Tulsi / Holy Basil: Ocimum sanctum

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

For thousands of years tulsi has been considered a sacred herb. Also called holy basil and “the elixir of life” it originated in India, where it became an important herb of Ayurvedic medicine, and was sacred to the Hindu god Vishnu. Amongst Ayurvedic practitioners it is known as a rayasana plant, which is a special group of herbs said to promote longevity and perfect health.

Tulsi’s popularity has now spread throughout the world and Western herbalists have also fallen in love with it. Traditionally used for a variety of ills ranging from respiratory problems to exhaustion to digestive issues, it is a remarkable plant for human health.

Maribeth's Peaceful Heart Tea

:: to uplift mood & spirit ::

Maribeth, our herbalist-in-training on staff made up this delicious tea blend to lift the heart and bring light to the spirit during these cold, dark days of our New England winter.

A good mood can often support our immunity, bringing us up out of the dark and helping us to find peace in hibernating. This tea has helped to lighten the weight of this deep winter and remind me of the beauty of slowing down to rest. Also great on the go to calm the anxieties and stressors of traveling through a snow-blanketed city as we soldier the last weeks of winter. 

Holy Basil to relax mind and body and bring positivity and warmth. 
Hawthorn Leaf & Flower to bring peace to the heart and calm to the nerves
Rose Petals to remind us to love our experiences, each other, and ourselves
Calendula Flowers to remind us of the warm sun, illuminate the darkness, and aid a sluggish system
Rosemary to rejuvenate, clear, and uplift our spirit

I enjoy this tea all day long as winter continues to visit us here in the North East. The ritual of making tea itself has a calming, soothing effect and allows me to slow down as winter intends. This blend of herbs not only works on the emotional body, but supports digestion, our lymphatic system, and strengthens our blood during these more sluggish months. 

Grab a pre-made package of Peaceful Heart Tea at Cambridge Naturals - or make your own! Feel free to add any other of your favorite uplifting herbs to this recipe: 

1/4 cup Hawthorn Leaf & Flower

1/4 cup Holy Basil

3 Tbsp. Rose Petals,

2 Tbsp. Calendula Flowers

1 Tbsp. Rosemary

Use 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. of this blend to your mug of hot water. Steep 10 - 15 minutes, covered. Strain, breathe deep, sip, and relax. Add raw, local honey if desired for an added immune and spirit boost. 

Cheers to happiness and good health!

Calling all curly girls!!

Sarah, our Body Care Department Lead, has an amazing head of curly red hair! She often gets complimented on her lovely locks, and asked for the details of her hair care regimen. She put together this entertaining and comprehensive guide for all the curly girls out there - tried and true ways to maintain that gorgeous mane!

Sarah's curls on display during the first winter snow!

Sarah's curls on display during the first winter snow!

If you are a fellow curly haired comrade, you can appreciate the woes of curly hair... both loving your curls and learning how to maintain and style them. It took me nearly 20 years to fully embrace my curls and almost 10 more to learn how to perfect the styling and maintenance of them. With the help of an amazing book, called Curly Girl: The Handbook, MopTop Haircare products, and a microfiber towel, I don't think my curls have ever looked so good, in my humble opinion. So if you want to learn to love your curls and establish a successful styling routine, here's what you oughta do...

Read the book Curly Girl: The Handbook to refresh your attitude and hair-outlook. This book is great for that, as well as helping you to understand how curly hair works and the type of curls you have. It's also crucial in learning which hair care products to avoid, and most importantly how to care for and style your curly hair. And after you do this... 

MopTop Haircare is "curly girl" friendly, meaning it does not contain sulfates, silicone, and parabens that are harsh and strip your hair of beneficial oils. Curly hair is more delicate and drier than other hair types, so you must treat it tenderly! At the beginning of my new routine, I used the MopTop Haircare Clarifying Rescue Treatment. This is just a once in a while reset/detox for your hair, especially if you were using mainstream hair care products previously. It makes your hair feel fresh and rejuvenated without feeling dry or too squeaky clean. 

