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Wild Medicine and Tansy Cakes
It started with the Tansy cakes. I had to ask myself 'Why would anyone eat anything so utterly disgusting in taste'? Chrysanthemum Vulgare is a common perennial in the British Isles and the name Tansy is said to be derived from the Greek 'athansia', meaning 'immortal'. Reasons suggested for this include the fact that the dried flower lasts forever or that it has a medicinal quality contributing to long life. Looking back to Greek literature, Tansy was given by the Gods to Ganymede to make him immortal. In the language of flowers the gift of Tansy means 'Rejected address' - " I am not interested in you". Its strange taste, not unlike the smell of 'mothballs' might have something to do with this. Tansy certainly had a reputation as a vermicide and vermifuge (killing and dispelling intestinal worms) in the middle ages. John Gerard wrote in his 17th century Herball: "In the Spring time are made with the leaves here of newly sprung up, and with eggs, cakes of Tansies, which be pleasant to taste, and good for the stomacke. For if any bad humours cleave there unto, it doth perfectly concoct them and scoure them downewards". Tansy was a common kitchen garden herb for medicinal and culinary use, in place of expensive foreign spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. It was used to flavour custard, cakes, milk puddings, omlettes and freshwater fish. In Ireland it was included in sausages called 'Drisheens'. Its use as a springtime 'cleanser' became ritualised into a part of the Christian religious Easter traditions; "On Easter Sunday be the pudding seen, To which the Tansy lends her sober green." The consensus on this much written about herb is that it was used at Easter to purify the blood after lent. This consensus shows a problem though, in that in England the plant does not show leaves until the end of May - well after Easter. This is evidence of the assimilation of natural 'self-medicating' herbalism into a controlling religious patriarchy. Observation of wild and domesticated animals shows that they regularly self-medicate with wild plants. Sick chimpanzees chew bitter leaves from a bush not normally part of their diet, and then recover. Research by Michael Hoffman shows that a particular nematode worm is common in the monkey's gut during the rainy season and that their chewing of the leaves coincided with the prevalence of this parasite, which it destroyed. This was the same bush that local tribes use to get rid of stomach parasites. Dogs and cats self medicate by eating couch grass or cleavers. Parrots, chickens, camels, snow geese, starlings - all have been observed consuming substances normally alien to their diet to remedial effect. Bears particularly are venerated by North American Indian culture because they symbolise the powers of 'regeneration'. North American Indians discovered the use of a root called Osha from bears. It is so effective as an all round painkiller, antiviral, antipeptic that it is now on the endangered species list. The Woolly Bear caterpillar has also been observed to change its diet according to whether it is infected by a particular parasite. Normally a Lupin eater, the caterpillar increases its chance of surviving a particular fly parasite by changing to a diet of Poison Hemlock. Self-medication is not therefore a 'rational choice' in other species, but a carefully integrated part of a survival mechanism against an invisible predator - disease. Humans seem to have lost this sense of their own health and are not usually informed as to the uses of plants growing around them. Humans often self-medicate though - alcohol indulgence to deal with stress being an obvious example of this or the ready availability of pharmaceutical or street drugs. We often consume substances such as caffeine or sugar drinks for easy energy. The natural trait towards self-medicating may well be at the basis of many of our unconscious 'eating choices'. Potatoes contain a form of opiate and all foods to some extent can act as 'alteratives' to a unique physiology. We talk about comfort foods and rewarding ourselves with treats to eat. Often we might have a favourite food that can help if we feel too ill to eat, like scrambled egg. This is a unique food because it contains all of the amino acids we need to digest it. Chocolate is to many the ultimate comfort food treat. An extreme example of what we do is shown in 'Pica' where a person gets uncontrollable desires to eat certain edible (and inedible) substances. This condition is occurs in pregnant women and is thought to express the need for particular minerals. Because our food sources are often limited to processed food, and because of the destruction of herbal folk-lore and access to wild medicine, many of us have lost touch with our 'health sense' or ability to use food or wild plants as preventative or curative self-medication. But finally the wheel is turning and people want access to this more holistic and gentle sense of health that is prevalent in other medical philosophies such as Chinese or Tibetan. If you like the taste of mothballs you could even try Tansy cakes. Article with thanks to Roger Phillips and Michael Hoffman The Wild Herbal at: http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/wildflower.html Think you know wildflowers ?
