Spring Is Upon Us... Let Those Dandelions LIVE!
Dandelions grow around the world in urban and rural areas alike, year after year no matter what society tries to do to get rid of them. Don’t you believe that to be a sign? The Universal law of healing gives us just what we need when we need it. The awakening of the life force on this Earth starts in Spring when fields, hillsides, lawns, and courtyards are blooming with yellow aster flowers called Dandelions.
Most classify the highly medicinal plant as a weed, but I think it is our Earthly medicine that, despite the efforts to eradicate it, keeps trying to bless us each year. I recently moved into a neighborhood with manicured lawns from our 20 acre fortress in the outskirts of Lees Summit, where we never sprayed or even needed to water for that matter. I’m sure by the way they’re picking up leaves all winter as they fall from the trees that they’re the “spraying kind” and they’re not going to like my decision to leave the leaves a little longer and pick my dandelions instead of spraying them dead. 🙅🏾OH WELL! For those of you that may be on the fence about going green and integrating healthy, sustainable living into your family life, here’s why I do it!
Medicinal Properties and Energetics of the Dandelion
First of all, lets talk energetic availability. There are a few stages that the Dandelion goes through that is an indicator to us humans of what to use from the plant and when. When you start to see those bright yellow flowers pop up with their erect stems and fresh leaves, you may go ahead and use the aerial parts of the plant. This means that you can eat the fresh petals (not that green, bitter ass pod that the petals grow out of 😣), the stem if you like, and the leaves. See the Dandelion Avocado Pesto recipe I added to the member Recipe page. This means that the energy of the plant is in the aerial parts of it. Once the flower turns into that “Make a Wish” flower that we loved so much as kids, then the energy has left the flower, though it is still in the leaves. You may continue to consume the leaves of the plant. Then when the flower stems are no longer erect, and the leaves begin to wilt… you guessed - the energy is in the roots of the plant. You may dig the roots and use it for medicine.
Dandelion leaves are among our most nutrient dense greens. These spring leaves are full of nutrients, though bitter as hell! The vitamins in Dandelion leaves are:
vitamin C
vitamin K1
Potassium
Magnesium
Beta-carotene
If you include the entire plant, then you have significantly more nutrients:
Manganese
Calcium
Iron
Phosphorous
Potassium
Selenium
Zinc
vitamin B1, B2, B3
Yea, half of these nutrients many people go out and substitute with isolates they find in capsule or pill form at the drug store. So forget that God’s green earth supplies you with it? Don’t let me tell you what I fully think about this scenario. Let’s just stay on topic here!
Dandelion root offers powerful support to the liver by increasing function and decreasing inflammation. We mainly use Dandelion root for supporting digestive health. You may find that a couple of our detoc related products contain this root. If you like tea and would like a gentle detox with energetic properties for the Solar Plexus, I recommend you try SoulHER Power Chakra Tea. If you need something a little stronger, but light enough for a daily detox, and you don’t like tea try our Detox Herbal Capsules. For digestive imbalances, you may need our Blood Cleanser tincture.
Actions and Uses
Acts as a diuretic. Cleanses the blood and liver, and increases bile production. Reduces serum cholesterol and uric acid levels. Improves functioning of the kidneys, pancreas, spleen, and stomach. Relieves menopausal symptoms. Useful for abscesses, anemia, boils, breast tumors, cirrhosis of the liver, constipation, fluid retention, hepatitis, jaundice and rheumatism. It is also believed to help prevent age spots and breast cancer.
Caution: Should not be combined with prescription diuretics. Not recommended for people with gallstones or biliary tract obstruction. Consult a trained Herbalist!
