Nettlejuice

02/16/2026

02/16/2026

Free Patreon post drop...

Get more from Nettlejuice on Patreon

02/13/2026

Another amazing article by Donnie Yance.
This illustrates beautifully why getting individual plant constituents into the bloodstream in high amounts is not always the best approach. For turmeric specifically, it is often recommended to take with black pepper for increased bioavailability. Or supplements of curcumin with black pepper offer even higher absorption rates. But we know that taking whole turmeric alone offers amazing benefits, even if very little is absorbed.

Donne writes...
When curcumin is ingested, it undergoes phase I metabolism to form several active metabolites—including dihydrocurcumin, tetrahydrocurcumin, hexahydrocurcumin, and octahydrocurcumin. During this metabolic process, the body also produces degradation compounds like ferulic acid and bicyclopentadione. While these phase I metabolites demonstrate beneficial biological activity, the phase II metabolites that form afterward—such as curcumin glucuronides and sulfates—have proven ineffective in independent studies.

In vivo studies confirm that these microbial metabolites, rather than unchanged curcumin, are the predominant compounds in circulation after consumption. This microbiome-dependent transformation explains why curcumin’s therapeutic effects exceed what its poor bioavailability would suggest.

“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change”  -Heraclitus

02/08/2026

New Patreon post...

Get more from Nettlejuice on Patreon

02/08/2026

There is still time to join my online Folk Herbalism course!
We start with the first class in just a couple of weeks.
This is my foundations course designed to give you the tools to get your personal herbal medicine practice off the ground and give you the confidence to work with the healing plants for you and your family.

To join, click the link in the comments to go to my Patreon page and sign up at the Meadowsweet Tier. You will get the monthly classes, access to the live Q&A sessions, plus all my regular past and present content, all for only $25 a month!

02/02/2026

We are excited to welcome April Coburn, Clinical Herbalist, to the Wholistic Team! 🌿

April comes to us with 30 years of experience working with herbal medicine, and has a special interest in working with menopausal women.

She offers herbal consultations for those who are seeking a holistic approach to reach their wellness goals, and combines herbal support, dietary recommendations, and lifestyle suggestions to address the root cause of one’s health issues.

Herbal medicine making is one of April’s great joys, and she is happy to formulate custom medicine for clients from her own in-house apothecary. She works with ethically sourced, quality plants to bring your effective and sustainable medicine. 🌱🪴

You can book an Initial Consultation with April on Mondays 9am-3pm. After your initial consultation, a 30-45 minute follow up visit 3-4 weeks later is generally recommended to allow her to check in, see how things are going with the plan, and make any necessary adjustments.

We are offering 20% off your first Initial Consultation with April during the month of February to help get your started!

Ready to start!? Schedule with April online via our website, or by calling the practice at 484.879.4046 ☎️

🌿

01/26/2026

I usually teach this herbal foundations course as a live, in-person course, but for 2026, I am taking a break from in-person courses. Instead, I am offering the Folk Herbalism course online as the first course in my new Patreon Tier. Every year, I will offer a new course for those who want more structured content.

When you join the Meadowsweet Tier, you will receive monthly classes that give you the foundations you need to become more confident in your work with plant medicine. I will discuss a different medicine-making technique each month, along with other topics, such as materia medica, harvesting, preserving, dosing, properties, energetics, formulating, and so much more.

If you have been wanting to take a foundations-level course, but cost or travel is an issue, this is a great opportunity. When I teach this course in person, the cost is between $900 and $1200 for 9 months. You can sign up for it now for only $25 a month! If you join now, you'll jump in right at the beginning. We will be having an orientation session in early February, along with material to get you ready. In March, we start with the first class and live Q&A session.

This course is especially fun to do with friends, as you can get together to make medicine and keep one another going.

Feel free to share with anyone who may be interested.

Herbal medicine is the oldest and most universal medicine on the planet. We all have ancestors had relationships with the healing plants. We can reclaim those relationships and renew those traditions.

