Blog entries from Michael Tierra

DMSO: What's Good for Your Horse Just May Be Good for You

Michael Tierra — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:00:00 +0100

For years I have known and used DMSO for the topical relief of inflammation and pain. It’s unfortunate that even after learning of the wonderful healing powers of a particular herb or substance such as DMSO, for some reason in the pursuit of new or different treatments sometimes we allow those that we once knew to be effective get lost in the fog of the past.

I recently had a problem with my left foot that affected my ability to walk. The verdict by a podiatrist was that it wa...

Eat a Full Fat Breakfast and Lose Weight?

Michael Tierra — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:00:00 +0100

I’ve lived through 40 years of fad diets ranging from Adele Davis, living foods, Paul Bragg, juice diets, macrobiotic, low fat, low carbohydrate, Mediterranean, high protein, to the currently fashionable Paleolithic diet. We may be coming around full circle with the recent findings that a high-fat breakfast consisting...

Richo Cech, Plant Whisperer and Author of "The Medicinal Herb Grower"

Michael Tierra — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:00:00 +0100

Above: Richo Cech in Zanzibar

Just as a horse whisperer understands the particular needs and psychology of horses, a plant whisperer is one who can receive the subtle communications from plants revealing their special needs for successful cultivation.

In both instances, only s...

Honeysuckle: Taking the Bitter with the Sweet

Michael Tierra — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:00:00 +0100

Each spring, the honeysuckle flowers gather at the end of their stems to trumpet their sweet, gentle scent of purification and renewal. When I lead an herb walk in my backyard, I always pause with my students in homage at the woodbine (honeysuckle vine). After a discussion of the powerful antibiotic, antiviral, ant...

Triphala, Honey, and Castor Oil for Healthy Eyes

Michael Tierra — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:00:00 +0100

During the 1970s on one of my trips to Bangalore in southern India, I made it a point to seek teachers, schools and hospitals that were exponents of Ayurvedic medicine, which at that time was still barely known in the western world (particularly the United States).

One Ayurvedic hospital I visited was a mu...

Forget H1N1; The real world health threat is Big Pharma

Michael Tierra — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:00:00 +0100

Almost exactly one year ago today, I published a blog post, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Flu,” about the corporate-made H1N1 fraud.

Now, according to Digital Online, the German news source Der Spiegel published an exhaustive article describing how 30 representatives of Big Pharma met with WHO Director-General Chan and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at WHO headquarters for the sole purpose of discussing how to move the H1N1 threat to a phase 6 or pandemic lev...

When Does "Health-Conscious" Become "Health-Obsessed"?

Michael Tierra — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0100

My first Chinese herb teacher Foon Lee Wong once cryptically remarked: "It’s not good to be too healthy."

Since then I’ve often thought of native peoples throughout the world described by early explorers as remarkable specimens of health. These natives ate the purest foods, drank the purest water, breathed t...

Pomegranate compounds inhibit breast cancer

Michael Tierra — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0100

The pomegranate (Punica granitum), highly touted these days as an antioxidant-rich superfruit, has an ancient metaphysical and culinary history. In fact, the image of the celebrated pomegranate was carved on the pillars of King Solomon's temple and was referenced several times in the Bible's Song of Songs of Solomon, as in the following verse:

Your che...

The Art of Herbal Formulary

Michael Tierra — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 +0100

In the marketplace, it is often more difficult to sell the general public on an herbal formula as opposed to a single herb. This is understandable, because people are usually driven to single herbs when they hear of some sensational effect associated with it.

For example, Ligusticum porteri (now available as a Planetary Herbals extract), commonly known as "osha," has been found to lower viral count in chronic hepatitis C patients. Traditionally, the herb is considered ...

Book Review: "The Naming of Names: The Search for Order in the World of Plants" by ...

Michael Tierra — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

The Naming of Names: The Search for Order in the World of Plants by Anna Pavord (New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2005) is hardly a new book, but it's new to me and worth mention. This book reads like an exciting true life adventure -- a Raiders of the Lost Ark-type romp through 2,000 years of plant taxonomy (an enthusia...