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news [News] 5 O'Clock Shadow News you can't leave work without: Asamoah makes a deal News of record News of record reports for Chelan and Douglas counties Newport News police seek help on wave of thefts from cars NEWPORT NEWS A rash of summer-night car break-ins and vandalism has police asking the public for help, and warning them to lock their vehicles. Newport News hit with rash of car break-ins NEWPORT NEWS -- Police are asking for help in solving a large number of car break-ins and vandalism cases in Newport News. According to police, 134 cases were reported in the area between J. Clyde Morris Blvd. and Oyster Point Road since June 1. Most of the incidents were between J. Clyde Morris and Middle Ground Blvd. and happened during the early evening hours. Police say many thefts happened ... NEWS ALERTS: Sign up to get breaking news on your mobile phone Get breaking local news as it happens. Enter your phone number: Standard Messaging Rates or other charges apply. To Opt-out text STOP to 4INFO (44636). For more information text HELP to 4INFO (44636). Contact your carrier for more details. Powered by 4INFO. Newport News police search for suspects in string of car thefts Newport News detectives are seeking assistance from the Community, in solving a large number of cases involving damage to, and larcenies from, cars. News in brief Here are a selection of brief news items from this week?s paper edition, and possibly a few news briefs that didn?t make it in the paper. Newport News townhouse damaged by fire NEWPORT NEWS A townhouse in the 1000 block of Willow Green Drive was damaged by fire this morning, fire officials said. One of the residents had minor burns to his hand, a Fire Department news release says. An off-duty city firefighter/medic helped evacuate the adjoining homes. News of the Past who has deep genealogical roots to Winston County, provides news from past editions of the Winston County Journal. The Winston County Board of Supervisors posted a notice of the new "Dog Law" which was passed in the July term. News Wrap: Afghan Passenger Bus Bombing Kills at Least 25 Listen to the Audio In other news Wednesday, a roadside bomb killed at least 25 passengers and wounded 20 others when it hit a bus in southern Afghanistan. Also, due to furloughs, California state workers will be forced to take an extra three unpaid days off every month until the Legislature adopts a budget. HARI SREENIVASAN: A bus packed with passengers hit a roadside bomb in Southern ... Site: news - Google News Arizona News Round Up - San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for alternative Alternative Energy Partners (AEGY) Establishes Second European Energy Deal MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA--(Marketwire - 07/29/10) - Alternative Energy Partners (OTC.BB: AEGY - News ), provider of comprehensive alternative energy solutions, announces that it is expanding its capabilities in the European green energy market with a significant second deal. In furtherance of its European energy initiative strategy, Alternative Energy Partners ("AEGY"; www ... Alternative sports stars build on "X" factor The 16th X Games starts in Los Angeles on Thursday and the latest incarnation of the four-day gathering will once again feature athletes who have forged a lucrative career out of alternative street sports. Alternative thinking One day a word is used rarely, then it gets used to excess. The retail distribution review has led to two such words falling under this heading - ?alternative? and ?proposition?. Manilla Manor re-commits to implementing the Eden Alternative The Eden Alternative is a small, nonprofit organization based on the core belief that aging should be a continued stage of development and growth, rather than a period of decline, that supports others in creating communities that eliminate loneliness, helplessness and boredom. ASHRAE's 2011 Annual Conference Seeks Papers on Alternative Technologies, Engineering Tools, ... Papers addressing advances in alternative technologies and net-zero energy buildings as well as HVAC/R fundamentals and commissioning are being sought for ASHRAE 2011 Annual Conference, which will take place June 25-29 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Deadline for submissions is September 17, 2010. Conference's technical program takes place June 26-29 and includes paper presentations as well as non ... Gale Force Petroleum retains Alternative Investment Partners to broker financing Gale Force Petroleum Inc. today announced that it has engaged Alternative Investment Partners, a division of Kingsmont Investment Management Inc., to broker a best-efforts private placement financing to finance acquisitions and the development of its properties. Tiger-Cats Propose Comprehensive Alternative West Harbour Vision HAMILTON -At a news conference this afternoon, Tiger-Cats President Scott Mitchell outlined a comprehensive alternative vision for the West Harbour precinct and the north end community. Alternative-fuel projects win BIS funding Six projects have received £660,000 to install infrastructure to support public- and private-sector fleets in trialing natural-gas, bio-gas and electric vehicles. Air Force Recommends Referred Alternative for F-35 Basing at Eglin AFB The draft supplemental environmental impact statement, which will be released shortly, includes the preferred alternative (Alt. 1A) of basing the 59 F-35 aircraft at Eglin AFB main base. Flight operations will also be conducted at Duke and Choctaw Fields Alternative medicine proves to be effective You don?t expect to go to lunch with a colleague and get hauled off to her Chinese chiropractor, but it can happen. Site: alternative - Google News Alternative Energy Partners (AEGY) Establishes Second European Energy Deal - MarketWatch (press release)
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