questioning a lot about like what we were doing as a society. For me at least, it feels like it binds with my psyche in a way. So, how did you even get into herbalism and plants? Like, what was that moment that knew this was for you? I think I was kind of like bred to be in herbalism a bit. It's a rose, but it's such a powerful heart opener. Hey there friends and family. Welcome to Florindon podcast. I have been on the search for understanding which different herbs and plants and medicines would
help with different categories. So, are you dealing with bloating, depression, anxiety, acid reflux, opening your heart a little bit more, deeper connections with the people around you? Well, today I sat down with Janine and she is an herbalist and we talk about the different herbs that can help with different things. So, this is going to be a very juicy episode today. First, Janine talks about her background in her Caribbean roots and there was a pivotal moment in 2014 where there's an
awakening. She has a background in psychology which led her to question the mainstream meds. So, big pharma. I think we're all kind of on that same wagon, if you will. Uh, so we dive into kitchen chemistry. We talk about blue lotus. I I'm very interested about Blue Lotus. I don't know if I really feel what people are supposed to be feeling with Blue Lotus, but I've been trying different extracts. So, we actually cover some of those brands and companies and small
businesses throughout the episode. We also talk about different plant allies for healing emotional health, ghost pipe. We talk about flower essence and how they're underrated. And then we go into, you know, the remedies like I started off this episode with like anxiety, sleep issues. I think a lot of people are not getting enough sleep. I'm going to be real honest. And then we have allergies. So, a lot of people take mushroom coffee for the bloat aspect to
decrease bloating. So, is that all fake or are there other plants that can help you with that? So, let's dive into this awesome episode where we balance the connection with plant medicine with Janine. All right, let's dive into it. Hello, Janine. Welcome to Flora Funga
podcast. Uh, super excited to have you on just because I am selfish and I like to talk about plants and I feel like a lot of people like to talk about mushrooms more and mushrooms have all the hype, but I want to take it back and talk about herbalism, maybe some foraging just in general or plant medicine. So, how did you even get into herbalism and plants? Like, what was that moment that knew this was for you?
So I think I think I was kind of like bred to be in herbalism a bit because um my grandmothers were um big into herbalism. So I have a Caribbean background. Um my mom's side's from Guyana, South America, and then my dad's sides from Trinidad and Tobago. So they were very big on folk medicine. And so growing up, I just kind of watched them as we were sick just like, you know, crush up this leaves, throw this like orange peel in and that kind of thing and be like, you know, drink this and we
would be better. Um, and so I think from that standpoint, like it's always been in me, but you know, you grow up and like that wasn't certainly a part of my generation. Like we weren't doing anything like that. So I think you like things behind and then like at a really critical moment you come back to it. And um I think it was probably around like 2014ish um you know where I really started
diving back into it very seriously. I think I was like just going through my own spiritual awakening and just questioning a lot about like what we were doing as a society in terms of how we're medicating people and and truthfully I think I've always been
doing that. I have a psych background and I distinctly did not go into clinical psych for the simple fact of like I didn't like the way we just kind of like medicated people and that was like the model um rather than getting to the root causes of why someone may suffer from any particular mental affliction. Right. So it's it's been like a slow burn. But if you know we're talking about where I dive I start to dive in like more intentionally it probably was like around 2014.
Okay. Okay. And did you come across a specific plant that kind of made you realize or re-recognize what you really found passion in? I think that a lot of what I started with was really like the kitchen kind of
chemistry, right? Um I don't I think people don't give enough credence to like how much things we just keep in our cabinets can be medicinal right what I saw my grandmothers do right so you know cinnamon's very warming um you know rosemary is kind of something that's like great as a decongestant type thing and I knew things like that and I had my own kids so I was also kind of looking for ways to not have to always be pumping them with an antibiotic or
something like that. And so I think I was looking at that first, but then eventually um it became like blue lotus and rose working with those two, okay, were kind of like my first inclination into like let me deal with this plant, work with it and like understand all its properties and how it works with me, right? And then from there I just it just kind
of blew up. like I just got more and more curious because I mean in the case of rose like it's a very simple thing right it's just like oh it's a rose but it's such a powerful heart opener um and it it helped me tremendously to ground in a way that I didn't expect. Yeah. So I think from there and blue lotus the same. I think that was like kind of my first um foray with like an enthogen.
Okay. It was like it kind of put me in this other kind of state that I had never really experienced before and like okay this is interesting. Not only is this expanding me, I can feel that beyond just, you know, having it active in me, but also like my dream cycle became crazy result like it just felt very expansive and very grounding. And I think from there I was like, okay, I definitely want to continue on this path and learn these plants because it seems to me
there's something for everything. That was where I was at with it. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. And I feel like yeah, a lot of people have like a spice cabinet and they're just like this is for cooking, but you don't really think about how you could use like lavender or pepper or things like that. So, I definitely want to dive more
into the blue lotus. I did have a friend that kind of would bring that to ceremonies and stuff, but I I guess I don't really understand really where where it stems from and what do people really use it for. Yeah. So, blue lotus, as far as I know, goes back to like ancient Egyptian times. Okay. Uh, and so they used to use it ceremonially. Um, I think to kind of like channel things from like in the dream state because, you know, they were very big about like the afterlife and
things of that nature. So, they used it in those ways, but they also used it ceremonially, I believe, as like an aphrodisiac. Oh, interesting. Um, and so I've experienced both ends of those of that spectrum. But I also think it's an incredibly grounding and loving medicine. If you are, you know, just maybe in a frenetic state or very stressed, it's one of those things that you brew a cup of it and it feels like a warm hug to me. Dream state might be a little crazy that night.
