Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Yarrow
The Herbal Bandage
Family: Compositae; (includes Daisy, Dandelion, Marigold)
Genus and Species: Achillea Millefolium
Also known as: Thousand Weed, Milfoil, Soldier’s Woundwort, Herbe Militaire, Nose Nleed, Bloodwort, Bad Man’s Plaything
Parts used: Leaves, stems, flower tops
Legend has it that during the Trojan War, Achilles stopped the bleeding of his fellow soldiers’ wounds by applying yarrow’s fernlike leaves. Scientists have discovered the mythological hero may have been right. Yarrow contains substances that may help stop bleeding and have pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties potentially helpful in wound treatment. It also appears to have potential as a digestive aid, menstrual remedy, and mild sedative.
Soldier’s Woundwort
Achilles defined yarrow’s use in herbal Healing for more than 2,500 years. Dioscorides, a physician attached to Roman legions, recommended rubbing the crushed plant on wounds. The herb’s many popular names-herbe militaire, nose bleed, soldier’s woundwort. and bloodwort-attest to its use as a blood stopper during the Middle Ages. (Wort is Old English for plant.) Perhaps from an association with brawling, yarrow also became linked to ruffians and earned the name, “bad man’s plaything.”
Around Achilles’ time, ancient Chinese physicians were also using Asian yarrow to treat inflammations, bleeding, heavy menstrual flow, and dog and snake bites. The Chinese also used yarrow in the ritual of the I Cfling, the oracle consulted to predict the future. Coins are typically used today, but the traditional way to cast the I Cfling involved dried yarrow stems.
India’s Ayurvedic physicians used yarrow to treat fevers.
Stops the Bleeding
Herbalist John Gerard recommended yarrow for “swellings. of the privie parts.” In the 17th century, John Parkinson advised, “If it be put into the nose, assuredly it will stop the bleeding of it.” And Nicholas Culpeper wrote: “an ointment of the leaves cures wounds … restrains violent bleedings … is good for inflammations and ulcers … and is excellent for the piles [hemorrhoids].”
Colonists introduced yarrow into North America, and the Indians adopted it enthusiastically as an external treatment for wounds and burns, and internally to treat colds, sore throat, arthritis, toothache, insomnia, and indigestion.
The 19th-century Eclectics considered yarrow a “tonic upon the venous system,” but downplayed its age-old role in wound treatment. Their text, King’s American Dispensatory, recommended it for bloody urine (hematuria), incontinence, hemorrhoids, menstrual cramps, diarrhea, dysentery, and “hemorrhage where the bleeding is small in amount.”
Contemporary herbalist Steven Foster recommends yarrow as “an herbal Band-Aid.” Other herbalists prescribe yarrow for fevers, urinary tract infections, and as a digestive aid.