I’m a Christian Registered RH (AHG) Clinical Herbalist in the Omaha, NE area. My goal is to work with you and empower you to take charge of your own health. I will work with you on lifestyle, & dietary changes, and give herbal blends you can take to help you on your wellness journey. If you like learning how to help yourself I will show you how you can make any of these things for yourself. If you’d like to learn about my consultations please visit my consultation page here.
If you’d like to see all the products I offer you can view them here and submit an order via my Google Form Here.
Saturday the 27th at 12pm CST I’m offering a live Free Allergies Course Join me live via zoom to answer any of your questions about allergies. The course is available to you at any time though so you can view it now and catch the new recording at a later date if you can’t make it Saturday.
I will also be answering any questions about my upcoming Family Herbalism Course which starts in August of this year.
First, if you find a lump in your breast, don’t just assume it’s benign and get it checked out.
Here are some at-home things you can try to support yourself if this is something that you are dealing with. I’ll try to keep this as brief as possible and not overwhelm you with all the facts.
Lifestyle:
Where loose-fitting bra’s
Exercise: not excessive, but at least 20 minutes of movement like walking daily. This is important to move the lymphatic system, which helps keep cysts from forming.
Eliminate caffeine. *Some people can get away with small amounts of tea or chocolate. Some cannot. Try a completely caffeine-free month and a month with some caffeine and compare the differences. Rate the pain/or occurrence.
Eat growth hormone-free foods. Eating foods with growth hormones in it can exasperate the condition.
Flax Seed: good quality. These can go rancid very easily. Keep flax seed whole in the freezer and crush when needed. These are anti-inflammatory. Aim for 25g a day. Add to a muffin. Or 500mg capsules 2x/day or 1-2 Tablespoons of Flaxseed oil daily (Romm, 2017)
Increase daily fiber, *especially if you tend towards constipation (which is not having an easy bowel movement daily)
My favorite is to start with ½ cup of blueberries daily
And 1 pound of vegetables daily.
Supplements:
Evening Primrose Oil/EPO: Rich in Omega-6, which is a helpful anti-inflammatory. 1000mg 3x/day (Romm, 2017)
Vitamin E: 400-800IU daily (Romm, 2017)
Vitamin B6: 50-100mg daily (Romm, 2017)
B-complex: (careful to note the amount of B6 in it)
Probiotic: Lactobacillus acidophilus to support digestive health
A good multivitamin like Pure Encapsulations ONE
TOPICAL APPLICATIONS:
Castor Oil placed on the breast with heat applied comforts many. I suggest this for the week prior to when you typically get your cyclical pain. 1 hour of castor oil packs with heat daily.
A tsp of Ginger powder mixed in with 1 Tbsp Castor Oil can help stimulate circulation also.
You can add the essential oils of Rose, Geranium, and Sandalwood to stimulate circulation. Romm (2019)
Chickweed oil is helpful for reducing cysts of all kinds.
Poke root oil is a fabulous lymphatic that supports this condition very well.
Violet Oil is my favorite go-to oil for mastitis and works very well with fibrocystic breast as well.
Iodine topically and or Wakame Seaweed strips applied can help with those concerned about getting cancer. (Apply at night so as not to stain clothing) Stansbury (2019). To use the Seaweed strips just pour some boiling water to just cover the strips and then let sit for a 10 minutes until cooled down and then you can lay the strips of seaweed on breasts.
Progesterone Cream applied topically
Herbally, we want to consider herbs that support balancing hormones, liver, lymph, and digestion, and using mild diuretics. Basically, supporting the elimination pathways will help to support better health all around!
Chaste Tree is a great hormone-balancing herb. Caution in those with a tendency towards depression. However, I’ve found if B6 and B12 consumption is taken with, there is less likely to suffer depression from Chaste Tree.
Burdock Root is a great liver and digestive herb with its bitter and prebiotic properties. It is also a mild lymph mover.
Dandelion Root is a great liver and digestive herb; if consumed with Dandelion Leaf, then you have the added benefit of its diuretic properties.
Chickweed is a great lymphatic that is specific for supporting the body in riding cysts. It is also a soothing diuretic.
Red Clover is helpful for removing excess estrogen in the body, supports the liver and is a great lymphatic.
Cleavers is another great lymphatic and diuretic that is helpful for fibrocystic breasts.
