February 2001

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Contents

On Love and Marriage

The Love Story of Diarmaid and Grainne

Dangerous Supplement Alert!

Take 2 Willow Bark Tablets & Call Me in the Morning

Herbal Beginnings

Ford Has a Better Idea

Garlic: The Way to Your Heart

Herbal Profile: Thyme

Recipes: Candlemas & Ginger Custard

Book Recommendations

Music Selections

Chat Schedule

Member's Corner

Marketplace

Herbal Conferences

On Love and Marriage

An excerpt from Indian Superstitions and Legends
Simon Pokagon, Published 1898

My feelings have often been mortified in reading in American histories that it was a custom among our people to marry for so many moons. There never was a greater misstatement. All our traditions most clearly show that, in our primitive state, we were a very virtuous people. Love and marriage were regarded as of divine origin. The false reports quoted in histories were made by white fur-traders, who, in early days, came among us, and, in order to get in closer touch with our people, intermarried. They afterward deserted their Indian wives and children; returning to their own people, and branding us with the lie in order to hide their own shame. 

When our boys and girls become warmly attached to each other, they confidentially talk the matter over with their parents, who always sympathize with them in their love affairs; for, believe me, our children are never laughed at and tormented, as is the case with white people, as though it were a crime to fall in love. 

When lovers are married they repeat, generally in presence of both families, the following: "We now marry each other for life, before all our friends, now here assembled, by the command of the Great Spirit, who has united our hearts in one." 

Then the lovers simply join hands; their lips in mutual concert meet, and the marriage-knot is tied for life.

The Love Story of Diarmaid and Grainne

Contributed by Kerry Gems 

Please visit: Kerry Gems Guidebook to Ireland Online - The site designed to smooth your path into the Kingdom and point you to the places and events and people that have made our county a place visitors return to.

Dangerous Supplement Alert!

In 1990, The FDA banned the sale of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) after reports of this dietary supplement and "legal high" being held responsible for causing people to experience vomiting, respiratory arrest and even seizure and coma.

However, an alternative drug marketed as a dietary supplement and aid for body builders is being reported in the news as being even more dangerous.  The drug, known as 1,4-butanediol, is actually a solvent and is converted in the body into GHB.  This drug may appear in one of several supplements geared for sports nutrition or to treat depression and insomnia.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, a 32 year old man and his 29 year old wife purchased a formula called Thunder Nectar to increase libido from a sports nutrition store.  Minutes after taking the formula, both felt dizzy and sat down.  Seven hours later, the woman awoke to find them both lying on the floor covered with vomit and fecal matter.  Her husband was dead.

At least one other death has been reported in connection with 1,4-butanediol, also known as 1,4 tetramethylene glycol, 1,4-butylene glycol, 1,4-dihydroxybutan glycol, and sucol-B.  It is sold under a variety of brand names, including Thunder Nectar, NRG3, Serenity, InnerG, Zen, Enliven, Amino Flex, Dormir, Rejuv@night, Ultradiol, N-Force, Liquid Gold, Soma Solutions, BlueRaine, Thunder, SomatoPro, Weight Belt Cleaner, X-12, Rest-Q, Biocopia, Serenity II, Mystik, and Midnight.

Zvosec DL, Smith SW, McCutcheon JR, et al. Adverse events, including death, associated with use of 1,4-butanediol. New Engl J Med 2001;344;87–94.

Take 2 Willow Bark Tablets & Call Me in the Morning

Recent studies indicate that willow bark, long recognized as the forerunner of aspirin, helps to relieve chronic lower back pain.

The pain-relieving properties of willow bark are believed to derive from the presence of salicin, an agent converted to salicylic acid in the body—the same major active compound into which aspirin is metabolized.  There are other compounds present in willow bark that may also play a role in its effectiveness.

In one random trial, 210 men and women with chronic lower back pain were divided into 3 groups and either treated with 240 mg salicin per day, 120 mg salicin per day or a placebo.  When the two doses of willow bark were compared, the high-dose group had significantly greater pain relief and used less supplemental pain medication than did the low-dose group.

Side effects often associated with long-term use of aspirin, such as stomach irritation and even ulcers, are not generally observed with the use of willow. It should be noted, however, that willow extracts may take longer to relieve pain than other medications.

