ones that appear before the dandelion flowers in the spring.
One of dandelion leaf’s greatest claims to fame is its ability to purify the blood and body organs. It is a wonderful liver cleaner and increases the output of the liver, the flow of bile into the intestines and the activity of the pancreas and spleen. This makes it a great treatment for hepatitis, yellow jaundice, and other liver related problems. By purifying the blood, it helps with some types of anemia. The acids in the blood that build up with weight loss are destroyed by dandelion. It also helps with low blood pressure, and builds energy and endurance.
Dandelion is good for female organs. It enriches breast milk in nursing mothers and this, in turn, benefits both mother and child. It is good for women both before, during, and after pregnancy. Women suffering from premenstrual syndrome may find that the diuretic action of dandelion helps relieve some of the symptoms. In short, dandelion is safe and healthy for men, woman, children, and even animals.
Dandelion flowers are an excellent source of lecithin, a nutrient that elevates the brain’s acetylcholine. As a result, it may help retard or stop regression of mental ability caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Lecithin also helps the body maintain good liver function as mentioned before. Dandelion also opens the urinary passages as part of its cleansing work.
Native Americans used it to treat kidney disease, indigestion, and heartburn. Traditional Chinese Medicine uses dandelion to treat upper respiratory tract infections, including bronchitis and pneumonia.
Dandelion leaves and flowers are best when freshly picked. If this is not possible, the leaves can be refrigerated up to five days when wrapped in a plastic bag. Be sure to wash the leaves thoroughly before using. Leaves may also be frozen for longer periods of time. You can also dry the flowers and leaves yourself and store them in a dark, dry, and cool place. Use them in the bath to treat yeast infections, or to make your own Dandelion Tea (steep about 1 tablespoon of dried leaves in 1 cup hot water). Dandelion may also be purchased in capsules, tinctures, and powdered form.
Dandelion is generally regarded as safe, but some people report allergic or asthmatic reaction to this herb, especially those with allergies to ragweed or daisies. Traditionally dandelion is not recommended for patients with liver or gallbladder disease but some feel this advice is erroneous.
There are more benefits of cut dandelion leaf to be discovered. Visit More Than Alive, an online store for bulk herbs and a trusted resource where you can get cut dandelion leaf and cut dandelion root and learn about the great advantages your body will receive from this and many other herbs.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joy_Mary
http://EzineArticles.com/?Dandelion-Leaf-Can-Purify-Your-Blood-and-Body-Organs&id=1410744
Technorati Tags: dadelion tea, dandelion, dandelion tea benefits
By Chris Kindler
The factors responsible for stones are yet to be explored but one would refer to kidney stones as crystallizations dropping out of urine and obstruct of crystallizations may be like sands or a big marble. Very handfuls of them are smooth and others are not smooth making it difficult to pass.
Problems like pressure and stoppage in the kidney zone cause the typical pain for kidney stones. Stone’s location can be kidney or it splits and passes down the ureters. This is undoubtedly painful.
Struvite, calcium oxalate, cystine, and uric acid are four types of kidney stone and medical person can demarcate the different factors of stone development by twenty-four hour urine samples. Knowing this factor lets your physician apply particular therapy to lessen attacks of kidney stones. Calcium oxalate kidney stone is the usual one and extra calcium in the urine ties with further waste products for forming urinary calculi.
Kidney stones in varied size (like sand grain or a dime) have to get through a tube akin to the size of spaghetti from kidney to urinary tract and this tube is known as ureter. Passing the kidney stone according to doctor’s advice is truly painful. But, certain ways are there to complete this process almost effortlessly averting any further kidney stones.
The different things that give kidney stone relief:
Dandelion or Goldenrod
Being natural diuretic, dandelion raises urine output to help blood circulation through the kidneys. Importantly, dandelion is enriched with potassium like banana and it doesn’t reduce potassium like diuretics. Add two teaspoons of dried dandelion to a cup of steaming water to prepare dandelion tea and previous to drinking, steep it for fifteen minutes.
Goldenrod herb can cure inflammation created at the time of kidney stone passing. This herb aids you in passing kidney stones in tea form. The process of making goldenrod tea is like dandelion tea. As a difference, add two teaspoons of dried goldenrod here. Everything else remains same.
Gravel Root
It makes kidney stones softer giving rest to ureter. This accomplishes the passing process giving less pain. Moreover, it aids avoid further kidney stones and 30 drops of gravel root tincture thrice everyday are suggested by The Doctors Book of Herbal Home Remedies.
Marshmallow Root or Corn Silk
A layer of mucous membranes in our urinary tracts generally guards t urinary tract but this line of mucous is damaged when the kidney stone passes. Consuming marshmallow or corn silk tea is of paramount significance in recovering the damage of the urinary tract.
Two ounces of root to each quart of water to let the blending boil for almost 10 minutes prepares marshmallow root tea. Whereas, blending 1 ounce of corn silk with one pint of hot water prepares corn silk tea once you just let the blending be chill and gel for five minutes. The Doctors Book of Herbal Home Remedies recommends consuming 3 cups of such types everyday before every meal.
Such remedies aid in kidney stone’s passing (otherwise painful process) and complete the process effortlessly with minimum pain, giving you optimum kidney stone relief.
Technorati Tags: dandelion tea, dandelion tea benefits, dandelion tea recipe
Learn how to make use of the dandelion as an herbal oil and sunburn remedy. The dandelion can also be an herbal infusion/tea.
Duration : 0:9:44
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: dandelion, herbal, herbs, oil, remedy, sunburn, tea, uses
- PRACTICE CONSERVATION To every rule there is an exception. Many folks consider dandelions the exception.
- POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION Play it safe. If you can’t make a positive identification on the plants yourself, go to someone knowledgeable who can, or don’t eat them.
- AVOID CONTAMINATED AREAS Don’t ingest plants contaminated with toxic build-up from roadsides or sprayed areas.
- FORAGE WITH PERMISSION With dandelions, the owner usually gives not only permission but also encouragement.
- HARVEST GUIDE Leaves to make dandelion tea: Best picked Late winter - early spring.
- A FACT ABOUT GREENS The greener the leaf, the higher the food value.
- PREPARATION Once you pick the dandelion greens, wash them thoroughly to remove dirt particles. When clean, store them in a plastic bag which has holes punched for circulation, keeping them cold and humid. Use them as soon as possible, since greens are quite perishable. Select young, tender leaves for the tastiest dandelion tea.
Technorati Tags: dandelion tea
When life gives you lemons make lemonade. If you lawn gives you dandelions, make dandelion tea! [common dandelion Taraxacum officinale]
PREPARATION
Once you pick the dandelion greens, wash them thoroughly to remove dirt particles.
When clean, store them in a plastic bag which has holes punched for circulation, keeping them cold and humid. Use them as soon as possible, since greens are quite perishable.
Select young, tender leaves for the tastiest dandelion tea.
Individual portion
Pour:
1 cup boiling water
Over:
1 teaspoon dried dandelion leaves
For a pot of tea
Pour:
1 cup boiling water for each person
Over:
1 teaspoon dried dandelion leaves for each person
Throw in:
1 teaspoon dried dandelion leaves “for the pot”
Cover and let steep 3 minutes. Stir and let steep another minute.
Serve with your choice of:
(lemon)
(orange)
(mint)
(honey)
Or, buy some Dandelion Tea Bags now
Notes:
Use a non-metal pot, if possible.
Never boil tea.
Technorati Tags: dandelion tea recipe
Just about everybody knows what a dandelion is. In the western world it is a weed, but in many other societies it is an important herb that is used to treat many common diseases and conditions of the human body.
