Here are the 5 plant medicines we would choose to grow in order to build our Immunity while Detoxing
The key quality with all of these plants is that they are naturally anti-viral and alkaline.
In this MasterClass with Professor “Out of the Box” KimmyJI, we deep dive into the plant world and provide you with a simple guide to start your journey with plant medicine.
These key plants will help you boost your immunity and prepare your body to defend itself against viruses and other threats to your immunity!
We created this page so you could dive right in and “work with” these incredible plants!
1. Cannabis:
We start here because this contributes to homeostasis within your body. Homeostasis and this plant medicine, used in its ideal way for you, refers to the stability of your internal environment.
For example, if an outside force, such as pain from an injury or a fever, throws off your body’s homeostasis, your ECS kicks in to help your body return to its ideal operation.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological system composed of endocannabinoids, which are endogenous lipid-based retrograde neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors (CBRs), and cannabinoid receptor proteins that are expressed throughout the vertebrate central nervous system (including the brain) and
2. Citrus Fruits:
In the Ayurveda the fruit of Limonia acidissima L. was used as a sour, sweet, acrid, refrigerant, aphrodisiac, alexipharmic; it cured dysentery, removed biliousness, vata, tridosha, asthma, tumours, and leucorrhoea. Juice was placed in the ear to cure earache. The unripe fruit was alexipharmic; the seed cured heart diseases; the essential oil was acrid, astringent, alexiteric and destroyed biliousness; the flowers were an antidote to poisons; the leaves were useful during vomiting, hiccoughing and dysentery.
A description of the use of Citrus species in traditional European medicine clearly shows the benefits of citrus
The immature fruit of Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Swingle was used as an fortifier, cardiotonic, laxative, antihelminthic and for combating fatigue; the mature fruit as a sweetener, laxative and aphrodisiac; a decoction of the flowers for allaying fevers; the juice of the fruit as a tonic and for treating cases of swelling of the spleen; and the fruit peel as an anthelminthic.
3. Lavender
Lavender is part of the nervine family, a class of herbs that have effects on the nervous system. Lavender is a mild sedative and has a noticeable calming effect on the nervous system. It has cooling and anti-inflammatory properties, which make it an excellent addition to facial and body lotions or creams. These properties also make lavender a great choice for salves for burns, bug bites and cuts and scrapes. Lavender has long been used for headache relief by applying a drop of the essential oil at the temples or base of the head.
Lavender is a wonderful addition to many combinations of botanical infusions (I will share one of my favorites at the end!). A strong infusion of lavender can be added to bath water and is a commonly combined with other herbs in baths for postpartum healing. Just the smell of lavender can lift and soothe spirits and lavender has both anti-depressant and anti-anxiety properties. I have come to find lavender as an infusion and as an essential oil a great ally in times of acute stress or anxiety.
Lavender as a flower essence
When used as a flower essence, it is the vibration that lavender carries that becomes the medicine, not the physical properties of the plant. The uses of lavender as a flower essence are described in this way in the Flower Essence Repertory:
Positive qualities: Spiritual sensitivity, highly refined awareness intact with stable bodily health
Patterns of imbalance: Nervous or high-wired energy states, over-stimulation of mental or spiritual forces, depletion of physical forces, insomnia
The lavender flower helps those souls who are highly absorbent of spiritual influences. They tend to be very awake and quite mentally active, with a strong attraction to spiritual practices and various forms of meditation. However, they often absorb far more energy than can actually be processed through the body. “High-strung” and “wound up” are words typically used to describe such personalities. They especially suffer from afflictions to the head, such as headaches or vision problems, and neck and shoulder tension. They are quite often plagued by insomnia or other nervous maladies. Lavender first works to sedate and soothe such persons; at a deeper level, it teaches one how to moderate and regulate one’s spiritual-psychic energy. In this way the soul learns to use its highly sensitive capacities in balance with the physical needs of the body.
4. Rosemary
Said to bring happiness, love, memory, passion, bless weddings with fidelity, honesty, longevity, wisdom. As an herb, Rosemary is good for indigestion, which is an added benefit when it is used to season food.
The use of this herb is ancient. References to rosemary were found written in cuneiform on stone tablets dating back to the fifth millenium B.C.E. Rosemary is again and again mentioned throughout the anals of Europeon history for it’s properties of purification and its healing powers.
In folklore it was said that a healthy rosemary plant grew where a woman was head of the family. Rosemary is associated with goddesses, especially of the sea. According to legend, it was draped around the Greek goddess Aphrodite when she rose from the sea. Catholic healers associated it with Mary. The legend says its flowers were once white, until Mary laid her cloak over them while resting. When she picked up her cloak again, they were blue. In fact, the flowers can be white, pink, blue or purple, depending on the cultivar.
5. Stevia
It is probably best known as a source of natural sweeteners. Some people take stevia by mouth for medical purposes such as lowering blood pressure, treating diabetes, heartburn, high uric acid levels in the blood, for weight loss, to stimulate the heart rate, and for water retention.
stevia plant has many sterols and antioxidant compounds like triterpenes, flavonoids, and tannins. Some of the flavonoid polyphenolic anti-oxidant phytochemicals present in stevia are kaempferol, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, iso-steviol, etc. Studies found that kaempferol can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 23%
Stevia balances your Pancreas.
The pancreas is a gland organ. It is located in the abdomen. It is part of the digestive system and produces insulin and other important enzymes and hormones that help break down foods.
The pancreas has an endocrine function because it releases juices directly into the bloodstream, and it has an exocrine function because it releases juices into ducts. Enzymes, or digestive juices, are secreted by the pancreas into the small intestine. There, it continues breaking down food that has left the stomach.The pancreas also produces the hormone insulin and secretes it into the bloodstream, where it regulates the body’s glucose or sugar level. Problems with insulin control can lead to disfunctional thinking.
Other possible health problems include pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
Around 95 percent of the pancreas is exocrine tissue. It produces pancreatic enzymes to aid digestion. A healthy pancreas makes about 2.2 pints (1 liter) of these enzymes every day.
The remaining 5 percent comprises hundreds of thousands of endocrine cells known as islets of Langerhans. These grape-like cell clusters produce important hormones that regulate pancreatic secretions and control blood sugar.
Did you know that Roman gladiators had a diet that was mostly vegetarian, according to an analysis of bones from a cemetery where the arena fighters were buried. … They found the gladiator diet was grain-based and mostly meat-free. The examination of gladiator bones also found evidence they drank a drink made from plant ashes.
