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As we bid ado to the year gone by and welcome a fresh new turn of the calendar, it is not uncommon to crave practices that create a sense of clarity and renewal. After holiday feasts and merriment, you may yearn for simpler foods or wonder if it’s time for a cleanse. However, with the cold days of winter still in full force, is cleansing a good idea? Knowing when it’s time to purify and when you are better off focusing on tonification isn’t always easy to sort out. Let’s discuss some factors to consider when weighing the need for tonification versus purification. Heavy and Light Taking the big picture view, ayurvedic practices are classified as either reducing (langhana) or building/tonifying (brimhana). Reducing practices are called langhana because langhana means lightness and these practices encourage lightness through purification and reduction. On the other hand, brimhana means to “make heavy” (Frawley, 2000). So, when is it best to lighten up and when do we need a little weighing down? That is the question! Assessing the Needs of the Individual First of all, the state of the individual must be taken into account. Purification is not suitable for the very young and very old, pregnant individuals, the weak, debilitated, or exhausted. Tonification is much more suitable for folks in those conditions (Frawley, 2000). On the other hand, if someone is in a state of fairly robust health and they exhibit signs that purification would be beneficial, then reducing practices are likely worth a try. The presence of ama (a special ayurvedic term for undigested food matter or metabolic waste) is a good indication that purification is needed. Ama may be of a kapha, pitta, or vata nature, indicating an excess or imbalance of one or more dosha(s). Furthermore, the presence of ama is an indication that digestion (agni) is compromised, as a strong digestive fire will burn up ama (O’Donnell, 2015). Kapha ama manifests as thick phlegm, possible constipation and sluggish digestion, and a thick, white coating on the tongue. Vata ama may present as gas, bloating, constipation, and a gray coating on the tongue. Pitta ama may show up as burning indigestion, diarrhea, skin issues such as rashes or acne, and other types of inflammation (Frawley, 2000). Achy joints, allergies, and feelings of sluggishness or fogginesss also indicate the presence of ama. If you experience a couple of these symptoms, it may be time to purify. However, even if there is ama present, you have to be strong enough to purify, so if your body isn’t up for purification, it is best to wait until you are in a stronger state or mix some mild purification practices with tonifying practices. This is where working with a practitioner can be especially helpful; an experienced herbalist or ayurvedic practitioner can help tailor a plan to you that is suitable for your needs, constitution, and condition. What Does Purification Consist Of? In general, foods, herbs, and lifestyle practices that are light and drying are considered foods that purify. Foods that purify may be energetically cool or warm. However, pungent herbs and spices tend to enkindle the digestive fire and burn up ama, which will ultimately help to burn up waste. Examples of light foods are leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, burdock, lettuce, apples, persimmons, and amaranth. Drying foods include cranberries, persimmons, cabbage, peppers, and kale. Pungent spices include black pepper (Piper nigrum) fruit, ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome, fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seed, garlic (Allium sativum) bulb, and ajwan (Trachyspermum ammi) seed. Also, many bitter foods and spices have a purifying effect, such as turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome, neem (Azadiracta indica) ____, aloe (Aloe vera) leaf, dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaf, and bitter melon (Momordica charantia) ____ (Lad & Lad, 1994). One can also understand whether foods, herbs, and spices are tonifying or if they purify by looking at their influence on the doshas. Many kapha-reducing foods, herbs, and spices are purifying. This is because kapha dosha is heavy and dense so practices that balance kapha cultivate lightness. Kapha-reducing foods exhibit an abundance of the bitter, pungent (hot), and astringent tastes. This is also a good way to eat with the seasons as many purifying, kapha-reducing foods are in season in the late winter and early spring and balance out the heavy, damp, cool qualities of that season. With some exceptions, individuals with a predominant kapha constitution benefit from focusing on these foods, herbs, and practices year-round. However, a kapha-reducing diet may also be appropriate for people of any constitution during the kapha time of year—late winter and early spring. That said, this is where careful assessment—either self assessment or under the guidance of a trained practitioner—is key. One’s inherent constitution, current balance of the doshas, and time of life, as well as the climate and season all play into which types of foods are optimal for the individual. Here are some foods to include in your late winter and early spring shopping list if you have determined that focusing on kapha-reducing foods is right for you (O’Donnell, 2015): Broccoli Cabbage Asparagus Arugula Endives Leeks Radicchio Spinach Barley Buckwheat Chickpeas Tofu Green lentils Also, you may want to rev up the spices during late winter and early spring as this is a cold, damp time of year which tends to cause sluggish digestion and the accumulation of ama. When you boost your digestive fire, your body is able to naturally, gently clear out excesses. The spices below will enkindle the agni for late winter and spring (or any time your digestive fire needs a little encouragement). You can use these spices individually or mix them up in pre-made blends for efficiency in the kitchen. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) seed Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) seed Ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome Black pepper (Piper nigrum) fruit Cayenne (Capsicum annuum) fruit Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seed Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) bud Timing Is Everything Eating in a way that is generally purifying is different from undergoing a cleanse. A dedicated cleanse has a more strongly purifying effect. Even a kitchari cleanse, which is a mild form of cleansing compared to many more extreme practices such as juice cleanses, can have profound effects. If you are considering a cleanse, early spring and early autumn are generally the best times of the year. You can read more about doing an ayurvedic cleanse in the post Your Guide to An Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse. Though it is fine to eat in a way that is gently purifying during the deep days of winter, this is not the ideal time for a cleanse as intensive cleansing can be too strongly depleting, making the body weak and susceptible to illness. Also, it is important to focus on warming foods and spices as long as temperatures outside remain cool. When Is Tonification Best? Wellness culture tends to be fascinated with cleansing and purifying and may not pay as much heed to tonification. However, tonification and purification are two equally important sides of the same coin. If one engaged solely in purifying practices, they may end up feeling weak and drained. If one focused solely on tonification, the likely outcome would be excess tissue and ama. So, when is it time to tonify? The answer is highly individualized. However, if you have a vata imbalance, if you are feeling weak and fatigued, or if you are pregnant, very young, or very old, tonification is likely for you! Tonifying foods and herbs are heavy, nourishing, and building. Examples of tonifying foods include nuts and seeds, oats, ghee, avocado oil, organic full-fat dairy products, and heavy, starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes. A nice tonifying treat is to eat a Medjool date stuffed with almond or cashew butter. If you feel like you need some fortification, enjoy a couple of these tasty treats per day. Also, rejuvenating herbs that assist in tonification include ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root, shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) root, amla (Emblica officinalis) berry, wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) rhizome, and many herbs that are considered adaptogens. To accentuate their tonifying effects, these herbs are best taken in whole herb form as powders, infused in ghee or milk, or even enjoyed as herbal jams as in the case of the classical ayurvedic jam chyawanprash, which has a base of amla berry. By taking the whole herb as opposed to a tincture or extract, the nutritive, earthy qualities of the herbs are delivered more effectively. You can read more about the benefits of different types of herbal preparations in the Herbal Academy post Tincture, Decoction, Tea, or Ghee: An Ayurvedic Perspective on Herbal Preparations. Consider adding a teaspoon of ashwagandha or your other favorite adaptogen to your hot cocoa, morning chai, or evening golden milk. Easy Herbal Golden Milk There are many ways to prepare golden milk. This is a simple go-to recipe that is delicious, nutritive, and easy enough to whip up in a matter of minutes! Yield: 1 cup. Ingredients 1 cup milk (whole dairy milk, oat milk, or almond milk work best) 1/4-1/2 teaspoon turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizome, ground 1/3 teaspoon ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root powder or other favorite adaptogen a dash of ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome, ground a pinch of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) seed, ground a pinch of black pepper (Piper nigrum) fruit, ground 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil (optional) Directions Add the milk to a small to medium size saucepan with the burner on high. As the milk is heating, whisk in the herbs and spices and stir in a spoonful of ghee or coconut oil if you wish. Turn heat off just before milk boils. Pour into a mug. Stir well. Sweeten with a little fresh honey or maple syrup. Top with fresh ground nutmeg to aid in sleep. To Use: Enjoy a warming, soothing mug of golden milk in the evening, or any time you feel like you could use a touch of spice and nourishment. In Closing, There are many factors to consider in determining whether it’s best to purify or tonify. Before deciding which approach to choose, consider your current state of health, inherent constitution, the season, time of year, and your desired outcome. Though it can be initially confusing to sift through the various options on how to purify and tonify, the good news is that you can tailor a wellness plan to fit your needs, rather than being all-or-nothing. However, the main thing to consider if you are contemplating whether to purify or cleanse, is whether you have the physical reserves to undergo reduction practices. If the answer is no, it is best to focus on fortification. Your body will tell you when you are ready for purification. Also, seeking the guidance of a trained practitioner can help light the way, offering concrete guidance as to the best approach for you. Posted By Greta Kent-Stoll En colaboración y afiliación con Herbal Academy Traducido al español por Gabriela Ana Coach de Salud Holistica Solicita una consulta de descrubrimiento gratuita aqui REFERENCES Frawley, D. (2000). Ayurvedic healing: A comprehensive guide. Lotus Press. Lad, U., & Lad, V. (1994). Ayurvedic cooking for self-healing (2nd ed.). The Ayurvedic Press. O’Donnell, K. (2015). The everyday Ayurveda cookbook: A seasonal guide to eating and living well. Shambhala. DISCLOSURE The Herbal Academy supports trusted organizations with the use of affiliate links. Affiliate links are shared throughout the website and the Herbal Academy may receive compensation if you make a purchase with these links. Information offered on Herbal Academy websites is for educational purposes only. The Herbal Academy makes neither medical claim, nor intends to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Links to external sites are for informational purposes only. The Herbal Academy neither endorses them nor is in any way responsible for their content. Readers must do their own research concerning the safety and usage of any herbs or supplements.

What is ojas anyway? Ojas is a subtle essence that creates radiance, vitality and joy. Strong ojas gives bright eyes, glowing skin and a sense of peace and stability. Sounds like something you want a little more of in your life, right? Here's how. Ojas is the final product of the digestion of food, air, water and experience. It's a golden essence builds as the nutrients we ingest are gradually assimilated into the body’s tissues. So, the regular consumption of wholesome, organic foods in a balanced way results in consistent vitality and strength over time. Dates are particularly revered in Ayurveda for their capacity to quickly and effectively contribute to our reserves of ojas. Unlike other fruits, dates combine well with grains and vegetables and are a nice complement to a balanced meal. At Hale Pule we also use dates regularly in our baked goods. Delightfully sweet and wonderfully nourishing, dates are an ideal alternative to desserts made with refined sugar. Here is one of our favourite ojas-building recipes for radiance. Makes 12 cups Preparation time: 20 minutes You'll need 2 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground red and white wheat mixed is ideal) 1 cup rice flour 1 cup coconut flour (optional, could substitute rice flour) 2 Tbsp flax meal 1 tsp mineral salt 3/4 tsp cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp cardamom powder pinch of clove powder 4 Tbsp ghee 8-12 large dates soaked in ghee for at least 2 weeks (if you can't wait to try the recipe, you can use dry dates lightly cooked in ghee and water also) 12 whole pecans water Here's how Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl with your hand. Add ghee and enough water to make a soft moist dough (not sticky). Make balls of dough about the size of golf balls and lay them out on a stainless cookie sheet or glass baking dish. Press your thumb into the middle of each ball and shape them into cups with equal thickness of bottom and sides. Bake in an oven at 375F or 190C for 7-8 minutes and remove. Place the dates and just a splash of water into the blender and blend to a thick consistency, adding water as needed. Place the date paste into the cup and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes then remove and cool. Enjoy each ojas-building bite! Visit our Ayurveda Lifestyle page for kitchen essentials Original blog Hale Pure With Gratitude, Gabriela Ana Holistic Health Coach Have a free discovery call with me!

