Have you grown up firmly believing that carrots are the key to a healthy vision since that was perhaps the only way your mom could convince you to snack on one? Rich in beta-carotene, a nutrient that’s precious to our eyes, carrots do indeed help protect our sight and keep our eyes healthy. However, in […]

We eat stalks of celery, raw and cooked (see Part 1), but the celery plant (Apium graveolens, parsley family, Apiaceae) is the source of three other foods: leaf celery, celery seed. and celeriac.  Some celery, particularly in Asia, is raised for its leaves, not its stalks. Leaves of most celery plants are pretty bitter, but […]

Post-workout recovery is different for everyone, but what’s in common for everyone is that some type of muscle soreness will appear eventually. That can be rather demotivating for many people who’re starting their fitness journey, but it can even be a setback for the experienced and well-trained individuals. To prevent any type of muscle stiffness […]

According to kitchen folklore, you can lose weight eating celery because it takes more calories to chew and digest than it contains.  Which gives you a clue that celery doesn’t get much respect. Celery is related to dill and carrots but unlike dill, where we eat the seeds and leaves or carrots where we eat […]

Tulsi – Holy Basil – Ocimum tenuiflorum  Tulsi Preparations Cautions/Contraindications of Tulsi Tulsi might have an anti-fertility effect on both men and women and thus should not be taken by couples wishing to conceive or by pregnant women. It is slightly blood thinning and should not be taken by those who are currently taking […]

Yarrow – Achillea millefolium  Yarrow tea Add  1-2  tsp dried or fresh yarrow tops to a cup of boiling water, cover to preserve oils, steep for 10-13 minutes, strain and serve. Add honey or a slice of lemon if desired. Gypsy Cold Care Rosemary Gladstar’s tea for boosting immunity and lowering fevers – 1 […]

Tulsi, also known as Holy basil or Tulasi (Ocimum tenuiflorum, Ocimum sanctum),  grows abundantly in temperate regions of India through the Southeast Asian tropics.   Tulsi is India’s most sacred and powerful plant both medicinally and spiritually. Its species name, “sanctum”, refers to this sacredness. In Sanskrit, tulsi means “beyond compare.”  Indeed, the leaves smell and […]

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic effect of an aroma, defined as a scent or odor, on an individual’s physical or psychological conditions. Shirley Price, one of the world’s leading aromatherapists, defines aromatherapy as the controlled use of essential oils in a positive way to maintain good health and revitalize the body, mind, and spirit. Essential oils consist of natural scent molecules and when carefully selected may be used therapeutically.

As noted in part 1, we eat only the leaf stems of rhubarb, not leaves, flowers, fruit or roots. Rhubarb leaves are quite poisonous. They contain dangerous concentrations of oxalic acid compounds. In low concentrations, oxalic acid tastes good to people, but the concentration of oxalic acid compounds in rhubarb leaf blades is much higher […]

Various species of rhubarb have been used as medicines. The garden rhubarb we eat is a hybrid of murky origin. Other species are grown as attractive perennials.