Lymphatic and Blood Support Honey
Early spring greens like cleaver, violet leaves, wild mallow leaves, marshmallow root, and burdock root show up just in time to bolster the body's systems in the transition from winter to spring. These plants are wonderfully nourishing and supportive, but they do come with a disclaimer: in light of the world’s collective fear of Covid-19 (and resultant search for magical cures or preventatives), it’s important to explain a little bit about how herbal preparations function. Sometimes I picture an illness in my body as some kind of natural disaster or crime scene - the local authorities are doing the best they can to handle the situation, but they might not have the right resources, are severely understaffed, and working through their exhaustion.
Western Medicine is like the big wigs higher up in the food chain that come in confidently to take over the situation, pushing the locals aside. Sometimes this is absolutely necessary - like when you need surgery or are so severely ill that you need ER attention. Sometimes their aggressive approach is unnecessary and can cause more problems. In contrast, I picture herbal supplements and preparations as the volunteers who show up to the scene with coffee and food to re-fuel the exhausted locals that are doing their best. Their willing hands can help wherever they can to tackle the problem together.
Their purpose is to support the system that’s already in place (that’s your body and immune system in this metaphor), rather than blasting in and fighting the foe directly. It’s important to keep this balance in your mind as we all face the fear of Coronavirus. Herbal preparations will not kill the virus, nor will they be a magical prevention for it. They will, however, support your body’s natural ability to fight back. They are supplementary to the other important practices of prevention: frequent and thorough hand-washing and social isolation. (Similarly, if you do contract this virus and your symptoms become severe, definitely seek out medical attention.) That said, recipes like this lymphatic and blood support honey filled with the restorative greens of early spring is a wonderful way to help bolster your body’s resources!
It’s continually fascinating to me how the plants that grow at any particular time of the year are so often the plants our bodies are needing! Some of the earliest greens to appear in spring have a clear relationship to the fluid systems in our bodies. Violet, mallow, and cleavers are all known for their moistening properties and effects on stagnant lymphatic systems. They go in to soothe irritated and dry parts of the body with their gentle mucilage, coating sore throats or burning bellies. They also help get lymph flowing more freely, assisting your body in removing toxins in the blood. Burdock root (also best dug in spring or fall) helps flush waste from the body, through the kidneys and liver in particular. These gentle spring cleanses help your body move out the stagnancy of winter and prepare for the changes of spring. Don’t think of these plants as a cleanse, for they are gentle and soft on your body. Rather, understand that they are supporting the systems in your body that are designed to keep you healthy.
These spring herbs and roots are infused in a mixture of honey and blackstrap molasses, which also play a role in supporting the vitality of body and blood. Honey itself is ancient medicine, with artifacts from thousands of years ago depicting our relationship with honeybees through paintings on cave walls or ancient bee goddess figurines. Raw, unpasteurized honey is full of enzymes, minerals, proteins, and other building blocks for helping the body to create healthy blood. Blackstrap molasses is a traditional Ayurvedic tonic for “building blood” as well, probably largely due to its high iron content. Together, these sweet syrups infuse with the goodness of spring’s first plants to create a sweet tonic that tastes wonderful atop a bowl of porridge or stirred into some water with lemon.
Before we dive into the herbs themselves, though, let’s talk about temperature: some plants release their goodness with heat, benefitting from long simmers on the back of the stove. The plants we’re working with today, however, do not. Many of the best properties of these early spring plants are destroyed with too much heat, along with all of those great enzymes found in raw honey. It’s best to keep things warm but not hot. Try stirring this mixture into cold foods or drinks or adding it just before eating to warm bowls of porridge or slathered on toast.
Cleavers: This groundcover made of viny stems and whorled leaves gets its name from the tiny prickly hairs covering its stalk and leaves, which helps it to stick (or “cleave”) itself to anything soft, like your dog or your sweater. Tender young growths are best harvested in early spring. Cleavers are most well-known for being a lymphatic system support, where they stimulate and decongest stagnant lymph. It’s also known to be an “alterative” herb, which means that it helps to gradually increase overall health, vitality, and balance. Cleavers are often used in conjunction with Lyme and cancer treatments to help the body process wastes more efficiently. They are the backbone of this infusion, giving it the power to really get those interstitial and lymphatic fluids moving with the support of the other soothing herbs below.
Violet Leaves: Little unassuming violet leaves are gentle soothers, due to their demulcent and lymphatic properties. Violet encourages lymphatic flow while also soothing dried out mucous membranes or inflamed tissues along the digestive system. Violet leaves are also high in vitamins A and C and rich in minerals. They, too, are known for strengthening the blood, due to a phytonutrient called “rutin.” I like to think of violet like a gentle spring rain, washing away tension, soothing sore areas, and soaking into your body like rain soaks down into the earth. Their sweet little heart-shaped leaves emerge after the first few rains of spring, a reminder to give your body the support it needs this time of year.
