New Herbal Classes

Spring is here and I just wanted to take a moment of you time to tell you about our terrific hands-on herbal learning course - the Herbal Bear's Botanical Medicine Program. This course is very special. It offers students the opportunity to learn about herbs by placing the classroom right in the garden! The program is held one weekend a month (twice in October) at the Herbal Bear, Grand Gorge, NY location - a beautiful private 30 acre property in the Northern Catskills - just 2 hours and 45 minutes from NYC.
Each weekend we learn about the plants that grow arounds us by studying their healing properties upon different body systems, gathering and harvesting the local medicinal plants which grow on the property, and develping a systematic approach to herbal formulations. By the end of the program you will be able to identify and know how to use over 100 different herbs. Our classes are informal and relaxed - however we take pride in the fact that our instructors are amoung the top in thier fields and include experienced herbalists, research scientists, and authors who have published in their field of expertice.
Our classes are small, allowing accessibility to our instructors both during class time and after class. Our instructor's enthusiasm for their topics shows in their willingness to share both their time and knowlege with students - in class and one-on-one.
No one enjoys a boring classroom lecture - this is why we have designed this class to be an interactive and hands-on experience. Learning about herbal remedies takes on a whole new dimension when you have a chance to see, smell, touch and use the plants that grow right in the Northern Catskills.
There are currently have a few spaces still left in this program. If you are interested our Botanical Medicine Program, please feel free to visit our website to learn more about the program - http://www.herbalbear.com/app07.html

Best Wishes for a Great Spring!
Ursula Basch

Are Herbs Really Good For your Health?

By Ursula Basch
The Herbal Bear School of Botanical Medicine

Anyone who has ever gone into a health food store has seen the overwhelming variety of herbal remedies on the shelves. Consumers often have questions:

• What is the best way to take herbs, teas or tinctures?
• What does it mean when an herbal remedy is "standardized"?
• How long is the shelf life of a medicinal herb?

Good questions - but where can you find good answers? The best answers are often not by asking the cashier at the health food store - but rather by doing a little bit of homework yourself - before you go out to buy herbal remedies. There are a number of excellent books that discuss herbal remedies including:

• Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs, by Penelope Ody
• The Herbal Handbook - A User's Guide to Medical Herbalism, by David Hoffman
• Herbal Remedies for Women, by Amanda McQuade Crawford
  

Another good source of information is taking a class with an experienced herbalist. The advantage of a class is that you often have the ability to see the actual plants and ask the instructor questions you may have concerning various herbs. In New York, the Herbal Bear School offers many classes specifically designed for beginning herbal students. The classes range from short one day introductions to herbal remedies to a full six weekend course called the Botanical Medicine program. Often your local botanical garden or horticultural society has guest lecturers that offer classes on herbalism. It is just a matter of taking the time to find a class in your area.

The Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms

By Ursula Basch
Herbal Bear School of Botanical Medicine

Spring and Fall are wonderful times for hunting mushrooms. The cooler weather together with increased rain provides the perfect growing conditions. Most people are familiar with the common white button mushroom that is sold in supermarkets. But did you know that mushrooms have a long history in the Orient for their medicinal uses? There are many mushrooms that are used medicinally. Some are commonly used in culinary preparations, others are not as common. Studies have shown that many mushroom may have numerous beneficial actions including: anti-tumor activity, antiviral activity and anti-inflammatory actions.



Here are a few mushrooms and their medicinal actions.

Shiitake
(Lentinula edodes)
Used medicinally for diseases involving depressed immune function-including cancer. A vast amount of research into shiitake's medicinal properties has been completed and shows that it has the ability to fight tumors and viruses and enhance the immune system. It has also shown cholesterol lowering properties.



Maitake
Grifola frondosa
Maitake means "dancing mushroom'' in Japanese. They also are known as hen-of-the-woods because the mass of mushrooms looks like a hen with ruffled feathers. Used in traditional Asian medicine for immune function enhancement, consumption of the mushroom was thought to prevent high blood pressure and cancer. There is currently a study being conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on the use of Maitake for breast cancer patients.

Reishi
Ganoderma lucidum
The Latin word lucidum means shiny'' and refers to the surface of reishi's cap, which is reddish orange to black and is shiny - appearing almost varnished. Used medicinally for diseases involving depressed immune function and for cancer treatment. Research into shiitake's medicinal properties has shown that it has the ability to fight tumors and viruses and enhance the immune system. It has also shown cholesterol lowering properties.

Would you like more information about herbs and herbal medicine? Visit our website at www.herbalbear.com