Acid Reflux Disease (GERD): Causes, Treatment and Prevention

Michael Tierra — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

It's no secret that acid reflux is a widespread condition. Just think of all the antacid, Nexium or Prilosec advertisements you've seen lately. Some people eat Tums, an alkalinizing form of calcium, like candy.

But you don't have to resort to taking expensive prescription drugs or chewing bushels of antacids. If any condition is made to be treated by herbal therapy, it is acid reflux (or GERD, or heartburn).

What causes acid reflux? Among common causes are the followi...

Sow Some Wild Oats this Valentine's Day

Michael Tierra — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100

For a good ‘romp in the hay’ this Valentine's Day, be sure the hay is oat straw!

Wild oat straw and its seeds foster the right balance of relaxation and enhanced libido for both men and women.

20 Tips for Achieving Optimal Weight and Healthy Eating

Michael Tierra — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I’m rounding out this trio of blogs on diet and weight management with the following 20 tips. Under each tip is a link to a supporting article or study.

1. If it’s on your plate, you will eat it. Develop the habit of taking small portions. This is a variation on the notion that our 'eyes are bigger than our stomach' or rather, 'our eyes are bigger than we want our stomach to become'.

Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake: This stud...

What You See Is What You Eat: Portion Control

Michael Tierra — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, exercise and wise dieting principles aren’t enough to help you reach your optimal weight. Portion control is essential.

Just how important is portion control? In one study, Cornell University researchers David Levitsky and Trisha Youn offered a group of students free lunch for several weeks. Everything the students consumed was secretly measured and weighed. Meanwhile, portions of soup, pasta, breadsticks and ice cream were increased signi...

10 Principles for Achieving Optimal Weight and Healthy Eating

Michael Tierra — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100

After the period of feasting from Thanksgiving through Christmas, the New Year leads many of us to think about getting back in shape and losing some of those holiday pounds.

There's a wide variety of dieting approaches, ranging from raw food, juice, vegetarian, high carbohydrate, low carbohydrate, low fat, and paleolithic diets, ...

UK set for herbal regulation? Say it ain't so!

Michael Tierra — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:00:00 +0100

This Dec. 1, 2009, article at the BBC website entitled "Prince Charles: 'Herbal medicine must be regulated'" points to a potential crisis for the practice of herbal medicine in the UK. Under threat of new European Union (EU) laws scheduled to take effect in April 2011 that would restrict the prescription of manufactured herbal medicines to "statutorily regulated professionals like doctors," the Prince of Wales is urging his government to regulate herbalists, lest they be banned from p...

Dragon's Eyes -- Longan Berries

Michael Tierra — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Driving on Highway 50, the only highway on the island of Kauai, during morning traffic, a sign advertising fresh Longan berries next to an improvised roadside fruit stand (Euphoria longana) caught my eye. I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to stop and see if these were the very same as the dried long yan rou I stock and use in my c...

Bacopa monnieri: The True Brahmi

Michael Tierra — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Both gotu kola (Centella asiatica and/or Hydrocotyle asiatica) and Bacopa monnieri (pictured at left) are known as "brahmi." This has created much confusion in the literature in the use of these two plants. Both are known to enhance memory and intelligence but gotu kola is decidedly the weaker of the two in that function, and is best used for hot s...

Onion Poultice for Deep-Seated Coughs

Michael Tierra — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Have you ever had one of those lingering, deep-seated coughs (often the last hanger-on symptom after a cold or flu) that just continually and gradually wears down your reserves of strength?

No matter how long or hard you hack, regardless how many pints of cough syrup or handfuls of pills you swallow, despite all the sessions of acupuncture you sign up for, it's the cough that just refuses to budge. That nasty little wad of phlegm that managed to drain from your ...

Alleviate Grief with Albizzia, "The Tree of Happiness"

Michael Tierra — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Albizzia is one of my favorite herbs because of its real and unique ability to nourish the spirit in a way no other herb (or chemical substance, for that matter) can. Better known as the eautiful mimosa tree (Albizzia julibrissin), both the bark and the flowers are used to help one cope with feelings of profound loss and grief. Mostly we think o...