Mallow Leaves: Common mallow (Malva neglecta) is related to both hollyhocks and marshmallow, though it is not so well-loved as its more glamorous cousins. Nevertheless, it’s been used for centuries by Native Americans for external complaints of sores or swellings. It has a mucilaginous quality that is soothing to mucous membranes or sores (both internal and external.) It’s soothing to inflammation in the digestive, urinary, or respiratory systems. Think of it as a coating that helps your body move things through more easily - a sort of gentle lubrication for our internal pathways.
Marshmallow Root: Similar to common mallow, marshmallow root is cooling, soothing, moistening, and calming. It targets inflammation, helping to soothe swollen glands, stomach ulcers, heartburn, laryngitis, and lots more. It’s the silky blanket that feels so soft against your body’s tissues, gently protecting and calming them from the inside out.
Burdock Root: This slightly bitter root supports eliminatory organs (such as the liver and kidneys) in clearing wastes from the blood. Because of that, it’s known as an “alterative” herb - one that promotes general well-being by supporting detoxification and balance in the body. It also acts as a diuretic to help flush excess water from the body. I envision it as a broom, moving toxins out of the lymphatic system and bloodstream into the systems that filter and break down toxins, then sweeping them out through the digestive and urinary tracts and through the skin as well. It pays special attention to the liver, dusting out every corner in a deep spring clean. That’s why it’s often associated with healing after liver-based illnesses. It can be dug in spring or fall and then chopped and dried to add to recipes like this one.
Together, these wonderful early-spring “weeds” create a beautiful syrupy tonic that helps your body do a little gentle spring cleaning. It breaks down blockages so that your lymphatic system can move more easily, it increases the efficiency of eliminatory organs to gently remove toxins from your body, and it soothes everything nicely along the way. All of these herbs are fairly gentle and safe, but you should always consult your doctor or herbalist before introducing anything new into your body care protocol, especially if you are pregnant or nursing.
To prepare the fresh greens: Adding too much moisture to honey can reduce its shelf life and even cause fermentation. That’s why I like to prepare my herbs the day before and let them dry and wilt overnight. The measurements in the recipe are of wilted herbs that have released most of their moisture. Any herbs you have left over can be dried completely and used as a sun tea throughout the summer for cooling and moistening properties. Both mallow leaves and cleavers have tiny hairs that tend to collect dirt, so it’s important to wash them really well. Toss them into a bowl full of cold water and pick out any debris such as dried grasses or fallen leaves. Remove any leaves that look dead or weakened. Give everything a good shake in the water to dislodge as much dirt as possible, then scoop the herbs into a strainer. Run under cold water until the water runs clear. Let drain in the strainer for a few minutes, then place the herbs on paper towel-lined plates and spread them out to dry evenly overnight. This should be done with the fresh cleavers, fresh mallow leaves, and fresh violet leaves.
Lymphatic and Blood Support Honey Recipe:
Ingredients:
½ c. chopped wilted cleavers
⅓ c. chopped wilted mallow leaves
⅓ c. chopped wilted violet leaves
1 Tbs. dried burdock root
2 Tbs. dried marshmallow root
1 ½ c. raw unfiltered honey
3 Tbs. blackstrap molasses
Directions:
Add the fresh and dried herbs to a sterilized pint canning jar. Gently warm the honey in a bowl of warm water (or set it in the sun for half an hour), then pour it over the herbs. Add the molasses. Using a chopstick, use a gentle up and down poking motion to help the honey fill in the gaps between plant matter.
Put the lid on your jar and place it somewhere warm, like in a sunny window. Let infuse for 2 weeks, giving it a stir and a poke with the chopstick every day or two.
Gently heat the infusion in a bowl of warm water, then pour it through a fine mesh strainer. Re-bottle and label. It’s now ready to use! You can take a Tbs as a daily tonic, or use it as food-as-medicine as I do by adding it to porridges, stirred into yogurt, dissolved in water with a bit of lime, or even spread on toast.
Tip: Don’t throw away the solids after you strain out the honey! Stick them in a large stockpot and fill ½ - ¾ full of water. Simmer on low for a couple of hours until the volume has decreased by half, then strain. Enjoy the decoction as a soothing and flavorful blood-building tonic for up to a week if kept refrigerated.
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Join me for a little winter night magic as we bake this cake full of rich seasonal flavors and black cocoa!