Todd Caldecott

Clinical Herbalist, Ayurveda Practitioner
RH(AHG), CAP(NAMA), RHT(BCHA)

12/02/2026

When conversations about spiritual teachers become polarized, it is easy to fixate on personalities.

In a 6th century CE classical text of Āyurveda called the Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya, compiled by the sage Vāgbhaṭa, the section on sadvṛtta (right conduct) describes ethical disciplines of body, speech, and mind. Under kāyakarma, or bodily misconduct, there is a category of infractions called anyathākāma, or improper desire. This includes sexual conduct that violates trust, exploits dependency, or transgresses relational boundaries.

The issue is not sexuality, as Ayurveda recognizes it as natural and even supportive to health, when governed by discernment and integrity. The problem is prajñāparādha, or “crimes against wisdom”, when desire overrides clarity and disturbs the balance of rajas, tamas, and sattva. Such conduct is said to deplete ojas, damage reputation, and undermine one’s capacity to heal or guide others.

Ayurveda does not exempt teachers from ethical conduct. It binds them to it. If we invoke the tradition of Ayurveda, as Deepak Chopra has, we are obliged to uphold its ethical architecture in full.

10/02/2026

Cashew is a botanical study in chemistry.

Native to northeastern Brazil, Anacardium occidentale belongs to the Anacardiaceae, a family that spans from mango to poison ivy. Many members produce reactive phenolic resins that can be intensely irritating. Even mango peel can trigger dermatitis in sensitive individuals.

What we call the “cashew fruit” is actually the swollen receptacle known locally as caju. The true fruit is the kidney-shaped drupe below it. Fresh caju is sweet, acidic, and slightly astringent, commonly consumed here as juice.

The kernel is energy-dense: ~45% fat, 30% carbohydrate, ~18% protein. Its fat profile is dominated by oleic acid (omega-9), with linoleic acid (omega-6) as the primary essential fatty acid. It is particularly rich in copper, with meaningful magnesium and zinc.

A close Indian relative, bhallātaka (Semecarpus anacardium), contains caustic alkyl catechols such as bhilawanols in its pericarp resin. In Ayurveda, once detoxified through repeated milk processing, it is used in conditions like āmavāta (rheumatoid arthritis) and asthma.

Cashew shells contain related phenolic lipids — anacardic acids, cardol, and cardanol — collectively known as cashew nut shell liquid. These compounds are structurally related to the irritants in poison ivy and must be neutralized before the edible seed is removed.

There is also a labor story. In Brazil and elsewhere, cashews are often shelled by poorly paid workers exposed to these caustic resins, leading to chronic burns and skin injury. Ethical sourcing matters.

For Canadian shoppers, I want to give a shout out to the folks at the NUT • HUT in Vancouver, a small business that takes care to ethically source their products. I buy all my nuts and seeds from them, and store them in my freezer to ensure good shelf life.

07/02/2026

Keep it real, friends!

05/02/2026

Avocado oil is often promoted as a “healthy high-heat cooking oil,” but this merges two very different products under one name.

Chemically, both extra virgin avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil are very similar. Both are dominated by oleic acid (typically ~60–75%); both contain chlorophylls, carotenoids, tocopherols, sterols, trace minerals, and free fatty acids; and both behave as true whole-food oils. These shared compounds provide antioxidant activity and nutritional value, but they also make both oils less stable under sustained high heat. In practical terms, extra virgin avocado oil behaves much like extra virgin olive oil: appropriate for salads, finishing, gentle sautéing, and low-to-moderate heat, not for frying.

The oil marketed for high-heat cooking is *refined* avocado oil. Through industrial processing techniques including degumming, neutralization, bleaching, and deodorization, naturally occurring pigments, antioxidants, trace nutrients, and free fatty acids are removed, leaving behind a simplified triglyceride matrix with a very high smoke point. And unfortunately, this high smoke point is achieved by stripping away the very features that make avocado oil comparable to extra virgin olive oil.

