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.ht ml

Think you know wildflowers ?
Take the free online wildflower test now by visiting simonthescribe

---

Going Beyond Diffusion

Beyond DiffusionThis advanced diffusion system is designed for continuous operation... Read More

Allergies: Why Do You Have Them?

Next time you reach for your Claritin, think about this:Allergies... Read More

The Benefits of Swedish Massage

Swedish massage is the most common form of relaxation massage... Read More

Home Spa and Bodys Adaptation. The More the Better?

The More The Faster The Better?Or Some Words About The... Read More

Alternative Health Care is Under Attack by a Hidden Standard - The Unfortunate Case of Dr. Shortt

A recent case in the news highlights an alarming trend... Read More

Breathing Your Way To Health

Breathing, yes of course we do it, if not we'd... Read More

Using Chinese Techniques For Your Health and Strength

Chi Kung and T'ai Chi are only two of the... Read More

Homeopathy: A Natural Health 101 Article

What It IsIn Homeopathy, extremely dilute preparations are given to... Read More

Ayurveda - The Natural Remedy

The word Ayurveda is made up of two Sanskrit words... Read More

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil is one of the most useful products... Read More

The Many Advantages of Herbal Medicine

Nowadays is the era of everything that is herbal and... Read More

Top 3 Yogis Secrets for Health and Happiness

For hundreds of years, the yogi's have been known to... Read More

How to Avoid Potentially Harmful Chemicals in Your Area Rugs and Other Home Furnishings

You purchase a beautiful area rug. You know just where... Read More

The 5 Hidden Dangers In Toothpaste

A Must Read if You Have Children!Would you allow your... Read More

Feeling Helpless in the Face of Pain?

Here Are 4 Ways That Visualization May Be Able to... Read More

Hemorrhoids & its Symptoms

Hemorrhoids are conditions where there is a swelling of the... Read More

Chypre

EcologyChypre belongs to the evergreen plant family with needle-like leaves.... Read More

Different Detox-cleansing Regimes

Your body should clean itself naturally, but today's diets make... Read More

Natural Remedy for Motion Sickness

Motion sickness is a normal response to real, perceived, or... Read More

Self Hypnosis CD Recordings

The purpose of this article is not to offer an... Read More

Homeopathy ? Five Things to Know before You ?Go There?

With natural health care so popular, an area that has... Read More

Fraicheur DAgrume (Citrus Fruits): Freshness in a Bottle

Citrus oils are perhaps one of the more popular essential... Read More

Six Smoothie Recipes for Constipation and Acne Relief

I recommend drinking a morning smoothie if you have constipation... Read More

Arthritis Relief and Your Diet

Arthritis affects more than 40 million Americans and is referred... Read More

As The Primary Caregiver, Should I Journal My Feelings About Alzheimer?s Disease?

Being a caregiver is stressful and difficult. It involves contradictory... Read More

Inflammatory Arthritis: Alternative Treatments

There are two main types of arthritis: inflammatory arthritis and... Read More

Understanding Massage Therapy

We've all heard of massage and many of us have... Read More

Setting Up Your Office For Health

If you work and are spending one third to one... Read More

The Source of All Disease

So why is there disease? The very word means that... Read More

Natural Smoothie Formula to Stop Constipation and Acne

Here is how to build a natural smoothie that can... Read More

Your Home is a Toxic Waste Dump!

Did you know that the household and beauty products that... Read More

How Essential Oils Differ From Dried Herbs

Essential Oils are the heartbeat of the plant kingdom, and... Read More

Sun Chlorella and the Benefit

Sun Chlorella is referred to as the Green Magician due... Read More