Guide to Spring Cleansing Herbs

As spring advances it is good to eat the local fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs that come into season in your area. Fresh young greens are a part of traditional spring diets. Greens are nourishing, cleansing, and building in the body.

Related Information:

The Wellness Advantage Spring Cleansing Program

Some of the fresh wild spring greens include:

violets
chickweed
dandelion
sorrel
chicory
malva
mustard greens
nettles
watercress

Chlorophyll is the active part of these greens. It gives them their green color and it closely resembles hematin, the substance that when combined with protein forms hemoglobin, the large molecule which carries oxygen in the blood. Hemoglobin has an iron molecule at its center and chlorophyll has magnesium at its center. Green plants or chlorophyll absorb energy from the sun and water from the earth and make sugar, starch and protein. Wild spring greens have a moderate amount of protein and many contain calcium, phosphorus and B vitamins and vitamins C, E, and A.

In the spring the body has a tendency to enter a cleansing phase and the fresh, wild herbs of spring are naturally favorable to this energy dynamic. Herbs of spring include dandelion, nettles, watercress, yellow dock, sorrel, burdock and other young green leaves that cleanse the liver, bowel, and strengthen digestion. Traditional herbal Spring tonics cleanse the blood and help the liver to release toxins.

Sassafras

Purifies the blood, an aromatic, stimulant, diaphoretic, diuretic. Good for skin and joints, and for kidneys, bladder and chest. May help prevent colds, and sore throats and is a good stomach and bowel tonic helping to relieve gas. Used for skin eruptions such as eczema and psoriasis and useful for relieving poison oak and ivy and rheumatism and arthritis. Cleansing for the whole system. Its systemic activity is useful for rheumatism and gout and systemic infections. It acts as a specific to remove body infestations. Not for long term use and do not exceed recommended dose. (Some sources recommend that sassafras not be used as an herbal remedy either internally or externally.)

Dandelion

Very nourishing and high in vitamin A. A blood, kidney, and liver cleanser and tonic. Useful as a diuretic and one of the best natural sources of potassium. This makes it an ideal balanced diuretic even with edema related to cardiac conditions. Its cholagogue action makes it an ideal remedy for inflammation and congestion of the liver and gallbladder. Dandelion root has a significant cleansing action on the liver and stimulates bile production. It is also mildly bitter and a gentle laxative.

Dandelion's bitter taste stimulates bitter receptors in the mouth and by reflex activates the entire digestive tract and the liver. It increases the flow of digestive juices thereby improving digestion and assimilation and enhancing the appetite. Dandelion cleanses the liver by increasing bile production and flow through the liver. Thus giving support to the liver's work as the major detoxifying organ in the body.

Dandelion root is one of the best detoxifying herbs. As is works on the liver and gallbladder to help convert waste products it also assists the kidneys to remove the toxins through urination. It encourages steady elimination from infection and pollution and has benefits for constipation, acne, eczema and psoriasis. Arthritic conditions are improved because it improves elimination of uric acid. It is a gentle detoxifying, bitter tonic cleansing the blood by increasing elimination of toxins and waste through the liver and kidneys.

Dandelion root and leaf have a strong effect on the gallbladder and are used to prevent and dissolve gallstones. Its stimulating effects act on the pancreas where it increases insulin secretion which assists in controlling diabetes and hypoglycemia.

Its use helps with problems associated with liver weakness including tiredness and irritability, headaches and skin problems. Dandelion helps to relieve emotional stagnation and release emotions such as anger, resentment and grief. It is cleansing and detoxifying to the emotions as well as to the body.

The young leaves in the spring make an excellent bitter tonic to cleanse the body of waste that may have accumulated through the heavy foods and inactivity of the winter months.

Peppermint

Refreshes the breath and body odor, and is stimulating for the digestive functions. Relieves headaches and sinus congestion. Acts as a aromatic, stimulant, antispasmodic, and carminative. Useful for nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Can be used for heart trouble, cholera, and dysentery, convulsions, muscles spasms, rheumatism and neuralgia.

Peppermint is an excellent digestive remedy increasing the flow of digestive juices and bile. It has an antispasmodic effect on the whole digestive system relaxing the muscles of the gut. It helps to relieve colic, cramps, gas and soothe irritable bowel syndrome. It soothing action on the lining and muscles of the colon helps diarrhea and relieves spastic colon. Peppermint also relieves pain and reduces sensitivity and helps headaches and migraines due to digestive disturbances.

Peppermint is cleansing for those who feel sluggish, lethargic, apathetic and mentally foggy often with digestive or metabolic imbalances. Because it improves digestion and absorption it frees energy and helps to keep the mind clear and alert. It helps to awaken the mind and clear mental laziness and poor concentration.