Are antibiotics bad for you? As we enter yet another cold and flu season — and yet another Covid winter, with hand sanitizer once again ubiquitous — it’s time to return once more to this perennial question (as well as another, even more basic, question: what are antibiotics, exactly?). That’s why we created this comprehensive guide to all things antibiotics (including links to three short & super informative videos we made!). Read on to learn how antibiotics work, the harmful effects of antibiotics, how to prevent antibiotic resistance, and more. You can listen to Adrienne discuss this guide on The WellBe Podcast. What Are Antibiotics, and Are They Bad for You? Unfortunately, antibiotics are an increasingly common part of many people’s everyday lives. It’s too easy to ask for a prescription when you feel a sniffle coming on, instead of waiting to see if you can kick it on your own or undergoing a test to see if you really need the drug. After all, who doesn’t want a simple, get-better-quick solution (or at least the promise of one)? But most of us have never taken the time to ask, “What are antibiotics?” or given all that much thought to how they impact your health. As it turns out, these are very important questions to address. So, in the simplest terms possible, here’s the deal: antibiotics are chemical substances that can inhibit or destroy (that’s where the “anti” comes from) the growth of microorganisms (that’s where the “biotic” comes from. Biotic literally means “living things.”). They are produced either naturally by soil bacteria and fungi, or synthetically in a lab. Once antibiotics enter your system, they travel throughout the body killing bacteria. The thing is though, they don’t have the ability to differentiate between the bad, disease-causing bacteria and the good, nourishing bacteria, so while they were created with the idea of killing harmful microorganisms, it ends up being a massacre for all the bugs they encounter, good or bad. This is where the harmful effects of antibiotics come in. In many cases, antibiotics end up destroying the beneficial bacteria in your gut, organs, and tissues. This, in turn, affects your microbiome, the network of microbial species that have an outsize impact on both your physical and mental health. This effect is so profound that just one weeklong course of antibiotics can change your microbiome for up to a full year after you stop taking the medication! Want a visual? Check out our video, “What are antibiotics?” The Importance of Good Bacteria and Probiotics In a healthy, balanced microbiome, there’s a balance of about 85% good bacteria and 15% bad bacteria. One of the harmful effects of antibiotics is that when you take them, you upset this balance and knock down the amount of good bacteria. And when your good bacteria drops, it can lead to a whole host of health issues, such as: increased inflammation decreased cancer resistance stress in the gut weakened immune defenses So what can you do to avoid upsetting this balance if you get sick? First, make sure that your doctor runs a test to confirm that the infection is bacterial and not viral. If it’s a virus (like Covid-19), an antibiotic won’t help anyway. If you have confirmation that your infection is bacterial — and have also confirmed there aren’t other less aggressive alternatives you could pursue to resolve it — make sure that you don’t leave until your doctor recommends a good probiotic for you, based on your medical history. This can be anything from fermented foods — such as sauerkraut, yogurt, or apple cider vinegar — to probiotic or prebiotic pills. Probiotics are good bacteria that help keep your digestive system healthy, while prebiotics are food for probiotics, and both are key to maintaining a healthy microbiome. If you’re getting chronic bacterial infections (colds, flu, bronchitis, sinusitis, UTIs), there’s a good chance your bad bacteria are ruling the roost in your gut and your good bacteria have been taken prisoner. Send in reinforcements (aka probiotics) to take back control of your health! For a full list of prebiotic and probiotic foods and supplements, as well as other ways to support your gut health, download our free gut health guide. The Harmful Effects of Antibiotics (and Where They’re Hiding) One of the most concerning ways that antibiotics are being used began around 60 years ago, when scientists figured out that putting antibiotics in the feed or water of healthy cattle, hogs, and poultry helped them gain weight faster. This is because low doses of antibiotics alter the way animals break down food in their gut, enabling fat build-up. Today, 40% of all global antibiotics are used for this— even in fish farms. Our first reaction to discovering this was: Good thing we aren’t getting antibiotics in our food or water! Oh wait, it turns out we are. Humans consume antibiotics not only through the meat we eat, but also via the water we drink. See, when you eat meat from an animal or fish that’s been fed antibiotics, your body absorbs that antibiotic. This has a few pretty bad consequences. First, studies suggest that this leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans (and these so-called superbugs are such a problem that in 2015, the Obama administration issued a federal action plan to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria). Second, there’s the concern that our ability to fight off disease could be diminished by overuse of antibiotics in farm animals. And third, exposure to antibiotics from food may alter the balance of your gut (see above!). This last one means that weight gain is among the many harmful effects of antibiotics: research has shown that obese people’s gut bacteria mix is different than that of lean people. And if you’re thinking you’re okay because you only eat organic meat (or don’t eat meat at all) — there’s more. It’s estimated that 75% of antibiotics delivered to an animal aren’t even used. Instead, the drugs exit via feces or urine. This contaminated manure eventually ends up in groundwater and surface water via runoff. Given that more than 50% of the world’s population relies on groundwater for drinking water, this is a major concern. It’s also interesting to note that the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock— and their subsequent rapid weight gain — coincides with the human obesity epidemic of the last 20 years. Because gut health is so, so important to overall health, the harmful effects of antibiotics on your health are pretty widespread: A 2015 study showed an increase in cancer formation, inflammation, and oxidative stress as a result of people taking antibiotics. Long-term antibiotic use at any age has been linked to a host of antibiotic resistance issues later in life, such as overgrowth of Candida (yeast), which manifests itself as chronic pain, MS, depression, severe allergies, and cancer. A super recent study showed that antibiotic use is associated with colon cancer. It’s also worth noting that antibiotics can have the greatest negative effect when taken at a young age. That’s because they can change the development of kids’ “adult” microbiota by not allowing it to develop normally. Early frequent use of antibiotics has been linked to Crohn’s disease, diabetes, and obesity. Want a visual? Check out our video guide to the harmful effects of antibiotics. How to Prevent Antibiotic Resistance Antibiotic resistance, which we mentioned briefly above, is a major global health problem. Each year, almost 3 million people in the U.S. are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and approximately 35,000 people die as a direct result, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s pretty terrifying, and definitely qualifies as a public health crisis. So how is antibiotic resistance created? How do superbugs relate to chronic disease? And what does it have to do with the meat you eat and your health? The U.S. leads the world in antibiotic consumption per capita. However, 30% of all antibiotics prescribed in our country are unnecessary. Even scarier — more than 70% of the bacteria that cause hospital infections are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance occurs when a bacteria changes in some way that either protects it from the action of the drug or neutralizes the drug. Any bacteria that survive an antibiotic treatment (by changing itself) can then multiply and pass on its properties, making more bacteria that are immune to modern antibiotic medicines. So why is this happening? In short, overuse of antibiotics. When you take an antibiotic that your body doesn’t need, the drug will still attack good bacteria. The good bacteria can then become antibiotic-resistant and spread that property to other, more harmful bacteria. Plus, antibiotic-resistant bacterial biofilms (thin slimy films of bacteria) are responsible for several chronic diseases that are difficult to treat, like cystic fibrosis. They can even coat the surfaces of implanted medical devices such as catheters or prosthetic cardiac valves. Biofilms have been connected to between 65% – 80% of bacterial infections in the U.S. In 2017, the WHO warned that a dozen antibiotic-resistant superbugs pose a threat equivalent to terrorism. Want a visual explanation? Check out our video guide to how to prevent antibiotic resistance. How to Avoid Unnecessary Antibiotics If you’re now wondering how to prevent antibiotic resistance, the simplest answer is by avoiding unnecessary antibiotics — and that doesn’t just mean prescriptions. Over 30 million pounds of antibiotics are sold for use in food animals — that’s 80% of the antibiotics sold in the United States. Globally, it’s estimated that antibiotic use will increase by 67% by 2030. Consuming these animal products promotes the spread of superbugs, which enter our homes via uncooked meat and poultry. If contamination occurs, you could be affected with a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant illness. Sure makes the meat aisle of the grocery store a little more ominous, no? It’s unknown how often people get sick from this, but we do know that there are 48 million cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. each year. To make sure you’re not one of those cases: Avoid consuming meat, poultry, and other food products raised with antibiotics and instead buy those that are certified organic. If you feel an infection coming on, don’t go for an antibiotic first. Allow your body the chance to fight it off. Only about 2-6% of common colds become bacterial sinus infections that could benefit from antibiotics — the other 94-98% of sinus infections are caused by viruses that can’t be treated with antibiotics. Avoid antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizer and instead use plain soap and water for effective hand-washing. In the same vein, skip antibacterial wipes for surface cleaning, and instead use non-antibacterial cleaners. For a full list of vetted personal care and home cleaning products that don’t contain antibiotics, check out our Non-Toxic Product Database. The WellBe Takeaway: Are Antibiotics Bad for You? So, are antibiotics bad for you? As we explained above, the answer is complicated, but the potential harmful effects of antibiotics mean it’s important to understand. Here’s a quick summary of the important things to remember about antibiotics and your health: First, it’s important to know, what are antibiotics? Antibiotics can be natural, but are generally synthetic chemical substances that inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms. However, they also kill beneficial microorganisms, which can have far-ranging impacts on your health. Taking too many or unnecessary antibiotics can lead to tons of issues, including obesity, weakened immune system, many chronic illnesses, and antibiotic resistance. If you are prescribed an antibiotic, you can offset some of the negative effects on your gut health by taking prebiotics or probiotics (either in food or supplement form). Overprescription of antibiotics has led to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, aka superbugs, that pose a major threat to our health. The best way to prevent antibiotic resistance is to avoid unnecessary antibiotics. Even if you’re not taking any antibiotics, you could still be consuming them, as they’re fed to many animals destined for human consumption. That means antibiotics end up in meat, poultry, and fish, as well as soil and groundwater. Reduce your risk of feeling the harmful effects of antibiotics by avoiding unnecessary antibiotics, not using antibacterial soaps or cleaning products, eating certified organic, and consuming prebiotics and probiotics. Citations: Balaban, N.Q., Helaine, S., Lewis, K. et al. Definitions and guidelines for research on antibiotic persistence. Nat Rev Microbiol 17, 441–448 (2019). Zaura, E. et al. Same Exposure but Two Radically Different Responses to Antibiotics: Resilience of the Salivary Microbiome versus Long-Term Microbial Shifts in Feces. mBio, Volume 6 • Number 6 • 31 December 2015 Jamal M, et al. Bacterial biofilm and associated infections. J Chin Med Assoc. 2018 Jan;81(1):7-11. Langdon, Amy et al. “The effects of antibiotics on the microbiome throughout development and alternative approaches for therapeutic modulation.” Genome medicine vol. 8,1 39. 13 Apr. 2016. Miranda, Claudio D et al. “Current Status of the Use of Antibiotics and the Antimicrobial Resistance in the Chilean Salmon Farms.” Frontiers in microbiology vol. 9 1284. 18 Jun. 2018. Riley LW, Raphael E, Faerstein E. Obesity in the United States – dysbiosis from exposure to low-dose antibiotics? Front Public Health. 2013 Dec 19;1:69.

