The humble dandelion

Have you made sure you can feed and medicate yourself if the supply lines go down?

One issue I have been paying attention to, is how we survive if the supply lines go down. Critically we will lose access to both pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. We will be reliant on what is growing around us for medicines (and also potentially for food).

I was recently hospitalised with what is called covid. Since then it has occurred to me that I am potentially a dead woman walking. It probably means I am harboring the spike protein that might eventually rise up and kill me. Who knows? So perhaps I had better work out how to get rid of it.

I also came out of the hospital stay, diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, with the implication that I have to take dangerous drugs for the rest of my life or go blind or gangrenous. Not happening.

So I have had two major avenues of research, how to naturally disable and get rid of the spike protein (and perhaps resist re-infection in the future), and how to manage my blood sugar within safe limits.

I came up with two herbs:

• berberine, a herbal extract from a variety of herbs, for the high blood sugar, and

• dandelion leaf extract for the spike protein.

There are courses of action other than herbs that you might like to read about at the links below, for both the spike protein and the high blood sugar, but this article concentrates on herbs.

Managing (or curing) type 2 diabetes without drugs

The vagus nerve and the bug

The danger of diabetes

If you are wondering if blood sugar issues are a broadscale problem, consider this. These figures are for Australia but are comparable to other western countries.

There is an epidemic of diabetes, or at least, what is being called diabetes. 5.3% of the Australian population has been diagnosed with diabetes. These people all have the potential to get very ill without their drugs - at least in the short term.

“One in twenty (5.3%) people had diabetes in 2020-21. Almost one in five (19.2%) of people over 75 years had diabetes.”

“Around 1.3 million people were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 2000 and 2020, according to linked NDSS and APEG data. This was around 60,000 people each year – an average of 166 new diagnoses a day.

Take a moment to consider those figures. You can find more details on these figures here. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Berberine for diabetes

Berberine seems to slightly reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Also, some early research suggests that taking 500 mg of berberine 2-3 times daily for up to 3 months might control blood sugar as effectively as metformin or rosiglitazone.

The links below are to peer reviewed medical articles, the first comparing Metformin with Berberine and the second telling us more about what Berberine is, how it works (including its impact on blood sugar), and its range of benefits.

• Efficacy of Berberine in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

• Berberine: Botanical Occurrence, Traditional Uses, Extraction Methods, and Relevance in Cardiovascular, Metabolic, Hepatic, and Renal Disorders

Accessing berberine

The problem with berberine is whether any berberine rich plants grow near you, and whether you know how to use them if they do. You can do your own research to find which plants near you have adequate amounts of berberine. In the absence of the source, I have purchased this nutraceutical to see how well it really works. But I am very aware of needing to find a local source if the supply lines go down.

• Phellodendron - Berberine Extract from Herbosophy

Dandelion leaf extract to treat the spike protein

I started researching dandelion in relation to the spike protein, so imagine my delight when I realised that dandelion treats both the spike protein and also Type 2 Diabetes. Yes, dandelion is also high in berberine. So maybe our crisis care for both covid and diabetes (which is a much more deadly plague than covid ever was) can come down to the humble dandelion, something that grows in abundance in all temperate climates.

Here are some resources on Dandelion and the spike protein.

• Dandelion Leaf Extract And SARS CoV Spike Protein

• In Vitro Effect of Taraxacum officinale Leaf Aqueous Extract on the Interaction between ACE2 Cell Surface Receptor and SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein D614 and Four Mutants

Dandelion to treat high blood sugar

Here are some resources on Dandelion and high blood sugar.

• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

• The Physiological Effects of Dandelion (Taraxacum Officinale) in Type 2 Diabetes

I am still unsure of the distinction between the medicinal properties of root, leaf and flower - the on-line references are obscure. But I will post more detailed results as I find them.

All parts of the dandelion can be eaten, including the flowers, stems, leaves, and roots. The root, on the other hand, has the most potent chemicals, especially during flowering. Furthermore, the roots include a variety of healthy and essential components, including vitamins and antioxidants like silibinin, silymarin, berberine, curcumin, and resveratrol — it also contains zinc, and iron, magnesium, and potassium. (https://healthiersteps.com/benefits-of-dandelion/)

Accessing dandelion extracts

It can be difficult to access strong enough dandelion supplements. The available tablets and teas are very low dose. The best option is to find a tincture, or something similarly concentrated. For Australians, MediHerb for example, do a dandelion leaf extract, but will not help you find who stocks it and who will sell it to you. Best of luck trying to find it.

You can get hold of dandelion teas and coffees here (these people are fantastic to deal with).

• Dandelion leaf tea

• Roasted dandelion root

• Unroasted dandelion root

The additional healing benefits of both berberine and dandelion

The range of therapeutic actions of both berberine and dandelion itself is huge. Do your own research to see if they can support you to withdraw from whatever pharmaceutical or nutraceutical products you are dependent on.

Conclusion

Moral of the story, grow a decent sized crop of dandelion if you can. It is both a very potent healing plant, and a food.

And if you are living in Australia, make sure you know how to identify this plant. There are several plants here that look quite similar to the untrained eye.