Then, you shampoo! I use the MopTop Haircare Gentle Shampoo. Since using this shampoo, I've found that I don't need to wash as frequently, as I think it balances my scalp oil production. It's not drying or harsh on my curls either. And it smells very nice! If you're switching from mainstream shampoo, it will feel a little different because it doesn't lather a ton or leave your hair feeling squeaky clean, but that's how it's supposed to be!

Next, I condition with the MopTop Haircare Light Conditioner. It's important to be extra gentle when shampooing and conditioning. The Curly Girl Handbook illustrates how to properly shampoo and condition, but you basically want to comb it through with your fingers, scrunch, and then rinse as you scrunch. The Light Conditioner makes your hair so soft but not heavy and you really can run your fingers through your hair! 

I apply the Medium Hold Gel by MopTop while my hair is still damp, smoothing over my hair and scrunching upward. No toweling yet! As per the Curly Girl method, this helps to define your curls and lock in the moisture. I like the MopTop gel because it provides definition and hold to my curls but doesn't make them crunchy or dry. 

Finally, the 3rd key player: the Microfiber Towel by Earth Therapeutics. This towel has been miraculous. Cup your hair with the towel, scrunch, and squeeze. The towel soaks so much water and exponentially speeds drying and decreases frizz!

Occasionally in the winter, I will use a hair dryer with diffuser attachment if I don't have time to wait for my hair to dry. The diffuser attachment is important, as it diffuses the harsh heat and helps to maintain hair definition. 

And waa-laa!! A head of hair that's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! 

The CN Staff Playlist: Neptune Edition

Our staff are stuck at home today once again as the store is closed due to Winter Storm Neptune. Cabin fever is starting to set in and we're seeking ways to stay connected. So we created a Cambridge Naturals Staff Playlist: Neptune Edition, for our listening pleasure and yours! This is an accumulation of some of our favorite songs to lift our spirits out of the wintertime doldrums. We hope you enjoy!

♫ Listen here.

 

Valentines Weekend Survival Kit

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Looks like we're expecting another foot of snow this holiday weekend, along with gusty winds and other blizzard-esque conditions. Joy!!!

But that's no reason to miss out on celebrating. We put together a Valentines Weekend Survival kit to help you make it through in style.

Fill the bathtub... with this delightful Simple Bathing Milk from Little Barn Apothecary.  With essential oils of clove and orange, it'll warm your exhausted snow-shoveling limbs and soothe your mind with thoughts of spring.

There's snow reason to panic... but a delicious mug of Magnesium Calm anti-stress formula can help take the edge off! Mix one serving into lukewarm water. Or, put a few droppers of Urban Moonshine's Chocolate Love Tonic into your drink of choice to encourage a more romantic mood. We recommend it in hot chocolate or a cocktail!

No one can hold a candle to the one you love... unless they're holding a Rose Garden Candle from local company Thesis Beauty. These amber-glass candles glow bright for hours, keeping the flame of passion burning even after your power goes out from the storm. We suggest lighting a few candles, turning up the (battery-operated) stereo, breaking into a bar of My Cherry Baby Chocolate from Theo, and opening a bottle of Plantlife Enhance Romance Massage Oil to fully set the mood. 

If the weather is really driving you nuts... fill your bowl with guacamole instead! This tasty guac from local company Chica de Gallo is the perfect healthy-fat food to keep you satiated through the long, wintry night. Pair with Mary's Gone Crackers for a delicious snack, and share it over candle-light with the one you love. 

 

BOOK REVIEW: Broth, Nourishing Broth

Nourishing Broth: an Old-fashioned Remedy for the Modern World
By Sally Fallon Morell and Kaayla T. Daniel

Reviewed by Rosalind Michahelles 

This book tells you first why you should drink broth and then how to make it.  The “why” occupies parts one and two of the book, starting with the nutrition science on boiling bones, tendons, ligaments and the other remains—whether fowl, fish, or meat -- after we have eaten.  There is a good deal of complexity here but we can boil it down to gelatin, collagen, and cartilage.  All three are important elements in broth and stock, defined variously as including bits of meat and vegetable or not.  Stock, being the strained version, is used as a base for gravy and other sauces, especially after deducing or concentrating it.