Taking vitamin D3 is recommended everywhere these days. And rightly so. It is one of the most important vitamins we need and, in winter, almost essential to take. The vast majority of people are deficient in this powerful vitamin D3. Unfortunately, what hardly anyone knows is how important vitamin K2 is in combination with D3 intake. Taking vitamin D3 without K2 is almost pointless and can even lead to unpleasant health risks... What does vitamin D3 do exactly? In the Netherlands, we are blessed with a beautiful variety of four seasons. Unfortunately, this also brings with it disadvantages, such as a shortage of essential substances for our body. The most important deficiency in the autumn and winter months is vitamin D. Our body produces 90% of its vitamin D in our skin through exposure to sunlight. In order to produce sufficient vitamin D, it is therefore important to be sufficiently exposed to sunlight, because it cannot be obtained from food. Because of the seasons, but also because of our lifestyle, which is more and more indoors nowadays, we often have a shortage of sunlight and therefore of vitamin D. A deficiency can have unpleasant consequences for our health. Vitamin D plays a role in many functions in our body. For example, it contributes to the renewal of our cells and has a positive influence on our immune system. Vitamin D is also very important for maintaining strong teeth and bones. This is because vitamin D is responsible in the body for the absorption of calcium that we get through our diet. Vitamin D is responsible for the absorption from the intestines into the bloodstream so that calcium can be transported through the body. All of this makes vitamin D an essential substance to take in enough of on a daily basis. So it's not surprising that vitamin D is often taken extra, especially during the short and cold winter days. Unfortunately, supplementation does not always have the desired effect. The main reason for this is that insufficient attention is paid to the role of another essential substance in the process: vitamin K2. Vitamin D3 useless without vitamin K2 The main function of vitamin D3 - to absorb calcium from the gut into the bloodstream - is totally ineffective without vitamin K2. This is because the main function of K2 is to transport calcium around the body to places that need it, such as bones and teeth. Without vitamin K2, the calcium absorbed by vitamin D3 moves around the body or accumulates in the blood vessels. This can cause arteriosclerosis and calcium to accumulate in unwanted places in the body. If the calcium gets into your kidneys, for example, it can lead to kidney stones. If it gets into your arteries, it can lead to heart disease. This is also where the rumour originates that vitamin D3 can possibly lead to heart problems. However, the cause of this is a deficiency of K2. This means that the calcium is not transported to where it is needed, but instead accumulates where it is not needed. Difficulty in taking vitamin K2 Vitamin D3 intake would not cause any problems if there is enough vitamin K2 in our bodies. Unfortunately, many people appear to have a shortage of K2. Reason is that it can only be obtained in two ways: Via vitamin K1 - The easiest way to get vitamin K2 is through its little brother vitamin K1. This K1 can be found in foods such as cabbage, spinach, turnip greens, kale and dark green lettuce. After ingestion of K1, it is converted in our intestines to vitamin K2 by a specific bacterium. Therein lies the problem: very few people have healthy intestinal flora in which this bacterium can be found. This makes it impossible for most people to convert K1 to K2. Dietary - Vitamin K2 can also be obtained from food. It is found in Natto, a fermented soya bean from Japan, which is difficult to obtain in the Netherlands. K2 is also found in fermented milk products, such as brie. However, there is a problem with this. Animals get K2 in the same way as humans, by converting K1 (found in grass) to K2 in the intestines. As you can see, the animal products must come from animals that only eat fresh grass and have a very good intestinal flora (no antibiotics) so that they can convert K1 to K2. This is not very easy to find. Getting enough vitamin K2 is therefore not always easy. It is important to pay attention to this in any case. When taking D3 as a supplement, it is advisable to do so in combination with vitamin K2. That way you get both vitamins at the same time and vitamin K2 directly supports the functions of vitamin D3. These are the forms of vitamin D3 and K2 that we support D3+K2 Daylight Concentrate from Surthrival We are big fans of the vitamin D3+K2 combination from Surthrival because, unlike many other D3+K2 supplements, everything has been extracted from natural ingredients. Each dose of D3+K2 from Surthrival contains 4833 IU of D3 and 63mcg of K2. The K2 is extracted from the Natto bean just discussed and this formula also contains supporting oils (olive oil and peppermint oil) to increase the absorption of vitamin D3. As a result, it also tastes delicious. Highly recommended for everyone! Vitamin D3+K2 Spray from MaryRuth Organics If you want a lower dose of vitamin D3 and K2, this Vitamin D3+K2 Spray is a good choice. It contains per dose 20mcg vitamin D3 and 80mcg vitamin K2. The D3 in this product comes from wildcrafted and vegan lichen and the K2 from the natto bean. With a subtle flavour of olive oil, this product has a fine taste and good absorption. Liposomal D3 K2 Magnesium from Morgen is Nu Prefer not to take a liquid product, but capsules? Then our own Liposomal D3 K2 Magnesium is a good choice. It contains per dose 18mcg vitamin D3 and 60mcg vitamin K2. The D3 in this product comes from lichen and the K2 from natto bean. Furthermore, magnesium has been added to this product so that the mineral balance remains in order. When vitamin D3 absorbs calcium, it also absorbs magnesium. This makes it a complete product that is also very easy to absorb thanks to its liposomal form. Vitamin D3 + K2 + CoQ10 from Cymbiotika This Vitamin D3 + K2 + CoQ10 from Cymbiotika contains a unique combination of vitamins. These have been processed into a liquid liposomal product. This guarantees a high bioavailability and also ensures easy intake. Cymbiotika has added the two main forms of vitamin K2 (MK-4 & MK-7) in addition to D3. These are known as the most bioavailable, longest lasting and bioactive forms. For an even broader effect, selenium and CoQ10 (coenzyme Q10) have also been added. About Morgen is NU Morgen is Nu has grown in recent years from a one-man business to a fully-fledged company. Not only have we attracted external staff, but more family members are also actively involved in the company on a daily basis. This growth has also strengthened cooperation with our suppliers. Because of these developments, Co's mission to make the healthiest products in the world available in the Netherlands has been actively pursued to this day. With Gratitude, Gabriela Ana Holistic Health Coach Free discovery call here

According to the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni, recorded in the Sutra on Entering the Womb, there are four classes of illness. The first includes illnesses which are relatively inconsequential, and from these illnesses one will recover whether or not one takes medicines. The second class of illness includes more serious, even dangerous, illnesses, but if one takes the appropriate medicines, one will recover from these as well. A modern update of this category would surely include many effective modern medical procedures, such as acupuncture, surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, etc. The third class of illness includes those for which medicines are of no use, illnesses from which one cannot recover simply through the use of medicines or other medical procedures. These illnesses, however, can be cured, and one can thereby recover one’s health, through the practice of appropriate spiritual techniques taught in the buddhadharma. The fourth class of illness includes those which have a karmicly determined irreversibly terminal nature. When one’s body manifests such an illness, death is inevitable and no amount of medicine or medical procedure can prevent it. In fact, the use of medicines in such cases—with the exception of narcotics for pain—only serves to increase one’s suffering. The teachings on the Medicine Buddha which follow in these pages, given by the extraordinary Tibetan meditation master and scholar Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, are intended most particularly for those who are suffering from the third class of illness, illnesses for which no successful medical treatment has been found, but which are still curable through the practice of profound spiritual techniques. In the Buddhist tradition the most notable of these techniques are the spiritual practices associated with the Medicine Buddha. Through such practices, the innate healing powers inherent in the basic nature of all sentient beings can be uncovered and accessed. In this way sick persons can cure themselves of the illnesses that medicines and medical procedures are unable to cure. As normal human beings we have a tendency to think that illnesses are physically based and require physical solutions. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask how it is possible that spiritual practice can help the body cure itself. This question becomes even more critical for those who have no faith in the miraculous powers of a creator god. But if one has confidence in or even an intimation of any kind of spiritual reality that transcends the limitations of a strictly material universe, then one will find oneself extremely interested in the answer to this question provided by the Buddhist tradition. In the vajrayana tradition of Buddhism, we would answer this question—how one can cure oneself through spiritual practice—from two perspectives: from the perspective of the ultimate truth of the nature of reality, and from the perspective of relative truths, which discuss how things appear to us when we have not yet realized the ultimate truth of the nature of reality. From the standpoint of ultimate truth, all phenomena, including all the phenomena that we misapprehend as physical matter, are empty of any inherent existence. Though they appear to be very solid and real to us, they are in truth mere illusory appearances lacking any substantial reality, like a light show in space, like the aurora borealis, a rainbow, an echo, a flash of lightning, a mirage, a magical display, a dream, an hallucination, like the images in movies and on television, or like the reflection of the moon in water. None of these illusory appearances, including what we take to be matter, have any true, separate, permanent, solid or substantial existence independent of ever-changing equally non-existent causes and conditions. When scientists today investigate and scrutinize the atoms which we for centuries have thought of as the building blocks of the material world, they find no indivisible and, therefore, permanent particles of matter. They find mostly space with variously described sorts of energies rushing around within it. These energies are also insubstantial, impermanent, and unpredictable. They cannot be said to have any kind of permanent existence. The more scientists investigate, the more illusory the nature of matter appears. The Buddha discovered this same truth in meditation 2,500 years ago, and the Buddhist tradition has been teaching it ever since. All phenomena are ephemeral, constantly changing in the same way as the appearances within a kaleidoscope constantly change. None of these illusory appearances—including the appearances of sickness and disease, which are also mere empty appearances—have the power to cause us suffering unless we mistakenly apprehend them as real and substantial. When we misapprehend these appearances, when we take them to be real, we fixate on them and thereby cause them to solidify in our experience. This gives them the appearance of solid, substantial reality, and then in our lives these illnesses do, in fact, become for us very real and solid, and we suffer from them. Still, though everything that we experience is empty of any kind of substantial existence, we still experience something. What is it that we experience? We experience mind. In discussing the nature of things, or the nature of appearances, which in the ultimate analysis are merely empty, insubstantial radiations or light-manifestations of an equally empty and insubstantial, though luminous, mind, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche expresses the teachings of the Buddha given 2,500 years ago in the third turning of the wheel of dharma, his third great cycle of teachings: Before meditating, before recognizing things to be as they are, one will have seen the radiance of this mind as solid external things that are sources of pleasure and pain. But through practicing meditation, and through coming to recognize things as they are, you will come to see that all of these appearances are merely the display or radiance or light of the mind which experiences them. When one is able truly to recognize sickness and disease as “merely the display or radiance or light of the mind which experiences them,” empty of any inherent substantial existence, then one’s suffering disappears. Regardless of which of the first three categories of illness one is suffering from, if one is able to recognize its true nature—that it is merely the empty magical display or radiance or light of the mind which experiences it—one will experience no suffering, and depending on the level and completeness of this realization, one’s illness will dissolve in the empty pure primordial expanse, and one will be cured. Even if one is afflicted by the fourth category of illness and it is karmicly inevitable that one will die from that particular illness, one will die without suffering or fear, because all phenomena, including illness, are empty. They lack any kind of substantial, permanent reality independent of equally empty and interdependent causes and conditions. They are all merely insubstantial, ever-changing, kaleidoscopic light shows in the primordially pure open expanse of empty luminous awareness. * * * Most of the time, of course, we have no idea why we are ill. This comes about as a consequence of our present inability to recognize many of the various negative emotions that we suppress in our minds and to “see,” with the eye of wisdom, the karmic deeds, usually committed in previous lives, which are responsible for such emotions and for our illnesses. These recognitions are the prerequisite for “seeing” directly