Southern Folk Medicine

by Phyllis D. Light

  Foods can either carry cold or cause cold when eaten. Foods that carry cold include citrus fruits, fruit juices, berries, watermelon, or raw cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower. Foods that cause cold when eaten include cream cheese, ice cream, and other dairy products, as well as processed meats, and mayonnaise.

  Herbs to offset cold and warm the body are stimulating herbs such as cayenne, lobelia, pine, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, American ginseng, fennel, fenugreek, black pepper, garlic, horseradish, kelp, prickly ash, anise, sarsaparilla, sassafras, and bay, to name a few.

  Wet

  Wet, also known as damp, is associated with mucus and other fluids in the body, including lymph, sweat, and urine. Damp is carried by rain, dew, fog, mist, air, wind, and food. Damp itself may carry heat or cold. Cold, damp weather seeps into the body and increases the conduction of heat out of the body. Our clothing soaks up the moisture from the atmosphere and sucks the heat away. It takes more energy to heat water than it does air. So cold, damp air always feels colder than cold, dry air. Blood flow moves deeper into the body to protect the core, and ligaments and tendons tighten. It’s a really unpleasant feeling—just the sort to make you long for a nice warm fire and a cup of something hot and steaming.

  In the body, infection may cause areas of damp as inflammation increases and fluid moves to critical areas. In some situations, pus may be generated. Parasite infection may cause an irritated damp condition in the small intestines as mucus is generated. Leaky gut, food sensitivities, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, and ulcerative colitis are all damp conditions and may also carry heat or cold. For example, the inactive diverticulosis is cold and damp and the active diverticulitis is hot and damp.

  Lungs, bronchial tubes, and sinus passages are obvious areas of damp. Cold and damp in the lungs may present as pneumonia, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or smoker’s lungs. Acute pneumonia is hot and damp, while walking pneumonia is cold and damp. Damp conditions can be found in any mucous membrane tissue, including the female reproductive system.

  Congestion leads to stagnation due to constricted blood and lymph flow. Damp leads to an over-relaxed state. Think about the gallbladder for a moment, which is a muscular sack lined with mucous membrane tissue. The gallbladder receives bile from the liver and then releases it into the small intestine during the digestive process. Bile is irritating on mucous membrane tissues and creates mucus in the gallbladder. The gallbladder fills and fills with mucus and bile (sludge), and loses the ability to contract. This is a damp, over-relaxed state. Herbs to initiate contraction of the gallbladder, such as yellow dock, wild yam, dandelion, goldenseal, Solomon’s seal, yellow root, fenugreek, fennel, and yucca can move the damp and tone the tissues.

  Kidney, liver, and cardiovascular disorders can also cause dampness and the accumulation of fluid in various parts of the body. If there is kidney dysfunction or disease, fluid may accumulate in feet, ankles and hands, which is generally cold and damp. As the kidney disease worsens, there may be shortness of breath, fatigue, and decreased urination and accumulation of fluid in the abdomen (cold and damp). The accumulation of fluid in the abdomen is known as ascites and may also be present in liver disease and congestive heart failure (cold and damp).

  Cold and damp are much more common in the body than hot and damp. Damp (water) tends to have a cooling effect in general. However, fever and high inflammation tend to turn cold and damp into hot and damp.

  Damp may also be present in the lymphatic system as the result of lack of movement or disease. For example, think about the accumulation of fluid in your midsection and upper thighs from sitting all day or flying on an airplane. Illnesses that limit lymph flow such as mononucleosis also create damp. Hypothyroidism, chronic viral infections, allergies, ovarian cysts, and enlarged prostate are other examples of the presence of damp.

  Chronic stress is one of the most common reasons I see for damp. In this situation, digestion shuts down. The survival reasoning is simple: The body can’t be eating and digesting and running and fighting all at the same time. Because digestive activity is diminished, foods pass more slowly through the digestive tract, creating damp and bloating. When a person is under chronic stress and taking antibiotics, this is a double-damp whammy on the digestive tract.

