Medicines live all around us

Hungover? Smoking like a Chinese factory? Gotta puke? Forget that crusty bottle of Pepto-Bismol, or the stash of expired Tylenol 3. There may be a cure for what ails you growing down the street. "Medicines live all around us," says Cease Wyss, a healer from the Squamish village of Ela7an in North Vancouver. "If we all took more time to heal ourselves, we wouldn't need to be so dependent on pharmaceuticals." Wyss, currently a coordinator at the Vancouver Native Health Society, has always known she would be a healer. Her traditional name, T'uy'tanat, translates roughly to "Woman that travels by canoe to give medicines to all people." "What a name, talk about pressure!" She jokes. But as a long-time health activist in the Downtown Eastside, Wyss lives up to the hype. She does, in fact, give medicine to all kinds of people—but mostly from behind the wheel of her classic aqua-blue muscle car. Wyss, who is also a media artist, brings an urban perspective to traditional health practices. She's currently working with the Vancouver Community Agriculture Network (VCAN) to establish a healing plant garden at the corner of Keefer and Gore. The garden is named Luk'Luki in honour of the First Nation village that once stood there, and will be a place where the community can grow their own medicines and learn about alternative healing practices. "It's something Vancouver has needed for a long time," Wyss says. Luk'Luki will start taking shape early next year, and anyone can get involved. In the meantime, Wyss suggests medicine-gathering around East Van. Areas like Strathcona, Mount Pleasant, and the Drive, which all have community gardens, make for especially good foraging. "When you are first learning about medicinal plants, it can be so overwhelming," she says. "Then a healer I met named Kayendres told me that we only need seven medicines in our whole life to keep us strong and healthy. Seven plants—now that's not so bad. " So, here are Wyss' top seven medicinal, West Coast plants that you can find in urban areas. Please identify them carefully. Not a whole lot of poisonous things grow in Vancouver, but the D in Deadly Nightshade does not stand for Delicious.

1. Plantain First Aid Kit “Plantain is your first aid kit on the ground,” says Wyss. “You can use it internally to deal with coughs and colds, and it’s great for cirrhosis and liver damage from hepatitis. It is also a strong lung medication and can help you quit smoking. Externally, it can be used for psoriasis and eczema, or bee stings and bug bites.” Identification: Plantain is everywhere. There’s probably some within a meter or so of you right now. Go look. It’s got leaves that have obvious parallel veins, and usually grows low and in clumps. Preparation: For internal use, brew two or three leaves, or about one teaspoon per cup. Drink as needed, five days on, five days off. For topical use, mash the leaves (or, if you feel tough, chew them up) and hold to the affected area. Alternately, throw some plantain leaves in your bath and steep yourself like tea.

2. Strawberry Leaf Diarrhea Fix “Berries are blood-building. Blood is red and white, and in strawberries you visually see these colours so it’s a clue,” says Wyss. “The seeds in berries scrub your colon and cleanse your whole system. And then if you eat too many, the leaves help if you have diarrhea.” Damn, mother nature thinks of everything. Identification: Come on, you know what a strawberry looks like. Remember we’re talking little hairy coastal strawberries and not the fat steroid ones from California. Preparation: For internal use, brew two or three leaves to a cup and no more. Drink as long as the diarrhea persists. It should clear within a few days.

3. Raspberry Leaf PMS Buster “When you have your period it is a missed pregnancy, so your body goes through what it would when you are giving birth,” explains Wyss. “Raspberry leaf is a great uterine tonic and muscle strengthener. It makes your uterine muscles contract less, so it reduces cramps and helps with PMS. I drank it during my labor, and it helped so much my midwives were just freaking out. Some women barely notice their contractions.” Identification: Raspberry leaves are much different than strawberry leaves. To tell them apart, think beard versus moustache. Strawberry leaves are always touching, like the full-face beard on a bush man. Raspberry leaves are always separate, like the well-trimmed ‘stache on a metrosexual. Preparation: For internal use, brew 2-3 leaves per cup. Drink through the whole period as needed.

4. Mint Hangover Cure Mint was originally a sexy nymph who pissed off the Greek goddess Persephone by flirting with her man Hades. As punishment, she was turned into a plant. Next time you are nursing a hangover and blush at last night’s tomfoolery, drink a little mint tea. “Mint is good for digestion,” says Wyss. “There’s a lot of different varieties. Catnip is a mint, so watch out. It calms the stomach but makes a cat crazy.” Identification: You could look for “lance-shaped oval leaves” or “white to pale purple flowers.” Or you could, you know, smell it. Preparation: Drink as you feel like drinking, whenever.

5. Yarrow Women’s Medicine “Yarrow’s life cycle follows a woman’s life cycle,” says Wyss. “In the early stages it is good for girls as they are becoming young women and softens the symptoms of puberty. In the next stage, when it’s leafy and before it gets a tall stalk, it helps women regulate their menstrual cycles and deal with PMS. In menopause, it helps alleviate hot flashes.” Identification: Yarrow’s leaves look like baby ferns and its flowers are white, pink or reddish. Preparation: Use about one teaspoon of new shoots for girls, one or two hand-sized leaves for women, and one teaspoon of flowers for menopause. Drink one cup a day for five days.

6. Kinnikinnick Bladder Warrior If you know what the letters UTI stand for and your fridge is full of cranberry juice, you probably need some Kinnikinnick. “It heals the uterine tract and is good for bladder infections,” says Wyss. “It makes you urinate, but unlike medication, it doesn’t burn and you can empty your bladder without any pain.” Kinnikinnick is also an Algoquian term for “smoking mixture,” and can be used to make an herbal tobacco blend. Identification: Kinnickinnick has leathery dark-green oval leaves that are a bit shiny. Flowers are pinky white and berries are bright red, like miniature apples. Alternately, go to the health store and ask for kinnickinnick by its other name, uva-ursi. Preparation: For bladder infections, brew 1 tsp of leaves per a cup. Drink 3 cups a day for 10 days. If it recurs, do it again.

7. Salal Diet Paradise “Salal berries are edible and when they get more sunshine they are sweeter. They are always juicy,” says Wyss. “The leaves can be chewed, but don’t swallow. You ingest the saliva and it is a survival method to help stave off hunger. So even if there are no berries you can still use the plant. Any of the berries help increase iron levels, it’s one way to help anemia.” Identification: Salal leaves are evergreen and leathery, with dark purple or blue berries and white flowers. It is a low plant when young, but grows into a large shrub. You probably won’t find this one streetside, but have a look around the seawall walk and Stanley Park, on your way to the snack stand. Preparation: Chew, chew, chew. Delicious.

For more information about the Luk'Luki medicinal garden or the Vancouver Community Agriculture Network and its partners, visit vcan.ca