During deodorization in particular, the oil is exposed to temperatures high enough to generate altered lipid compounds and oxidation by-products that aren’t present in the fruit itself. These are the same classes of lipid derivatives associated with endothelial stress, insulin resistance, and inflammatory lipid signaling when refined vegetable oils make up a major portion of the diet.

Culturally, there is also an important clue. There is no traditional food culture where avocado or its oil is used for frying or high-heat cooking. Avocado has always been eaten fresh, mashed, or raw, reflecting its inherent heat instability as a fat.

Avocado oil can function as a whole-food oil, or as a high-heat oil, but it cannot be both at the same time. If you’re going to fry with an oil, the best options include ghee, regular olive oil, lard, tallow, or as they consume here in Brazil, red palm oil.

03/02/2026

Acerola, Malpighia emarginata, growing in my little garden here on Ilha de Boipeba.

The fruit is small, bright, and intensely sour because it is among the richest natural sources of vitamin C known in the plant kingdom. Fresh acerola can contain upwards of 5000 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of fruit, far exceeding citrus or even the much heralded amla fruit, used in Ayurveda.

While not native to Brazil it grows well here and is commonly consumed as food. The fresh juice is taken for colds and flu, fever, convalescence, and fatigue. It is used to support immune function, collagen formation, wound healing, and resilience to heat and sun exposure. Children often eat it straight from the tree despite the sour flavour.

Unlike isolated ascorbic acid, acerola delivers vitamin C together with flavonoids, anthocyanins, and carotenoids that stabilize and modulate its biological activity. This is one reason why the fresh fruit has a reputation locally as a health, and is more than just a vitamin C source.

01/02/2026

I’m here in Boipeba, a car-free island off the coast of Bahia in Brazil, our place surrounded by a tropical oasis full of plants I mostly don’t recognize. A few, however, are familiar. One became relevant after a shrimp moqueca left us with food poisoning. When he heard what happened, our very kind host Marcillio brought me a handful of fresh leaves from a plant he called “boldo,” with instructions to prepare as a simple infusion.

That caught my attention because I didn’t expect boldo (Peumus boldus) to be growing here. The herb of commerce I know as “boldo” is a tree native to Chile — a member of the Monimiaceae and related to the Lauraceae— that has tough, glossy, leathery leaves. The plant he showed me, however, was clearly something else: soft, pubescent leaves and a square stem characteristic of the mint family.

On closer inspection, I determined it to be Plectranthus barbatus (Coleus forskohlii). In India this plant is called Makandī, a lesser-known herb used in Āyurveda that I have utilized for circulatory and metabolic problems, including the treatment of glaucoma.

Here in Bahia, I learned that several different plants share the common name boldo. This one is sometimes specified as boldo brasileiro—the “Brazilian boldo.” While it has its own indications and uses in Āyurveda, it seems that locally it’s valued for digestive complaints and as a hangover remedy.

21/01/2026

Just arrived in São Paulo - on my birthday! 57 years young 😉 Had a great meal with coconut shrimp and cassava fries, and the went to “batman alley” to dance with my girlfriend and enjoy the amazing forró band ❤️ Check them out!

14/01/2026

I'm heading off to Brazil in a few days, and will be checking in here periodically for updates. I have had an affinity for Brazilian music for many years, and am looking forward to experiencing the country and culture first hand (and enjoying the sun!). I'll be there during Carnival and am being told that this is THE song of 2026. The lyrics of Ô Trampi (hey Trump!):

Pode aumentar imposto, pode espernear,
pode mandar cartinha, pode ameaçar.
Aqui tu não te cria, nós é caveira.
Laranja a gente come, fascista a gente queima.

You can raise taxes, you can throw a tantrum,
you can send letters, you can threaten.
You don't get away with anything here, we're tough.
We eat oranges, we burn fascists.

The reference to oranges is that the US doesn’t produce enough oranges for domestic consumption and thus imports from Brazil, but nonetheless put big tariffs on them and other things like coffee and bananas that the US doesn’t produce.

