By Dori Cranmore RN The oil comes from the nigella sativa plant which is native to Asia. The plant has small, black, crescent-shaped seeds and is a part of the buttercup family. Its recorded use dates back to ancient Egyptian times, with Cleopatra using it to achieve her beautiful complexion and shiny hair. The oil was even found in a pharaoh’s tomb, dating back 3,300 years. Hippocrates was said to use it to treat digestive troubles. It is often incorrectly labeled as black cumin seed. Neither “cumin” nor “black cumin” is true black seed. Always look for the botanical name Nigella Sativa …
By Dori Cranmore RN Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a poly pore mushroom that starts its life as a spore and finds its way to a weakness in a living tree, (birch trees in colder northern climates) where it grows and stores betulinic acid, beta glucans, beta carotines and a large number of vitamins and phyto-nutients, converting them to a usable form for humans and animals. Betulin is the white shiny powdery material that is easily identified in and on the bark of a Birch tree. The stored betulin and betulinic acid can help to build the strength of the liver …
By Dori Cranmore RN At the beginning of each year it seems many people come to the store asking about ways to clean out their body and get a handle on their health. We have many different full body cleanse combinations and most all have Burdock root included in the formulas. Burdock has been used as a primary detoxifying agent in both Chinese and Western herbalism as it stimulates elimination of wastes via the colon, kidneys and skin. Burdock is the common name of any plant of the genus Arctium in the family Asteraceae. It is a common weed native …
By Dori Cranmore RN Rhodiola rosea is not a common herb but it’s getting more popular every year. It typically grows at high altitudes in the Arctic and mountainous regions throughout Europe and Asia and has over 200 different species. Rhodiola rosea is now being grown and harvested in Alaska under the Alaska Grown label and is available at All About Herbs, Inc. in Wasilla. One of Rhodiola’a attributes is that it is an adaptogenic herb. This means that it acts in non-specific ways to increase our body’s resistance to stress, without disturbing normal biological functions. There are many recognized …