Cold Update and More Wild Plants

My cold seems to be dissipating nicely, although sadly not as quickly as it came on! I took Linda's advice and had chicken noodle soup for dinner the other night – I may try Yer Mama's version today.

I mentioned the lack of entries under decongestants during an unrelated edible plants conversation, and had it pointed out I should have been looking under the ailment, congestion, not the treatment. A-ha, a dozen results when looking at the correct entry! I was rather amused to find garlic as the first listing in the index, although that's only due to the plants being sorted by flower color. My amusement turned to intrigue upon learning that garlic does not grow wild, there are only domesticated escapees. But many of the same effects are attributed to wild leeks or ramps. But given the many benefits accredited to garlic, I duly noted that I should add a whole lot more of it to my cooking habits.

Part of my trepidation in utilizing wild plants comes from my cultural background. I was taught to read labels. (And to color in the lines, and stay on the trails, but I digress. Frequently.) But not only do wild plants not have preparation instructions or warning indicators, they don't even have a label indicating if you're even looking at the right thing! Is that water parsnip or water hemlock? One is tasty, the other deadly. Apparently red spruce pitch can be used as a poultice to relieve congestion, although it may also cause dermatitis. The bark of the strawberry bush was formerly used as an expectorant, but it may also be poisonous. Is the cure worse than the disease?

Ironically even labeled commercial items can have similar issues. In an online discussion I was reading recently, there were claims that the body burns sugars (simple or carbohydrate) preferentially not because it's the easiest fuel, implying we should consume more of it, but because it's a poison best removed from the system quickly. Wheat gluten sensitivity seems to be practically trendy lately, but I have to wonder how many people are simply discovering their bodies are healthier without the (biologically, evolutionarily) recent addition of grains to the human diet?

So really, how trustworthy are food labels anyway?

I think one of the reasons I'm interested in some of the old ways of doing things is just so that knowledge doesn't die out. While the natural world cannot support our current population numbers on a hunter-gatherer basis, I don't think that's a reason to discard all of the related knowledge, anymore than microwaves and convection ovens relegate cast iron dutch ovens solely to the history books. So even though learning and using wild plants, for food as well as medicine, isn't very high on my priority list right now, it is definitely on there. For now, I'll be concentrating on growing my own plants from labeled seed packets (with additional labels planted in the ground along with the seeds!) and simply familiarize myself with some of the wild ones occurring in my area. And eating more garlic while keeping an eye out for those ramps!