Calendula supports the digestive system and is a great lymphatic.
Sarsaparilla tastes great in any tea and is a mild diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and lymphatic.
Red Root Tincture is a powerful lymphatic mover but can be super drying, so I tend to combine it with moistening herbal teas like Marshmallow or add that to an infusion
Herbal Infusions are my favorite way to use Burdock Root, Dandelion root and leaf, Chickweed, and Red Clover. I typically always add a moistening herb like Marshmallow to the infusions so as not to dry out an individual too much. You can read about herbal infusions here.
Calendula, Chaste tree and Sarsaparilla also taste great in teas however I only use Chaste tree as a tincture.
If you’d like help preventing these cyclical moments set up a consultation with me and we can work on this.
Also, try Her Scan a gentle approach to breast examination.
RESOURCES:
Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine (1st ed.). Healing Arts Press.
Romm, A. (2017). Botanical medicine for women’s health. Churchill Livingstone.
Stansbury, J. (2020). Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 4: Neurology, Psychiatry, and Pain Management, including Cognitive and Neurologic Conditions and Emotional Conditions. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Dr. Roni Pinkerton-Hargis is Hosting Her Scan at her Clinic. I’ve had a scan from Her Scan before. So quick, painless and easy! If you’ve been putting off your mammogram then I highly suggest checking out Her Scan!
Do you have painful swelling of your breasts prior to your cycle or fibrocystic breasts? I meet with clients to assess their diet and hormonal imbalances to see what might be causing the fibrocystic breasts.
While working on getting to the root cause I make a topical that is helpful for many women in providing relief. I’m sharing this recipe with you today. Feel free to make it for you and your family. It is my recipe though so please don’t make and sell for your own personal gain. Thanks!
Can you Identify the 5 plants in this photo? 2 are pretty hidden but they are there… 1 is in the bottom left side. 1 is mixed in. Learn to identify the spring plants that are not weeds but beneficial for you!
I’ve been talking a lot about stress lately and how to deal with that, Now I’d like to focus on Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes, and Insulin Resistance. Before becoming an herbalist, I had all the symptoms of Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome, I was well on my way to developing Prediabetes, which runs in my family! For me Intermittent Fasting (IF) was the quickest way to Balance the good/bad Cholesterol. My A1C and Glucose were ok but were great after I started IF. Now IF isn’t the best route for everyone and in fact I ended up getting high blood pressure due to not eating enough while intermittent fasting. So make sure you are getting in enough calories!!! As soon as I increased my calories the blood pressure normalized. Now as long as I keep my sugar intake in check, then everything stays good.
Save 25% off now through May to get started on your journey to conquering Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. Get Started with a free Total Wellness Discovery Session!
We often hear about women going through life feeling stressed out, feeling fatigued and wanting to be a better, healthier self. They feel burnt out, on edge, and overwhelmed …. I solve that.
I found something that has changed my life and my career. I’m now a Certified Health Coach and Life Coach! I’ve been an Herbalist for a while, and I was doing great managing my stress with herbs. But going through my health and life coach course I learned so much more about conquering stress with lifestyle habits and recently sailed through one of the most stressful events of my life! You can read more about that here. Stress can affect your health in so many negative ways! A while back for me it was high blood pressure, but my blood pressure was pretty good through that whole time! It can also really tank your hormones. My hormones were very low before this program, and I created daily habits that supported me through menopause also! Despite the occasional hot flashes, I sailed right through to menopause! I’ve also learned lots of tips to get better control of my sugar cravings better and lose 15 pounds!
I’m excited to bring my health and life coach experience to my herbal practice. When I work with clients with chronic conditions, I’m often working with them to help them make changes to diet and lifestyle. Now I have better tools to support my clients through this process, so they can make the changes necessary to improve their own health in a fun and non-stressful way!
Get started with your FREE Total Wellness Discovery Session Today! 25% off packages if you book in March or April!
For me if I eat any processed sugar, (fruit is fine) I can’t lose any weight at all, it causes inflammation in me. If I continue eating it then my joints will start to hurt, and I might get brain fog. Many complaints can be traced back to too much sugar. Not just pain and inflammation, it could even be messing with hormone imbalances!
Most sources note sugar should be under no more than 5-10% of your calories. If you are consuming 2,000 calories a day, that is 24-48 grams of sugar a day. If you are consuming 1500 calories a day, that is 18-36 g of sugar a day.