Also, the fact that Trump is orange-coloured.

Sharing some cross cultural love between 🇨🇦 and 🇧🇷.

01/01/2026

Within sixty to eighty years, you’ll likely be gone. Within a century, most people who knew you will be gone too, and in a few centuries, your name will almost certainly be forgotten.

Against the vastness of time and space, a human life is small. Your existence rests on an immeasurable chain of events that did not need to happen this way.

But they did.
You are here.
You are rare and unrepeatable.

No one will ever know, value, or care for your life more than you. So as you move into 2026, honour yourself—and in doing so, honour the humans, creatures, and plants whose lives intersect with yours.

As Gautama Buddha said after his awakening:

“Having searched all directions with the mind, one finds no one more dear than oneself. In the same way, all beings hold themselves dear. Therefore, one who loves themselves should not harm another.”
— Saṃyutta Nikāya 3.8

In a world where suffering is woven into existence, life may not always make sense. But to lessen suffering—even a little, in oneself and in others—is among the deepest and most meaningful acts available to us.

May 2026 bring you self-respect and self-love, and may that inward clarity move outward, shaping a life that leaves less suffering in its wake.

16/12/2025

Psilocybin (via psilocin) appears to act through serotonergic pathways involved in pain perception and regulation, while also inducing rapid neuroplastic changes and exerting immunomodulatory effects. Together, these mechanisms may help shift the nervous system out of a chronically sensitized state, particularly in centrally mediated and inflammatory pain conditions.

I developed Hipsilo, a stabilized microdose Psilocybe extract, in 2014 and have used it clinically for over a decade. For those interested in the technical and practical aspects, I teach the extraction method in detail in a comprehensive seminar through the Dogwood School of Botanical Medicine. For those who would rather not prepare it themselves, Hipsilo is also available directly—feel free to reach out for more information.

Links (on IG see profile):

Seminar ➡️ https://dogwoodbotanical.com/product/magic-mushrooms-in-clinical-practice/
Hipsilo ➡️ https://dogwoodbotanical.com/product-category/microdosing/

15/12/2025

As we only had a few hundred mL left in the dispensary, I was forced to harvest my first-year henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) root to prepare as medicine. I was a little sad to do so, as this means being deprived of this biennial’s beautiful inflorescence, particularly its haunting, urn-shaped seed pods. That said, I have plenty of seed and will be starting more next spring.

Although henbane is not a herb I use frequently, it is an invaluable antispasmodic whose application shines in urinary and visceral spasm, whether as an adjunct in severe urinary tract infection or autoimmune conditions such as interstitial cystitis. According to King’s American Dispensatory, henbane “is an excellent agent in irritable conditions of the bladder and urethra, where nerve force is low,” indicated in tenesmic voiding and incontinence. In medicinal doses it is described as “anodyne, hypnotic, calmative, and antispasmodic,” with its keynote being “nervous irritation, without congestion or high fever.” In Ayurveda, henbane (pārasīkayavānī) is used along with herbs such as kapikacchū (Mucuna pruriens) and aśvagandhā (Withania somnifera) in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (kaṃpavāta).

Henbane is one of our low-dose (“toxic”) herbs and must be used with care. We are preparing a fresh-plant maceration at a 1:2 ratio using 95% alcohol, meaning the resulting tincture will be dosed at exceptionally small amounts.

Henbane’s dark reputation is shaped in part by its historical use in European herbal beers. Ethnobotanist Christian Rätsch describes an older entheogenic brewing tradition (Pilsenkraut), in which henbane was used prior to the later hop-dominated beers that came to define modern pilsner. Before the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, brewing was often the domain of women and relied on complex botanical mixtures. Some of these brews were profoundly psychoactive, contributing to fear, demonization, and ultimately suppression. From this milieu emerged the archetypal image of the witch and her cauldron—a caricature that obscures the central role of female brewmasters in early fermentation and pharmacognosy.

