How Can This Ayurvedic Food Make You Feel Great?

AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS

"Dandelion would be a rare plant if people knew its health potential."

- Seven Song (herbalist from Ithaca, N.Y.)
Dandelion arrives on the spring scene just when the herb is needed most. Many herbs have this amazing quality - proliferating just when their healthful properties can really make a difference. The inspiring yellow flowers of dandelion celebrate spring's full swing, and the promise of good health in this new cycle.

Maybe dandelion's charm does not strike you - are you pulling them from your garden, or cursing their appearance on your lawn? Then you are missing out on a prized medicinal herb that holds helpfulness in its leaves, roots, and blossoms. The plant is a perfect spring tonic that cleanses the liver and cools the hot nature of Pitta, which is beginning to ascend in springtime.

Dandelion is a cholagogue, clearing the liver and gall bladder while removing cholesterol from the blood. The delightful dandelion holds your hand in the transition from winter to spring to summer, helping to eliminate the heaviness of winter's indulgences, making you light for spring, and also keeping the coming heat of summer from accumulating. The so-called weed also helps to process the environmental toxins that burden our modern civilizations.

This herbal ally's attributes don't stop there. Dandelion root regulates blood sugar levels in diabetics. Its high potassium content makes it a strong diuretic, relieving high blood pressure and the water retention that causes spring sluggishness. Feeling puffed up in the April warmth? Try dandelion leaf tea, or dandelion leaves in your spring salad.

Dandelion is definitely drying; it makes the mouth dry and tingle. It dries the eyes and makes the frontal lobe alert. It aids in digesting a fatty meal. Dandelion is a mild laxative, but should be combined with ginger or cardamom to counteract its cold quality. Be careful and don't be too zealous with this potent food medicine; for instance, too many raw dandelion leaves makes the stomach cold, curbing the appetite.

ABOUT DANDELION LEAVES

When most people think of dandelion, they think of pulling this pesky weed out of their manicured lawn. It's the poster child for weeds. This is especially ironic because colonists brought the dandelion to the Americas as an important medicinal plant. Since then, we've lost the knowledge of our ancestors. The bitter spring greens devoured by our forefathers helped them tremendously, and have the potential to bring us all to better health.

Dandelions originally come from Eurasia, the country of Georgia, where they have been enjoyed by humans for at least 3,000 years. Many homeowners are challenged to treasure the furry yellow flowers, to give up weed killers for a season, and to enjoy the wild plants that are nature's plan for green spaces. The nutritional power of dandelions remind people that growing food instead of lawns brings us back to a personal intimacy with the environment and health. The medicine you need is growing right under your feet, the dandelion's sunny petals remind us. Listen to John's You Tube video on dandelions

BUYING & PREPARATION

The best things in life are free, and dandelions are no exception. Healthfulness is a consumer impulse for some, but it is important to remember that our needs are fulfilled by the nature all around us. Medicine pops up all around us all of the time. Dandelions grow on the back lawn, and that's the best place to find them. Like many weeds, they are prolific and full of hearty plant wisdom. All people are in danger of ignoring what is around us and shrugging off what seems merely common. When it comes to dandelion, it's important to remember the dignity of common weeds, and the miracle of the relationship between humans and plants.

Grocery store dandelions are great, and dandelion leaves from the farmer's market will work just fine, but go ahead, and stalk the wild dandelions growing in your back yard. They pack a more vital punch. Wild food has to contend with elements, and compete with other plants, while farmed food is coddled, often fed fertilizers, and may be treated with pesticides. Frank Cook (the late herbalist from Asheville, N.C.) would say that the difference between grocery store food and wild food is the difference between a dog and a wolf. Find out how you can go wild!

Eating wild foods brings you closer to the land. When you eat a dandelion, you are communing with the natural world, taking in the strength of thriving plants. You become a part of the land. Eating wild medicinal foods has a potent effect. If you ate 20 dandelion flowers for three days, a part of your brain would be vitalized; perhaps your life would change forever. Who would have thought that these wild and under appreciated plants like dandelion have the vitality to keep us strong and healthy?