  Foods may carry damp or cause damp when eaten. For example, ice cream, oatmeal, soups, mashed potatoes, and refried beans carry damp. Any dairy product causes damp, including yogurt, kefir, and other fermented dairy. Raw nuts and seeds and dried fruits can cause damp.

  Herbs that tone the tissues or have astringent activity, diuretics, and stimulants can help move damp: red raspberry, sumac, mullein, marshmallow, black walnut, white oak bark, hydrangea, chickweed, Queen Anne’s lace, sage, Queen of the Meadow, ginger, yellow dock, red root, and lobelia, to name a few.

  Dry

  Dry is the lack of fluid. In dry conditions, there is little or no moisture. “Dry as a bone” is an old saying to describe a total lack of available moisture. It can be cold and dry or hot and dry, both on the land or in the body. Dry is carried by the air, wind, and food.

  Cold, dry air in the winter pulls moisture from the body and chaps the skin and lips. Hot, dry air pulls moisture from the body and dries the skin, lips, and hair. If the humidity is extremely low, the sweat will evaporate as soon as the body releases it. In this climate, it’s prudent to drink vast amounts of water because it is very easy to become dehydrated even though you aren’t aware of the sweat. Wearing a hat in a hot, dry climate will shield and protect your head and eyes from the effects of a boiling sun, but may or may not keep your head cooler, even though it may feel cooler.

  Fever may create hot and dry tissues in the body. Here, as with external heat, staying hydrated is extremely important. The cooling herbs mentioned above can help lower fever and conserve internal moisture. A bit of fruit juice mixed in water may improve ingestion of the water and improve hydration.

  Wasting diseases, such as extreme hyperthyroidism, end-stage cancer, HIV infections, tuberculosis, autoimmune diseases, and chronic infections, can cause hot and dry conditions in the body and ultimately tissue atrophy. In this situation, the body is consuming itself at an alarming rate, regardless of the number of calories consumed. Often at this stage, the person is continually craving processed sugar and simple carbohydrates as the disease demands more and more glucose for cell division, hence the old saying, “Sugar feeds cancer.” In some disease conditions, not only is the body wasting from lack of nutrition in the disease, but fever is simultaneously ravaging the body.

  Dry is mediated by water and other fluid intake, since dry is often associated with lack of moisture. However, dry can also result from lack of oil. Our bodies rely on adequate fat intake, especially omegas-3 and -6, for the creation of a strong cell membrane, reproductive hormones, skin and hair health, and fat-soluble vitamins. Healthy oils also help reduce inflammation, improve brain health, and reduce risk for cardiovascular disease.

  Foods that are dry include popcorn without butter, cornbread, breads, rice, most any grains, dried fruits and vegetables, and potatoes. Folks with a dry esophagus should be especially cautious, as dry foods can trigger esophageal spasms or contractions. We commonly add oil, butter, or dairy to moisten dry foods.

  Herbs to improve dry include moistening and oily herbs, such as Solomon’s seal, fennel, fenugreek, yucca, mullein, marshmallow, kelp, red clover, hydrangea, alfalfa, hens and chickens, chickweed, okra, and angelica.

  Chapter Eight

  The Constitutions

  I ate no butcher’s meat, lived chiefly on fruits, vegetables, and fish, and never drank a glass of spirits or wine until my wedding day. To this I attribute my continual good health, endurance, and an iron constitution.

  —John James Audubon

  As mentioned earlier, folk medicines developed with the geography and climate of the land. While the principles from one folk medicine practice may be applicable to other areas
of the world, we must always keep in mind that climate changes from location to location must be taken into account. One climate may be hot and dry, while another is hot and damp, cold and damp, or cold and dry.

