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| mary ingredients in Essiac, an herbal formula reputed to heal cancer patients. |
| Burdock is also famous as a lymphatic cleanser and kidney tonic. The seeds are an effective diuretic for edema. Its diuretic action helps the kidneys to clear harmful acids from the blood, thus reducing fluid retention. As a mild bitter, burdock helps improve digestion. |
| Although burdock is effective as a bitter, its taste is not bitter. It has a rather mild and nutty flavor, somewhat like an earthy carrot without the sweetness, although some say it tastes like a blend of celery and potato. In Japan it is called gobo, and is highly prized as both a vegetable and medicinal herb. My friend, Toshiko, an extraordinary Japanese cook and director of a shiatsu school in Vermont, taught me to make this delicious dish with burdock: |
| Toshiko's Burdock-Carrot Sauté |
| 2-3 fresh burdock roots, scrubbed clean and sliced julienne |
| Dark, toasted sesame oil for cooking |
| 3-4 carrots, cleaned and sliced julienne |
| Tamari or soy sauce to taste |
| 1 large onion sliced in half and then in crescents |
| 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet |
| Steam the burdock roots until crisp-tender. Sauté steamed burdock roots in the oil until nearly cooked through; then add carrots and onions and cook until crisptender. Add sesame seeds and heat through. Season with tamari. |
| Cat's Claw |
| (Uncaria tomentosa) |
| Part used: Root and inner bark |
| Actions: Antiviral, antiulcer, antioxidant, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, antiseptic, hypotensive, sedative, vasodilator, antiasthmatic, antitumor |
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