COOKING DANDELION LEAVES

Browse Recipes Be simple and organic: Find a lovely dandelion flower, get on your hands and knees, and eat it right off the stem. Or, take some leaves, chop them, steam lightly with mint for easy digestion, and eat like greens. Use dandelion leaves as you would use greens, in soups, or with eggs, or even pulsed raw into a verdant pesto with olive oil and pumpkin seeds. Immerse the dandelion leaves into hot water for a bitter tea.

Every part of the plant is edible, the flower, the leaves, the seeds, and the roots. However, it's important to separate seeds from the white fluff, also called papas, which can get stuck in your throat.

Once you eat a dandelion, there's no going back. Soon you'll be munching on many of natures delights, including lamb's quarters, nettles, purslane, and chickweed. Make your favorite dressing, bring a big salad bowl, an instructional manual on how to identify and forage for wild greens, and venture into wild land. Your enjoyment will connect you with your ancestors, who may have spent whole winters without fresh greens. Imagine the ecstasy, biting into those fresh leaves that trumpet the arrival of spring!

WHY EAT AN AYURVEDIC DIET?

Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with at any given time. Ayurveda shows you your specific body type’s needs and what should be favored in your Ayurvedic menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you experience optimal health.

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Are Dandelion Leaves Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether Dandelion Leaves is a good fit for you. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.

AYURVEDIC MEDICINAL QUALITIES

INCREASES Increases These Qualities (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main characteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	MOBILE ABOUT MOBILE GUNA Mobile refers to anything that stimulates the nervous system, muscles, or activity. LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE LIGHT ABOUT LIGHT GUNA Lightness is identified by reduced weight. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIGHT CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR GUNA Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR DRY ABOUT DRY GUNA Dry is identified by lack of moisture, lack of fat, or anything that causes diuresis. LEARN MORE ABOUT DRY
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	ASTRINGENT ABOUT ASTRINGENT GUNA Astringency is characterized by constriction, drawing together, or drying. LEARN MORE ABOUT ASTRINGENT BITTER ABOUT BITTER GUNA Bitter is disagreeable and stimulating rejection, and a strong taste often associated with black coffee, dark chocolate, and most salad greens. LEARN MORE ABOUT BITTER
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types People tend to get sick, over and over again, due to similar causes and habitual imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	EFFECT: Prana PRANA Prana is the Sanskrit word for vital life energy, similar to Qi in Chinese Medicine. Many herbs stimulate your energy, or improve the flow of prana through your body. Generally, prana needs to be increased in spring after a sleepy winter. LEARN MORE ABOUT PRANA , Sattvic SATTVIC Sattvic foods promote awareness and a refreshed mind by nourishing the body without taxing digestion. Sattvic foods do not stimulate desire or nervous energy. They create clarity instead of drowsiness or heaviness. LEARN MORE ABOUT SATTVIC TYPE: Greens ELEMENT: Air AIR Resembles air (vayu) in quality - highly mobile, drying, light, cold, subtle, rough. LEARN MORE ABOUT AIR , Ether ETHER Resembles ether or space (akasha) in quality - light, subtle, clear, soft. LEARN MORE ABOUT ETHER NUTRIENT: Potassium COLOR: Green

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Experiences are Personal

Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

Digestion:

Appetite suppressant

APPETITE-SUPPRESSANT

Suppresses hunger without causing weight gain

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Stimulant Laxative

STIMULANT-LAXATIVE

Stimulant laxatives induce bowel movements by stimulating peristaltic movement (the contraction of smooth muscle in the intestines). They are effective when used on a short-term basis. On a long-term basis, they can create dependency.

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Cleanse and Detox:

Detoxicant

DETOXICANT

An herb that eliminates or metabolizes toxins from the body.

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Heart & Circulation:

Blood Thinner

BLOOD-THINNER

Herbs that thin the blood. Helpful for people with heart disease or clogged circulation.

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Kidney & Urinary:

Diuretic

DIURETIC

Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure.

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Liver & Gall Bladder:

Cholagogue

CHOLAGOGUE

Cholagogues stimulate the release of bile from the gall bladder for improved digestion.

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Livotonic

LIVOTONIC

An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias.

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Weight Loss:

Hypolipidemic

HYPOLIPIDEMIC

Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels

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Bowel-Poop-Elimination:

General Laxative

GENERAL-LAXATIVE

Promotes a bowel movement. General laxative is an umbrella term that refers to several different types of laxatives...

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