I’m a big believer in following your nose when it comes to finding herbs that are right for your body. I mean, obviously, you have to do your research, but when you’re just looking for something positive to add to an everyday blend, I like to let my nose point the way. This is how I stumbled across dandelion leaf awhile back. Since then, I’ve learned quite a bit about my beloved dandelion. Nearly every part of the dandelion can be used for healing, but for the sake of brevity in today’s post, we’re going to talk about the dandelion leaf in particular.
Overview
Dried dandelion leaf looks unnaturally green, like they’ve been dyed for St.Patty’s day. It’s a bitter herb that smells sweet and fresh. It’s a great cleansing herb. Since we’re on the heels of a gluttonous and toxin filled holiday, it’s a great time to start adding dandelion leaf into your tea blends.
Dandy Diuretic
Fun fact: The French word for dandelion is “pis en lit” or “piss the bed,” which testifies to the herb’s effect as a diuretic. One of the great things about dandelion leaf is that it’s one of the very few diuretics that doesn’t deplete potassium. As a matter of fact it adds potassium to your system. Crazy, right? It also acts as a mild laxative and blood purifying agent. It increases bile production which helps metabolize fat. As such, it’s a great herb to take after a bender or eating binge. I know all of that sounds kind of gross, but it’s really awesome.
Vitamins and Minerals
This post about dandelion leaf is brought to you by vitamins A, B, C, and D. This herb is also naturally filled with the minerals calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and iron.
It also contains the amazing antioxidant luteolin, which is known as a free radical scavenger and antioxidant. It also helps metabolize carbohydrates.
Cost
One of the best things about this herb is that you can afford it even if you’re not living on a hefty criminal investigator salary. You can get cut and sorted dandelion from frontier for as little as $11/lb. In the spring, you can harvest your own. Dandelion wine anyone?
