Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

 Oregano is an herb that has it's praises sang high and low. This herb is called a miracle worker by many who have used it. There are people who spent months trying to treat something with medicines and then added oregano to their diet and *BOOM* they are healed!

This herb is called wild marjoram or Mexican sage by many people. This is because it has a taste similar to sage only a bit more peppery with an undertone similar to thyme. 

Chinese doctors used oregano to treat fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin problems for centuries. Used when congested can help loosen and remove mucus. it is thought to help remove intestinal parasites because of its digestive aid qualities.

Egyptians believed it to be sacred to Osiris, god of the dead. It was woven into ritual crowns an wreaths.

Greeks took the herb as an antidote to poisons.

It is a powerful antioxidant and is know to have anticancer activities. A study showed to stop the growth and help fight; Staph, E. coli, and Salmonella bacteria. Also destroy anthrax sores. Oregano essential oil may also destroy bacteria that causes pneumonia. I can be used to treat candida and ensuing infection on nails or skin. It can be used to treat urinary tract infections, heartburn, croup, bronchitis, asthma and general coughs.

For treating a sore throat you can gargle with a oregano infusion and drink a cup of oregano infusion 4 times daily. For me after one day my sore throat was gone but even one is different.

In a mind enhance and spiritual level it can be used to stimulate the throat chakra by massaging the into the throat clockwise

However if you are diabetic you show be cautious of oregano as it can double the potency of insulin. Other cautions should be taken if you are taking blood thinners. Too high doses of oregano can be toxic. Oregano can have diuretic effects. Avoid if you are allergic to lavender, basil, thyme, hyssop, marjoram, mint and sage. If you are pregnant be careful as it has be linked to miscarriages.

Now that the warnings are out of the way on to how you can use it. Using the oil in a bath can help relieve stiff joint and rashes. You can make an infusion by steeping for ten minutes in boiling water (1-2 tsp dried oregano in 8-16oz of water) for ingestion. Alternatively you can use the essential oil in a diffuser or aromatherapy lamp. If you find ingestible oregano oil you can use it by placing 2-4 drops under your tongue or in a glass of water.

In food there are many recipes that use oregano. Its flavor can accent foods like sweet pepper, zucchini, eggplants and tomatoes. It is used well in soups, stews, sauces and tomato dishes.

Oregano has key nutrients including: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, fiber, folate, vitamins (A, C, B6 and E). It has phytochemicals, carvone, caryophyllene, limonene, 8-cineole, alpha-pinene, linalol, phytosterol, and thymol.

This hardy, perennial plant prefers dry, well drained soil in a warm sunny place. Seeds should be sowed in early spring time, only just covered in soil. Cuttings should be taken in midsummer. Harvest the whole plant, excluding the roots, in late summer and hang to dry in small bunches.

Key Points: Kills pathogens, antiparasitic, fights candida, doubles insulin potency, helps treat respiratory infections, aids digestion, helps treat UTI's, and many skin conditions.

Let's get back to this!

 Ok I have been on a bit of a hiatus. So my life has been a bit hectic but I'm getting back to the herbal reviews and knowledge sharing boat. Feel free to email me any suggestions on topics to mamawolfscabinet@gmail.com debating whether the next topic will be garlic or oregano. Both have incredible medicinal uses. I'm sure I've talked about them in the past but I'll be going more in depth so prepare for a very long post. 

Stay Healthy All! See you soon.

MONQ Love and allergic reaction

I am going to start by saying I am allergic to cloves, when I ordered the Love pod for the MONQ R I did not read the ingredients. I saw it said cacao and was excited. The Love pod emphasizes cacao siam wood and davana. I didn't not expect clove oil to be used so I went with the advertised scents. In hindsight that was really dumb of me since I have allergies I know I should always read ingredients because you never know when something you're allergic to will be in something. Now that being said I was excited for the scent of cacao but I did not get cacao at all. The Siam wood is so strong you don't smell anything else. the reviews on it said it was spicy I didn't really get spicy more of a bitter taste.
So what was my allergic reaction?
normally when I accidentally ingest clove in a chai tea, or a pumpkin spice something or another, that I didn't look at the ingredients for, all I get is really bad indigestion and a headache. I won't go into the gory details of what I do to a toilet if I have just a little bit of pumpkin spice creamer made with cloves in my coffee. Basically for the most part it's an inconvenience but it's not that bad this time however the reaction was so horrible I almost went to the hospital I probably should have but once I read the ingredients in the oil, since it was the only thing that was different that day, I figured I'd just wait it out I only used it a little bit. I didn't like the smell I can just imagine if I had liked the smell how much worse my reaction would have been. What happened was I have fibromyalgia which means my brain sends out pain signal where there is no real pain. The clove oil made my fibromyalgia 100 times worse this night. I felt as though a knife was being stabbed through my ribs puncturing my lungs and flipping around in there. Every joint in my body felt as though they were on fire. The slightest movement had me crying in pain. My husband was the one who told me to look up the ingredients in the MONQ I used and he was right there was something in there I was allergic to. I wouldn't have thought of that before because when I think of it allergic reaction I think of in digestion, itchy throat, itchy eyes, headache, the usual stuff, runny nose, cough, I didn't get any of that except for the really bad pulsing headache and tremendous pain. I did get in touch with MONQ and their customer service was great they offer to refund me for the pod, they offered in exchange for another scent. since the other scents I've used haven't caused this kind of reaction to me so far I'm just going to take better care of making sure I read ALL the ingredients before I use them.
Even without the allergic reaction though I would not use the Love scent again anyways because I did not like the smell it didn't make me feel the warmth of love it smelled more like camping. Don't get me wrong I like camping but I was promised cacao and I did not receive it so I was left disappointed and wanting.

