American Wintergreen, or Gaultheria procumbens, is a perennial, evergreen shrub native to North America from Alabama to Manitoba. It is also known as teaberry, boxberry, mountain tea, and wintergreen. It is used both in an essential oil and tea form, made from fresh leaves. American Wintergreen contains high quantities of methyl salicylate, a naturally occurring chemical similar to aspirin. Oil of Wintergreen, or wintergreen essential oil, contains up to 98% methyl salicylate. Learn more about Wintergreen oil and tea!
Category: Natural Wellness
Green Tea, and Its Role in Autoimmune Disease
Often we hear that green tea is a wonder drug: it prevent cancer, it prevents dementia, it prevents degenerative diseases, it clears your skin, it wins you the lottery… almost. Green tea, and its popular component EGCG, have been shown to actively treat some autoimmune disorders in humans. In others, though, it can worsen the READ MORE
Pinene, a Natural Healing Powerhouse
Pinene is one of the most abundant terpenes found in plants. It is a powerhouse of natural healing and home remedies, and a major compound in plants like pine trees, nutmeg, rosemary, black pepper, sage, and hemp.
Eczema Friendly Foaming Hand Soap
Like many people with autoimmune disease, other little autoimmune-related syndromes just happen. There is always some add-on, some new extra annoyance to deal with. Syndromes and symptoms change over time, and we have to adapt to keep up. Eczema is one of my little annoyances that I have to deal with every winter. I find READ MORE
DIY Acne and Rosacea Face Toner
Like many people, especially those with autoimmune disease, I suffer from rosacea and acne. Although I had hoped that I would eventually grow out of my skin problems after my teenage years, it appears that the acne is still going strong. As tempting as it is to buy a bottle of wonder drug skin care READ MORE
Homeopathy, Herbalism, Naturopathy, and Medicinal Botany: Part 1
What is which and which one works? What about Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese medicine? How do we know what to trust, and how do you know you can trust this site to tell you? What are the limitations to modern science? To start to answer these questions, first we need to define what these practices READ MORE
Essential Oils and Cats
While I was planning on writing about my Anti-Spider Spray, I realized that the heart of the article was really about protecting my cats from certain essential oils. Most homemade bug sprays calls for peppermint oil, lemon oil, or both – which, as we’ll see, isn’t good for our feline family members. But that doesn’t READ MORE
DIY Pain Relief Oil – “Mountain Lion Balm”
Everyone had aches and pains, whether they struggle with chronic illness or not, and every drug company out there has a goop to fix it. These products work great, inside their narrow scope. The product manufacturers would much rather you spend $5 – $10 or more each time something hurts. Instead, you can create a READ MORE