Um, and by crazy, I don't mean that in like, you know, a a really off-putting way. I just that like it expands you in a way where your dreams are just not as simple as the last thing you saw on TV or what you dealt with that day. Like it definitely felt to me or has felt to me because now many moons pass. Um like astral travel. I mean it's like you feel like you're living an existence in another realm. Very Marvel multi type intrigued stuff. Yeah. And it's and the thing with
it is that it's been this way. I've used it enough to where now it's been like this for a long time. So I don't believe that like it opens you and then you just close up. I think if with prolonged use it kind of ex blows your mind. Okay. So it's kind of like a supplement where you take the more you kind of take the more you kind of feel you know benefit. I feel like it works. I feel like it
binds with your body. I don't know the science behind it, but for me at least, it feels like it binds with my psyche in a way where um my dream cycles are just not what they used to be before and that was even before having like a magic mushroom experience. So, right. Okay. And is there other herbs that you would kind of com like combine with that for other purposes or do you kind of just take that on its own and it does its own thing
on its own? It's quite powerful calming um you know a slight bit of euphoria you know like all the good things that we want out of right a plant but also pairing that so I've had it as a ceremonial wine. Oh, that's a very powerful thing. It's like you drink just the littlest bit of it. But that is a powerful aphrodisiac. Okay. As well as pairing it with like damiana can be really nice too for like re any kind of reproductive things.
Oh yeah. like you know your menstrual time or if you have a really hard time um during your lutil with PMS or any that it can be very grounding that with the damian kind of helps with like cramps and things of that nature. Okay, awesome. And we kind of talked about rose. Uh so how does how how would you kind of use rose if you were going for that heart opener? What do people also kind of use rose with since it's just a simple flower that you know everybody knows about?
Simple flower, but it's you know it's so much more than that. I mean I think I use rose a lot. I use rose water on my face. Okay. Um rose powdered down is what I was using. So it's almost the equivalent of like a matcha if you think about it. So you know how you kind of like whisk it? It's a very earthy taste. Mhm. Um but like almost like making a ceremonial grade matcha or even cacao,
you can drink that. So like I would make I would put like coconut milk and um date syrup and like cinnamon like very warming things. Okay. And it's it's kind of just I mean when you think about rose and why people give it it's a beauty type flower. though I feel like it gives you that feeling. And I think that's like what's really cool about herbalism is that there every plant has a certain energetic to it. Okay. Work with it enough, you'll come to know kind of like what its archetype is, you
know? So rose is like that that really sweet and that very like loving girly like, you know, there's nothing harsh about it. It's a really good thing to do, you know, maybe days even before going into a journey, for instance, something that's a little heavier. Um, I think that's a great way to prepare because we talk a lot, you know, in the community about preparation and, you know, making sure that you go into a journey in the best possible way. I think rose is a really nice one to go.
Yeah, I like that. Hm. And have you done uh any work with mushrooms or are you kind of more central around um herbs and things like that? No, me and mushrooms are great friends. Yes, we can dive into some mushrooms. Yeah, I've done some, you know, I've done some pretty hefty journeying, but um just like even from a maintenance standpoint, I micro I'm one of that believes in it. Um, I don't think that it has to be like an a thing you do like
on, you know, all the time. But I do think that when you find yourself slipping, cuz I think we don't talk about that enough is like we talk about this journey and we sell people on how magical it is and how it changes. It's true. But also, I think like there are moments or things that life throws you or continues to throw you where you're like, I don't know if I've been on a journey at all because I'm not handling this well or I don't
feel like I'm handling this well. And I think that's where like micro dosing can be really pivotal. um just even three days of it depending on the strain can kind of like snap you back to some of those core lessons that we tend to learn in, you know, ceremony or in a journey. Yeah. Yeah. And some people definitely pair, you know, those types of mushrooms with lion's mane to kind of have that
neuroplasticity. Is there other plants that you or other combinations that you would say that's also beneficial besides maybe rose that we were saying? Yeah. Um, so Bobin sauna for me has been nice. Another nice heart opener that I like to use as almost a data like just like maybe the week or two weeks before. Okay. Never heard of that.
Um, I think particularly if you know that you're dealing with a lot of things in the heart space, Bob Sana has a really interesting way of bringing that up to the surface. Okay. Um, and for me again, you know, a lot of these things we call non-specific amplifiers, right? Because we can't really extrapolate what the experience will be personto person, right?
Right. So, I I preface that with saying for me, but like everybody's for Bob and Sana, I think um getting a lot of that like emotional stuff out before the journey I think is helpful. Yes.