Chrubasik S, Eisenberg E, Balan E, et al. Treatment of low back pain exacerbations with willow bark extract: A randomized double-blind study. Am J Med 2000;109:9–14

Herbal Beginnings

by Melissa Johnston

More and more Americans are bringing back the kitchen garden from the days of early Colonial America as self-care and herbal treatments take their place in the list of choices for health care. Even though herbal remedies are not as widely used as in other countries, millions of people in the United States are using herbs and herbal products to treat a broad range of illnesses and ailments, and as a way to enhance their well being according to an article on herbs in The Columbia Encyclopedia.

An herb garden more commonly referred to as a kitchen garden by the early colonists was commonplace and would contain a wide variety of plants for both food and medicine. These kitchen gardens were usually located right outside the kitchen where they could be easily accessed and maintained. Many of the herbs used by families were native to Europe and were brought to the American colonies because of their medicinal value.

This herbal folk medicine and knowledge of herbs was passed down from generation to generation. Instead of the modern-day studies we conduct on new medicines, early Americans relied on trial and error. If an herb was used successfully to treat or cure an ailment, then they were lucky. If it didn’t, the person suffered or died from the treatment.

Some of the more common herbs that would be found in a kitchen garden are sage, garlic, hyssop, snake root, chamomile, catnip, and mint to name a few. These herbs would be used in teas and combined with others to provide treatment and relief for the colonists and their families.

If you’re interested in learning more about the use of herbs and kitchen gardens in colonial America, try these books, both available at your local bookstore and online at Amazon.com:  Colonial Spices and Herbs by Patricia B. Mitchell and Herbs & Herb Lore of Colonial America by the Colonial Dames of America.

Melissa Johnston is a freelance writer from the Houston, Texas area. She is the contributing editor for Suite101.com Technology in Education and is a teacher of gifted students.

She has published workbooks for teachers and has appeared as a guest contributor in Word Workshop for Teachers.

For more information on this author, visit her web sites at:

http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/technology_education

http://www.thewriteone.homestead.com

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Herbal Profile...

Ford Has a Better Idea

In 1940, Henry Ford posed for a photograph while savagely swinging an axe at the rear end of one of his motor cars.  

Why did he do this?  To demonstrate the sturdiness of the car's exterior which was made from a soybean-based plastic that enabled the automobile to withstand this abuse without receiving a single dent.  This plastic material was derived from the kenaf plant.

Today, more than half a century later, Ford Motor Company is working with Kafus Environmental Industries (KEI) to manufacture auto panels from this same plant.  The plant has an outer fiber that makes a highly suitable substitute for fiberglass in the manufacturing of plastics.  

KEI is also developing other processes, including tree-free newsprint, fiberboard  made with 100 percent recovered urban wood waste, and a cement/fiber replacement  for wood and metal siding.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled lasting a duration of four years (the longest of its kind), 152 men and women were randomly assigned to take either placebo or 900 mg of standardized garlic powder each day.  All the subjects evidenced advanced plaque accumulation, in addition to at least one other established risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or blood pressure, diabetes, or a history of smoking.  Researchers used B-mode ultrasound to measure the progression and regression of plaque volume in the common carotid and femoral arteries, at the beginning of the study and at 16, 36, and 48 months.

Of the garlic-treated group, 2.6 percent experienced a reduction in plaque volume, compared to a 15.6 percent increase in the placebo group.  In addition, there was a 4.4 percent decrease in plaque volume in men taking garlic, compared to a 5.5 percent increase in the male placebo group.  The results for the female subjects were even more interesting.  While women in the garlic group experienced a mere 4.6 percent decrease in plaque volume, those taking placebo had a substantial increase of 53.1 percent.  However, the fact that the placebo group had a greater number of younger women may have had something to do with these results.

Based on the results of this study, and more than 20 others conducted on standardized powdered garlic, researchers are convinced that garlic can have not only a preventative but also a curative role in heart disease.

Candlemas, or Imbolc, is a pagan sabbat that celebrates the return of the sun after a long winter.  Imbolc, the old name for this sabbat,  translates to literally mean the belly of the Mother.  Another old pagan name for this holiday is Oimelc, which marks the season of calving and lambing.

Here's a traditional recipe to help you usher in the "light" part of the year...

Ginger Custard

3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups soy milk (or rice milk)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix brown sugar with the grated ginger and divide evenly onto bottoms of 6 buttered individual custard cups or ramekins.

In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs with soy or rice milk, sugar, vanilla and seasonings and blend well. Pour mixture evenly into prepared custard cups. Place cups in a large pan that has been filled with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake at 350 F' for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted near edge comes out clean. Remove cups from pan and run a butter knife around edges to loosen. Place serving plate over top of cup and carefully invert custard onto plate. Serve warm or chilled.