the relationship between negative mental/emotional states, evil deeds, and illnesses. The practice of the Medicine Buddha will also eventually remove the obscurations of mind that block such recognitions. In the meantime, if we understand the general principle of karmic cause and effect and have confidence in the possibility of spiritual purification, we can practice the Medicine Buddha and attain results long before the dawning of such spiritual insight. All of these benefits come about because the basis of all illness is evil deeds and the emotional defilements that give rise to them. The practice of the Medicine Buddha is one of the most profound ways of purifying such deeds and defilements and the karmic imprints that they leave in the psychosomatic system in the form of illness and compulsive behavior. In this way, the Medicine Buddha removes the causes of our illnesses and the illnesses themselves. * * * From the teachings by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche When you receive the blessing of the Medicine Buddha, and of buddhas and bodhisattvas in general, various unpleasant things—obstacles, sickness, demonic disturbances—will be pacified, and compassion, faith, devotion, insight, and so on will flourish and increase. In order to practice the descent of blessing most effectively, it is a good idea to focus the blessings on whatever is afflicting you most at that time. For example, if you are having a particular physical problem—an illness or some other physical problem—or a particular mental problem—a particular klesha, a particular type of stress, or particular worries—you can focus the absorption of the blessings of the buddhas and bodhisattvas on that. You can focus it on the removal of wrongdoing and obscurations in general, but focus it especially on what you regard as your greatest concern at the moment. For example, you may feel that you lack a specific quality: If you feel that you lack insight or you lack compassion or you lack faith, then think that the blessing serves to promote that quality that you feel you are most lacking. And feel that through the absorption of these blessings you actually become filled with that quality as though it were a substance that were actually filling your whole body. Those visualizations are for the usual, formal practice of the Medicine Buddha. In his book Mountain Dharma: Instructions for Retreat, Karma Chakme Rinpoche recommends the following visualization for the actual alleviation of sickness. You can visualize yourself as the Medicine Buddha, if you wish, but the main focus is to actually visualize a small form of the Medicine Buddha, no larger than four finger-widths in height, in the actual part of your body that is afflicted. So if it is an illness or pain in the head, visualize a small Medicine Buddha in the head; if it is in the hand, visualize a small Medicine Buddha in the hand; if it is in the foot, then visualize a small Medicine Buddha in the foot. Visualize the Medicine Buddha in that place, and think that from this small but vivid form of the Medicine Buddha rays of light are emitted. These rays of light are not simply light, which is dry, but liquid light having a quality of ambrosia. This luminous ambrosia or liquid light actually cleanses and removes the sickness and pain—whatever it is. You can do this not only for yourself, by visualizing the Medicine Buddha in the appropriate part of your own body, but you can do it for others as well by visualizing the Medicine Buddha in the appropriate part of their body or bodies. The radiation of rays of light of ambrosia and so on is the same. This can be applied not only to physical sickness but to mental problems as well. If you want to get rid of a particular type of anxiety or stress or depression or fear or any other kind of unpleasant mental experience, you can visualize the Medicine Buddha seated above the top of your head and think in the same way as before that luminous ambrosia or liquid light emerges from his body, filling your body and cleansing you of any problem, whatever it is. You might think that all of this sounds a bit childish, but in fact it actually works, and you will find that out if you try it. From “Introduction,” Medicine Buddha Teachings by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. $27.95 - Paperback See Details Medicine Buddha Teachings Source article https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/medicine-buddha-teachings/ By: Takpo Tashi Namgyal & Khenchen Thrangu

The majestic honey bee (Apis spp.) has been celebrated for thousands of years by civilizations across the world. In ancient Greece, the honey bee was a symbol of birth, death, and rebirth—transformational themes connected to the mysterious and supernatural realms. As the creator of honey, the first known sweetener in Greek antiquity, the honey bee was highly revered. Honey itself was a symbol of the honey bees’ power to transform the sugary secretions of plants into a delicious substance for human and animal enjoyment. The ancient Greeks incorporated this bee-made sweetness in religious ceremonies, kitchen recipes, and healing remedies. Evidence of the symbolism of the honey bee and the sacred and practical uses of honey can be found in abundance in the ancient texts and depicted in archaeological discoveries. This plethora of evidence is fascinating to explore for it reveals the ingenuity of the ancient Greeks to transform the image of the honey bee itself from a seemingly simple insect into a sacred creature with divine powers. We will explore the remarkable history of the honey bee in ancient Greece and learn about delicious honey recipes to try at home. Perhaps learning about and tasting the wisdom of the honey bee can bring eternal sweetness to your own life. The History of the Honey Bee in Greece "Hold your peace! The beekeepers are at hand to open the house of Artemis." – Aristophanes, 405 BCE/1995 Symbolism of the Honey Bee The ancient and modern Greek word for honey bee is mélissa (Greek: μέλισσα). The same term was also used to describe the priestesses, or melissae, who served at the temples of certain goddesses. Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest, was a strong feminine figure in Greek mythology who was connected to both the earthly realm and the underworld. In a tragic myth, her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld who deceived the young woman into living with him and becoming his wife. Persephone subsequently became queen of the underworld and lived there for six months of the year. In response to this arrangement, Demeter grieved for the loss of her daughter during those months and her grief was so profound that the goddess produced no harvest on the land and made those months bleak, thus creating winter. The honey bee was a symbol of life and death, as reflected in the seasons of the year. Persephone, referred to as the “honied” one, embodied this cycle when she crossed the boundary from the land of the living to the land of the dead (Porphyry, 270/1917, 8.24). Her honey-referenced name was also an indicator of her youthful beauty, as embodied by the season of spring when nature bloomed once again. The melissae were chaste young women who served their mother, the goddess, as a representation of the purity and chastity of this natural cycle. The melissae also served at the temples of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the moon, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, and chastity. The ancient Greeks believed that souls were conceived and brought down from the moon-goddess herself in the form of bees (Ransome, 1937). Temples in honor of Artemis have been found at Ephesus (now in modern-day Turkey) and on the island of Rhodes, where worship for the great mother-goddess attracted worshippers from remote regions in search of healing, culture, and prayer (Kampen, 2003). Male “entertainers” at the temple were called essenes, meaning “king bee” (Seltman, 1952, p. 48). These men were bound to chastity for one year, as a symbol of their devotion to the goddess of chastity. Archaeological evidence of how the honey bee was affiliated with Artemis indicates a strong sense of worship. Gold plaques were found at her sanctuary on Rhodes and similar ones on Santorini, which depict Artemis with wings and the body of a bee, indicating her role as the bee goddess (Ransome, 1937). At her temple in Ephesus, rosettes with depictions of headless bees were found, indicating that they may have been an amulet for worship and possibly used as a talisman for averting evil (Ransome, 1937). Coins found at Ephesus depicted bees and date palms, both sources of sweetness prevalent throughout the region, and carvings on marble statues, gold pins, plaques, and ritual tokens all had the motif of the honey bee, some dating as early as ca. 700 BCE (Seltman, 1952; Dashu, 2009). The honey bee, to the ancient Greeks, encompassed a symbol of duality: of life and death, as demonstrated by the worship to Demeter, and a symbol of purity and regeneration, as associated with the chastity goddess, Artemis. Honey bees lived in the mountainsides of Greece—in rock crevices and caves, which were thought to be entrances to the underworld. As a symbol of the dead, honey bees represented the souls of the deceased, and the incarnation of the deceased into a honey bee was described as “bee-souls” (Ransome, 1937, p. 106). A swarm of honey bees was likened to both the gathering and dispersing of souls, as if the new souls and newly deceased entered and exited the earthly realm in this way. These ideas did not escape the minds of those writing about how to lead a virtuous life. The philosopher Plato is said to have believed that “the souls of quiet and sober men came to life as bees and ants” (Ransome, 1937, p. 77). Bees also held prophetic powers. Well-known ancient philosophers, including Aristotle, Vergil, and Pliny, described bees as weather prophets and relied upon them to predict rain (Ransome, 1937). During times of drought, honey was offered to the goddesses, and prayers were sung to invoke the power of the bee and of the skies to produce much-needed rain. Honey in Religion, Food, and Medicine "In swarms while wandering, from the dead, A humming sound is heard. "– Porphyry, 270/1917, 7.23 While the honey bee served as a sacred symbol of powerful goddesses and the theme of transformation, honey played a central role in sacred rituals surrounding food, and in medicine. In Greek, honey is called méli (Greek: μέλι), which is the root of the Greek word for honey bee (mentioned above). Honey was considered the nectar of the gods and in sacred contexts, honey represented the sweetness and pleasures of life. It was believed that the sweetness of honey was what attracted souls to be born so that they could experience the delights of being mortal. This same sweetness helped the deceased descend into the underworld. A libation of honey, paired with milk, oil, and/or water, was offered to the chthonian gods, those relating to the underworld, and to the newly deceased, a practice that continued for thousands of years up until the 2nd century CE. A noteworthy example is during the funeral of Patrocles, a beloved friend of Achilles, the great warrior of the Trojan War. Jugs of honey and olive oil were burned alongside his body. The belief was that by burning the foods he enjoyed during life, he could also enjoy them in the afterlife (Ransome, 1937). And those who led a righteous life would return to heaven, just as the bee returned to the hive: “all souls … who will live in it justly and who, after having performed such things as are acceptable to the Gods, will again return (to their kindred stars)” (Porphyry, 270/1917, 8.24). Honey was a common ingredient in food and especially in beverages. Before the production of wine, mead was the beverage of choice, still made today by fermenting honey mixed with water (Ransome, 1937). For breakfast, fried dough was made with wheat flour, olive oil, milk, and honey, while for dessert, honey was drizzled on cheese, figs, or olives. During the highly secretive Eleusinian Mysteries to honor Demeter, a drink called kykeon was made by blending honey with barley, mint, or pennyroyal. Honey was also a very useful medicine and there are many primary sources of medical texts from ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Persia that describe its healing powers. Honey was used both topically and internally for wounds, burns, menstrual complications, digestive complaints, respiratory issues, and even bites of venomous creatures. Honey’s efficacy in soothing wounds and burns, in particular, was noted historically and has been confirmed by modern scientific studies as well (Wallner et al., 2020). In his five-volume textbook De Materia Medica, Dioscorides uses honey, mixed with pine pitch (Pinus spp.) and raisins, as the treatment of choice for infected boils, malignant skin tumors, and “rotten ulcers with scars” (2000, 97), while iris (Iris germanica) chewed and blended with honey can “fill up bare bones with flesh” (2000, 1). Modern science confirms honey’s antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative properties. Studies have identified the phytoconstituents of glucose oxidase, methylglyoxal, and bee defensin-1 to be helpful in accelerating healing and reducing infections on burns(Wallner et al., 2020). It was not without the dedicated work of beekeepers that a steady supply of honey was made available for the population. Beekeeping was a serious profession in ancient Greece and during the reign of Solon (c. 639-599 BCE), strict rules were enacted to enforce a distance of at least 300 feet between each hive. This helped prevent new beekeepers from taking advantage of existing honey-flower locations already claimed by someone else. In Athens, beekeepers vied for a fragrant spot for their hives on nearby Mount Hymettus, where the scent of thyme (Thymus spp.) wafted through the air and attracted the honey bees to make the most favorable honey of the region (Ransome, 1937). In modern Greece, beekeeping continues to be a popular profession and dedicated hobby, and the same desire for access to fragrant mountainsides covered in wild thyme, pine, heather, fir, chestnut, and citrus—endures. Recipes with Greek Honey … Also ask for Attic Honey, the feast’s crowning dish— For that it is which makes a banquet noble. – Athenaeus, 180 BCE/1854, 3.59 There are countless recipes with honey to explore, ranging from the dessert table to the herbal cabinet. Below are a few sweet examples to try at home, each providing the opportunity to savor the ancient goodness gifted by the sacred honey bee. Kykeon (ancient Greek: κυκεών, kykeȏn) Meaning “to stir,” this was a sacred beverage of ancient Greece enjoyed during the Eleusinian Mysteries in honor of Demeter. This modern version is adapted from Tokev (n.d.). Ingredients ½ cup spelt flour Water 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese 1 egg, beaten ¼ tsp cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.) 