Right. Because for some people they go into the journey with that stuff and in my personal opinion I think sometimes that is where um if enough preparation isn't done and even if there is preparation sometimes depending on the strain that can be the difference between a good trip and a bad one right if you can work with something that's a little gentler than whatever you're going in with be it IA or whatever and deal with some of those things pri prior
to your journey. It's my belief that you could have possibly a smoother journey and not have to have as many bad trips, which I would think we'd want to minimize because that, you know, it's like trauma on trauma. Yeah. I mean, the experience as it is can be a lot on the body, right?
ingesting these things. And then when you layer that on top of like deep emotionality, very traumatic, hurtful things that perhaps you haven't dealt with or thought about in a while, you can easily see how things can go left. Yes, absolutely. Um, and since we kind of talked about, you know, those types of emotions with mushrooms, uh, I think in our discovery call, we were talking about grief and some of the the botanicals or herbs that could be helpful with that. Um, what would you
suggest? Obviously, if you don't want to do the mushroom route and then you kind of unpack all of this during, uh, what's other kind of things that you could use? So, I will say I want to say this before
I share exactly what they are. There are I think it's important for people to understand that there are a lot of things in the herbal world that like the powers that be that you know want you to spend money with Santa Fe Aventus and all the rest of them you know they'll tell you that these things are dangerous and the reality is is it's true there are things in the herbal world that could kill you right know what you're doing and so you do need to be careful
but the things that I'm going to share I mean if you look them up, they'll say, you know, they're deadly. They're poisonous. And yes, they are, right? But when you're dealing with makers, if you're making sure that you're dealing with makers that know what they're doing andor you're doing your studying, then you'll know exactly how to deal with that. Um, so one of them has been um, data. Dura is poisonous. It's a beautiful
flower. It's white. It's got petals. Um but if you just actually use I guess the flower material. Um so a lot of makers u make that into a flower essence. So not necessarily it's not like the lengthy process you go through with like a tincture where that like months and months of sitting and extraction like a flower essence is something you can simply I've made them
on a really nice sunny day. You can literally just get the material, put it in like a glass jar with some spring water and maybe some other things that you know just to like flavor it and just it extracts in a few days you have something that's completely usable. Um so I think that's what they're doing with it. But I've worked with it a number of times particularly for grief. And there is you will not be able to refuse
what data brings to you. And in other words, whatever you're not trying to face, you'll face it and pretty quickly. You know, it's a situation where you take it and it's also um an analesic, a powerful analesic. So it it really helps with pain and Okay. So immediately there's a calm. Oh, cool. But with prolonged use over the next few days, suddenly, you know, I'm like crying profusely. And I mean profusely. And like, oh, okay. This is what you're here to do, right?
Um, but it is so cathartic and it's exactly what you need. And when you when it calls to you, I believe like it's what exactly what you need. M is very cathartic and in in my estimation um gentle very gentle I mean much more gentle than going into and I haven't done Iawaska but from what I've heard going into a mushroom ceremony I mean it's not like that but it's almost like a friend going like they're there oh doesn't it feel better to get that out now you know yeah that's a little different,
right? That kind of thing. Um, and you feel so much better, so much light, at least a for me after using it. So, that's been one. Ghost pipe is another one. Yeah. So, ghost pipe is another one that everybody's like, "Oh, don't touch it." I find ghost pipe fascinating for the simple fact that it kind of it's this translucent kind of ghostly looking thing, you know, and it it kind of like gathers and bunches and feeds off of whatevers. And I think that's kind of cool.
Yes. Parasitic plant. I love it. Yeah, it's very parasitic. Um I don't feel like it makes you that though. I do think again similar to deter it has this um very big calming factor and I think it it makes you where deter has you kind of purge a lot of emotionality. I feel like ghost pipe does that but also makes you think
different. It's very good for so like where data might be like at the beginning of your grief ghost pipe would be kind of like okay now I'm ready to transition I'm ready to transcend uh where that state of being in grief or that mourning I feel like ghost pipe is like that nexus of like okay we're ready what do we need to be thinking about as we move forward um okay yeah like a integration of some sorts Mhm. Cool. Cool. We're And you were
mentioning the the essence. If people don't know, is that more of like a topical or an aerosol or an oral? So, it's oral. Yeah, it's oral. Um, so it's similar to a tincture. It's just that it's going to be probably less like of the alcohol or if you use glycerin, you know, different types of tinctures. It's a faster way to extract material from something without going through all that you go through,
right? Cuz like when I'm making tinctures, I could have material sitting sometimes four months, six, depending on what it is to really really get all that you can get out of it. With a flower essence, it really is like a few days. Okay. Okay. you would take like a little, you know, under your tongue type thing. And so would you think it's not as obviously like potent or concentrated because it hasn't been sitting or since it's a different That's the thing. It's okay.
I think I think it's just a different it's a different extraction method I guess is what I'm saying because often times with a flower essence we're using like sunlight um to do that and and so that's a different frequency in and of itself. I think with flower essences there's a sense that it's it's a little bit lighter of whereas tinctures can be extremely potent you know to the point of it being
it's medicine. I mean, because every time you get like those components plus the alcohol working together, it's not even any longer. Whatever that medium is, it's a medicine. Yeah. True. Yeah. And like fast absorbing because of that alcohol, too. Like it's like super quick. Yeah. Okay, cool. Just wanted to explain that
if people weren't familiar. Um, you kind of were mentioning also like if a plant is calling to you to use um or you know practice this type of medicine, how would somebody know if it's calling to them? Like what does that really kind of feel like? I think for me at least it was a situation where a certain plant just kept coming up in my consciousness a lot or in my face. Like when it came to
mushrooms, I knew about it. But honestly, it scared me at first because everything that I ever knew about it, at least what they taught us from young was like, "Oh, it's a hallucinogenic and it this stuff and it'll make you psychotic." And I'm thinking, you know, my mind is my job. Like I I don't have the luxury of losing my mind at all. So, you know, I took a lot of years to really like watch the space and watch people and like understand more before I
jumped in. But the more I did that, I was like, "Okay, this thing is very loudly." And it really has been a situation where whenever I needed something in specific or I was meant to it just was like in my face somehow on Instagram and like someone's talking about it or you know something really serendipitous. I think if it happens enough, you should at least look into it, right? Even a thing of like go buy it, whatever. It's not that at all. It's just it's probably asking you to look me up.