My favorite candy bar is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. 1 Package is 21g of sugar. That would be more than my allotted sugar for the day.
While I don’t drink soda, if I did, 1 soda would be more than my daily intake of sugar.
Let’s go through a typical “healthy day for me for sugars. Breakfast: Eggs, Bacon, Asparagus is 2g of sugar. Lunch: a Chicken Salad with Olive Garden Dressing 2g sugar, 1/2 cup blueberries and some nuts 15g. Dinner: Steak, Potatoes, Green Beans, 2-3 pc 75%+ Dark Chocolate 7g of sugar. So, the “healthy day’s” total is 26g of sugar. I typically eat around 1600-1800 calories a day so that would be around 7% of my calories was sugar. That’s eye opening! Imagine eating the Reese’s on top of a “non-healthy” eating day!!!
I recently got a Her Scan! It was so quick and easy and painless! I’ve been suggesting it to anyone not wanting a mammogram or putting of a mammogram because of the pain or radiation! And it’s coming to my favorite place! Synergy Integrative Health! Contact them at 402-502-5525 to set up an appointment.
These easy to implement tricks & habits will help you balance hormones & reduce cravings to get to your health and/or weight loss goals without getting overwhelmed.
I have finished my Health and Life Coaching Program and am just finishing up practice clients before getting certification. Enjoy 50% off NOW before I get my certification! I merge my knowledge as a Clinical Herbalist, with my knowledge as a Health Coach, with diet, lifestyle and habit changes to help you achieve your health goals.
Schedule a Free Discovery Session with me to Discover how I can help you with Stress, Low Energy or Hormone imbalances.
I should have put this together prior to Valentine’s Day, but it’s been a month! My Dad has been in the ICU with active heart failure since Jan 28. Today, the 15th as I write this, he is getting his new heart!
Yesterday, on Valentines Day the herb Hawthorn was brought to my mind! Hawthorn has a long history of supporting and strengthening the heart. Both physically and emotionally. So here are some quick highlights on Hawthorn that I love.
The leaves and flowers of Hawthorn I typically use for High Blood Pressure in teas. I’ve never used it alone, but I use it in combination with other herbs and have found great success. The rest is a focus on the berries.
To experience the benefits of Hawthorn, it should be taken in large amounts.
For those stuck in grief or need emotional uplifting, I like to combine the Hawthorn berry, which is part of the rose family, with Rose. I combine these in either tea or tincture for clients.
Hawthorn is rich in bioflavonoids which will always be helpful for the cardiovascular system as a whole.
Hawthorn is a trophorestorative which is an herb that can nourish, strengthen, and restore the function of a specific organ or tissue (T. Easley, 2023).
I have regularly included hawthorn in my family’s infusions since COVID-19 started for the extra added benefits of supporting the heart in case we got it. When we did get Covid I included it more regularly post Covid to make sure our hearts recovered well. Covid can damage the tissue in the heart, and Hawthorn can help restore that tissue damage.
Use Hawthorn to strengthen the heart physically and emotionally.
PREPARATIONS:
If you have a tincture, you can evaporate off the alcohol and dehydrate it to have a nice concentrate!
Hawthorn has a natural pectin in it so you can do a 1:10 preparation in water. (1 Part Hawthorn to 10 Parts Water). Then just simmer until the water drops below the berries. Strain the berries, press all the juice out, add back to the pot, and continue to simmer. At one point, it will start to get pretty sticky, so continually stirring can be helpful. You can simmer it down until it is 1/10th what you started so it is a 1:1 recipe. You can then preserve it with 25% Alcohol, 50% Honey or glycerine. You can also freeze the juice in little cubes and pop them out when you need to.
This Hawthorn/Bilberry Syrup by Jim Mcdonald is another favorite way to make a hawthorn concentrate. Bilberries are also high in bioflavonoids to help support the heart.
1 TSP 3-4 times a day of any of the extracts above.
Capsules: 4:1 Extract 2 caps 3x/day (T. Easley, 2023).
CAUTION: If you are in active heart failure or have Congestive Heart Failure and are on any heart medications, please work with an experienced herbalist.
REFRENCES
Easley, T. (2023). Understanding and Managing long COVID Patterns: A Holistic approach [Slide show; Class Lecture]. Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine. https://eclecticschoolofherbalmedicine.com/
Herba Remedium 