2 ½ tablespoons Greek honey (or local honey) 1 tbsp fresh lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) aerial parts, roughly chopped 1 sprig of fresh lemon balm Directions In a medium-sized pan, add spelt flour and just enough water to cover completely. Stir well. Fold in ricotta cheese, beaten egg, and cinnamon. Heat the mixture quickly on high temperature, stirring constantly to prevent the egg from curdling. Before the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer. Continue stirring until the blend becomes a creamy mixture. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in chopped lemon balm and honey to mixture. Serve in dessert glass with sprigs of lemon balm and sprinkle with more cinnamon on top. Oxymel (ancient Greek: ὀξύς ‘acid’, and μέλι ‘honey’) “You will find the drink, called oxymel, often very useful in these complaints, for it promotes expectoration and freedom of breathing.” – Hippocrates, 400 BCE/1886, 16 This blend of vinegar, honey, and herbs has been described as “an intangible cultural heritage of Western and near Asian civilizations,” including those in Greece, Egypt, and Persia (Orhan et al, 2022, 3). This is a must-have for your herbal toolkit. There are many ways in which to prepare an oxymel, but the main formula is equal parts vinegar and honey with selected herbs. Hippocrates goes into much detail on the healing properties of an oxymel for a variety of ailments. Today, it is useful as a daily tonic in the winter or in higher doses during illness. Here is a recipe adapted from the Herbal Academy (2018) and Mountain Rose Herbs (2020). Ingredients Dried herbs of choice, such as: elderberries (Sambucus nigra), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), ginger (Zingiber officinale), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), cloves (Syzygium aromaticum), and/or rosehips (Rosa canina) 1 part apple cider vinegar, preferably organic 1 part raw Greek honey (or local honey) Directions Select a glass jar with a non-metal lid and fill it ¼ of the way full with your choice of dried herbs, with proportions based on your flavor preferences. Cover herbs with equal parts apple cider vinegar and honey to fill the jar. Screw the lid on tightly. If you are using a metal lid, place a piece of parchment paper under the lid to prevent deterioration by the vinegar. Shake the jar well to thoroughly mix the blend. Store in a cool, dark place for 2-6 weeks, and shake daily. To add loving intentions, sing a blessing, say a prayer, or set an intention for how you would like to use the oxymel. After the allotted time period, strain out the herbs with a fine mesh strainer and pour into glass storage jars. Be sure to squeeze out all the liquid from the herbs. Label the jar with all the ingredients and the date of extraction. Store the oxymel in a cool, dark place or keep refrigerated. To Use: Use as often as necessary for up to 6 months. Greek Honey Cake The ancient Greeks used honey-cakes as a special feature in many prayers, festivals, and sacred rites. For personal prayer, a worshipper would visit a cave where snakes lived and offer them a honey-cake for goodwill towards the gods. Honey-cakes were also a feature of the Thesmophoria, an annual fall festival for women. The ancient Greek version was called enkhytoi and was a flat, molded cake made from honey, fine flour, and eggs (Athenaeus, 180 BCE/1854). This modern version is adapted from Dimitra’s Dishes (2022) and is a delightful cake to enjoy for special occasions. Ingredients For the syrup ½ cup cane sugar ¼ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed ¾ cup water 1 cup Greek honey (or local honey) For the cake 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup almond flour Zest of one organic orange 2 teaspoons baking powder 3 eggs, room temperature 4 oz butter or vegan butter, melted 1 cup Greek honey (or local honey) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) extract ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract ½ cup yogurt or Greek yogurt Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare the syrup by combining the sugar, orange juice, and water in a small saucepan. Stir and slowly bring to a boil. When the sugar is fully dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the honey. Set aside to cool. To prepare the cake, combine the flour, baking powder, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs, butter, honey, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and whisk until smooth. Fold in the yogurt and add the blended flour mixture in batches to combine. Do not over mix. Pour the cake batter into a greased 9-inch round baking pan. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 45-50 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to ensure it comes out clean. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, poke it in several places with a toothpick. Pour the cooled syrup over the cake and set aside to cool for about 2 hours before serving. To Use: Transfer the cake to a serving platter and serve topped with ice cream or with homemade whipped cream. Enjoy! In Closing, The honey bee in ancient Greece was a sacred symbol known for its powers to connect humans with mythological goddesses associated with the earthly and underworld realms. The honeybee was also a divine embodiment of the transformations experienced during a human lifetime. Honey bees produced a delight that we can still enjoy today in our food and herbal preparations. These gifts from a humble insect are as honey-sweet as ever and can remind us of the challenges we experience in life—and how honey can help sweeten the way. For more reading on the amazing honey bee, see: Bee Propolis: The Honey Bee’s Secret To Hive Health Posted By Maria Christodoulou In colaboration with Herbal Academy REFERENCES Aristophanes. (1995). Frogs. (M. Dillon, Trans.) Perseus Digital Library. (Original work published 405 BCE) Athenaeus. (1854). The deipnosophists. (C.D. Yonge, Trans.) London: Henry G. Bohn. (Original work published 180 BCE) Dimitra’s Dishes. (2022). Greek honey cake. https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/greek-honey-cake/ Dashu, M. (2009). The pythias and other oracular women. Retrieved from https://www.suppressedhistories.net/secrethistory/Pythia.pdf Dioscorides, P., Osbaldeston, T. A., & Wood, R. P. (2000). De materia medica: Being an herbal with many other medicinal materials: Written in Greek in the first century of the common era: A new indexed version in modern English. IBIDIS. Hippocrates. (400 B.C.E.). On regimen in acute diseases. (F. Adams, Trans.) . Classics.mit.edu. http://classics.mit.edu/Hippocrates/acutedis.16.16.html Kampen, J. (2003). The cult of Artemis and the essenes in Syro-Palestine. Dead Sea Discoveries, 10(2), 205–220. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4193273 Mountain Rose Herbs. (2020, March 15). Herbal oxymel recipes & benefits. Mountain Rose Herbs. https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/herbal-oxymels Orhan, H., Yılmaz, İ., & Tekiner, İ.H. (2022). Maulana and sekanjabin (oxymel): A ceremonial relationship with gastronomic and health perspectives. Journal of Ethnic Food, 9, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-022-00127-6 Porphyry. (1917). On the cave of the nymphs. (T. Taylor, Trans.) London, England: Neill and Co. LTD. (Original work published ca. 270 AD). Retrieved from https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_cave_of_nymphs_02_translation.htm Ransome, H. (1937). The sacred bee in ancient times and folklore. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. Saba, H. (2018, September 28). How to make an oxymel. Herbal Academy. https://theherbalacademy.com/how-to-make-an-oxymel/ Seltman, C. (1952). The wardrobe of Artemis. The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Royal Numismatic Society, 12(42), 33–51. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42662998 Tokev, A. (n.d.). Kykeon – The ancient smoothie. Chef’s Pencil. https://www.chefspencil.com/recipe/kykeon-the-ancient-smoothie/ Wallner, C., Moormann, E., Lulof, P., Drysch, M., Lehnhardt, M., & Behr, B. (2020). Burn care in the Greek and Roman antiquity. Medicina (Kaunas), 56(12): 657. doi: 10.3390/medicina56120657

(Taken from “ Karmic Astrology” vol.1 – M.Schulmann ) It was early in the morning. God stood before his twelve sons and sowed in each of them a seed of human life. They approached him, one by one, to receive the gifts assigned to them. "To you, Aries , I give my seed first, so that you have the honor of planting it on the ground. For every seed you plant you will reap thousands. You will be the first to penetrate the ground of the human mind with My Thought, but it is not your responsibility to maintain it, nor do you ask any questions about it. Your life consists of action and your only task is to start making people aware of My Creation. For the success of your mission, I give you the Esteem of Yourself". Calmly, Aries returned to his place. «To you, Taurus , I give the power to make the seed bear fruit. Your work is of the utmost importance; it requires all your patience because you will have to finish what has been undertaken, otherwise you will see the seeds carried away by the wind. You will not have to doubt, or change your mind along the way, or depend on others for the work I assign you. For this I give you the strength. Use it wisely." And the Bull returned to his place. «To you, Gemini , I give the unanswered questions so that you can give men mutual understanding. You will never know why they talk and listen, but in your search for the answer you will find my gift: Knowledge." And the Gemini returned to his place. «To you, Cancer , I entrust the task of teaching emotions to men. I ask you to provoke their laughter and their tears, so that their life and their thoughts create fullness in their depths. For this I am giving you the Family, so that your fullness can make it prosperous». And Cancer returned to its place. «To you, Leo , I give the task of showing the splendor of My Creation to the eyes of the world. But you must be wary of pride and always remember that it is My Creation, not yours. If you forget, men will despise you. You will find great joys in the mission I entrust to you if you carry it out perfectly. For this you must possess the gift of Honor». And the Lion returned to his place. «To you, Virgin , I ask you to judge what man has made of My Creation. You must examine his behavior very carefully and remind him of his mistakes so that My Creation is accomplished through you. For this I give you the Purity of Spirit». And the Virgin returned to her place. «To you, Libra , I entrust the mission of serving, so that man is attentive to his duties towards others. He must learn both to cooperate and to reflect on the other side of his actions. I will place you wherever discord reigns. To help you in your efforts, I give you Love». And Libra returned to its place. «To you, Scorpio , I give a very difficult task. You will have the ability to know the human soul, but I won't allow you to talk about what you will learn. You will often be sad to see how things really are and what will distract you from Me and make you forget that I am not the cause of your pain but the perversion of My Thought. You will penetrate the human soul so well that you will end up seeing man as a beast and in your heart you will fight so fiercely against this bestiality that you will go astray. But when you return to Me, Scorpio, I will keep for you the supreme gift of Determination". And Scorpio returned to his place. « Sagittarius , I ask you to make men laugh because their incomprehension of My Thought makes them bitter. Thanks to laughter, you will have to give them the hope that will bring them back to Me. In this way you will touch very many souls, even if only for an instant, and each time you will experience restlessness. To you, Sagittarius, I give the infinite Abundance that you will be able to spread to the darkest corners to bring us light». And Sagittarius returned to his place. «From you, Capricorn , I expect the sweat of your brow, because you will have to teach men to work. Your task is not easy because you will feel the toil of man weighing on your shoulders. So that you can bear the burden, I place the Responsibility of man in your hands". And Capricorn returned to his place. «To you, Aquarius , I give the concept of the future so that man can go beyond his own limits. You will know the pain of loneliness because I do not authorize you to personalize My Love. But to open man's eyes to other perspectives, I give you Freedom. It will enable you to continue serving humanity whenever necessary." And Aquarius returned to his place. “To you, Pisces , I give the hardest task of all. I ask you to take upon yourself every pain of man and deliver it to me. Your tears will have to become Mine. The sadness you will absorb is the result of man's misunderstanding of My Thought, but you will have to show compassion to him for him to try again. For this difficult task, I give you the most beautiful gift. You will be the only My child to Understand Me. But this gift of understanding is reserved for you alone, Pisces, because if you try to share it with the man, he won't want to listen to you." And Pisces returned to its place. Then God said: "Each of you has a part of My Thought. You will not have to make a mistake in interpreting him or desire the gift of your brothers. Each of you is perfect, but you will only know that when you are One. Then My Thought in its entirety will be revealed to each one of you." Once left to themselves, each son decided to put the gift received to good use, but none of the twelve understood either their duty or their gift. When very embarrassed they returned to God, He said to them: «You all believe that the gift of the other is more precious than yours. So I permit you to exchange them.' And for an instant each son experienced ecstasy by proposing all the possibilities of his new mission. But God smiled and said, “You will come back to Me many times to ask Me to release you from your mission and each time I will grant your wish. You will go through a large number of incarnations before fulfilling the initial mission prescribed by Me for each one of you. I grant you an infinite time to absolve it, but you will be able to stay with Me only when this is accomplished».