Yeah. More about me and decide how this, you know, works in your life and if it's something that could be beneficial and and then take it from there. I think that's how practical it was for me. Yeah. Cool. Well, thank you for sharing that. Um, I guess we'll keep going down like the the this the symptom list that
maybe people are interested in. Um, if a lot of people are struggling with maybe anxiety or panic attacks, is there a specific combination that you would recommend that has worked for you maybe in the past or for anybody you've talked to? So I think there's a lot to unpack there because a lot of people who have asked me for alternatives are also on some
sort of you know benzo or whatever. So like you have to be so careful because there's a range you have like really light things you can use for anxiety and panic attacks and then it gets like to the point of a nervine. I've been on both ends of the spectrum. At the point that you're dealing with like a nerve vine, you're substantially anxious, I have to be honest. And your body's maybe not trusting you and you're kind of wigging out. And now you need something that's
more like a sedative. And that does not work well with, you know, most or SSRIs or any of that stuff. So, you have to be mindful. But um lavender to give an example of the spectrum, lavender would be on the light end, right? No kind of psychotropic anything. It's just naturally calming. Chamomile as well. I I find that to be a fairly light something. Lemon bomb as well. I've
grown it. It's wonderful. It's, you know, I would say if you're minimally stressed, those are probably, but you know, you need a little something to take the edge, those are probably some of the simplest things you can take that won't send you into like a deep coma or sleep,
right? Um but situations like a few years back where I was just dealing with a lot um death of my dad and a bunch of other things and I was just in a lot of pain and also anxious and one of the things that was extremely helpful to me then was um this bark called malongu. Um it's actually from the Amazon and they powder it up. It's a very uh sandlike texture.
um to drink, but you kind of boil it down and make like almost a decoction, but it's this it's a certain type of thing that like when you take it, you'll sleep for a lot of hours, but when you wake up, it's like you're you're full. And so apparently in the Amazon they would use that as a sedative for people, you know, either if they were having like a tooth extraction or something extremely painful, they would use that for that or someone um who they would say had what they call sust.
So it's like this state of where like your body is like whatever you're experiencing is beyond what your body can take in, right? So if you think of your body as an energetic spear, it's kind of like, okay, everything you're taking in the stress, the anxiousness, your environment, your body can is at capacity for what it can hold. So cup is full. Your body's now starting to dissociate. Oh, okay.
So something like mulongu or a nervine, any other nerve vine would be something to kind of like ground you back in your body. Okay. basically. Um but then like in the middle you have passif flora um which is from the passion flower. Yep. Which is really good. Wood betany is another that's really good for anxiety and panic attacks. It's actually really great. Um they sell them as a tincture. So that's kind of the spectrum, you know,
like you get where you fit in. You should be able I think a lot of this I have to say is really dependent on you knowing your body, right? You're the certain type of person that is just like I go to my doctor, I go to the urgent care and they're going to tell me what I feel. Then
I'm probably not for you. like what I'm saying is probably not for you because a lot of this really depends on you knowing where you're at and how you're feeling and choosing something that makes the most sense for that. Right. No, good point. Mhm. Um and let's see what else. Uh a lot of people have been coming up to my farmers market stand and asking about allergies. And so obviously they're asking about like mushrooms um um helping with
allergies. And I do know a little bit that chaga could be beneficial, but I also always say you should look into stinging nettle and things like that cuz that's what's always been helpful for me making my own stinging nettle tea. Um, also it's got like protein in there and I just love how it's got like nutrients and it's a tasty vegetable. Um, so would you have anything to add to uh dealing with allergies at all? Yeah. Um, so stinging nettle, love that.
Um, chaga rishi also mushrooms. The combination of those two actually. Okay. Really good. Um, I would say echynasia is a good one too. Okay. Um, just because I feel like it deals a lot with the mucous aspect of allergies. Like often times people are not so much dealing it's not just like what's in the air but then when that stuff starts to create mucus and post-nasal drip and you want to deal with that quickly before it ends up like in your chest. Mullen is really good too.
Yep. Um black seed oil. Okay. Oil of oregano. the combination of taking those um on a fairly regular basis when you're having like high histamine is actually a really good thing. Mhm. Yeah, good point, too. And but I feel like a lot of a lot of people maybe not don't know about the high histamine foods as well. So sometimes Yeah. How does that So here's the thing. Histamine is like something that's naturally in our bodies. Yeah. Um, and we have like normal things that regulate all of that.