Calendula: Blossoms of the Sun Calendula officinalis

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

Calendula is a quintessential summertime herb – its flowering reaches its peak during the warmest months, and its orange and yellow blossoms look like small suns. Which is exactly why calendula is such an agreeable herb for this time of year, when we all could do with a bit more sunshine, warmth, and color amidst our dark New England days. In the depths of winter, calendula flowers are a saving grace with their brightly colored petals, and their virtues steeped in hot cups of tea.

Sweet gifts for the one(s) you love

Valentines is a holiday that many of us love to hate. It's hard to get wrapped up in the pink hearts and red roses and gushy songs if you're not in a romantic relationship - and it can seem a bit contrived even if you are!

But the concept of celebrating love itself is generative - meaning, the more love you put out into the world, the more it grows and grows. And giving as an act of love can be a very special thing indeed. So whether it's a friend, family member, or significant other, here are a few sweet gift ideas for the ones you love.

Stretch your way into the New Year!

It can be a challenge to transition from the hedonism of the holiday season into healthy habits in the New Year! Many people make resolutions to be healthier, more fit and more energized. Practicing yoga is a great way to ease into a more active lifestyle during these cold, dark months. Jade, our resident graphic designer extraordinaire, is also a talented yoga instructor. She put together a couple of poses that will help to stretch and strengthen your body which in turn helps to manage stress!

Baddha Konasana

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This posture is a great hip opener.

Sitting with your spine straight, bring your feet together so that your heels and little toes are touching. The knees will splay out as you open your feet up like a book. If the knees are high up off the ground, don't use force to push them down. Instead just gently let the weight of your knees come down towards the ground. Continue to sit up tall, keep a neutral facial expression and breathe fully for 5-10 breaths. If your knees are close to or on the floor, after taking the 5-10 breaths sitting straight up, draw in your lower abdomen and reach your chest and chin forward exhaling as you continue to open up your feet and again, take 5-10 breaths. This will bring you deeper into the posture and give your hips more of a stretch. This posture is extremely beneficial for stimulating the abdominal organs, stretching the inner thighs, hips and knees and increasing circulation. Some traditional yoga texts state that Baddha Konasana is one of the most important postures.
 

Purvottanasana

This posture engages the entire body and opens up the heart. 

Sitting on the floor with your legs straight in front of you and feet together, bring your hands behind you about a foot back with your fingers facing in the direction of your feet. As you inhale, press down into your hands and send your hips up as you reach your toes down towards the floor. Again, keep a neutral facial expression as well as an engaged core and let your head come back as you take 5 full breaths. On the last exhale, lower your hips down. If pushing up from the floor is too challenging to start, you can hold on to the back of a chair, again with your fingers facing your feet, knees start off bent and as you inhale, lift your hips and straighten the legs. This posture strengthens the arms, legs and wrists and gives a good stretch to the shoulders, chest and feet. 

I hope you enjoy these postures and that they bring you strengthen and flexibility in the New Year!

Vitamin D - A Superstar for Winter Health Infection-Fighting Abilities For Colds and Flu

This well-known vitamin has recently become a “superstar” among our customers, their MDs and wellness experts alike.  Recent research has pushed the amazing impact that Vitamin D has on our everyday health into the limelight. 

A large and growing body of evidence is showing that this “sunshine vitamin” controls some 30,000 different genes in our bodies all of which play a crucial role in our health and well-being. (1)

This vitamin is naturally produced during the summertime when our skin is exposed to direct sunlight— a good reason not to overuse sunscreen. But in the northern latitudes in winter…well above the equator, where we live in Massachusetts, the rays that produce Vitamin D in our skin are long gone. In fact the sun’s rays are insufficient to produce ANY Vitamin D from October through May here in the Boston area.  We Northeasters have a very short summer 4-month window to utilize Vitamin D rays from the sun….leaving us to consider Vitamin D supplements for our best health solutions!