Dr. Rawls’ new book was spurred by a lightbulb moment, when he understood that cellular health is at the heart of our overall health. The conventional medicine system, he’d seen, tended to complicate things with a seemingly infinite amount of tests, diagnoses, and treatment paths. But, he found, “when you bring it down to the cellular level, you really change that equation completely. You simplify our understanding of chronic illness, cancer, and how we should deal with it. It’s a different conversation and one that is more apt to lead to wellness than the other.” To understand why cellular health is the one thing that really matters, it’s first important to understand the role of cells in our bodies. “We’re basically a collection of cells, and all of our cells work together to make us function as a unit,” Dr. Rawls says. He explains that we’re made up of trillions of cells, and each of those cells is an independently functioning unit with a specific job. In order to fulfill that job, each cell needs certain things — nutrients, downtime to recover from being stressed — and when it doesn’t get those things, health problems arise. “When you look at health from a cellular point of view, it’s really all about the health of your cells,” he says. “When you feel good, it’s because your cells are healthy. It’s as simple as that. And if you don’t feel good, it means your cells are stressed.” Understanding Stress and Aging through Cellular Health: So cell health matters. But what impacts our cellular health over time? Will it naturally deteriorate as we age, or does lifestyle matter? As it turns out, the answer is both. Dr. Rawls explains that all humans accumulate cells until about age 20, at which point you have way more cells than you actually need — about five to 10 times as many cells as are necessary for functioning. “So, you feel great when you’re 20,” he says. “You feel invulnerable because here you are, all of your cells are brand spanking new, and you have all these extra cells. After that point, though, you gradually lose cells.” Aging, he explains, is simply the gradual loss of functional cells in the body. This happens because cells eventually burn out their mitochondria from continually working, and when that happens they lose the ability to generate energy. But it’s not all that simple: lifestyle factors impact the rate of cellular burnout, making the connection between stress and aging quite strong. “If it were just from the normal process of mitochondrial energy loss, it’s estimated that we would all live about up to 120 in the absence of any stress,” says Dr. Rawls. “But when your cells are stressed, they use more energy. They burn down their mitochondria faster, so you lose cells faster.” It’s a simple equation: the more stressed you are, the faster you burn out cells, and the more quickly your body ages. And when we talk about stress and aging, we don’t just mean mental stress. In fact, Dr. Rawls identified five different categories of stress that affect our cells in different ways: 1. Nutritional stress: The typical American diet, which is high in carbohydrates and processed foods, doesn’t give the human body the nourishment it needs. “So our cells are compromised right from the beginning,” he says. 2. Toxic stress: In the modern world, we’re constantly exposed to toxins – from devices and toxic substances in our air, water, or products — and this weakens our cells. “These chemicals get embedded in our cells and compromise functions” 3. Mental stress: Because many of us spend our lives in constant fight-or-flight mode, our cells are on high alert all the time, which doesn’t allow them the opportunity to recover from other kinds of stress. “Our cells need downtime,” Dr. Rawls says. “We need sleep and rest to recalibrate the brain.” 4. Physical stress: This could include physical trauma or injury, but also being sedentary. When you’re sedentary, Dr. Rawls explains, you don’t move your blood, and cells need blood to clear metabolic debris and congestion. Microbe stress: This is a biggie — we’ll dive deep into it below! Each of these types of stress affect your body and cells in different ways, but the bottom line is clear: “When your cells are stressed, they can’t do their job and you feel bad,” Dr. Rawls says. “Simple as that.” The Connection Between Cells, Dormant Microbes, and Chronic Disease: The last type of stress, microbe stress, is a big focus of Dr. Rawls’ new book, and an emerging area of study in the field of cellular health. We’re all exposed to various harmful microbes throughout our lives: through tick or other insect bites, through things we eat or medications we take, through infections and viruses, and many other sources. Dr. Rawls explains that with all these exposures, microbes eventually enter the bloodstream, sparking “a war with our immune system.” When this happens, your immune system responds with acute inflammation to fight off the pathogen, and you experience symptoms. “It’s generally thought, well, we have an infection, we feel the infection, and once our symptoms resolve, the microbe is gone,” Dr. Rawls says. “As it turns out, that may be much less true than we think.” He explains that when microbes enter the bloodstream, they make their way into our cells, which can result in one of three outcomes: 1. The microbe wins, taking over the cell and using it as food and resources to generate more microbes. This generally happens when cellular health is compromised. 2. The microbe is expelled. This happens when a cell is healthy and thus able to properly defend itself from the invading microbe. 3. The microbes enter and become dormant. This is where things get a little more complicated. “These microbes are small, about 1,000 to 100 times smaller than our cells, so we can actually harbor bacteria in our cells that are dormant,” says Dr. Rawls. When a microbe is dormant, it remains in the cell but is inactive, meaning it doesn’t hinder the function of the cell. However, it can become active again if your cells become stressed, whether through poor diet, exposure to toxins, a sedentary lifestyle, or any of the other types of stress laid out above. “If you stress your cells chronically, all of the things you’ve been accumulating through your lifetime can reactivate,” says Dr. Rawls. This idea of dormant microbes being reactivated is currently being explored as a potential explanation for chronic illnesses (read our interview with Dr. Kasey Holland to learn specifically about what reactivated EBV does to the body). “We have different chronic illnesses because we all pick up different microbes as we go through life,” Dr. Rawls says. “It has the potential to really change our understanding of what chronic illness is, but also change our understanding of how we should look at solutions. And it puts cellular wellness right at the heart of it. If your cells aren’t healthy, then you’re vulnerable to chronic illness.” What that means is that if we can target cellular health, we can make people less vulnerable to chronic disease — and this is huge, since 60% of Americans have a chronic illness. How Antimicrobial Herbs Counteract Chronic Disease by Targeting Cellular Health: So if healthy cells help protect you from chronic disease, how can you improve your cellular health? According to Dr. Rawls, herbs might be one very powerful way to do so. Dr. Rawls was able to reverse his own chronic Lyme with herbal medicine, and along his journey, he came to understand that the power of herbs can be harnessed for many other purposes. “I realized that drugs and herbs are really two different things. I mean, it’s like apples and oranges,” he says. Drugs, he explains, block enzymes or activate receptor pathways that artificially block a symptom or artificially slow down a disease process by manipulating cellular functions. But, he says, “what they are not doing — what no drug has the capacity to do, though — is reduce cellular stress.” Chronic illness, he explains, can be defined as chronic cellular stress: whatever stress you are experiencing is ongoing, so your cells aren’t recovering, leading to chronic cellular dysfunction and the accompanying symptoms. Drugs help people with chronic disease by lessening these symptoms, but they do not treat the root cause of cellular stress. Herbs, Dr. Rawls realized, do just that. “That was just a light bulb moment when I realized what was going on,” he says. He came to learn that there are many different herbs that can specifically target the different types of stress outlined above: some have antidiabetic processes (which might help with nutritional stress), some have detoxification processes and virtually all herbs have antimicrobial properties to help with microbe stress. “All herbs have some antimicrobial properties,” Dr. Rawls says. “They have to. In fact, every living organism on earth has to protect itself from other kinds of creatures.” Among the various antimicrobial herbs, of course, there are varying levels of potency, and how powerful an herb is will depend on its environment: plants that exist in environments with more microbial stress will have robust antimicrobial properties, while those with less microbial stress will be weaker. Then comes the question of how to access and ingest antimicrobial herbs. Dr. Rawls explains that while you can find herbs in pharmacies and grocery stores, they tend not to do much because of their poor quality. To really get the benefits of antimicrobial herbs, he says, you generally need to order them online from a high-quality source (Dr. Rawls actually has his own line of herbs through Vital Plan). In terms of what kinds of herbs to take, Dr. Rawls cautions that some herbs have very powerful, drug-like properties and so you shouldn’t take them without consulting with an herbalist. There are, however, what he calls “green zone” herbs, which anybody can take and benefit from without consulting an herbalist. Some of these herbs include commonly used herbs, like cinnamon and turmeric, and you can find the whole list of “green zone” herbs in his book. Then there’s the question of how to best consume antimicrobial herbs. Dr. Rawls explains that there are three main ways to get herbs: 1. Whole herb powder. This common form is made by drying up an entire plant and then crushing it into a fine powder. “Frankly, you’re getting a lot of fiber and not much phytochemistry, because you’re just getting the stems and roots and leaves of the plant,” he says. “Whole herb powders are great, but they’re just not high potency.” 2. Tinctures. A tincture is made by soaking plant parts in water and alcohol to extract the plant’s phytochemistry, then taking the plant parts out and discarding them. The more plant parts in the water/alcohol mixture, the higher the concentration (just like you get a stronger tea if you use multiple tea bags). Dr. Rawls recommends tinctures, noting that they are more potent than whole herb powders. 3. Standardized powdered extract. This form, which Dr. Rawls refers to as “one step beyond the tincture,” is made by spraying a tincture onto a surface, then drying off the water and alcohol to collect the powder, which is then put into a capsule. This means that each capsule is basically pure phytochemistry, and much more potent than either tinctures or whole herb powders. “It’s just a really easy way to get herbs,” he says. The WellBe Takeaway on Cellular Wellness and Chronic Disease: It’s clear that our cells play a massive role in our overall health — but you don’t need to be an expert in biology to achieve optimal wellness through improving the health of your cells. Here’s what to remember about cellular health: We’re all made up of trillions of cells, and each cell has its own specific function. When your cells are healthy, your body is able to function optimally, and you feel good. When your cells aren’t healthy, the cells can’t complete their functions and you feel bad. Every human accumulates cells until about age 20, and then their cells slowly lose function from that point onward. The aging process is simply the loss of functional cells. In the absence of any external stressors, everyone would live until the age of 120, but various stresses in our life accelerate the process of losing functional cells. There are five types of stress that the cells experience: nutritional stress, toxic stress, mental stress, physical stress, and microbe stress. Microbe stress is one of the biggest detriments to cellular health. Microbe stress occurs when a microbe enters a cell and prevents the cell from performing its normal functions. Microbes are sneaky, so often they can enter a cell and then go dormant for a period of time, making it seem as if your body has beaten off the infection. However, when your body is stressed, the microbe wakes up and symptoms reappear. Reactivated microbes are a major cause of chronic disease. Pharmaceuticals treat chronic disease by artificially lessening their symptoms. Herbs, on the other hand, target the root cause of chronic disease: cellular stress. Because herbs are plants that must protect themselves from microbes, all herbs have antimicrobial properties that act against the harmful microbes in human cells. You can take herbs in the form of whole herb powder, tinctures, or standardized powder extract. Dr. Rawls recommends tinctures and standardized powder extract, as whole herb powder isn’t potent enough to have real benefits. You can purchase herbs online through high-quality sources; those you find in pharmacies or grocery stores are generally too low-quality to have any real benefits. Watch the full interview with Dr. Bill Rawls to learn about the connection between herbs and cellular stress (and how they operate differently than pharmaceuticals), why humans today consume fewer phytochemicals than humans in the past, why it’s difficult to pinpoint specific microbes that cause specific symptoms, why bad microbes can cause gas and bloating, whether lifestyle changes or herbs are more important for reversing and preventing chronic illness, why he believes so few people take herbs, why multivitamins often don’t do very much, how exercise impacts cellular health and chronic disease, and much more. Source and Full video here: References: Dr Raws https://rawlsmd.com/ Book " The Cellular Wellness Solution" https://www.amazon.com/Cellular-Wellness-Solution-Potential-Science-Backed/dp/0982322569 Well Be https://getwellbe.com/cellular-health-bill-rawls?ck_subscriber_id=1965037348 Always listen your body. You deserve a better life. Gabriela Ana Holistic Health Coach

