CBD Oil and Einkorn

If you are wondering what CBD oil and Einkorn have in common, the answer is nothing at all other than they are both related to things I recently received in the New Hope Blogger Box, and also they are both part of the latest and greatest in the natural foods and supplements trends. I mentioned the CBD oil in a previous post but even then I was still a tad confused on why exactly it seemed to be such a hot supplement lately. Today I read an article from Delicious Living that explained the supplement in far more detail than I had previously found in my earlier research. The whole article is worth the read, but I thought I’d pull out the key parts that answered my questions best, and hope they answer any you may have as well.

CBD is short for cannabidiol and is an extract of the hemp portion of a Cannabis sativa plant. This is the same plant where THC, the active ingredient of marijuana, is found and indeed the CBD and THC do similar functions in the body. THC has a psychoactive component though that CBD does not have, therefore you cannot get high from CBD oil. Both CBD and THC work on the body’s innate endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system governs specific areas of your physiology, such as hunger, pain, stress and pleasure. On a molecular level, the endocannabinoid system works like a lock and key with receptors. The receptors are the lock, the cannabinoids are the keys. The benefits of pain and stress relief make CBD a potentially powerful medicine indeed, even without the pleasurable high.

Benefits: A type of CBD seems to benefit people suffering from childhood-onset epilepsy disorder. A panel of FDA experts in April unanimously declared a pharmaceutical-grade CBD should be approved to treat certain rare types of epilepsy. The FDA is expected to grant its approval later this year. A 2015 review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at 79 studies published since 1975. Researchers found various cannabinoids—THC, CBD and others—were useful medicine. They were most effective treating chronic pain and muscle spasticity; nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy; and weight gain associated with HIV, sleep disorders and Tourette syndrome. THC and CBD were also found to improve sleep and reduce anxiety.

So that is what I learned from the Delicious Living article by Todd Runestad and some of it was directly taken from it, and other bits were quite modified. The bold is all me. Please read the whole article if you are interested in learning more because there is actually a lot he covers that I left out.

Einkorn flour is an ancient wheat, meaning it hasn’t been genetically modified to produce higher amounts of gluten like other wheat flours that are used today. For those who are sensitive to gluten, this might be a digestible alternative, although it still contains gluten and is not to be eaten by celiacs, nor during a period of time when you want to completely abstain from wheat and gluten in order to stop the body’s negative reactions. Once you begin healing your digestive system from the intolerances, you might find that Einkorn is safe to eat, even if you had been found to be gluten intolerant before the healing process. It is kind of like spelt flour, which is a low gluten flour and easier on the digestive system, though it still contains gluten and is still a wheat. Jovial Foods has an informative page on Einkorn that you should check out if you are considering whether or not to start adding wheat back into your diet. Also, if you are a current wheat eater, switching to Einkorn could provide some overall nutritional benefits as well, such as easier digestibility, more protein and less starch . Another reason to visit Jovial Foods’ website is because they have great recipes with Einkorn flour or gluten free flour, and most of their recipes have directions for either one. I made these Einkorn cinnamon scones and not only were they incredibly delicious, they were also quite easy to make. I did not have the cream that it called for, but I was able to substitute with Elmhurst’s cashew milk that had come in the blogger box, and it worked perfectly.

I also made these peasant breads with the recipe I use to make gluten free peasant breads, and they turned out well also. The left one shows the top, while the right one shows the bottom.

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Now that gluten awareness seems to have moved a bit into digestive health awareness with probiotics leading the way in healing and overall wellness, I believe we’ll see more and more products using Einkorn flour and berries as a way to ease back into eating gluten, and just as a healthier alternative to the highly processed and hybridized wheat flours that we use today. I hope that is the case anyway, because I for one am ready to start seeing fresh Einkorn bread in grocery stores and restaurants, and farmers switching to ancient grain Einkorn instead of the hybridized wheat that has taken over.

Best health to you and yours through the changing seasons, and be sure to listen closely to your body when trying new supplements or reintroducing foods to your diet after a time of abstaining from them. When reintroducing a food that was previously a sensitivity, be careful and go slowly, staying aware that symptoms may be different than before. Good luck and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Brain Health

While creating a mini-course on adaptogens, I’ve been thinking about putting together a blend focused on brain health for my sons who are students and will be for many more years. The adaptogenic herbs I’m thinking of including are Ashwagandha, Tulsi, Gotu Kola, and Rhodiola. This would be a great mix for long-term energy and stamina, with herbs specifically targeting brain health, focus, and stress management, with anti-depressant and anti-anxiety action. This seems like an optimal mix for a student, or for anyone looking for long-term brain support. As we age it is especially important to make sure our brains get the best nutrition and care we can provide. No one else can do it for you~ this is self care at a fundamental level.

