Vulneraries Part 3

Let me explain a bit about vulneraries. These are herbs that assist with cell turnover of epithelial cells. Epithelial cells line our respiratory passages, our skin, bladder, gut, and – important for this time – our blood vessels.

Many viruses infect epithelial cells. If allowed to make it past the nose (which is what variants figure out), they can disseminate to the blood vessels. When a blood vessel epithelial cell becomes virally infected, the body will kill off the infected cell in order to prevent viral spread to neighboring cells. If there’s a lag in replacing that cell, there will be turbulence – resulting in a higher chance of developing a micro clot.

This is where vulneraries are powerful, yet humble allies. I say humble because they’re mostly considered roadside “weeds”.

We talked about Plantain (the green “weed” not the banana) and Red Clover. Plantain is not only a vulnerary, but also soothes respiratory symptoms such as cough. And Red Clover is both a vulnerary and blood thinner.

Note that not all vulneraries are blood thinners. Vulnerary describes one particular action, relating to replacing cells more quickly, which reduces micro clots by reducing turbulence. This is a different mechanism than thinning blood.

Now, what happens to the killed-off virally-infected cell? It’s supposed to be carried out of the area via the lymphatics – our sewer lines in the body. These run alongside the blood vessels and their job is to carry away waste. If it’s not carried away promptly, it too will cause turbulence, leading to a higher risk of clotting.

The best way to move lymph is to move your body. Skeletal muscle contractions pump the sewer lines of lymph. But mold can really pollute our lymph, reducing the local cleansing power. Mold-affected people often need a little extra help.

Introducing Cleavers!

Cleavers act as a vulnerary AND they have a unique and unsung talent of moving lymph. Lymph movement is critical to recovering from mold, and it’s turning out to be even more critical post-infection. Keeping the sewer lines flowing prevents our own metabolic waste (such as killed-off virally-infected cells) from backing up into the repair areas.

Cleavers can be collected fresh and steeped to make tea, using one 6-10 inch long stalk per 12 ounces of water. It can also be dried for use later, or taken as a tincture, glycerite, or capsule. My patients who need Cleavers do well on 1/2 dropperful of tincture 2-3 times per day.

Cell turnover is going to become more and more important as viruses mutate, and as fall arrives when we’ll be exposed to normal infections that we haven’t dealt with in a few years due to physical distancing.

Please take care and don’t forget your vulnerary!


TRANSCRIPT

Vulneraries Part 3.

I want to introduce you to Cleavers. Here we go. Here it is in the wild. My trusty assistant.

What I love about vulneraries or Cleavers is that they are a vulnerary, meaning they help with cell turnover of the epithelial tissue. But they also move lymph. 

Guess how we have to kill off viral-infected cells? Immune cells. Guess where those dead soldiers need to go? The lymph tissue. We need to move the lymph which means move your body. But also move it with plants like Cleavers. This can be taken in tea. You can dry it. 

We can tell it’s getting to the end of season right now because it has the little tops on it right now, the little fruiting bodies. Those have caffeine so if you’re caffeine sensitive make sure you harvest it a little earlier. But otherwise you can harvest a bunch of this and dry it and add it to your green tea in the morning or just make it by itself. You can pulverize it into powder and take it as a capsule.

Many, many ways to use Cleavers so you can conquer mold, keep your blood flowing, no clots, and take back your health.


*This content is health information and not intended as personal medical advice. Viewing will not establish a doctor-patient relationship. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or medical condition. The information discussed is not intended to replace the advice of your healthcare provider. Reliance on information provided by Dr. Jill Crista, employees, or others appearing at the invitation of Dr. Crista is solely at your own risk.