Pretty much most of our foods I have to submit are highamine. I mean, unless you're eating like a super raw diet, um, you're dealing with it. I think it's just like taking things that balance that and knowing like what your threshold is. Like I know for me, I haven't had seasonal allergies in a good long while, but I used to suffer with
them. But now it's a thing of like if I go too many days eating like fermented cheeses or um if I drink alcohol, which is not really like my thing on a regular basis, then I find myself congested. Those would be like my go-to. So I think it's like really specific to the person, you know? I mean, it could be deli meat for one person, it
might not be for another. So again, it comes back to what I'm saying about like a lot of this um really is calling people to get to know themselves in a way that they've just kind of given that agency away to doctors. I'm not saying I'm not anti that, but I am saying that it would help even your primary physicians treat you better if you understood what's going on in your body and mind. Absolutely.
You know, like all of it. Yeah. Yes. No, I'm really really glad you mentioned that just because I I have an autoimmune uh disease and when I have too much dairy, I notice right away I sneeze like so much so much sneezing and then I have allergy symptoms. Um so yeah, it really depends on the person and people hate hearing that at the market. I'm like, well, have you focused on sleep? Have you focused on diet? You're holding an
an alcoholic beverage right now. like you know it's it's not all of these won't cure you but you have to work on you know all of those other things and this is a good supplement to add um if you have dialed some of those in. So I'm really really glad that you you mentioned that. I'll add another nettle. So nettles in general are good and you brought up stinging nettle but one of the ones that showed up when I wasn't expecting it was um I think it's called a purple dead nettle.
long. It's got like these little purple flowers on it. And I think a lot of people cuz I probably did too until I recognized it. I think people think it's a weed. And so when springtime comes, they just, you know, their landscaper comes or they're doing it, they just pull it up or whack it. But it is an amazing allergy medicine. I've made a tincture with it um for my kids and it does work and I've used it myself. So yeah, I mean there's a lot of things in
our yard. I think the whole landscaping business like has conspired against us having like the things we need to survive on planet Earth literally because I mean when you think about something like that and even like dandelion, right? Yes. Yes. Somebody's uh weed is another person's treasure, whatever the saying. Right. Right. Yeah. Absolutely.
And we we did mention, I guess, like more relaxing uh herbs and and mushrooms, but if people are trying to focus on sleep and I even know people that if you if they take melatonin, they get nightmares. I don't know how that works or how that really is, but uh what type of herbs would you recommend? Maybe that would be soothing or help people sleep through the night or maybe get a little bit more relaxed before bedtime?
Sleep's a funny thing. I think that similar to like anxiety and any of these other things like I'm always not wanting people to come like super reliant on these things. Y whether they're natural or synthetic, right? And I think a lot of it also has to do with our rituals. A lot of people have bad sleep rituals. Yes. Um scrolling on your phone is probably not the best. like going to sleep. Um, you know, working from your bed is
probably not the best thing. And from for some people even like TV watching, like if you know you're like a serial TV watcher, maybe not having a TV in the bedroom is something. But I, you know, I think starting small and like looking at what you do right before that's supposed to happen, like really get yourself into a ritual, whether that's like making taking a a bath, a warm bath helps. Um,
particularly with Epsom salts. So like they're really great Epsom salts on the market that have like lavender in it and chamomile, like very calming herbs. I think that's a really nice way to end the night. Um, plus it's magnesium and that helps you sleep. Taking some level of magnesium before you go to sleep is good. There's some powders that are really nice that they mix in really well with like just water. Wooden spoon herbs actually is a really good brand. Okay, good.
Blue magic one that comes with like blue spirulina in it and it tastes almost like lemonade. So, yes. But it cal, you know, it just starts to get you in that state of calming down. Um, anything lavender, chamomile, paci flour is going to be good. Placifyan I would do any day over probably. I've never used it, but I something about it has never like called me. For sure. Um, in some tea before you go to bed. I I don't see how that would fail anybody
at all. Um, and you know, again, it's like you use these things for a time, but I don't ever suggest it like having to be your nightly thing. In time, you should find, you know, even if it's just a few months of using it, in time, you should find that your body reeregulates itself
and does the thing it's meant to be. Cuz I think that's also the problem is like there's so much information out there about supplements and take this thing and I think we forget that like our bodies are so intricately designed that they're designed to do all these things. Like you're designed to sleep for a certain amount of hours like normally you're designed to digest things properly, right? And that shouldn't be a problem. And so like when they become a problem, they're root causes to it and
you should absolutely address them. But then when you're done addressing them, then allow your body to relearn how to show up for you again. Yeah. And I I find that if I eat like 2 hours before bedtime, it also keeps me up. Like my my digestion is active, but other people, they eat right before they go to sleep and they can fall asleep easier. And I feel like that's really weird how everybody's different. Everybody I mean really truly different. I mean down to just how much sleep we
all need. Like I think there was a time like early on in my business where like I was maybe getting all of five six hours a night and somehow I made it and hacked it. These days I'm like I need nine to just be functional. Yeah. Interesting. Or uh so many people are like uh fueled by caffeine nowadays. So if you also have caffeine too late in the day, then now you're staying up and then it's a vicious cycle of waking up later or going to bed later because it's a I mean it's a vicious cycle in
general, right? Everything in society literally conspires for us to be productive in like 24/7 365 manner. And then what they do is sell us back a bunch of products for the issues that show up, right? Like after they've been like this
is what you got to do. you got to make the money and you got to get the degree and you got to go work the two and the three jobs and whatever and then oh but let me sell you melatonin sleep now let me sell you this supplement so that you could stay up to do your job like so I mean it really is brilliant what they've done but I think that people I think the pandemic really shown a light on all the ways we're like undoing ourselves collectively individually and that's why you see now
this huge market for everything wellness be medic spa I can't stop seeing medic spas show up medas they're like these spas where you can go and get like vitamin drips and oh um yeah like boost you know like booster shots of B12 and you can get a bo you can get your Botox there if that's your thing like whatever but you know like there's a surge in the market for all
things. But I don't think that even there we're not dealing with the root cause, which is like why isn't that why aren't we prioritizing sleep as a society, right? Why don't we prioritize different types of rest? Because it's not just the rest that we do at night, which is obviously competitive, but also like
rest can look like playing. Like of late, I've bought myself like some Play-Doh and just doing that or I'll paint, you know, sometimes it's just like walking in the park and taking a hike and just turning everything off. Like there's different times arrest and we're not doing enough of it. Why we're hearing so much more about like burnout, you know, and and people just altogether dissociating because they don't have the capacity. Yeah. Yeah. No, absolutely. Yeah. Really
good point. I I think people are recognizing especially from the pandemic as well. Like people are like, "Whoa, why am I working at this job that I hate?" Uh and then now you're just kind of rerealizing like what are my actual passions. Now I feel like people are starting to work on themselves and kind of change that narrative which is really fun. I mean I know I have.