MONQ Vibrant and MONQ R

Today's MONQ pod I'm trying is Vibrant. This time it is not a disposable once but a pod from their new MONQ R. I'm going to start with saying I am not part of the ambassador program. I receive nothing for reviewing these so my reviews are 100% unbiased.
What smells?
It advertises ginger, lemon and spearmint. I  I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the combination but I like it. It has a spicy taste but it's pleasant. The spearmint is the weaker of the other 2 but I smell it.
Does it work?
I don't know I have a slight irritation in my nose. Although I did expect it with a ginger lemon combination. Do I feel vibrant? I feel more awake is that the same? I feel motivated to get out and do stuff.

What's MONQ R?
MONQ R is their new rechargeable diffuser. The pen itself is smaller than their disposable pens. It comes in a cute flip case that can hold 2 extra PODs. The case keeps the pen charged on the go and you charge the case with a micro USB it comes with.
What are PODs?
The PODs are the cartridges that hold the oils to diffuse. It is the "refillable" part, I put that in quotes because you buy refills not actually refill that part.
All in all I like the MONQ R a lot.

MONQ Relieve

Okay I'm jumping on the wagon.
What is MONQ?
MONQ is a personal essential oil diffuser or terpene pen.

Is it a vape?
It looks like one and works similarly but you are not supposed to inhale the vapor produce by it. You're supposed to suck in the vapor and breathe it out through your nose so it activates your olfactory sense.
The blend I'm focusing on on this post is Relieve. The main "flavors" it advertises are

ginger, spikenard and helichrysum. I definitely taste and smell the ginger. I'm not sure what spikenard or helichrysum smell like but I assume they are flora scents. I get the slightly flora scent too.
Is it pleasant?

Yes, if you like ginger. There is a slightly spicy after taste that you get from ginger and if you are a fan of ginger it is a pleasant scent and taste.
Does it work?
I'm a stay-at-home mom who homeschools, when I feel like reaching for that bottle of wine the last few days I reached for the Relieve MONQ. I definitely felt the growing headache subside. It could have simply been the act of the zenbreath, as they call it. Either way I enjoyed the experience and definitely felt relieved. I also have trouble sleeping so once the kids were in bed and I was ready to wind down I tried it out. I had a good sleep until my son woke me up 4 hours too early but unlike usual when I'm up early I did not feel groggy or cranky.

Could it have been a placebo effect?
Sure, your mind is a powerful muscle if you think something will work it might. Treating it with a pleasant scent might even help it do its job better too. Placebo or not for me it worked.
Are you an ambassador?
No I am 100% unbiased. I am not being asked to review this at all. I don't have a code for you to use for it either sorry.
I do have a Fetch code and an Ibotta referral link you can use if you want. They have nothing to do with MONQ but hey I like saving money don't you? With Fetch you receive a 2,000 point bonus with your first receipt scan. You don't have to unlock or load offers just scan you receipt and Fetch will "fetch" the deals for you. It only takes 3 receipts to get a $3 Amazon gift card with this code. I got a $20 card with just my usual grocery shopping.
 Fetch: KJ8P8
With the Ibotta link you have to unlock your offers but once you redeem 10 offers in 14 days you get a $20 welcome bonus. It's easy and in the last 2 months I have receive over $130 back from Ibotta.
Ibotta: https://ibotta.com/r/lthumtf

Sorry

So it has been a while since I've posted. Life has been pretty hectic I'm working on a new post I was going to put up today. After updating my other blogs and did the house chores and of course herding the children I did not complete it. I could post it but it does not feel right to post something that is not complete so hopefully tomorrow I will have it post ready. Thank you for visiting.
~Love Mama Wolf

CBD (Cannabis)

Cannabis has many uses in the medical community. Places like Canada, Norway and Amsterdam have used it for medicine for many years. There is a misconception that marijuana is addictive, but anything can be addictive if used improperly. There are studies that internet is highly addictive and can cause withdrawal symptoms if a person is deprived of it. That being said marijuana is not addictive in the same sense as heroin as it lacks certain chemical compounds.
Some medical uses for cannabis include, anxiety, depression, seizures, fibromyalgia, and many more. There are cannabinoids that can be derived from plants other than marijuana for example copaiba. That being said not all marijuana plants or cannabinoids  are created equal. There are different strands that have different properities to help treat different ailments. While one strand can ease anxiety symptoms an other can heighten them. Same for seizures, you would want a strand that is low in or absent of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol the chemical compound that causes the euphoric highs) but high in CBD (cannabidiol the non-psychoactive compound found in cannabinoids).
The human body has a system called the endocannabinoid system that runs through our entire body, which we could say our bodies are hard wired to make use of cannabinoids. CBD has no know toxicity, meaning you won't be intoxicated or high from it's use. CBD is legal in most states even some that have banned marijuana as it is THC that is strictly banned in those places.
What can CBD do?
CBD can
-stop Epileptic seizures
-treat neurological disease like Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's
-relieve pain
-fight cancer
-reduce inflammation
-treat mood disorders
-help fight addiction.
I will be writing more detailed blogs on how CBD oil does those things when I write on them at a later time. This blog is just a stepping stones for those posts. Please bare with this stay at home mom, life tends to get in the way of me writing. I am also an author and I'm slacking there too. Stay tune for more post the goal is PTSD being the next one.