Posted By Greta Kent-Stoll We all have our preferred methods of enjoying herbs. Some love hot herbal tea, some like a cool infusion, and others reach for the convenience and potency of tinctures. Or, some may crave the unctuous, nourishing qualities of herb-infused oils and ghee. There are many reasons why one may choose one type of herbal preparation over another. In Ayurveda, the optimal herbal preparation is more than a matter of simple preference or convenience. There are distinctive reasons for choosing a tincture, decoction, infusion, herbal juice, or ghee. In this post, you will become familiar with the ayurvedic perspective on different types of herbal preparations, and some reasons why you may want to choose one preparation over another. The ideal way to take a particular herb depends somewhat on the herb itself. Some herbs make wonderful tea and others are so bitter or astringent that the most reliable way to get them down is in capsule or tablet form. Also, some herbs are better taken fresh whereas others require decoction or tincturing to extract their benefits. That said, the energetics of the individual receiving the herbs also help determine which herbal preparation is best. Let’s look, from an ayurvedic perspective, at some of the major herbal preparations in Ayurveda and the energetics of each. Fresh Juice Herbal Preparation Fresh-pressed juice is a fairly popular health food these days. Just as you would drink fresh carrot or beet juice, you can also use herbs to make a fresh juice preparation. If you have a juicer at home, perhaps you have made fresh ginger juice. Some other herbs that lend themselves to juicing include cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), turmeric (Curcuma longa), aloe vera (Aloe vera), nettle (Urtica dioica), parsley (Petroselinum crispum), and though not typically considered herbs, lemon and lime (Dass, 2013). Some of these herbs require a very high volume to yield a small amount of liquid, so you can of course use them to augment a fresh fruit or vegetable juice instead of serving as a stand-alone. Also, some fresh juices, such as aloe vera, can be purchased from the store. Aloe vera and other fresh herbal juice preparations are typically not intended to be consumed in large amounts, but rather in small quantities, such as in dosages of 1 teaspoon to 4 tablespoons at a time, depending on the potency and intensity of the herb (Dass, 2013). Depending on the herb, a fresh herbal juice may even be used topically as well as internally. For instance, cilantro leaves can be applied externally to soothe hives and rashes. To do this, blend a large handful of chopped cilantro leaves with a small amount of water and then strain and apply to the affected area and allow to dry (Dass, 2013). In Ayurveda, cilantro leaves are considered to be remarkably calming for pitta dosha and many pitta-related issues. The energetics of fresh juice preparations largely depends upon the herbs used. In general, preparations with a cool or cold temperature pacify pitta dosha and may aggravate vata and kapha dosha. However, even cool ginger (Zingiber officinale) juice will be heating since ginger itself is so hot. Therefore, from an ayurvedic perspective, one has to look at the herbs used to understand the energetics of a particular herbal juice preparation. Cool Infusions Cool infusions, called shita kashaya, are made by infusing delicate herb parts in room temperature water and leaving them to steep for several hours. This is commonly done overnight, keeping the infusion covered at room temperature. Since this type of herbal preparation is cool in nature, it is ideal for pitta dosha. Furthermore, you can put the infusion out under moonlight to steep; from an ayurvedic perspective, this will further enhance the cooling, soothing, and lunar qualities of the infusion (Dass, 2013; Halpern, 2012). You can make a cool infusion using whole, delicate herb parts, such as hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) flowers, peppermint (Mentha x piperita) leaves, or rose (Rosa spp.) petals. You can also use powdered herbs for cool infusions. For instance, triphala powder is often administered as a shita kashaya. There are several different ways you can do this. One method is the following: Triphala Shita Kashaya This herbal preparation uses boiling water, however, since one takes the preparation at room temperature, it is commonly known as a shita kashya, or cool infusion. For a more warming effect, one could take the triphala infusion hot. If more moisture is called for, a triphala-infused ghee is preferred. Yield: 2 doses. Ingredients ½ teaspoon triphala powder 8-12 fluid ounces boiled water Directions In a heat-safe mug, add the boiled water to the triphala powder. Cover and let steep overnight. Drink the liquid in the morning. There will likely be dregs, or triphala powder, left behind in the mug. Add another 8-12 fluid ounces of boiled water to the remaining powder, cover, and steep until the evening. Drink the liquid along with the powdered herbs in the evening. Toss out any remaining powdered herbs left behind in the mug. Repeat the process daily as needed. When To Use: Triphala shita kashaya is helpful for all-around digestive support and bowel regulation. For a stronger laxative effect, triphala capsules taken with warm water will likely be more effective. However, this is a gentle way of taking triphala that is generally safe for long-term use. Hot Infusions Known as phanta, hot infusions are generally more warming in nature. Thus, they are good choices for vata and kapha individuals and for cooler times of the year. However, the chosen herb(s) always plays a role in the energetics of the preparation. Even still, for someone with a pitta imbalance, it would be better for them to take the infusion at room temperature rather than hot, even if cooling herbs are used (Halpern, 2012). To make a hot herbal infusion, simply steep your chosen whole or powdered herbs in hot water. The quantity of herb and steeping time depends on the herb and the desired strength of the infusion. However, as a general guideline, if using dried herbs, add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of herb per 8 fluid ounces of water. If using fresh herbs, add one large handful per 8 fluid ounces of water. Or, if you want a more targeted, potent effect, 1 ounce (by weight) of dried herb per 32 fluid ounces of water is ideal (Groves, 2016). Like cool infusions, the more delicate herb parts like flowers and leaves are better suited for this method. Next, we will discuss decoctions, which are better suited for tough plant parts such as bark and roots, which do not have a chance to adequately break down using the infusion method. Water and Milk Decoctions If you are working with tough herb parts, such as the bark or roots, decoction may be a good choice. This can be done using only water or milk and water. The strength of your decoction will depend upon not only the quantity of herbs but also how long you let the decoction simmer. You can make a moderate decoction by simmering off ½ the amount of water you started with. For instance, if you begin with 3 tablespoons of dried herbs and 4 cups (32 fluid ounces) of water, you would leave the decoction on a low boil until 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) of water remain. You can make a stronger decoction by simmering off ¾ of the water you started with (reducing the water from 4 cups to 1). Or, some classical texts even suggest decocting until only ⅛ of the liquid remains (Halpern, 2012). This would be a very potent decoction! If the decoction is very bitter and difficult to swallow, a bit of sugar or honey may be added. Decoctions may be used in working with any of the three doshas. However, one will want to consider the dosha to determine the strength of the decoction. For instance, vata individuals tend towards a delicate digestion or variable digestive fire and are typically more sensitive to the effects of herbs. Therefore, a milder decoction will likely be better suited to those with a vata constitution or vata imbalance. On the other hand, pitta and kapha types will often respond better to stronger decoctions. Milk Decoctions You can make a decoction using only water and herbs, or you can add milk (or plant-based milk) for a more nutritive effect. Milk decoctions, which are heavier and sweeter than plain water decoctions, are typically more suited to working with vata and pitta doshas, as those doshas tend to require tonification more often than kapha types or those with a kapha imbalance. To make a milk decoction, you would start with equal amounts of milk and water and then simmer until the amount of liquid equal to the quantity of water you started with completely evaporates (Halpern, 2012). For instance, if you started with 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of water, you would simmer the mixture until 2 cups of liquid remained. Tincture The ayurvedic perspective on tinctures is quite interesting. When tinctures are made with alcohol or vinegar, they are considered sour and heating. Though the amount of alcohol or vinegar consumed in each dosage of tincture is relatively small, Ayurveda generally considers alcohol and vinegar tinctures to be best reserved for vata individuals or vata imbalances. The sour taste is heating and balancing for vata dosha (Halpern, 2012). However, it aggravates both pitta and kapha doshas. Glycerin tinctures would be a better choice for pitta dosha. Another consideration with tinctures is the nutritive effect. From the ayurvedic perspective, taking in the whole herb, as one does when taking powdered herbs, is generally considered more nutritive. When one consumes the whole herb, be it as a capsule or infused in water, milk, or ghee, the consumer imbibes more of the earth element (Halpern, 2012). Therefore, if tonification is the goal, one may be better off taking the herb as a powder. Alternatively, milk decoctions and herbal ghee tend to be more nutritive than tinctures or tea. Ayurveda prefers tinctures for purification. An example of a good use for a tincture in Ayurveda would be to stimulate the digestive fire in a vata individual. The sour taste of the alcohol would augment the stimulating, heating qualities of the formula. Herbal Ghee Speaking of nutritive forms of consuming herbs, one can’t talk of ayurvedic herbal preparations without mentioning ghee. Within the ayurvedic tradition, you will discover myriad uses for ghee, both topically and internally. Ayurveda teaches that ghee nourishes ojas (vigor/vitality), gently stokes the digestive fire, and is suitable for all three doshas. In addition, “Ghee also acts as a yogavahi, or catalytic agent that helps to carry the medicinal properties of herbs into the seven dhatus” (Dass, 2013, p. 111). The seven dhatus are the seven tissues of the body. From an ayurvedic perspective, when herbs are infused in ghee, they can reach deeper into the tissues. There are several different methods of making herbal ghee. I describe the method that I am most familiar with in my Herbal Academy blog post, Ayurvedic Uses of Herbal Oils and Ghee. However, you can also make a simple ghee infusion as you would do with other types of oil infusions. Since ghee is favorable for all three doshas, herbal ghee can be made for vata, pitta, or kapha issues. However, ghee is generally considered nutritive and tonifying, so herbal ghee is more commonly thought of for vata or pitta-type imbalances. The moist quality of ghee is especially balancing for the dryness associated with vata dosha. In Closing, My hope is that this article has widened and deepened your thinking around the best type of herbal preparation for a given person or circumstance. The next time you are struggling to decide whether to take or make a tincture, decoction, tea, or ghee, you now have a bit more knowledge from an ayurvedic perspective to guide your way! For more on herbal preparations, see: How To Use the “Folk Method” to Make Herbal Preparations REFERENCES Dass, V. (2013). Ayurvedic herbology East & West: A practical guide to ayurvedic herbal medicine. Lotus Press. Groves, M. N. (2016). Body into balance: An herbal guide to holistic self-care. Storey Publishing. Halpern, M. (2012). Principles of ayurvedic medicine (10th ed.). California College of Ayurveda.