Here is an infographic from Delicious Living that has other ways to improve brain health on a daily basis. These tips are not only good for brain health but overall health and wellness in general, and they really aren’t hard. It’s a nice reminder of how eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing stress, exercising, and consciously limiting toxins improve every part of daily life. I’ve been thinking lately how the ripple effects of our thoughts and actions can be either be beneficial and building a better future, or damaging. It’s hard to always choose wisely, but self care can never be detrimental.

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Nutritious foods don’t have to be boring. The New Hope Blogger Box has some foods this time around that make superfoods snackable and drinkable. This Beet Latte from Raw and Root has goji and maqui berries along with the beet root to make this a deeply nourishing addition to any daily diet. This combination offers support for energy, heart health, weight loss, and more. Check out their website to see all the benefits of these three superfoods. This powder is going in my morning smoothies.

This dried Dragon Fruit from Jungle Orchards  has only 6g of sugars per package, plus 2g of protein. Dragon fruit is considered a superfood for its many benefits without the excessive sugar that many fruits have, especially dried fruits. This would make a great healthy snack for kids’ lunch bags when you want to send them off with extra fruit but not extra sugar. To learn more about the many benefits of dragon fruit (it was all new to me!) then check out this article which talks about weight loss, lowering cholesterol, improving energy, and more.

Avocado is delicious but has the one overwhelming flaw of being seriously high maintenance when it comes to catching its perfect ripeness, and also you can’t take an avocado anywhere without bruising. These freeze-dried avocados from Senor Avocado take the guesswork out of avocado ripening and they are fully transportable so lunch boxes can carry them. The healthy fats are still there, and the taste is the same as a fresh, but the texture is slightly different so no avocado toast with these. Instead, throw them on salads or soups, or just eat them as a snack or as part of healthy meal. There are different flavors but I really liked these Peruvian Pink Salt ones.

Enjoy the upcoming Memorial weekend (for those here in the U.S.) and be sure to take good care of yourself with some healthy delicious foods, some fun activities, and plenty of rest. Your body and brain will thank you for it. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Noteworthy Natural Supplements

Allergies seem like one of those things that are destined to be suffered through or managed with over the counter medicines which may have unwanted side effects. There actually are alternatives though, with herbs such as nettles often recommended for helping to ease the allergy misery. Redd Remedies Sinus support has a combination of nutrients such as vitamin C, quercetin, nettles, and more to support allergy sufferers all season long, working on the sinus cavities, respiratory system, and the immune system. They have an adult formula (below) and a children’s formula. My husband tried it and said it eased the pressure in his sinuses in a gentle way and broke up mucous after only one dose, though this does seem to be something that improves efficacy with longer term use.

This multivitamin from Naturewise has a focus on joint support as well as extra nutrients for a variety of women’s health issues. This seems like a great option for women who want their multivitamin to do more than just cover the basics, and instead address multiple concerns in one supplement. (Two capsules daily.)

Source Naturals has an energy supplement that focuses on going deep for cellular energy. EnerVital has a multitude of nutrients including B vitamins, adaptogenic herbs, amino acids, antioxidants,  blood sugar regulating chromium, and green tea which does contain a bit of caffeine. This seems to be another supplement that will give results right away, but the efficacy will build over time. This is a great option for those looking to build energy and stamina long-term, but also need an energetic boost right away.

Barlean’s has a CBD oil supplement that is ‘extra strength’ with a bit of mint added for flavor. The mint is really subtle, but it does cut down on the hemp-iness of the taste. CBD oil is one of those supplements that is a tad hard to define because it works to keep the body in a balanced, healthy state, known as homeostasis. It has the ability to help with a variety of processes including relaxation, cognition, sleeping, eating, recovery and repair. This is one supplement that is quickly gaining in popularity and you will definitely be hearing more about it. A liquid delivery that goes under the tongue is a great way to get the most out of a product without putting it through the questionable digestive system.