Oh yeah. Uh-huh. I mean, I think I was already on that path, but I mean, when you're just sat but I too was working, traveling, speaking, you know, and was on my own type of hamster wheel. But when we all got sat down, it was like the hero was like, you know, we all had to, you know, come into the some sort of reckoning, I guess, with, you know, how we've been living our lives unhealthily, you know, how we were eating. Suddenly, it's like, "Oh, now I'll cook a meal." It's like, "Oh, wow.
When's the last time I did that?" You know? Yeah. Sat down with your family and like ate dinner together or something like that. Yeah. Uh before I move on from our um I guess botanicals with different symptoms, uh a listener was asking about stomach acid or like reflux. Is there something that could be I know we kind of talked about, you know, what foods are possibly activating this? Um but is there a way to kind of soothe at the same time? An interesting one. That's not one that
I've dealt with too too much. I say um Oh gosh, why is it escaping me now? Now you have stinging nettle in my head. Slippery elm. Yes. Okay, thank you. Yes, I was like Malo. Um it's because it's kind of it like kind of coats your stomach in a way um and your throat. So it's actually really good like when you have sore throats or any type of esophageal type reflux type
thing. it just kind of it and gives it back like that mucilagin the normal mucilogynous kind of state that you're supposed to have. Um, so that one's been helpful for me. I think a lot of it too is like watching the acidity of the foods that you eat, you know, like if you eat a lot of things with like tomato sauce or even like I love citrus fruits and they're really
good. They're very astringent, but also like too much of that because like you hear a lot now of people saying, you know, drink your lemon water when you wake up and it'll help this many pounds. I love lemon water, but I'll tell you after a few days of doing it, I find myself with acid reflux. Oh, that's think that there's a tipping point with um those types of waters. Um maybe that's a time to switch off to like cucumber in your water or something. Yeah. As you know, like cucumber or like okra.
Um, that's a good one too if you can take that. Yeah. That's kind of has that that mucilaginous type thing. Anything like that will help bloating your stomach and help with that sort of reflux. Okay. Yeah. No. Yeah. Good. Good advice on that. Um, I was going to ask something else. Um, oh, the the apple cider vinegar uh trend. How what do you uh think about that? I feel like if I have something like that, especially in an empty stomach, I get like hot flashes or or or something like what? Right.
What's your ideas on that input? It's I mean it is inc it's an incredible medicine onto itself. I think people are probably overdoing it. Yeah. Um, so I generally I don't do that on a regular basis at all. I generally go to that when I'm finding myself like with a lot of mucus or a lot of postn or like if I've had a cold or something like that, then I think it's really key then.
Okay. I do think eating even like a cracker or a piece of bread probably helps because I've heard it from actually my kids or at least them that when I give I make this like apple cider vinegar and I'll put like garlic and honey and like cinnamon and it's just the quick shot. Yep. And sometimes lemon juice too just to like knock out that mucus. And every time I give it to her I forget she's not one to eat a bunch. M she'll say, "Oh, my stomach hurts." So,
there's something there. But I I don't think that that's something you should be overdoing. It's vinegar. Not only is it probably chipping away at the enamel on your teeth, but it's eating away at something else, too. I mean, it's literally like a tablespoon to two tablespoons worth is like maybe once a week if you really feel compelled, but I wouldn't like be just chugging that. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's not a a good just, you know, morning a morning shot. Um, I mean, it's the same thing too with
kombucha. So, there was years back where I got on that tip and I was like, kombucha is great and it's doing all these wonderful things for me. And then I went to the doctor and they ran a blood panel on me and the doctor was like kind of looking at me and she was like, um, did you, you know, have you in like increased your are you sure you're a social drinker? Cuz you know, they'll ask you alcohol. So I say very
occasionally, which is true. I then she's like, "Well, your pan," it was like a specific panel that she did that had to do with my liver. And she's like, "Well, what you're what this panel is saying is that you drink more than what you're saying you're drinking." And I was like, "Well, I couldn't think of anything I was doing differently." And then I'm driving home and I kombucha.
