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Here's another foraging post to hep folks make their food and medicine budgets stretch a little further. This one's on Dandelion (*Taraxacum officinale*) Just a note before we start, there are a couple of plants that folks call 'Dandelions' but aren't, so make sure yout ID is good. The key distinguishing features are - a single stem that is hollow and bleeds a bitter, white latex when broken. Also if you have the classic 'puffball' seed head, you're on a winner. #### *Anyway...for our immediate purposes...* Dandelions are one of the most amazing healing herbs out there. Every part can be used for food and medicine. We all know the famous Dandelion root coffee substitute.
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Dandelions are rich in minerals and the leaves make a great, slightly bitter, addition to salads in the warmer weather. Choose young ones because they get moe bitter as they get older. The leaves make an amazing diuretic, so if you need one of these temporarily, Dandelion leaf tea is very effective.. If you're already on diuretic or heart meds, check withyour doctor or a good natural healer before starting to use it. The leaves support kidney function.
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Dandelion root helps the liver to work a bit better. This is great if you have digestive issues or are on a detox diet. Because they are bitter and promote bile production, they are useful in cases of mild constipation (bile is a lubricant for the intestines). The next benefit that Dandelions bring to us is that their roots contain a lot of inulin, a soluble fibre that is a prebiotic. Prebiotics feed our gut bacteria and those little critters produce digestive enzymes that help our digestion. They also produce key brain chemicals such as serotonin. That's not to say that they'll cure mental illness but every little helps. Soluble fibre also adds mass to our poo, helping the intestines move it right along, relieving constipation. The sap from the hollow stem can be applied to warts and liver spots to make them vanish. By stimulating digestion and elimination, Dandelions are an amazing and free addition to our diets.
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*** *Some of you may have seen that I've been writing a series of posts about herbs and making herbal remedies at home. I want to share what I know of this topic so that, as the world gets crazier, folks will have other avenues of medical care, namely those of themselves and their community. If you look back over this blog, you can see heaps of info on the topic, plus loads and loads of posts on herbs and using Australian bushfoods from a white perspective. If you haven't been around on in the @hivegarden and @naturalmedicine communities for long, you may be interested in looking back. There's w-a-a-a-a-y too much there for me to repost and the Hive system doesn't let you vote on old posts so, if you're happy with what you find, I believe that there is now a tip option...*
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Dandelion time!