Natural Remedies & Supporting Your Health during Covid-19
Natural Remedies & Supporting Your Health during Covid-19
by Lexi GoldbyRecently, I had the chance to interview an herbal specialist and owner of Seed and Thistle Apothecary, Lara Pacheco. Seed and Thistle Apothecary is an educational resource that centers the voices of the Black and Indigenous communities to reclaim and support the reconnection to their ancestral traditions around plant medicine and healing. Lara gave some amazing insight about herbal support and how to boost your natural defense system. There are many processes, herbs and teas that can help the body get back to its strength for healing.
With COVID-19 persisting with no end in sight it is a perfect opportunity to gain knowledge on what we can do to prepare our bodies to help combat stress on our immune system.
The Coronavirus puts strain on the respiratory system. What are some natural or herbal remedies do you recommend to support respiratory health?
Before we jump into herbal remedies, because often I feel like a part of the colonized mind, we want to go to quick fixes-- first and foremost it’s just supporting our bodies natural defense systems because our bodies are inherently wise and capable.
- Get plenty of rest, about 8.5-9 hours of sleep.
- Eat well. Staying away from sweets or sugars, because that really weakens our immune system.
- Excess alcohol weakens our immune system.
- Eat a lot of warming foods, cooked foods especially during seasonal transitions. There are also a lot of aromatic culinary herbs that are antimicrobial and inherently fight things off. Garlic, cumin etc.-- things you would put in soups and stews.
- Supporting the mucus membranes is really a pivotal part of the respiratory system. Our sinuses, our throats but especially the nose, is something you’d never want to let get too dry. Since our mucus membranes are our first lines of defense, some of the items to support it are accessible and easily growable: Marshmallow root (botanical), licorice herb, vitamin C, Zinc.
- Nettles, Dandelion Leaves, Chickweed, Dead Nettle are full of minerals that support our body's system in a deeper, nutritional way
- Licorice and Marshmallow help support mucous membranes
- Elderberry
- Citrus
- Neti Pots
Illness prevention remedies
- Mushrooms: Red Belted Conk, Turkey Tail
- Red root
- Baical Skullcap
- Holy Basil
- Fire cider- Apple Cider Vinegar with herbs like onion, garlic, ginger
Treating cold sickness
- Red Root (lymphatic)
- Tusli/Holy Basil
- Kitchen herbs like onion, garlic, ginger
- Lots of rest and some chicken soup
- Lobelia- drop dosage
Do you think it will be easier to reach brown and black communities about natural remedies because of the lack of care black and brown communities experience in the medical field today? For example, black women are 210% likely to die in labor compared to their white counterparts due to lack of care and listening from health care professionals, and thousands black people are dying from the COVID-19 because they were denied the test and care for their symptoms. They were told they were not a priority.
Yeah, I definitely think so. I also just think because of that there’s a general lack of trust within black and brown communities for the medical system. I think for sure there's more success or trust with natural healing systems. Especially when it’s coming from people in your own community. That’s why we’ve been focused on the diversity that we’ve formed. There’s one person who’s Latinx who’s worked with the houseless population, and then there’s a couple of black folks that obviously have various ties within their communities and outreach where they just already have trust within their communities. There’s something to be said about people knowing you and not just showing up.
What vitamins and herbs would be helpful at this time?
Definitely Vitamin C
The good is Vitamin D (can't stress it enough!) Covid or not, Vitamin D is a huge problem in terms of deficiency. Most of us are deficient in it, especially in the winter time and especially in the Pacific Northwest: we just don’t get a lot of sun on our skin. And it plays a significant role in regards to immunity and even inflammation. Some people do struggle with body immunity, which happens to be really high within black and brown communities. Vitamin D, I can not stress the importance of it enough!
Zinc, make sure you get your zinc.
I do know sometimes people are like, “hey you can get this from your food!” For a lot of folks who are marginalized, 1) how are we supposed to access a lot of natural fruits and foods. 2) If we think about trauma, oppression and stress in regards to our gut, dysbiosis and hard it is to get everything into our gut. I personally take the supplement as I have a whole lifetime journey of figuring out my gut situation. I will eat the best foods that I can and I will still take my vitamins and herbs.
What are some false preconceived notions about naturopathic medicine?
A part of the colonized mind is that we want quick fixes; almost how we act with pharmaceutical things. What it is all about is changing our perspective with things. Rethinking our relationships with our bodies. Our bodies are this microcosm of a larger system that surrounds us. Our own bodies are these constantly changing living, wise organisms. We're surrounded by so many plants and ecosystems and we're just Impacted on so many different levels. Rethinking that there's not going to be quick fixes; it is about being in a relationship with the land and each other. And rethinking the relationship with our bodies because a lot of it is emotional health too. Practicing being in a deep relationship with land and plants and not kind of being like “cool! What’s this plant? What does it do for me?” Instead you should meet this plant-- there is so much more to it than quick bullet points. There can be a lot of fear or not enough fear. Plant medicine can be really strong. So it is important to take in the full spectrum. There is a lot of information to dive into. Work with people who know about your body's needs and how herbs could interact with medications you might be taking.
What is the best advice you can give someone looking towards naturopathic and herbal healing?
If you are able to have a conversation with grandparents. Asking the right questions; do remembrance on your part on tradition around your own family's natural healing systems. Even if it was just throwing a particular plant in the stew. That is something and there’s a really empowering pierce to that! And after that it's finding out in the community who is growing what. There's a lot going on in Portland, and a lot of amazing stuff especially for BIPOC folks, there’s a lot happening in our town. Going into local farmers markets and going in and diving in and seeing what happens. The community is really rich with a lot of stuff going on. I just think it’s how do we bring it all together, you know?
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lara pacheco is a Taíno, Boricua Latinx mamita that believes our collective liberation is accessed through decolonizing ourselves by weaving into the web of ancestral medicine. lara directly works through this realm with plants, fungi, music and dance. lara''s work is inspired by their own journey of healing from a traumatic childhood of abuse and illness. lara had constantly found herself fascinated by the loose threads of traditional knowledge throughout the world from the privilege of travel and encounters from their grandmother, 'Tata' that lived with them. lara wanted to be an active participant in the preservation and propagation of traditional knowledge, the knowledge of the plants and the earth. As a Latinx, they also wanted to be a part of the accumulated awareness that her ancestors had gained in relation to illness and herbal medicine. lara's grandmother knew plants in Boriken (Puerto Rico) that could help heal, but somewhere that information has shifted in the tides of colonialism and patriarchy, and so they've been working to access it again and make that especially available to those most oppressed.
http://seedandthistle.com
https://m.facebook.com/seedandthistle/
Thank you for reading! And stay safe!
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