Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale

Dandelions are members of the Asteraceae family. Which is one of the largest plant families in the world containing many plants like burdock, daises and sunflowers. There are more than 23,600 spices of Aster herbs shrubs and trees. There seems to be a quite divisive look at the dandelion in the current human approach to them. Some look upon them with aggression and consider them a weed that needs eradicating with toxic pesticides that also poisons pollinators, us, and pollutes the ground. Others want to protect them and understand their benefit to nature and humanity.

No one can deny that when Dandelion are in bloom that they can make a field glow in yellow brilliance. They are very often the first flowers and the first opportunity for bees to find nectar in the spring. Throughout the ages they have been some of the first food after a long winter for humans as well. They thrive in disturbed areas where many plants would not. They have deep penetrating roots that loosen packed soil and aerate the ground, they’ll even grow through concrete. Their seeds have a unique arial flight ability that makes them float like puffy parachutes. Children love to blow on them and make wishes to be passed along on the wind. They are common all over the earth, they follow where people live, and that can’t be a coincidence.

Dandelions are powerful medicine for us. Every part of the dandelion from root to leaf to flower are edible. Packed with nutrient dense phytochemicals like carotenoids and flavonoids. They contain vitamins A, B, and C and minerals like potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, and iron. The roots contain inulin which provides food for our beneficial gut microbes and is beneficial to healing leaky gut. In the spring the leaves and flowers are a lovely addition to salads and soups. Primary medicinal uses include loss of appetite and indigestion associated with impaired bile secretions and flow. Bitter foods are an ancient digestive aid to support the metabolism of oils and to support the absorption of oil-based vitamins, even if they didn’t quite understand the molecular activities they knew the benefits for digestion when eating foods with fat. Our gallbladders are responsible for secreting bile to support the digestion of oils.  Traces of bitters have been found on jars in Egypt, and Romans were known to place bitter herbs in their wine and food. Dandelion leaves are and ancient bitter food and have been used in bitters, they have been a go to for healing and supporting the gallbladder for centuries. If taken regularly as a decoction the roots can even prevent gallstones. The roots help to stimulate metabolic activity in the liver and help as an anti-dyscratic (blood purifier) the roots are a mild diuretic for chronic rheumatic complaints, atopic eczema, and minor inflammatory conditions of the genitourinary tract. Dandelion leaves are more diuretic than the roots (to enhance the effect be sure to drink more than two liters fluid throughout day). Dandelion roots are helpful in reducing the detox load on the liver.

I use dandelion roots along with burdock roots to help clear excess hormones and to help clear my skin when acne is present due to my menstrual cycle or when I eat dairy. (Which I try to minimize and only eat grass-fed when I do). An herbalist saying is that "the skin reflects the blood". So if you have skin issues it would be good to look at supporting the health of the liver and eliminating foods that exacerbate your conditions, which may be different for each person. In the flower stems of the dandelion there is a milky white juice, and it has been known as an old herbal remedy to put it on warts to eliminate them. The flower stems infused in water have been known help lower blood sugar.

 

The flowers themselves are lovely in salads, bakery products, soups, or eaten raw. They are filled with lutein an antioxidant and a type of carotenoid rich in vitamin A an oil soluble vitamin best when eaten with other oils to help with absorption of the vitamin. Lutein and vitamin A are known to be supportive to eye health, immune, and menstrual health.  It is also believed to help the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs to perform properly. Dandelion flowers are best when eaten with the bitter taste of the leaves to stimulate the bile ducts of the gallbladder. Many gallbladder ailments could be supported with the use of bitters before removing the gallbladder altogether. Many times, doctors’ resort to surgery first before considering a time-honored herbal remedy that is close at hand. But it is also good to remember that herbs are predominantly used as preventatives so by the time some people seek help they may need western medicine. Getting in touch with our bodies and what they tell us is important so that we can support them sooner and quicker as they need.

It is said that if a weed is growing near you or in your yard that you or your family could most likely benefit from the medicine that a plant has. The dandelion is our friend and knows we need it. That is why it follows humans wherever we go on the planet. 

Dandelion known Clinical actions: Nutritive, bitter tonic, liver tonic, cholagogue, diuretic (leaf more than root), choleretic, mild laxative, antioxidant, aperient (laxative), mild antispasmodic (GI), and liver alterative.

 

Dandelion is a detoxicant at all doses; smaller doses are more suitable as nutritive, restoring and supporting liver health, while large doses are for cooling and draining, moving, and clearing.

 

Contraindications: Do not use with active hot hepatitis, it may be ok with mild phase hepatitis. Do not use if biliary obstruction and in case of biliary abscess. In cases of nonobstructive gallstones it can be used with a healthcare professional’s guidance. Always work with your healthcare healing team. The milky juice may cause allergic contact dermatitis to persons sensitive to the Asteraceae family. 

 

According to Kings American Dispensary, “the root…should be collected while the plant is in flower, or preferably in autumn.”

 

The leaves are less bitter in the spring and are bitter to the point of inedible in the fall. So, gathering leaves in spring for your tinctures or salads would be best. I do this as they have begun to stop flowering so that the bees get the best use of them, but I also use the flowers in salads.

Dandelion Road Opener: Consider an oil infused dandelion root in a road opener oil formula. For its ability to break through and thrive in harsh conditions.

Dandelions as Flower Essences: are helpful when we are feeling tense, stiff, or one has been over worked and needs to let go and relax and release. The Dandelion Flower Essence brings calm to our inner world. Check out our Flower Essence Blog Link Here.

 

I have created a road opener flower essence formula for breaking through bad habits and the obstacles we place in our own emotional path to self-sabotage. This formula is to help release that which no longer serves, move us out of stagnation, and feeling stuck, carry us with compassion through the transition without listening to external or internal critics, while standing in our power and feeling calm and supported by our own Higher Selves.

 

Road Opener Flower Essence Formula

(1 drop each in 15ml (1/2 oz.) spring water Dropper bottle.)

Gentian

Walnut

Wild rose

Larch

Bindweed

Dandelion

Dose is 4 drops of the formula 4 times a day minimum may take more frequently as needed if feeling stuck and trapped and unable to move forward in personal power and self-compassion.

You can make or buy these flower essences if you wish or this can be made for you in-store at Herbs & Arts both the dandelion and the bindweed flower essences were hand crafted by myself Cynthia Killingbeck Certified Clinical Herbalist, Nutritionist, Flower Essence Practitioner, and part owner of Herbs & Arts.

Blessed Be!

 

By Cynthia Killingbeck CH, CN, FEP