Image by congerdesign from Pixabay Traditional herbs often have a colorful history of medicinal use. Yarrow, legend has it, was named after the Greek hero Achilles (the name of the genus is Achillea). Some sources claim Achilles used yarrow to heal his warriors on the battlefield, as it’s a great [...]
Image by Merja Partanen from Pixabay The herbal genus Artemisia, named after the Greek goddess of the hunt, Artemis, includes almost 470 species. The herb is characteristically bitter, and one of the species of artemisia called Artemisia absinthium is commonly known as wormwood. Some biblical scholars believe that the reference [...]
Guest post by Andrew Graham; Image by congerdesign from Pixabay As a provider of functional and integrative medicine I am constantly searching for low-risk, high-upside interventions that can promote health in my patients. Over-the-counter and pharmaceutical medications, while very important in many situations, typically alleviate individual symptoms by blocking or [...]
Image by tookapic from Pixabay Holy basil, in the lamiaceae basil family, has a slightly warmer flavor than the traditional sweet basil we’re used to in most recipes. Like traditional basil, holy basil is high in antioxidants. It’s also one of my favorite adaptogenic herbs, meaning it helps the body [...]
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay Chamomile flowers are in the daisy family, also known as asteraceae or compositae. Compounds beneficial to health are many and varied, and it is generally recognized as safe for consumption with few contraindications. Chamomile is probably best known as an herbal tea, with over one [...]
Image by Hans Linde from Pixabay Oregano might be primarily associated in our minds with pizza and Italian food, but it’s also a powerful medicine. A member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family which also includes basil, lavender, marjoram, and sage, oregano is a hearty plant that doesn’t require a lot [...]
Guest Post by Andrew Graham, NP; Image by RitaE from Pixabay A standard component of annual blood work is the lipid panel, which includes both cholesterol and triglycerides. Most people are pretty familiar with the concept of cholesterol and why it is relevant to health, but a lot less is [...]
Image by PixelAnarchy from Pixabay The term algae can refer to many different species of aquatic plants. Like plants that grow on land, algae contain chlorophyll for photosynthesis and produce oxygen for the ecosystem. Unlike plants on land, though, they lack roots, stems, or leaves, and can range in size from a single [...]
Image by webvilla from Pixabay Quercetin is a bioflavinoid found in a number of different common whole foods, including apples, cherries, dark berries, peppers, cruciferous veggies, leafy greens, green tea, citrus, tomatoes, cocoa, whole grains, asparagus, red wine, capers, and especially in onions. It’s also found in the herbs ginkgo, St John’s Wort, [...]
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay ATP, the energy currency your body needs to live, is produced from your food by your mitochondria. These organelles are present inside every cell of the body except for red blood cells. Remarkably, while mitochondria can convert one glucose molecule into 38 ATP molecules, each fatty acid can [...]