  It doesn’t matter where on this Earth you live, the geography of the land shapes your health. For me and mine, it has been the geography of the American Southeast, hot and humid, the perfect environment for thousands of species of plants to make their homes. My ancestors must have found this land a veritable natural supermarket abounding with herbs, fruits, vegetables, and wild game.

  In North America, the climate is as changeable as the air; hot and cold and wet and dry come together on this spot of Earth in unique weather patterns such as tornadoes, raging storms, hurricanes, and brutal heat. Here it is altogether a different climate than the even, cool dampness of the British Isles and Northern Europe where air, water, and earth meet in a more stable and genteel fashion.

  The settlers changed the landscape of the New World as forests were cut and land was cleared in the attempt to re-create what had been left behind in Europe. The Celts had little reason to work this hard and blended into the mountains and hills with their rough cabins and slight gardens in a more natural fashion. Their crop was hard liquor, which required little changing of the land but a swift foot to avoid the revenuers, agents of the U.S. Treasury Department.

  On the surface, the land was transformed into farms and settlements, and later into towns and cities. However, a constant tug with Mother Nature and the climate is still felt as she continually tries to reclaim what once was, to return the landscape to the geography best suited to the elements. Rain must flow and drain or it becomes a flood. Wind must flow around pressure systems so that we can feel the Earth turn beneath us. And lightning must flash whether around buildings or dense forests. We humans have changed the course of rivers, leveled mountains, irrigated deserts, and mined deep into the ground, all in an attempt to master and control our mutual home, Mother Earth.

  The land of my ancestors shapes my health as surely as any other influence. Regardless of where you now live, the original land of your ancestors is intricately bound in your DNA, molding who you are, how healthy you are, what foods are the most nutritionally sound for you, and ultimately what you will pass to your children. Most of this is contained in our DNA and epigenetic code, and some is in our mitochondrial DNA. A good question to ask is, “Where do my people come from?”

  It is the health of the land that shapes us, both the land upon which we now live and the land of our ancestors. It affects and gives shape to our constitutions. Your nuclear DNA, shaped as a double helix, is the repository of your genetic material passed by your ancestors to your parent and then to you—twenty-three genes received from your mother and twenty-three genes from your father. Your genes are fixed, and their required stability and ability to repair when damaged are absolutely necessary for the continuation of your genetic line. Have you ever been looking through the family photos and noticed that your brother looks like your great-great uncle? Or that you have your great-grandmother’s nose? Or that your child has her great-great-great grandfather’s forehead? It’s always a roll of the genetic dice.

  Stability of genetic material forms the basis of your constitution. A variation in your genetic code creates your individual susceptibility or risk to various diseases across your lifespan, including issues such as type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and cancers. But your genes may also pass genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia.

  And then, there’s the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), shaped in a circle, that we inherit only from our mothers. It is less stable and not as fixed or complex as our nuclear DNA, but also contributes to our constitutional makeup. Mitochondria serve the function of creating energy within the cells; we can’t live without them. Your ability to convert food into energy is directly due to your inheritance of mtDNA from your mother. How we make cellular energy and the amount we make are directly linked to our supply of Vital Energy, our ch’i. If our mothers have strong Vital Energy, then there’s a good bet that we will too.

  Because we inherit our mtDNA from our mothers, it is not unique for each individual, since all the maternal relatives have identical mtDNA sequences. In other words, you have the same mtDNA as your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and all the other grandmothers all the way back to the original female in your line. Through mtDNA, scientists can trace your lineage back to your ancient, ancient ancestors. An mtDNA lineage ends when a mother has no daughters.

  (I find it very interesting and equally amazing that historically many Native American tribes had a matriarchal culture. Women owned the house and land and had control over the children. Inheritance was through the female line, not the male lineage. This makes perfect sense when we think about the circular mtDNA because it is only passed through the female line.)