So, I said it to they had me go to like um a gastrointestinal person and I mentioned it to them and they go, "Oh, yeah. Yep. That'll do it." Because then like if you did if I did have alcohol that plus all the kombucha I was drinking how it adds up. So, I mean like that's one of those ways in which like I'm always trying to caution people like these are great things. No question. But like You really have to be thinking about how much you're doing it. Like it's everything in moderation.
Yeah. Yeah. I feel like those containers should be like a week's worth or something instead of like a one serving like or tell people like, "Hey, getting this now and maybe take a break, you know?" So, for a long time, I just got off of it period because I wanted those panels to level y out to where they needed to be. But, you know, I have it now like on occasion fine.
Yeah, cool. Yeah, I was like I wonder what your uh what your opinion is on that because I I've just heard and there's always these trends that people try out and it's like for weight loss that and then there's now like the papaya seeds. Oh, yep. Yes. Where everybody's like you got to take the papaya seeds cuz you know you have parasites in your body and and I like again I don't think people get that like you're supposed to have normal bowel movements. Your body already does a lot of that stuff.
If you have like a major parasite, then that's a bigger something. Yeah. Right. But like you really shouldn't probably be eating papaya seeds on a regular basis. Or there's another one that's been going crazy on IG called duck flour.
Okay. I have not been up to date. from Yeah, it's from it's a flower from Jamaica and people have been shipping it to the States and apparently it causes you to convulse and vomit violently and go other things and I'm just like but why do why would you want to put your body through that? No, no, that sounds terrible. I don't even if is it neither duck nor flower? It's neither. It's not a duck at all.
It's a flower for sure. I think so. The way I see it flap, I guess maybe it has this kind of way that it flaps. I have to look that up. Um, but yeah, everyone that said that they've done it, they said it's a very violent experience. And I'm just thinking, you know, your body when you're putting yourself through that, and it's the same thing I'm saying about mushroom journeys and I you putting all your systems to like extra work than what their norm is. And that too is stress. Yes.
That too is trauma in a way. And so, you know, you have to manage that. I think too much of that doesn't make a lot of sense for your overall health. Yeah. No, absolutely. I was I had a an interview with somebody else and we kind of talked about MDMA and like other types of, you know, things that people are micro doing on um during those like
IV drip center point things. And it's just like that's that's so much also additional stress that your body, you know, is now like expelling more serotonin or dopamine and you're not used to all that and that's why you kind of feel depleted. And so maybe taking too much of, you know, even these natural legal, you know, plants could kind of do the same thing where you're just like, "Wow, that was a that was a
big journey." Um, even if you didn't go through something specific and it's okay to just say that that may not be for you. I think that's other thing is like we have to be careful in this renaissance of all of these things to not make it seem like all these things are going to be for everyone. Like I've with a lot of different things but that's my walk in life. You get mean and that's a very different thing than you just getting up on any given day and saying oh
well let me try that. like for and for me I've even learned so for instance like I've worked with like some I guess composite medications so like tinctures that like a makers made and they've got different components different medicines working handover fist I've had a few things that had mucuna which is in it um known as L-dopa because I think it it has something to do with like your dopamine uptake okay either way anytime I've used it, it just seems it I get like a pain in my head
and it's it's a little too much for me cuz I don't I don't suffer thankfully. I don't have any, you know, mental health like extreme challenges. But if I did, I think it would work fine. I think because I don't my brain's like, hey, we don't like this. Whatever this is much, it's not much. So, I stay away from that. like anything that I see with that
in it, I won't touch it. But, you know, you you learn that through trial and error and you well to stay away from things that make you feel anything that doesn't feel like yourself or Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like that's what hopefully my listeners and people that are listening or watching to this kind of take into account is, you know, all these things that we're mentioning, some of them won't work for you and you just kind of have to do a trial and
error. Unfortunately, I I wish I had all the answers, but I really, you know, don't. Um, so yeah, that's definitely something to keep track of, you know, what works for you. Maybe in different concentrations, you know, maybe just a little bit. Um, but yeah, so everybody's different. So, you got to you got to put in the work, fortunately. I mean, but you know, the upside to that is is like when you look at the pharmaceutical industry, it's concentrated with just a few medicines.
So, if you really think about what the herbal, I guess, you know, uh, community opens up for you in terms of options, like I said, there's spectrum. There's lots of spectrum. Even when we're talking about mushrooms, you have your golden teachers and then you have like your albino penises that will send you, you know, to different parts of deep space. But I think that's the beauty of it is that
you can get in where you fit in. You know, same thing about lavender versus dealing with like a malangu or even a wood betty which is like middle of the way like you just may not need that much. It's the same thing in the cannabis industry. You know, I use cannabis as well and I think everything now is so hyped up to like high THC, like how high could this gummy get me? Often times what I found is like those ones that have so much in it are actually worse off for me.
It's actually better when I have something that's like this much and I can kind of pace myself and do a few different things and then I'm in a good space. But like we're just like in the land of extremes now I feel where it's like everybody wants to either feel nothing or feel it all. Yes. No in between. Absolutely. I feel like I only tend to go to the one to one ratios uh anymore just because it's I I I need more of the healing aspect and not the the high
aspect. So I need more of like that CBD, CBG, uh those types of things anyway. Same. Yeah, absolutely. Full spectrum girl at least. Yes, absolutely. I like the full spectrum. Absolutely. Um and we talked about a lot of herbs today. How can people even get their hands on trying some of these that we've talked about? Do you personally make any of these or do you have people that you would recommend of if people like I'm interested in like the blue lotus now? Like where would I try to go for that?