Nettles

Young spring nettles leaves make a wonderful cleansing spring tonic. They are highly nutritious being rich in vitamins A and C and high in minerals such as iron, silica, and potassium. They have a traditional use as a tonic for weakness and debility and from those who are anemic and convalescing. Nettles stimulates the liver and kidneys to cleanse the body of toxins and wastes.

Its key use is as a cleansing and detoxifying herb. Its diuretic action, due to its flavonoids and high potassium content, increases urine production and the elimination of waste products. Its use for skin conditions and arthritic conditions is especially beneficial when poor kidney function and water retention are associated with the conditions.

Nettles acts as a diuretic relieving fluid retention, cystitis and urethritis. By increasing uric acid elimination it makes a good remedy for arthritic conditions. Nettles has been used to soften and expel kidney stones and gravel. The cleansing and astringent properties of nettles help clear catarrhal congestion and is useful in relieving hay fever, bronchitis, and asthma. Nettles is a stimulating tonic for the digestive tract and is used for diarrhea, flatulence, ulcers, phlegm and worms. It also reduces blood sugar and raises thyroid function.

Violet violet

Traditionally violet has been used for constipation as a gentle laxative, respiratory problems such as tonsillitis, coughs and chest inflammations. It will induce sleep, strengthen heart muscles and is useful for liver weakness, anger, and excess bile. Its saponins and mucilage make it an excellent soothing expectorant for harsh, irritating coughs and other chest infections. Violet can induce light sweating. The leaves and blossoms of violet are very rich in vitamin C and the leaves are an excellent source of vitamin A. A small half cup of violet leaf greens will give you as much vitamin C as you would get from four average oranges and give you the recommended minimum daily requirement of vitamin A. The violet flowers are three times as rich as vitamin C weight for weight.

Chicory

Chicory assists in assimilation. Its bitter root and leaves increase appetite and increases digestion and absorption. It enhances liver and gallbladder function. Chicory helps to eliminate toxins through the kidneys and its diuretic action relieves fluid retention. By increasing the elimination of uric acid it is a good remedy for gout and rheumatism and because it helps reduce blood sugar levels it is useful for diabetes.

Chicory has been called "the friend of the liver" and has benefits for hepatic problems. Chicory root taken before meals has been credited with cleansing the body of all impurities. It sharpens the appetite, stimulates digestion, relieves urinary infections, and aides in the excretion of bile. The plant has a history of being used as a mild laxative and for treating jaundice. Chicory is an excellent mild, bitter tonic for the liver and digestive tract and is supporting of the action of the stomach and liver and of cleansing the urinary tract. The young spring leaves and crowns are nutritious and make a tasty spring vegetable.

Watercress

Watercress is a rich source of vitamins and is a good detoxifying herb. It is a good remedy for weak, debilitating and chronic conditions especially because of its high vitamin C and mineral content. It is believed to be a mild diuretic and to stimulate the appetite and relieve indigestion. Its pungent and bitter qualities make it a good blood cleanser aiding in the elimination of toxic waste.

Watercress is thought to be a powerhouse of nutrition being exceptionally high in iodine and iron as well as vitamins A,B2, C, D, E and the minerals calcium, copper, potassium, and magnesium. It has been used to treat diabetes, anemia, skin disorders like eczema, poor night vision, and strengthening teeth and bones. In the spring it has been traditionally been used as a tonic for cleansing the blood and stimulating the appetite. It has been prescribed as an antiscorbutic and febrifuge and is useful for treating rheumatic pains, nervousness, and bronchial catarrh. It has also been used as a laxative and as a remedy for asthma. Native Americans have used it as a tonic for the liver and kidneys.

Watercress is delicious eaten fresh in salads or cooked in soups, eggs, sauces, and as a vegetable. Eaten raw it prevents inflamed or bleeding gums and is considered one of the best depuratives (cleansing the tissues or the bloodstream, an alterative).

Chickweed

Chickweed is a soothing, moistening, and cooling herb that is useful in hot, dry and inflamed conditions. Heat and burning pains in the liver area give way to the cooling properties of chickweed for problems such as gastritis, colitis, acid indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome and excess heat in the liver and gallbladder. It is also indicated for sharp rheumatic or arthritic pain that travels all over the body and that may be related to inflammatory problems of the joints and liver.

As a diuretic it can be taken to relieve fluid retention and to help elimination of toxins from the body through the kidneys. Because of this it can be taken for skin diseases and for rheumatism and arthritis. It has drawing properties and can bring poisons and infection to the surface and is a good remedy for hot, inflamed joints. Chickweed is considered useful in cleansing the blood and ridding both the liver and kidneys of harmful wastes. It is given as a tonic to the weary and to restore strength to the weak.

This page last updated on 7/26/07 . Please report any problems to the webmaster.
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