Nutritives as Harm Reduction
I often see signs of deficiency in my practice - hints reflected on the body and through a person's symptoms that suggest they could use more of certain nutrients.
This makes sense. Between the rising cost of food and the prevalence of food deserts in North American cities, just filling one's stomach comes before thinking about optimal nutrition. For those with chronic illnesses (or even just those juggling work and family obligations), the spoons (i.e. capacity) that it takes to shop, cook, and clean up afterwards becomes another barrier. Even for those with ample access, industrial farming is slowly draining the nutrient density from our soils in certain places, meaning a meal today might not be as nutritious as the same meal was several decades ago.
On so many levels we live within systems that are not designed to sustain us; it's unrealistic to expect the average person achieve some standard of "optimal nutrition" within a context in which sustainability, and thus sustenance, is not prioritized.
Herbal Nutritives as Harm Reduction:
In herbal medicine we often refer to herbs that are nutrient dense as "nutritives." Loaded with a range of vitamins and minerals, they straddle the line between food and medicinal plant. Using nutrtitives as harm reduction acknowledges systemic obstacles to food access; many grow easily and abundantly, as if knowing that they have some gap to fill (these species also tend to grow in disturbed soils and are considered "repair species").
While I feel a bit allergic to the term "superfood," these herbal allies truly do fit the bill. A few of my favourites that grow in our bioregion are stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), oatstraw (Avena sativa), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Nettles, for example, contain generous amounts of Vitamins A, C, K and various Bs (including riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and a number of minerals and trace minerals including iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, copper, and silica, to name few, alongside a variety of antioxidants. And while you don't need to remember all of that, I do hope you'll think about nettles next time it's feeling hard to cook or access fresh veggies.
Here are a couple of easy ways to integrate these herbs into your life:
🌿 Overnight infusions: add a generous tablespoon to a jar of hot water and allow it to steep overnight - a long steep allows you to pull out as much of the mineral content of these herbs as possible. Strain in the morning and drink either cold or rewarmed. These herbs tend to taste, well, green - add something you enjoy the taste of like lavender or orange peel.
🌿 Add dried nettles to soups, stews, sauces, etc. If you’d like to try it fresh, aim for the early shoots next spring - you want to get it before it flowers. And don’t worry, cooking them neutralizes the sting!
I'm not saying here that infusions should take the place of food. They can, however, fill some gaps; time and again I've seen these herbs make a difference in my clients' energy levels and overall sense of wellbeing when included in a formula.