It's such great makers. I do make my own medicines and I I hope someday soon to be able to give that to others, but I'm not there yet. Um, Anema Mundy Herbals, phenomenal gotten blue lotus, rose, like that was my starting point and she's phenomenal. She and I love that she sustainably um sources her thing. Yeah, that's important. So, that that's a big thing for me. Um, and she ships, so that's great. Mountain I think it's Mountain Herbs. Yes. Um, that's owned by Rosemary Gladstar.
Yes, I know them. She's like the mother of all things herbalism. So yeah, she has I mean if you're someone that understands how to make medicine or is willing to learn, then that's a great place to get like loose herbs in bulk and then start, you know, working with herbalism that way. But if you're looking for like medicines and Nema Mundy's great, Zalish medicines, um she's out of Canada. She's an an amazing maker of different flower essences and tinctures. I order from her
often. Um Tiana Grigo, she's also on IG. She's another one for like mushrooms and those sorts of things. So, and Etsy actually in a general is a really great place to discover um makers who are legit. I I can't stress that enough. Cool. want to, you know, make sure that people are trustworthy and that you can see a little bit into their process and and see how they're making it so you know what's going in your body.
Mhm. Yeah. I mean, obviously, uh, a lot of people wouldn't really trust like Amazon brands, but I also want to like support people that are doing this from their heart. Uh, like people like you, people that I interview. So, that's that's a lot of good uh, people to reference. So, I'll make sure to put some of those links down below that we can find. Um, and one last question, I guess. Uh, what does the future look like for herbalism for you? Or what are you most excited for within this space?
I think I'm looking forward to a time where there's more of an integrated approach to medicine, right? Like for a long time we've been in this model of being like prescriptive but not preventative necessarily like mildly preventative I would say. Um and just relying really heavily on the healthc care complex which has done a lot of great things but there's a lot that's wrong with it. And there's also and there's also a lot that they don't understand either about the body. Yes.
With all their infinite training. And so I'm like interested in seeing where like our medical professionals and our healthcare complex start to embrace a little bit more of this herbalism without commodifying it right into something for revenue. Mhm. They're talking with the medicine women and the medicine men and the herbalists and the doulas and all these people that like kind of sit on the fringes of medicine and have just as much knowhow um training you know and to offer to the
situation. I think that is the beneficial point for everyone is where we can say oh well this is for this could be used for pharmaceuticals like this is definitely a pharmaceutical thing right? Oh, we can't address this or we haven't been able to address this through pharmaceuticals. Okay, medicine woman kandera, what do you have?
Right. Like we're okay. Let me give you a plan that works with how I'm treating this patient on a normal basis, but then we're going to funnel in your knowledge somehow, right? Yes. Like that'd be awesome. Now people aren't hiding or having to go to Etsy or you know these places where they shouldn't have to go like it should be known. I mean if there's something that can help all of us in one other like it should just be public knowledge.
That's how I feel about it. I don't feel like we should have to hide it or go to the jungle or fly to Brazil. Yes. you know, to get it. Like, I mean, there just there are things that just grow even on us land that withouting anything anywhere else if we all just understood how to use it better through the people that care for us, right? One-stop shop, right? It could be a win-win.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, my overall message is I don't think that medicine or healthcare needs to be an all or nothing game, actually. Yeah. and they have to do continuing education anyway within like the healthcare space. So, why wouldn't you kind of have different people that you kind of work with where you're like, "Oh, learning about this technique or uh other options like this could be something that they get paid to do uh
for that continuing education." And on the other end of it, those people that I name that are on the fringes of medicine, they need to get their flowers too and be paid, you know, adequately because I think people think that when you're a doula or a midwife or, you know, a kurandera, like it's supposed to be some other worldly thing and like therefore you shouldn't
be able to sustain yourself either. But there's a lot of energy work from my own personal experience that goes into and I'm not saying healing part but into helping someone heal themselves, right? There's a lot that goes into helping them understand a medicine, understanding what they've got going on. And so I mean we can all literally win together if they would stop trying to, you know, push these other people who have really beneficial information to the fringes of society.
Yep. 100% agree. Well, thank you Janine for being on floor podcast today. I really enjoyed our chat. Yes, it was fun. Thank you. Well, thank you for listening and loving on this episode. If you also learned anything today, if you found something really, really interesting, please share, please leave a review. Please, if you have not followed or subscribed to this podcast yet, what are you waiting for? because each subscription I will go
out and eat a blue lotus flower. Also wanted to give a little heads up before I close out this episode. In a few weeks I will be speaking at a North Florida Ethnogenic Conference. So that's up in Jacksonville. So I'm really excited to venture up there. I was invited to do another speaking conference. So I will be there connecting with a lot of my Fidian friends and family again. So hopefully I can see you there. I think it's July 12th and 13th. So, we'll see you there. And also, I have started a
GoFundMe. I am helping to pay my editing team and PR crew. I am struggling with some financials. I have been trying to make highquality content for you guys and it's really adding up. So, if you want to donate, you know, as little as a dollar or however much you want, that link will down be down below. So, venture to my gofundme. And I am raising money to help pay for all of my production and editing and soon to be travels as well. So, thank you everybody for being here for me and enjoying the
podcast. So, have a great week, my scientist, and go learn something new today. Peach. Peach.