07/12/2025

Just pulled the last of the beets from the garden - so yum! Here’s an excerpt from my borscht recipe, in Food As Medicine (2011):

Borscht is an important dish of both central Asia and Eastern Europe, eaten from Azerbaijan in the Caucasus Mountains all the way up through the Ukraine to Lithuania in northern Europe. Although prepared with a number of ingredients including cabbage and garlic, the nutritive and healing properties of borscht are a testament to beet root (Beta vulgaris), a reddish-purple colored root that is loaded with antioxidants including betanin, vulgaxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin. Studies have shown that beet root supports liver detoxification, enhances life expectancy in prostate cancer, and lowers blood pressure, protects the arteries and decreases platelet aggregation in cardiovascular disease. The sweet, grounding taste of beets is excellent for reducing both vata and pitta, useful to support the liver, and due to its high fiber content, to promote bowel regularity. Beets are also a good way to track intestinal transit time, to see how quickly the food is moving through your gut. While it is normal for beets to color the f***s and urine after eating, high levels of beet root pigments in the urine (beeturia) can be an indication of low stomach acid, anemia, malabsorption syndrome or food allergies.
 Borscht is traditionally made with lacto-fermented beets, although because the dish is cooked it cannot be considered to be a probiotic food. The purpose of fermenting the beets, however, is not for its probiotic benefits, but to break down indigestible fibers that result in chronic diarrhea and malabsorption if beets are eaten as staple. To make soured beets scrub well and cut off the ends. Grate the beets and add 3 tbsp. (45 mL) salt per five pounds (2.2 kg) of beet. Mix well in a large bowl and then stuff inside a crock or mason jar and let sit between four weeks to ferment, making sure that the brine sits above the surface of the beets to avoid spoilage. Once ready, the beets can be incorporated into the recipe below, omitting the red wine vinegar.

If you want the full recipe DM me!

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Beco Do Batman - Vila Madalena
São Paulo, SP
05436-100

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https://dogwoodbotanical.com/

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A little bit about me...

My name is Todd Caldecott, and welcome to my website! My training as a clinician in herbal medicine began in 1992 during my search to resolve a chronic digestive disorder I acquired while traveling on the cheap in India. In my search for relief I tried many different things including modern medicine, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy and Chinese medicine, but nothing seemed to shift my health issues until I met an Ayurveda physician named Dr T. Sukumaran. His simple and informed recommendations, which essentially taught me how to take care of myself, sparked what has now become a life-long fascination and study with Ayurveda and traditional medicine. Since this time, I went on to complete my training as a practicing medical herbalist, studied Ayurveda in India, and later becoming director of herbal college and publishing a textbook in Ayurveda. I have been in clinical practice since 1995, and have practiced all over the world, working with a variety of health issues from the common cold to cancer (for my c/v please click this link). Tradition is my inspiration. I explain this in large part because I was born without any kind of tradition. My cultural heritage is a product of being a native of the West Coast, now living in the traditional territory of the Tla’amin First Nations, on the western edge of the Western world – where East becomes West – suffused and tempered by the raw abundance and beauty of the Pacific Rim.

Tradition inspires but it is also the confluence of tradition that excites me, where connections and new insights can be made. As a practitioner with 20+ years of clinical experience, I have followed this intertwining of traditions and practices, and the more closely I have observed, the more clearly I have seen that all medicine has a common root. But at the same time, I have learned that there is no source of knowledge which is perfect, and thus the error of contradiction exists everywhere: especially in medicine. It has been my great fortune to see and learn the interconnected of all these systems, if only to account for some discrepancy, to solve a some conundrum, or to provide deeper clinical insight. I am interested in the very best option for good health and a balanced mind, and I am not hesitant in challenging beliefs and practices that run counter to these. But this doesn’t mean that I equate the value of health with anything other than the ease and happiness that it affords the user. Everyone makes personal choices, and I work with pretty much everyone. My only motivation is to get you to a place where you become more empowered. To book an appointment, please visit my clinic page at toddcaldecott.com/clinic.