The Herb Stop Blog

Inhaling the fragrance of a rose invokes feelings of love and passion, the sweet scent of cinnamon may bring up memories from way back when mother was baking cookies, and the pungent scent of garlic stimulates appetite, making your stomach gurgle. Ancient cultures knew about all of these effects and held aromatic plants in high esteem. History We know from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese manuscripts that essential oils have been used for thousands of years for culinary and medicinal purposes, as well as to make incense, perfumes, and cosmetics. Essential oils were among the earliest trade items of the...

Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, 80-10-10, Low Fat & Raw I wont lie...I'm a little famous for my salads!  Never will you find a bowl of lettuce and ranch in my house!  I love using the lettuce as a part of the salad, not the bulk.  The yummy-ness comes from the addition of lots of different goodies - like cauliflower, bell peppers, onions, zucchini, fennel, tomatoes - any veggies laying around in the fridge!  Figuring out a dressing without oil was a little challenging at first, but this dressing is by far my favorite!  It's amazing over a simple salad of Romaine...

 Have you ever wondered what it would take to always be healthy? Many doctors, herbalists and nutritionists believe that by maintaining your body’s pH on the slightly alkaline side you never get ill. Dr. William Howard Hay in his book A New Health Era states that all diseases are caused by auto-intoxication (or "self-poisoning") due to high acid levels in the body. More recently, in his book Alkalize or Die Dr. Theodore A. Baroody says: “The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause - too much...

Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, 80-10-10 & Raw Who doesn't love an amazing smoothie?  To break-the-fast in the morning I like to use fruits - our natural cleansers.  This is one of my favorite shakes, sweet, nutritious, cleansing and delicious! Tropical Breakfast Smoothie 1 Pink Grapefruit 2 Oranges 2 Blood Oranges 1/2 small Pineapple, cored, peeled and eyes removed 1 Frozen Banana (peel removed) 4 oz Frozen Guava Pulp Juice the grapefruit and oranges.  Add to a blender (the Vita-Mix works wonders) with all the other ingredients.  Blend on high until smooth.  Drink and Enjoy! Beautiful Citrus Fruits Banana, Pineapple and Guava!...

Sprouting seeds during the dead of winter in your kitchen is easy and fun. When you can’t grow anything or get fresh produce anywhere sprouts will consistently provide you with fresh and nutritious meals. Sprouts are real life vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes. Their nutritional value has been discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Soaking seeds in water awakens enzymes from their dormancy, and their nutritional value increases from 10 – 2000%, such as B Vitamins. Vitamin E increases up to 300 times and vitamin C is introduced where none was previously present. Sprouts have a regenerating and anti-aging effect on the body because they provide two important...

With every stroke of the heart our blood must flow undisturbed to feed, nourish and cleanse our whole system. Clearly, to have a healthy heart it is important to exercise regularly, take care of our stress levels, eat sensibly and above all, keep joy flowing through our hearts. This large pumping organ of fire also has long been associated with emotions, giving and receiving love. You can nourish your heart energy by expressing positive emotions and feelings. A poignant line from the book “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind” by Dr. Deepak Chopra has some merit: “The less you open your heart...

If your mother always warned you to wrap up warm to avoid catching a cold, it seems she was right. Scientists say they have the first proof that there really is a link between getting cold and catching one. Studies at the Common Cold Center in Cardiff, England, have shown for the first time, a link between chilling and viral infection – something previously dismissed by other studies. Professor Ronald Eccles, says: “When viruses are circulating in the community, many people are mildly infected but show no symptoms. If they become chilled, this causes a pronounced constriction of the blood...

Eternal gratefulness! This is what I have to all of the people that helped me with passing my gallstones. The many months of sleeplessness, missing work, solitude and hopelessness were definitely not easy but having a wonderful family support, certainly made it easier. I would like to preface this article by saying thank you to my mother, Leilah and to my husband, Paul, who all spent many hours helping me, caring for me and encouraging me. Impending doom! That is the feeling I would have at the beginning of a gallbladder attack. My heart would race, I would break out...

This blog will be presented in two parts. Part One is an introduction and understanding of the gallbladder.  In Part Two, my daughter Natalie tells in great details how she eliminated her gallbladder stones without surgery or medical intervention, how she handled the pain, and how much diet and emotional well-being influenced her healing. She elaborates on her extensive research on gallbladder stones, the various popular treatments to eliminate them, and her own protocol to eliminate gallbladder stones. Natalie has successfully freed herself from her gallbladder stones, made some lifetime changes to never again experience gallbladder stones again.     The...