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Health May 2017

Eat Right Now

Mellow Yellow: One Person's Weed – Another Person's Medicine

By Wendell Fowler

Dandelion greens, flower tops, and roots are a galaxy of medicinal stars – rich in folic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, niacin, vitamin E and powerful antioxidant vitamin C that are essential for optimum health.

"Dandelion don't tell no lies, Dandelions will make you wise,
tell me when she laughs or cries, blow away dandelion." -- Keith Richards and Mick Jagger

Buttery dandelions represent the sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower the sun, the puff balls the moon and the scattering seeds the stars. Dandelion flowers open to greet the morning sun and close in the evening to sleep.

A young man, full of awe and imagination, I would sit in the yard for an entire afternoon picking dandelions, making wishes, and then blowing puffs of tiny seed into the warm summer breeze to insure dreams come true. It's supposed that if you place a dandelion bloom under your chin and your skin turns yellow, you'll become rich someday. 

Weeds are misunderstood flowers. Known since ancient times, the accepted health-creating benefits of weeds has been veiled. God's brilliant superfoods have been diminished to a pesky yard weed requiring eradication via chemicalization. Every year Americans spend millions on toxic herbicides and pesticides to spray on their urban-castle vanity-lawns – masochistic considering studies link pesticides to seven times increased rates of miscarriage, Parkinson's, cancer, and risk of childhood leukemia. Family dogs exposed to herbicide-treated lawns double their risk of canine lymphoma – all over coveting thy neighbor's yard.  

We are intimately connected to all that is, so when we harm earth, we harm ourselves. Ironic considering the “evil weed” prevents disease.

Thomas Edison predicted, "The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease." If this knowledge has been known for millennia, why is it veiled? Pharma drugs effectively mask symptom warning signs, but your holy temple cells know the vitamin and minerals in sacred plant-food address the root cause.

Natural Society.com shares that this "weed" is a diuretic, working to increase the amount of urine the body produces, valuable in reducing water weight or blood pressure. It also has digestive benefits, working as a mild appetite stimulant and an upset stomach soother. The Journal of Ethnopharmacology showed dandelion root tea was able to kill leukemia cells, saying the active compounds worked to eliminate cancer cells while keeping healthy cells alive. University of Maryland studies have revealed dandelion to be an effective blood sugar regulator and may also work to reduce “bad” cholesterol while increasing “good” cholesterol. 

Dandelion greens, flower tops, and roots are a galaxy of medicinal stars – rich in folic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, niacin, vitamin E and powerful antioxidant vitamin C that are essential for optimum health.

Dandelion greens provide 58% of daily recommended levels of vitamin C and is one of the richest herbal sources of vitamin K essential in bone strengthening by promoting osteoblastic activity in the bones. Also flavonoids such as carotene-ß, lutein, cryptoxanthin, and zeaxanthin that help the human body protect from lung and oral cavity cancers. This disrespected bane to modern landscapers is a heavenly source of potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium.

Dandelion root has been used in China for certain kinds of cancers for centuries. It is an excellent purifier, used by herbalists to treat liver, kidney, skin, spleen, and gallbladder problems. The "evil weed” is incredibly high in potassium and vitamin A. Dandelion milk squeezed from the plant, can be used to cure warts and the dried leaves can be made into a tea to aid digestion. A tincture brewed from the bright yellow flowers is also believed to help with the liver.

Mellow yellow dandelion supports liver, spleen, skin and kidney function by acting as an excellent blood purifier. Naturopaths at Healthyonline assert dandelions remove radiation from the body. Many herbs are known to stimulate detoxification in the body; dandelion is one. Try a daily cup of dandelion tea, some dandelion greens (full of nutrients) salad, or in your smoothie.   

Mother Earth and the Great Creator of all that is, weep at this misunderstanding. Dominion of earth is subjective. These miraculous gifts of God were created to benefit humankind.  Drop the unholy Roundup herbicide! One man's seasonal carpet of the "evil yellow weed" is a wise man's budding, flowering miracle. These miracle weeds were created to benefit humankind. Find another way to keep up with the Joneses. 

 

Chef Wendell hosts Eat Right Now on WISH TV 8 CBS Indianapolis. He can be reached at 317-372-2592 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Visit his website at Chefwendell.com.

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