To join me for this course, click the link in the comments and sign up for the Meadowsweet Tier.

Let's walk 2026 together in good plant medicine.

Link in the comments.

01/25/2026

Free Patreon post...

Get more from Nettlejuice on Patreon

01/21/2026

Registration is open for our next cohort!
If you have been meaning to join us, now is your chance. The next course begins on January 28th!
Join Cathy Skipper and me for 9 weeks of holistic menopause support.
Click the link for the course description and to join the course.
https://menopausealchemy.com/live-online-hybrid-menopause-course/

01/21/2026

Did you miss the Post-Menopausal Wellness Class?
You can purchase the recording to watch anytime.
https://www.patreon.com/c/nettlejuice/shop
Want to get all my recorded classes for a discount?
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1620616?view=expanded
Or, just subscribe to my Patreon and get instant access to all these classes, plus my library of over 200 previous herbal medicine posts, and regular posts delivered right to your inbox for only $5 a month.
https://www.patreon.com/nettlejuice

01/19/2026

First, a story...
When I was a young, bright-eyed aspiring herbalist in my 20s, I convinced my manager at the food co-op (where I was the herb and spice buyer) to send me to Iowa for the annual Herb Fest hosted by Frontier Herbs. Nowadays, herb conferences are a dime a dozen, but back then, this was literally the closest one to where I lived at the time (Delaware). To my surprise, she said yes, and paid for me to fly out to the flat land of Iowa and hang out with a couple of hundred plant geeks for 3 days.

By the time I got to the conference, the talks had already started, so I ran to the first tent and squeezed myself in to hear Stephen Buhner say the words, "bacteria are sexy". Stephen's talk was about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and boy, did it make an impression on me. After that talk, I understood how amazingly quickly bacteria can share information, how well they decode simple chemical structures, and how much we humans overuse antibiotics, speeding up the time that resistance is developed. I also understood that antiseptic herbs, in their whole form, are much more complex and therefore much harder to decode. So hard, in fact, that herbs that were effective against many strains of bacteria hundreds or thousands of years ago are often still effective today.

Now, this doesn't always translate to herbs having the same efficacy as antibiotics in the human body. Many of our antiseptic herbs are not useful systemically (though they are great for topical use or passing through the digestive system, or wherever they can come into direct contact with the bacteria). However, there are a handful of herbs that do work systemically, and one of them is called cryptolepis.

(Read the rest over on Patreon)

Get more from Nettlejuice on Patreon

01/11/2026

While colds are usually relatively mild and tend to clear up within a week, the flu can be much more debilitating. Both are caused by viruses, which is why antibiotics are not effective. Once we have started to show signs of a cold or flu, the body has already started mounting a defense. The sooner we act to support this process, the better chance we have of lessening the severity and duration of the illness. For this reason, I recommend having herbs and formulas on hand throughout the season. If we have our supplies ready, we can start getting good herbs in the system as soon as possible.

We all know those signs of the beginning stage of illness: achy feeling, exhaustion after minimal effort, and headache. Remember, even before fever is present, we are contagious. Take precautions to minimize spreading the infection and start taking care now.

It is important to get lots of rest. Rest as much as possible. Remember, the body is mounting a defense. We can support the process by resting, simplifying our diet, and using herbs to support the healing process.

If a fever does develop, remember that it is part of the body's attempt to create an inhospitable environment for the virus. We can support this process without suppressing the fever. If, however, a fever gets over 104 degrees, please seek medical advice.

Also, remember that fighting off a cold or flu (especially the flu) takes a lot out of us. If possible, be gentle easing back into normal activity when you start feeling better. If we take the time for convalescence after illness, we can greatly reduce the chance of a secondary infection occurring.

The suggestions below are intended for relatively healthy folks with uncompromised immune systems. I you have a compromised immune system, serious medical conditions, are elderly, or caring for a baby, please seek appropriate medical care.

This is for educational purposes only.

10 Herbs to support recovery from cold and flu...

Read this post on Patreon... https://www.patreon.com/posts/cold-flu-my-147958465