  After death, nuclear DNA degrades very rapidly and little can be found in decomposed remains. But not so the mtDNA! It can be found in high numbers within the cells and is more likely than nuclear DNA to survive after a long period of time because its circular shape makes it less vulnerable to degradation and adds to its stability. Scientists can use mtDNA of various populations to map out the ancestry and migration routes of ancient humans. Very interesting.

  But that’s not the last influence of genetics in our constitutional makeup. Now we come to the role of epigenetics. It seems that we have a third biological code that affects our health, happiness, and behavior. Nuclear DNA sets our individual, fixed genetics. No two people are exactly alike unless you are identical twins. Mitochondrial DNA forms the framework of our energy and health. And epigenetics reveals the dynamic, fluid potential of our nuclear DNA and mtDNA.

  The epigenetic code is determined by the methylation of DNA, which can turn genes on or off and controls when and where information is given to the cells. Epigenetics can be influenced by physical and emotional trauma, environmental toxins, nutritional status, and stress, especially in childhood. These influences create tags of information that are attached to the outside of the DNA and are then inherited by a person’s offspring. It can have an impact across several generations.

  Epigenetic tags may increase risk of cancers, cause birth defects, and affect a person’s mental health. They can affect obesity, risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and other disorders. Epigenetic tags are influenced first and foremost by nutrition. Certain nutrients, particularly vitamins B6, folate, B12, selenium, zinc, calcium, and magnesium, along with sulfur-containing amino acids, can reverse or change epigenetic tags and improve DNA methylation. This has the effect of modifying the expression of genes that affect many processes, including embryonic development, aging, and cancer risk. Epigenetic changes can be inherited during cell division, passing the change down through the generations. But remember: Epigenetics doesn’t change your nuclear DNA; it only creates a new tag of information that wraps around the outside of the DNA, which are then inherited.

  How many generations of epigenetic tags are inherited? That’s a really interesting question that doesn’t have an answer at this point. Studies have shown three or four generations is common. But at what point can epigenetic changes become permanent? That is another good question without a solid answer. I prefer to think about the concept of the Native American Seven Generations: Make your decisions based on behalf of the seven generations still to come. That seems about right to me.

  As you can see, our constitutional makeup begins in the womb, includes our nuclear DNA, our mitochondrial DNA, and any epigenetic tags that are inherited. But it is more than what we are born with. Constitutional influences include early childhood influences, with diet and nurturing especially crucial. Or put another way, our nature plus our nurture.

  Our constitutional makeup includes our physical strengths and weaknesses, emotional balance, mental health stability, and spiritual awareness. It acknowledges our family health history, both physical and
psychological, our personal life history, lifestyle factors that affect health, childhood upbringing and illnesses, and social and cultural factors that influence our health and mental well-being.

  In addition, our constitution includes conditions our mother experienced during pregnancy, including her diet, lifestyle factors, exposure to environmental toxins, any use of medications or recreational drugs, her stress level and emotional health, physical activity and exercise level, and sleeping patterns. During pregnancy, our mother’s blood is our blood. The food she eats creates our bodies. The nutrients she intakes are the basic building blocks of us. This is a huge responsibility, and one that should not be taken lightly.

  Our constitutional makeup continues to develop until about the age of six or seven. Some people have iron-clad constitutions and never seem to be sick a day in their lives. They are filled with energy, never miss a day of work, and somehow have the energy to run marathons on the weekends and bake cookies for their child’s class. Other folks have delicate or sensitive constitutions and have trouble navigating a shopping trip due to the onslaught of odors and fragrances. Their low energy levels require great attention to their lifestyle choices and social activities.

  A person’s constitutional makeup isn’t an indicator of longevity or happiness, but offers guidelines to staying well and may indicate health challenges or tendencies a person might face throughout their lifespan. Knowing your possible health challenges creates a wonderful opportunity for heading them off at the pass. Once you are aware of your constitutional makeup, the trick is then to follow the guidelines that can help keep your constitution in balance or bring it back to balance in times of stress or illness.