From a spiritual or metaphysical perspective, certain practices involving exercise, food, and other holistic techniques can help support emotional and mental well-being, including the prevention of suicidal thoughts. Here are some tips and techniques you could recommend in these areas: 1. Exercise (Including Yoga) Regular physical activity is known to positively affect mental and emotional well-being. From a spiritual perspective,…
-
-
5 Superfoods to Minimize Common Winter Illnesses Healthier Winter Eating Tips
The term, superfood, is reserved for foods that are very nutrient dense, and full of vitamins and minerals, especially if purchased as organic foods. During the winter, certain superfoods go perfectly with a lot of seasonal recipes. Add to that, they contain important nutrients to fight off illnesses all season long and thus are highly recommended for consumption. In this…
-
Healthy Summer Recipes: Grilling with Fruit & Veggies
With the 4th of July right around the corner, here’s a reason to fire up the gril for a fruit-veggie barbeque day. Grilled fruits and vegetables can make for an excellent and healthy meal. Cooking them over actual fire can bring out a bouquet of smells and an assortment of flavors that will dance across your taste buds, but you’re…
-
Culinary Spices: A Month-Long Exploration March 2023 Theme: "Fuel for the Future"
March is National Nutrition Month, so we are starting our own celebration and calling it HOLISTICALLY SPEAKING. Join us DAILY as we provide holistic tips here on our website and across all social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. This year, our focus will be on learning how culinary spices can be implemented into our diets to help improve our…
-
Kava: A Natural Aphrodisiac (L.) Piper methysticum
With February deemed as the month of love, in this edition, we’ll cover the natural herbal aphrodisiac, Kava (or by its Latin name, Piper methysticum). In its most authentic form, Kava hails from the Pacific Islands and is used for medicine and as a sacred (or communal) drink. The term Kava (and its variant kawa) is used to describe both the plant…
-
Cayenne for Constipation (L.) Capsicum frutescens
Although erroneously called a type of pepper, cayenne is actual an herb/spice from the Nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. Actually, Cayenne is from the Capsicum genus consisting of paprika, bell peppers, and chilies. The significance of Cayenne lies in mineral content. Aside from being high in Vitamin C, Cayenne other active ingredients are capsanthine and capsaicin. Its…
-
Astragalus for Long-Term Immune Support (L.) A. propinquus / A. membranaceus / A. mongholicus / Phaca membranacea
PHYLOGENETIC INFORMATION: Phylum: Angiosperm Class: Eudicot Family: Fabaceae Genus: Astragalus L. Species: A. propinquus (syn. A. membranaceus), A. mongholicus (syn. Phaca membranacea) Common Names: Astragalus [root], Radix Astragali/Astragali Radix, milk vetch, membranous milk vetch, Chinese milk vetch, Mongolian milk vetch, Bok kay Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): Huang qi Astragalus membranaceous is a flowering plant within the vastly popular category of…
-
Black Pepper for Digestion & More… (L.) Piper nigrum
In this herbs and spices spotlight, we’ll explore the popular “king of spices” – black pepper also known as black peppercorn, pepper, and piper. Derived from an Indian name, its “genus name comes from the Latin name from the Greek word peperi” (missouribotanicalgarden.org). Furthermore, “the word pepper comes from the Sanskrit pippali, meaning “berry” (Franklin, 2o19). Per the Healing Spices Handbook by Barbara Grogan…
-
St. John’s Wort for Depression (L.) Hypericum perforatum
…Useful for people who are in the dark, living a shadow life. It opens the emotional windows and lets the sunlight in.” ~David Winston, Adaptogens (2nd ed.) In this herb spotlight, we will explore the popular herb, St. John’s Wort. Its herbal actions include but are not certainly limited to serving as a nervine, especially since it is trophorestorative to…