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This extra strength pain relief supplement called Curamin from Europharma has impressive testimonials and a plethora of awards. I’m almost looking forward to some kind of flare up to give it a try. Maybe I should try running hills again and see how long it takes before my knees protest….

That’s all the supplements from the New Hope Blogger Box this quarter. I’ll share some of the fun food items from the box here soon. There are avocado snacks and dried dragon fruit that I’m especially looking forward to my kids trying.

Best health to you and yours and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

Make Your Own Natural Perfumes Course

If you are an email subscriber to this blog, you should have received an email from me inviting you to take my new course on making natural perfumes with essential oils for free. Thank you to all of you who have responded so far! If you follow this blog through the wordpress reader though, I do not have your email to offer you the same coupon code, but I’d still love for you to check it out and if you are interested in taking the course and giving me feedback (because this is a new format for me so I’m in a learning phase myself) I’d love to hear from you. Just contact me through my contact page with your email address and I’ll send you a free class coupon code. Here’s the course page with a promo video to help you decide if you’d like to try it out or not.

https://botanical-alchemy-and-apothecary.teachable.com/p/make-your-own-natural-perfumes-with-essential-oils

Have a great weekend and contact me with any questions you might have about taking the course. I love hearing from you! Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Announcement for Subscribers

Hello! I’ve been working on putting together an essential oil course and wanted to let you know that it is about finished, so please expect an email from me in the next day or two. I wanted to thank my subscribers for being here, and also was hoping for some feedback from you lovelies, so the email will include a discount code to view the course for free. There will be a limited number (because I assume not all of you will choose to take the course) so if you are definitely interested, please let me know so I can get you the information first. You can preview the course on my page “Courses” on this website.  Thank you for reading this blog and being part of this community!

DIY Bath Salts Mother’s Day Gift

What mom doesn’t treasure her bath and beauty time? Whether you are making a gift basket for your mom as an adult, or helping little ones make gifts for your partner, natural DIY pampering gifts are easy to make and will actually be used and appreciated. If you are working with little ones, essential oils need to be handled with care because they are so potent they should not be put on the skin directly without a carrier, and also the scents can be overwhelming if you are using a lot all at once.

To make a custom jar of bath salts, you have some options. You can use sea salt, Epsom salts, pink, grey, or black salt depending on where you are and what you fancy. Epsom salts are best known for aches and pains, but pink and grey salts can help with those too, and they have a high mineral content. Sea salt and black salt are detoxifying, and all the salts are good for the skin. You can also blend different salts together if you can’t decide or want to make sure you cover all the salt benefits. Whatever salts you use, just fill a jar with them, and add the essential oils you want in a ratio of about 10-25 drops per cup, depending on how strong you want the smell. Mix with a chopstick and cap tightly.

To make it a moisturizing bath soak, you can almond oil or grapeseed oil to the salts slowly, mixing the blend as you pour. You will want about 1 3/4 cup salts, with 1/4 cup oil. When the oil and salts are all blended together, add your essential oils and stir some more to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Since this is a total of 2 cups, you can use 20-50 drops of essential oils.

If you are making this for someone who takes more showers than baths, then a salt scrub is another option. You want more oil than salt in that case~ 2 cups of almond or grapeseed oil, 1 cup of fine sea salt, and 20-50 drops of essential oils. You can always make an herbal oil first, then add that to the salts. Add the oil directly on top of the salt, then add the essential oils and stir well. You can use sugar instead of salt for a gentler body scrub. Prepare the exact same way as the salt but use brown sugar instead.

Another option is to add dried herbs to the salts. This of course looks lovely but can make a huge mess, so adding a large sized muslin bag or two to the jar of bath salts is a nice touch. The bather can spoon in however much they want into the muslin bag, then place it into the bath for a nice soak that they don’t have to worry about cleaning up later. Lovely herbs to add are rose petals, calendula flower tops, seaweed, and/or oats. The proportions are completely up to you, and in fact you can just use herbs for an herbal bath without any salts, or just add the salts and herbs together, or add essential oils to the mix as well. There are no hard and fast rules, so just follow your aesthetic sense or look to your (or her) favorite products to get an idea of what proportions might be most appreciated.

As always, be sure to label whatever you make and to write down the recipe. Here are some more DIY gift ideas if bathing isn’t the best treat for your gift recipient. Have fun with whatever you are making and Happy Mother’s Day to all the hard working mamas out there. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.