Tag: Lake Erie

Herb of the Day for August 23 – Bayberry

Bayberry

Botanical Names

  • Family Myricaceae
  • Myrica cerifera (Bayberry, Southern/American Bayberry, Wax Myrtle, Candleberry, Tallow Shrub, Vegetable Tallow, Waxberry, Myrica)
  • Myrica gale (Sweet Gale, Bog Myrtle, Dutch Myrtle, Bayberry)

Cautions

  • The volatile oil is considered toxic, and mixing plant extracts with beer (as practised during the Middle Ages) is said to lead to manic episodes.
  • Do not use during pregnancy.

Description

Bayberry is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to about thirty feet, producing narrow, glossy, aromatic leaves, small, yellow flowers in catkins and gray, waxy berries that contain numerous blacks seeds that have a crust of usable greenish-white wax. This wax helps keep the seeds suitable for germination for up to three years. Bayberry is found in the eastern and southern regions of Canada and the US, especially around Lake Erie, and as far west as Texas. The bark is collected in autumn or spring.

Sweet Gale is a deciduous shrub that grows to about ten or fifteen feet. Both the branches and the leaves have tiny, fragrant glands that produce an aroma when crushed. Sweet Gale is indigenous to the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere.

History

European settlers in North America believed that bayberry plants had many medicinal benefits. A 1737 account stated that it could “expel wind and ease all manner of pains proceeding from cold, therefore are good in colic, palsies, convulsions, epilepsies, and many other disorders.”

The root bark was listed in the US National Formulary from 1916 to 1936.

Its nicknames came as a result of its wax being used to make candles or in place of tallow.

The Mohegans used the tea to treat kidney disorders. Other tribes used bayberry to treat influenza, scurvy, stomach cramps, and gynecological problems.

Key Actions

  • astringent
  • antibacterial
  • diaphoretic
  • stimulant
  • vermifuge (bark)

Key Components

  • volatile oil
  • tannins
  • resins
  • flavonoids
  • triterpenes (including taraxerol, taraxerone, and myricadiol)
  • phenols
  • gums
  • vitamins and minerals(mainly selenium, calcium, chromium, iron, manganese, sodium, and vitamin C)

Medicinal Parts

  • Root bark and wax from the berries (Bayberry).
  • Leaves, branches, and wax extracted from the flower catkins (Sweet Gale).
  • While myricadiol has a mild effect on the potassium and sodium levels, myricitrin has antibiotic properties.

Remedies

  • Strong decoctions of the dried bark is used in Sweden to expel intestinal worms.
  • Infusions are used as a mouthwash to strengthen spongy gums.
  • Douche, from infusions, is used to treat excessive vaginal discharge.
  • Gargles are used for sore throats.
  • A paste of the powdered root bark can be applied to ulcers and skin sores.

Traditional Uses

Bayberry is commonly used to increase circulation, stimulate perspiration, strengthen local resistance to infection, and to keep bacterial infections in check.

Infusions of the dried bark are used to treat colds, flu, coughs, and sore throats, and to dry mucous membranes. Its astringency helps such intestinal disorders as irritable bowel syndrome and mucous colitis.

Because of its antimicrobial properties, a wash made from the root bark is effective in treating skin infections, skin diseases, and ulcers.

Protecting Grandparents From Mercury

by Dominique Browning

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Laura Michelle Burns, Moms Clean Air Force

If you’re anything like me, you fall into the category of women who are caring for their children and their parents or grandparents. My aunt and my grandmother are both in their 70s. I’m grateful that they are in good health and are active. But I will confess that I worry about them the most when they are up visiting Lake Erie with their friends. It may sound silly, but I worry because they always tell me about the wonderful local, fresh caught fish they had each trip.

Growing up, I spent a lot of my summers visiting Port Clinton and Marblehead on the Lake Erie coast. Even as I type this, I can see myself sitting in a corner booth of a small Ohio diner watching the fishing boats pull up to the dock to sell their morning’s catch. I ate a lot of fresh caught fish sandwiches with my aunt and grandmother. I know they taste amazing! But what I know now is that those fish are tainted with mercury. Lake Erie is surrounded by coal-fired plants that spew mercury into our air. Mercury in the air doesn’t stay in one place, it is absorbed into the water droplets in the air and circulated through the clouds, and eventually rains down into our lake.

We know what mercury does our our children. Today though, I’d like to highlight what mercury does to our children’s grandparents. Since mercury is a neurotoxin, it functions in the degradation of the brain. A child’s brain is impacted by mercury in a way that can hinder the child from reaching their full potential. An adult’s brain has already developed and is now used to maintain the information necessary for everyday life and beyond.

6 Facts About Mercury:

  • Mercury can have an effect on the Central Nervous System, specifically the brain, by concentrating in the cerebral spinal fluid.
  • It can also inhibit the microtubules in the brain which then reduce the nerves’ function and their communication.
  • Our brains rely on the communication between the nerves to do things like remembering what it felt like to hold our baby for the first time, or how to sing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
  • As we age and these memories aren’t so recent, we rely more and more on our brains to retain them.
  • Alzheimer’s disease was reported to affect an estimated 5.4 million Americans in 2011.
  • Research has shown that mercury can be a causal factor in Alzheimer’s disease…even more so than the concerns of thimerosal being a leading factor in autism!

Of course, I want my family to be able to enjoy their summer visiting Lake Erie. I want them to eat and be as carefree as the day allows. But I also don’t want to worry that their memories could be affected by their unwitting consumption of mercury. This summer, as excited as I am to share my days with family, I’ll be encouraging them to skip the fish and order a burger instead. I know that memories can fade in time, but I’d hate to hurry it along with a side of mercury to accompany their catch of the day!

PLEASE TAKE ACTION WITH MOMS CLEAN AIR FORCE