The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Herbs A-Z: Codonopsis & Commiphora Jan 30, 2022

Show notes

Today’s plants are both precious and powerful.

Codonopsis pilosula, codonopsis, is deeply restorative. We locate its center of activity in the marrow, where it feeds the production of both white and red blood cells. It is not a stimulant, yet it’s very helpful for those who are feeling fatigue – whether that is a post-viral chronic illness, or simply due to depletion and stress. Codonopsis is excellent in a broth or a long decoction, and you definitely want to cook the same roots more than once (they are expensive). Don’t leave the medicine behind!

The exudate from Commiphora myrrha trees, myrrh, has been valued for its medicinal virtues for millennia. Katja’s favorite way to work with it is to take a small lump of resin and hold it in the mouth, to fight infections and heal abscesses. It’s very potent, so it is good to formulate it with other herbs. And of course, it also makes an excellent incense.

These quick plant profiles were done off-the-cuff & on-the-spot. If you enjoyed them, we have more! Our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

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You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs A-Z: Citrus & Cinnamomum Jan 15, 2022

Show notes

This week’s herbs are orange peel & cinnamon. Each one has multiple varieties: sweet orange, bitter orange, cassia cinnamon, “true” cinnamon, etc.

Citrus x aurantium and C. x sinensis are the bitter and sweet orange, respectively. Not just an excellent flavoring agent (although that counts for a lot!), citrus peel makes a nice gentle digestive bitter and is a classic in cocktail bitter blends. It’s great in mulled cider or wine, but also a nice cooling drink in the summertime. If you’ve only had citrus as juice – or, on the other end of the spectrum, orange oil as a cleaning product – we recommend drying your own organic citrus peels and working with them in tea!

Cinnamomum cassia is sometimes just called cassia, or cassia cinnamon. C. verum is the “true” cinnamon, a bit sweeter and less astringent by comparison. Cinnamon is a great relaxant to the viscera and the lungs, one of our favorites in a wintertime blend for spasmodic coughs. It’s got an interesting relationship with water and can act as an astringent or demulcent depending on how you prepare it. Cinnamon is also helpful for improving blood sugar regulation, and achieves this in the best possible way for long-term support.

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Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

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You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs A-Z: Centella asiatica & Cichorium intybus Jan 08, 2022

Show notes

Happy new year! We’re continuing our Herbs A-Z series in 2022, starting off strong with gotu kola & chicory. These widespread herbs both have long histories & active presents of medicinal application.

Centella asiatica, known best as gotu kola, is today mostly thought of as a neuroprotective or even “nootropic” herb. It does indeed protect the nerves and brain, and help with cognitive health. It even has some similarities to ginseng and jiaogulan in terms of stress, immunity, and inflammation modulation. But it’s also a good topical antimicrobial and wound-healer, with some similarities to marshmallow in that regard.

Cichorium intybus is chicory – and also radicchio, endive, and frisee! They’re all variants or cultivars of the same plant species. Chicory root is often roasted and taken as a coffee substitute, and that’s perfectly valid. It’s not caffeinated, but it does have the roast-y and bitter flavors of coffee. Plus, it’s got food for your friendly gut flora (as long as you make a water preparation and don’t filter too aggressively).

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Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

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Herbs A-Z: Calluna vulgaris & Centaurium erythraea Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

This week we highlight two herbs who are close to our hearts. Heather is a plant we both met together and have come to appreciate each in our own way. Centaury was “Ryn’s first herb” in many ways and made a huge impact on his digestive health when he was originally learning herbalism from Katja. Both are friends we turn to frequently!

Calluna vulgaris is heather, a lovely little pink flower from the highlands and moors. Its light, floral aromatic profile is subtle but delightful. It’s an excellent fluid mover, helping disperse stagnations and improve internal flow. Heather supports kidney function and the elimination of wastes, while elevating mood and lightening mental state.

Centaurium erythraea is another lovely little pink flower, actually! This one is bitter, with a capital BITTER. But don’t let that scare you off! It’s an incredible ally for those with weak stomachs. Centaury strengthens the stomach and digestion more generally, helping us get all the nutrition our food has to offer.

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Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

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Herbs A-Z: Betula & Calendula Dec 12, 2021

Show notes

This week’s herbs are fluid-movers, with drying and tonifying effects. They’re both excellent topical remedies which can also be helpful when taken internally. We prefer water or alcohol extracts of them in most cases, but birch makes a decent infused oil and calendula is excellent in oil.

Betula spp. are birch trees – all the different kinds are similar. Their bark is famous for its salicylate content – mostly in the form of methylsalyicylate, which gives the bark its ‘wintergreen’ scent and exerts substantial anti-inflammatory effects. Birch and wintergreen are our favorites for topical remedies because they have this active, volatile form of salicylate. Birch is also rich in betulin, a constituent with its own anti-inflammatory actions along with antimicrobial and cancer-fighting actions. (Betulin is also found in chaga, because the fungus absorbs it from the birch trees it grows on.)

Calendula officinalis is one of the brightest, sunniest flowers around. Its capacity to move lymphatic fluids is fantastic medicine for fluid bloating in the belly, congested lymph nodes, and to help with “clean-up” work after an illness. It’s a great antifungal herb which does not irritate the underlying tissue. And it’s a hepatoprotective – an herb which protects the liver and helps it function optimally – as well!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

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You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs A-Z: Asparagus & Astragalus Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

This week’s herbs from our apothecary shelf are shatavari and astragalus! These are a couple of slow-acting herbs for long-term work. Their restorative properties take some time for full effect, but they’re worth building the habit. We prefer to prepare both of these as decoctions.

