Here is part 5 of the Fermentation and Kombucha class I taught at the NOFA Winter Conference, in Jan, 2015 – In this segment, I discuss the benefits of using whole spices vs powders which help us avoid oxidization, or rapid breakdown of the chemistry in plants that help us heal. Also discussed are some of the many benefits of turmeric, such as its importance in reduction of systemic inflammation. Any disease ending in “itis” is caused by years of systemic inflammation that goes unchecked in the modern (SAD) diet.
I also answer a very commonly asked question: do “antibiotic herbs” deplete gut bacteria? A whole plant creates intelligent mechanisms against that, because it needs bacteria and even virus for co-evolutionary reasons. Yet, when humans use modern extraction methods there are often side-effects due to isolating “active constituents”. To develop holistic understanding, we must reclaim the intelligence of the body which then makes food choices that benefit us as a holistic organism; which includes approximately 25% of our body weight in bacteria.
Dan De Lion is an earth herbalist, forager, musician, and teacher. He teaches through Return to Nature, providing classes, lectures, and seminars on wild food foraging, mushroom identification, herbal medicine making, as well as primitive and survival skills with a focus on wild foods and forest medicines. He also incorporates the philosophies of yoga, alchemy, meditation, and mysticism into his classes, lectures, and seminars and brings a deep rooted indigenous medicine perspective of practicing intuition with plants, in a systematic and earth-based way – Check out more at www.returntonature.us.
