May 8, 2008 at 12:30 pm (thoughts)
Tags: drying, herb, mugwort, poem
our father, the self-
taught botanist, is
stretching a thin
cord from the piano
to the back door
tying tiny bouquets
of the traveler’s
mugwort every six
inches down the line
to dry. each bouquet
of ten delicate
sprigs carries more
than just traveler’s
luck, but his signature
love – the patient fruit
.
20070912:2347
y
May 8, 2008 at 11:07 am (lungs)
Tags: antioxidant, bronchitis, cancer, chemopreventive, congestion, health, healthy eating, lungs, respiratory, sinus, smoker, soup, tobacco, tuberculosis, watercress
During a lengthy period of my youth, my mom said that I was breathing funny at night and always having lung congestion, with a lot of phlegm production. She said she did some research and decided that I should go on a watercress binge. For three to four weeks, my mom would cook up a pot of watercress soup three to four times a week, and she and I could eat four batches of watercress in one sitting. It was delicious! To this day, she says the transformation to healthy breathing happened quickly because I was a youngster at the time, but sure enough, I gradually had no more trouble with lung congestion, even to this day. As with most edible “treatments,” Mom continues to use watercress in her cooking ever so often because of its healthy benefits in clearing up the lungs.
How to make watercress soup: Starting off with a pot of boiling chicken stock (made or bought), add one batch of watercress (or as much as you want) and add a bit of julienned ginger for more flavor. Let it boil for three to five minutes – the watercress tastes best when it’s still got a slight crisp. Add salt and sesame oil, as needed.
Where to find it: You can find watercress in your local grocery store and in Chinatown vegetable stands. They are usually tied up in convenient batches.
What else: Doing some extra research last night, I found that – whether or not related – watercress has a chemopreventive agent against lung cancer in smokers. This does not mean that watercress can cure or prevent lung cancer, but it’s the first study to report an effect of vegetable consumption on metabolism of a lung carcinogen in humans – a protective effect. I’m not sure why it’s only specific to lungs, but you can check out the research done on tobacco smokers below and look up the research paper. In another study of nine plants used in Mexican traditional medicine to treat tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases, watercress showed the best antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Study cited below.
Who’s done the research:
