Perhaps it’s my latent rebellious side surfacing before it’s too late.  I’ve never smoked a doobie, brandished a protest sign or given anyone the finger, but now as I enter the so-called golden years, this Baby Boomer is feeling a bit insubordinate.  My call to revolution?  My reason to swim against the tide?  My cause?   Weeds. 

I decided at a never-too-late age to follow my bliss and become an herbalist.  Having always leaned toward walks in the woods, milking goats and natural health alternatives I found herb school exciting and informative.  I graduated with a new attitude toward weeds.   Those pesky little plants that keep the chemical companies awake at night thinking of new avenues of destruction. 

My paradigm shift included several species that grow wild in the Midwest but primarily at the forefront of my save-the-weeds campaign is the lowly dandelion.  A common stubborn valiant little weed that will not succumb regardless of how many squirts of Round Up we aim at it.

For generations our ancesstors used dandelions to help keep their families healthy.

The dandelion—Taraxacum officinalis to those of us who respect its healing powers—has a noble history.  When our foremothers braved the ocean’s blue hoping for a better life in the new world they nestled dandelion seeds and roots beside the family essentials; tucked them away beneath quilts on covered wagons and stuffed them in saddle bags on pack mules.  Why would they do that?  Why take up coveted space with weed seeds and starts?  Because they knew what science is still trying to prove. 

For generations they had used dandelions in salves and tinctures, lotions and potions, soups, stews and teas to help keep their families healthy.  The ironic compulsion of modern Americans to eradicate that which our ancestors deemed not only important but necessary is all too typical.  Let’s take a moment to just consider the dandelion not as the enemy but as an ally.

Dandelion: The Tonic.  In the herbal world a tonic is something that is taken regularly and works slow and steady by nourishing our entire body.  Think of the way a mother holds a newborn, tenderly caressing and soothing the baby, protecting and defending, gentle but strong–this is how dandelion treats our bodies.

Infuse dandelions in filtered water overnight. Strain. Add honey and/or lemon.
Dandelion “tea” or infusion replenishes the bodies ability to flush out toxins.

A look at ads hawking digestive aids clues us in to how pervasive this ailment has become.  Germany’s Commission E (an expert committee who evaluated the effectiveness and safety of over 300 herbs) confirms dandelion’s positive affect on health. Dandelion tonic tones up the liver, gallbladder, stomach, spleen, pancreas and kidneys.  Our organs have become over-worked and over-stressed; our liver alone is responsible for over 500 functions. 

Dandelion is used the world over to help stimulate bile from the liver and prods the gallbladder to aid in our digestion. Dandelions are a class of herbs called bitters, which assist in the digestive process.  Many health care practitioners attribute numerous ailments to poor digestion.  You are not what you eat, but what you assimilate.  You can put the highest octane gasoline into your vehicle but if the lines are adulterated with pollutants, the engine will not run properly and will eventually fail.  The same applies to your body. 

We continue to bombard ourselves with foreign invaders that are toxic to us ignoring their effects.  We straddle ourselves with impossible schedules and goals, immerse in unhealthy relationships and ignore warning signs.  Dandelion also tones up the nervous, glandular, immune, urinary and lymphatic systems.  An article in Phytomedicine May 2005 confirms the antioxidant properties of dandelion as it works synergistically with alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) scavenging free radicals.

Dig roots after first frost to get MORE medicinal components.

Dandelion tonic won’t finish the report your boss is waiting for or balance your budget, but it can support you with a healthy, easily absorbed dose of minerals.  Most of my clients are mineral deficient and my advice is always to start by eating weeds!  Dandelion is a great natural diuretic with one side effect: it doesn’t deplete your potassium levels. Oh, did I mention it’s a good side effect?  It is well endowed with sodium and potassium, electrolytes we cannot do without.  For tonic take 1-2 Tablespoons of Dandelion Vinegar a day.  Too strong?  Dilute in a little water and honey.  Or drink 1-2 cups of dandelion “tea” a day.  (Both recipes below).

Dandelion’s alphabet soup of vitamins include A, B (yes, the complex), C and D.  Can you believe it?  Our lawns stubbornly harbor fugitives of nutrition; our fields insist on growing forbidden fruits of vigor, urban cracks sprout prohibited contraband of yellow and green sustenance and our roadways are littered with health.  Dandelion is known worldwide as official medicine yet Americans annually spend millions to eradicate it.  We are shooting ourselves in the collective foot.  We have a ubiquitous food source that refuses to die, is readily available to everyone and offers quality health components.  Instead of persistently trying to kill off this amazing little globe of sunshine, instead of treating it like an enemy, let’s befriend it.  Send in the diplomats.  Call for a cease-fire.  After all, dandelion may be one of the five bitter herbs recommended to eat in the Bible (Exodus 12:8).  Oops, make that commanded to eat.  In this enlightened age where adversaries become allies let’s give the dandelion a reprieve.

                                                                                                                                    Field of Wishes

Guide for your dandelion détente:

  • Make sure the dandelions you intend to harvest are free from herbicides and pesticides; you don’t want to do more harm than good.
  • The entire plant is edible: root, leaves, flower.
  • The root is most potent after the first frost; the plant has stored all its nutrients in the root for winter.  Spring roots before flowering are also good. Use chopped roots in soups, stews, casseroles.  
  • Spring leaves are the tastiest.  Use in salad with a dressing of orange or lemon juice, ginger and tamari.
  • Separate flowers and sprinkle into pancake, crepe or muffin batters or biscuits.
  • Leaves and flowers are used for tea;  leaves, flowers and roots are used for infusions (infusions are steeped much longer–usually overnight–and are much more powerful than tea).  Add honey and/or lemon to taste.
  • Leaves, roots or whole plant can be used to make tinctures. (Alcohol or vinegar based extracts).
  • Dandelion Spa: pour boiling water over fresh-picked flowers, steep one hour, strain.  Lie down and place wet flowers on face for 15 minutes.  Wash with the dandelion liquid; do not rinse off—leave on overnight.
                                                                                                                                       A “Mama” to the end.

This photo is (was) a tiny bouquet given to me by my granddaughter.  I decided to do an experiment to see what they would do when left to deteriorate on their own.  I also left a pile of dug “weeds” in the yard for a couple of days.   RESULTS: The dandelions all WENT TO SEED.  When a dandelion knows it’s going to die it will take it’s last gasping breath of energy and make babies!! It put’s that kind of vitality, vigor and verve into the future.

Dandelion herbal preparations and recipes can pour that same dynamic life force given by our Creator into your health.

Here are a few more dandy recipes:

Dandelion Cookies     Dandelion Salad      Dandelion Vinegar-Tonic     Dandelion Tea      Dandelion Jelly

So, swim against the tide, put on your counter-culture hat and be a dandelion advocate. She’ll thank you with deep down health and well-being.

                                                                                                                                         Be a lion.