Asparagus racemosus, called shatavari, is an Ayurvedic herb with cooling, moistening, and relaxant qualities. It’s an adaptogenic herb which can improve the stress response – especially for people with dry constitutions. Shatavari is famous as an herb for the dry tendencies of aging humans, but it’s really good for anyone prone to dryness, or for whom depletion has led to fatigue.

Astragalus membranaceus is a Chinese herb which is mildly warming, moistening, and tonifying. It is an immune restorative herb, most appropriate when recovering from illness. It can also help build up immune reserves when one may go into a place where they’re likely to be exposed to sick people. Astragalus maintains our immune defenses, but it’s not an immune stimulant and it’s not an herb we take when we’re acutely ill.

The formula we mentioned drinkin today includes: shatavari, astragalus, cacao nibs, hawthorn berries, ginger, cinnamon, & cardamom.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

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Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs A-Z: Asclepias & Aspalathus Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

This week we have two more herbs from our shelf – rooibos & pleurisy root! We’re working our way along the shelves and giving every plant a bit of attention, to explore the variety of helpful herbs that exist. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, so we’re giving everyone an equal shot.

Asclepias tuberosa is known as pleurisy root, and also butterfly weed. It’s best-known as an herb for directing moisture and relaxation to the lungs, which can correct dry and tense conditions there. (“Pleurisy” is a drying-out of the pleura or ‘sac’ that contains the lungs.) But this herb moves water in the body more systemically than just the lungs! It’s helpful for lower-body edema as well.

Rooibos, Aspalathus linearis, is a South African herb which has been popularized around the world as an alternative to black or green tea. It’s powerfully antioxidant, and has traditional medicinal applications for digestive tension. Recent science has shown it beneficial for high blood pressure, uncontrolled blood sugar, and even as a chemoprotective agent. All that, and it’s just plain delicious!

Mentioned in this episode:

Asclepias tuberosa profile at GoBotany.
Holistic Herbalism Podcast, episode 18: Pleurisy in Daughter-Caregivers
Aspalathus linearis profile at PlantZAfrica.
Mahomoodally MF. Traditional medicines in Africa: an appraisal of ten potent african medicinal plants. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:617459. doi: 10.1155/2013/617459. Epub 2013 Dec 3. PMID: 24367388; PMCID: PMC3866779.
Joubert E, de Beer D. Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) beyond the farm gate: From herbal tea to potential phytopharmaceutical. South African Journal of Botany. 2011;77(4):869-886. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2011.07.004.
Cyclopia genistoides (honeybush) profile at PlantZAfrica.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs A-Z: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi & Artemisia vulgaris Nov 05, 2021

Show notes

Here we go with some more of the herbs on our apothecary shelves! This week our spotlight is on uva ursi & mugwort.

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, known as bearberry, uva ursi, or kinnikinnick, is a very astringent herb. It can knit wounds together, combat infections, and squeeze stuck fluids out of tissues. When we drink it it has a lot of action on the urinary system – it’s famous for UTI – but it also helps with other stagnation & laxity conditions in the pelvic region.

Our final Artemisia species (for now anyway!) is A. vulgaris, mugwort. This herb is fantastic for a host of troubles. Today we focused on “not the dreaming stuff, and not the emmenagogue stuff” because those are covered extensively in most discussions of mugwort. Instead we spent more time discussing this herb as a stimulating relaxant, as a mood lifter, and as an herb that can sharpen the mind and cut through mental fog.

Mentioned in this episode:

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi profile at GoBotany.
Artemisia vulgaris profile at GoBotany.
Mugwort for Dreaming
Herbs and Dreaming course

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

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Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Herbs A-Z: Artemisia absinthium - Wormwood & Absinthe Oct 30, 2021

Show notes

We’re turning our attention to all the herbs we keep on the shelves in our apothecary, two at a time, in this ongoing series. (Check out the podcast stream for previous episodes!) We know that we tend to focus on a small group of favorite herbs, and we’re trying to make sure we don’t neglect helpful plants out of habit.

Wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, is an herb we work with rarely. Yet it has a very long history as a medicinal plant, and it has a particular notoreity as an ingredient in the alcoholic spirit, absinthe. In fact, wormwood – and its constituent, thujone – are often “blamed” for the purported hallucinogenic effects of absinthe. But is this the whole story? Not quite!

Katja leads us on a romp through history, looking at the development of kräuterlikör from folk recipes to commercial liquors. We see how absinthe is one among many such drinks, and wormwood’s place in the formula. We also get some insight from modern science about the actual levels of thujone in these spirits, as well as certain other substances which might better explain their effects. Let’s do some herbal myth-busting!

Mentioned in this episode:

Artemisia absinthium profile at GoBotany.
Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact
Absinthe – Die Wiederkehr der Grünen Fee: Geschichten und Legenden eines Kultgetränkes
ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM in The Physiomedical Dispensatory, 1869

These quick plant profiles done off-the cuff & on-the-spot. If you enjoyed them, we have more! Our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Interview with Shawn Donnille of Mountain Rose Herbs Oct 16, 2021

Show notes

As herbalism is becoming more popular, the sustainability of plants themselves needs to be a primary focus for all of us. But like all issues of environmental sustainability, it’s not just about individual decisions and habits. We must pay special attention to the activities of large corporations, because they can have much larger impacts than single people – for good or for ill.

One company working for good in this way is Mountain Rose Herbs. They are one of the biggest herbal suppliers in the United States, so it’s important that they’re taking seriously the impact their business has on plant populations. That commitment leads them to make some business decisions that put plants ahead of profits – just the way it should be!

Mentioned in this episode:

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!