A plant-based diet is associated with many health benefits and can counteract diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity (1). But how do gut microbiome and plant-based foods actually get along? Let’s first look at the difference between a plant-based diet and a vegan diet. What is a plant-based diet? Although there are slightly different approaches, a plant-based diet focuses on foods from plant sources and preferably as a whole food diet. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you completely avoid animal products, as with a vegan diet, but simply that you prioritise the consumption of plant-based foods. And right away: We at myBioma do not recommend a vegan diet, but we do consider a plant-based wholefood diet to be very sensible. Besides fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds play an important role in this diet. And most plant-based foods are packed with gut-friendly fibre and prebiotics. A plant-based diet increases your good gut bacteria Recent evidence suggests that a plant-based diet feeds those gut bacteria that are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a new large-scale study. The study, published on 11 January 2021 in the Journal Nature Medicine (2), is the largest and most detailed to date looking at the gut microbiome, diet and health. Researchers from several universities, including King’s College London and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, examined extensive data from 1,098 healthy adults in the UK and US, including long-term dietary information, pre- and post-meal blood tests, and samples of their stool to analyse gut bacteria. They found strong links between certain diets, certain types of bacteria and good health A plant-based diet increases your good gut bacteria “ “This study demonstrates a clear association between specific microbial species in the gut, certain foods, and risk of some common diseases.” Andrew T. Chan Links between certain foods and types of “good” bacteria For instance, the results show that a microbiome rich in Prevotella copri and Blastocystis species was associated with maintaining favourable blood glucose levels after a meal. Other species were associated with lower blood lipid levels and inflammatory markers after a meal. The researchers found that subjects who ate diets rich in healthy, plant-based foods were more likely to have high levels of “good” gut bacteria. Conversely, diets that contained more highly processed, plant-based foods were more likely to be associated with ‘bad’ gut microbes. “As a nutritional scientist, finding novel microbes that are linked to specific foods, as well as metabolic health, is exciting. Given the highly personalised composition of each individuals’ microbiome, our research suggests that we may be able to modify our gut microbiome to optimize our health by choosing the best foods for our unique biology.” Dr. Sarah Berry, Reader in Nutrition Sciences, King’s College London To nourish your gut, eat your vegetables and avoid processed foods and added sugars Although there is still much to explore in the area of the gut microbiome, this latest study adds to the wealth of scientific evidence showing the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Scientists have already found in a paper published in the British Medical Journal that a high intake of plant-based proteins such as legumes, whole grains and nuts is associated with a lower risk of a number of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. (3) “When you eat, you’re not just nourishing your body, you’re feeding the trillions of microbes that live inside your gut..” Tim Spector, Epidemiologist, KCL Another study, led by the National Cancer Institute in the US, found an “inverse association” between higher consumption of plant-based foods and heart disease mortality rates. The most striking inverse associations were found when plant proteins were substituted for eggs and red meat. (4) Other benefits of a plant-based diet In addition to supporting human health, plant-based proteins are also more environmentally friendly. A 2019 Oxford University study found that healthy plant-based foods are almost always associated with a smaller carbon footprint. (5) Looking for inspiration of plant-based recipes? Check out our baked sweet potatoes with tahini yoghurt. Of course, we also have other recipes to support a healthy gut microbiome for you. Our recommendation for a healthy gut microbiome The key to building a healthy gut microbiome seems to be eating mainly nutrient-dense, whole plant-based foods, but also avoiding processed foods, refined starches and oils, and added sugars. Of course, in addition to diet, adequate exercise, restful sleep, stress reduction are also very important. Now if you want to find out how your personal gut microbiome is doing, you can do a health check at home with myBioma. “These are all things that probably your grandparents told you. What’s happening right now is we’re trying to understand why those things are true.” Dr. Rob Knight, professor at the University of California, San Diego, and co-founder of the American Gut Project ANALYZE YOUR MICROBIOME! ORDER ANALYSIS KIT Author Anni Grimm References (1) Tuso PJ, Ismail MH, Ha BP, Bartolotto C. Nutritional update for physicians: plant-based diets. Perm J. 2013 Spring;17(2):61-6. doi: 10.7812/TPP/12-085. PMID: 23704846; PMCID: PMC3662288.(2) Hall, K.D., Guo, J., Courville, A.B. et al. Effect of a plant-based, low-fat diet versus an animal-based, ketogenic diet on ad libitum energy intake. Nat Med (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01209-1(3) Naghshi S, Sadeghi O, Willett WC, Esmaillzadeh A. Dietary intake of total, animal, and plant proteins and risk of all cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ. 2020 Jul 22;370:m2412. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2412. PMID: 32699048; PMCID: PMC7374797.(4) Huang J, Liao LM, Weinstein SJ, Sinha R, Graubard BI, Albanes D. Association Between Plant and Animal Protein Intake and Overall and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(9):1173–1184. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2790(5) Clark MA, Springmann M, Hill J, Tilman D. Multiple health and environmental impacts of foods. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Nov 12;116(46):23357-23362. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1906908116. Epub 2019 Oct 28. PMID: 31659030; PMCID: PMC6859310. NOW: ANALYZE YOUR MICROBIOME! ORDER ANALYSIS KIT

Depression, cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, dementia, allergies, asthma, chronic fatigue, autoimmune diseases and more are all inflammatory diseases. That begs the question, what is causing all this rampant inflammation? It's primarily our food: too many inflammatory foods and not enough anti-inflammatory foods. While there are many ways food can trigger inflammation, food is also the most powerful source of anti-inflammatory compounds. Many of those 25,000+ phytochemicals are powerful anti-inflammatories. Polyphenols in plant foods are among the best natural compounds for fighting inflammation. Where is the best place to find these compounds? At the end of the rainbow: a rainbow of pigments and bright colors found in plant foods, red, green, yellow, orange, purple. Extra virgin olive oil contains oleocanthal, for example, which activates the same anti-inflammatory receptors as ibuprofen without all the side effects. Spices are anti-inflammatory powerhouses, such as turmeric, ginger and rosemary. Meat cooked with spices neutralizes possible inflammation. Omega-3 fats found in wild foods, fish, shellfish and some nuts and seeds are also powerful anti-inflammatories. Mushrooms, including Shitake, Maitake, Reishi, Chaga, turkey tail and Cordyceps, contain powerful immune-regulating and anti-cancer compounds called polysaccharides. And foods rich in vitamins and minerals boost immunity and reduce inflammation, including vitamin C, zinc, selenium, and vitamin D. Vitamin D alone regulates hundreds of genes that affect inflammation and immunity. So a meal of guavas and parsley (vitamin C), pumpkin seeds and oysters (zinc), Brazil nuts and sardines (selenium) and porcini mushrooms and herring (vitamin D), is an anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting superfood. I'm not sure what you'll be able to do with all those ingredients, but you get the idea! The best thing you can do for your health is to reduce or eliminate inflammatory foods and increase anti-inflammatory foods starting today. Based on a report by Dr. Mark Hyman, MD You deserve a better life! With gratitude Gabriela Ana Holistic Health Coach

The Egyptians had a proverb "Exercise is the sister of health". In our western culture, sport or physical activity is taught in schools from a very early age. But is this really what we need to be in balance and have maximum vitality and energy? From the point of view of Eastern philosophies, the type of physical exercises that are recommended today are far from ideal. Why do we need physical activity in the first place? According to Charaka, author of the main Ayurvedic texts (ancestral Hindu medicine) said: "Physical exercise gives us agility, ability to work, firmness, endurance in the face of hardship, elimination of impurities and stimulation of the digestion". The ideal is to balance the whole organism, body and mind. Our physical body is a highly sophisticated system, but the truth is that most of us have never really been taught how it works, let alone the incredible potential that lies dormant within us waiting to be awakened. Reconnecting with our physical body, getting in touch with that intimacy can be comforting, delightful and even extremely healing. The Egyptians had a proverb: "Exercise is the sister of health". But what kind of physical exercise were they talking about? There are 2 types of exercise: external and internal. Swimming, running, cycling, aerobics or going to the gym are all external exercises. They work on the physical body, muscles and joints. And while they affect the internal organs internal organs by increasing the blood circulation, they do not balance energetically, magnetically, or bioelectrically balance the subtle levels of the body. Yoga, Tai chi and Chi Gong are taught in Eastern medical systems to balance the subtle levels of the body. systems to balance the subtle energy fields of the body, and thus improve internal improve the internal health of the organs and energy meridians of the body, mind and spirit. PERFECT HEALTH NEEDS TO COMBINE THE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISE: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL. And if I hear you saying "I don't like to exercise"... Think about what you liked to do when you were a child. Did you dance, ride a bike, or rock climb? Reconnect with your inner child, and you will see that it is easier at first to incorporate physical exercise into your daily life. Have fun! You deserve a better life! With gratitude Gabriela Ana Holistic Health Coach