Hate it or Is it Healthy
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Good morning,
Missed a few of those weeds when I sprayed my yard this Spring, shame on me.
As I’m sitting here looking out of my West window looking at my huge yard on the farm, drinking my healthy coffee, I see some yellow flowers looking back or up to me, well, I’ll bet you can guess what those are–dandelions–pretty now but spread when they poke those spike up with that fuzz ball and the winds carry those seeds to produce more plants next spring. Why did God give me such a troublesome plant that I feel like I need to destroy every spring? did you ever think that just maybe, that He gave it to us for a reason? Maybe I ought to research and see if it has any healthy, nutritional benefits for me. So I did just that.
When I was growing up, I had an uncle and later learned about a friend making wines, the home-made ones of dandelion and also rhubarb wines, tasted pretty good too. So now I’m thinking that they must have other uses and have a value, right. So more research was done and this is what I have learned so far.
“Dandelion helps both the liver and gall bladder to break down fat, by stimulating the flow of bile. This helps prevent gallstones. Dandelion also helps the liver with its process of detoxification.
Dandelion benefits kidney function, as it has diuretic properties (stimulates the flow of urine), which makes it beneficial for anyone suffering from a urinary infection.
It’s hard to find domesticated vegetables with as much nutrition as wild greens. And with food prices the way they are… delightful to get free food that is better than anything you can find in a store!
Eating lots of dandelion leaves and buds as well as other nutrient-dense foods can help save you money on nutritional supplements. Assuming you don’t use toxic chemicals on your lawn and/or garden, you don’t live next to a highway or in a highly polluted urban area, and you aren’t in close proximity to neighbors who use lawn chemicals, you can eat your dandelion greens.
Young dandelion leaves are great in salads! They have a taste similar to chicory, and and abundance of vitamins and minerals. Here are some of the nutrients that dandelion leaves provide; potassium, magnesium, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, proteins, iron, sulphur, zinc, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E. They are a richer source of provitamin A (beta carotene) than carrots! Because the leaves are rich in readily available magnesium, dandelion is a great herb for improving bone health. Magnesium increases bone density, so dandelions may actually help to prevent bone disorders such as osteoporosis.
For salad, thoroughly wash leaves. Dandelion leaves chopped with sheep feta cheese, olive oil, and onion is a nice combo. As you develop a taste for it and the season progresses, you may find yourself eating more!
Get an original recipe for making your own capers from dandelion buds, plus more information on the best foods and supplements.
Copyright 2007 - Ellen Landauer. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give author credit.
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Dandelion’s-a miracle and a blessing to us all. Well, I guess I will have to change my thinking and my ideas and include some dandelion greens to my next salad for more nutrition. Health matters are also from the plants growing in my yard right here on my farm. Let’s go out and pick some and clean them and enjoy that great big green salad for lunch and be that picture of health and have that healthy body.
