Herbs for Spring
Clear the gunk out and flood yourself with nourishment
We are finally awakening into a new year!
Setting aside the Gregorian calendar for a moment — we’ve already spiritually crossed into a new year once. First at Chinese New Year, the Year of the Horse, and now we’re arriving at the spring equinox on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, landing tomorrow on March 20th, which is my personal favorite. Spring feels like an actual opening. Something loosens. The light changes. The body knows. And I can’t wait because …
the body wants to move things out!
Spring is the season of cleansing — of supporting detoxification and digestion so that our elimination pathways can do their job smoothly. If that happens, we have more energy, shed what’s no longer working at a cellular level, and revitalize our whole system aaaahhh. In both TCM and Western herbalism, spring belongs to the liver. And the liver wants to be woken up with the taste of bitters.
Bitter herbs — dandelion & arugula (accessible fresh leafy’s found at markets), gentian root, artichoke leaf, orange peel, lemon — stimulate bile production, which helps us break down and absorb healthy fats, curbs sugar cravings, and gets digestion moving. Dandelion greens are a personal favorite — famously considered a weed, but one of the most nutritionally dense plants you can put in a salad or juice. But it’s very bitter so I only chop up a a few leaves to add to my salads, or i juice a small handful or light sauté like I would spinach with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
Sulfuric foods do their own heavy lifting here too: garlic, onion, artichokes, spring onions, broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and bok choy.
A few drops of digestive bitters before a meal is one of the simplest things you can do to improve how you absorb nutrients, reduce bloating and gas, and support better bowels. Better Bitters from Herb Pharm is always in my purse, especially for an impromptu dining out experience or the Bitter Tonic from Wise Woman Herbals. You can get it on my Fullscript in the Gut Health catalog.
Along are some of my favorite spring herbs I like to make an iced tea from…
Chickweed — cooling, anti-inflammatory, and nutritive (floods you with nourishment). Wonderful for skin, supports gentle detox, aids in debloat and water retention. It’s slightly demulcent (kinda gooey) which helps to soothe an irritated digestive tract.
Cleavers — a lymphatic herb that works quietly and effectively. Cleavers is a bit sticky, sticking to the gunk in your digestive walls, helping to move it out. so good! This one is best taken as a cold infusion.
Yellow Dock Root — especially for those who lean toward constipation or feel a little digestively stuck from winter foods - dense, rich, over cooked foods. Gently stimulates the bowels, supports bile flow, and is a good source of plant-based iron.
Burdock Root — One of my personal favorites and also floods you with nourishment. Slightly sweet and deeply detoxifying and nutritive. Contains inulin, a prebiotic that feeds beneficial gut bacteria, supports the lymphatic system and stabilizes blood sugar levels.
Milk Thistle— especially if you’ve been drinking more than usual or picked a habit back up. Silymarin, its active compound, is one of the most well-researched liver protectants from substance damage.
I purchase my loose herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs, Monterey Herb Co. or in-person at Earthen Soul in the LA area.
As you begin to open yourself up to spring…
what do you want to bring in? and how do you want to feeel while you do it?
I’d love to really take on the fire horse energy and bring in more action and better time management towards my goals while also having patience and feeling calm and confidence because most good things don’t happen over night…or do they? Only the fire horse will tell. But mainly more action and less doing of the smaller tasks that take up my brain space. What about you? Would love to know.
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Go plaaay! xoxo Lyssandra