Thomas Avery Garran

by Michael Tierra Contemplating Prevention of Cold and Flu Here in my small town nestled in the sequoia-groved mountains above Santa Cruz in northern California, it’s officially Autumn. We just … Read more

by Michael Tierra Have you ever wondered what the Holy Family did with the three gifts brought to them from the far-off lands in the East by, according to tradition, … Read more

by Michael Tierra The winter holiday season is fast approaching with all foods we all look forward each year. As an herbalist, I like to create new delectables that are … Read more

by Michael Tierra Triphala consists of three phytonutrient-rich fruits Emblica officinalis (Amla, or Amalaki) also known as Phyllanthus emblica; Terminalia bellerica (Vibhitaki); and Terminalia chebula (Haritaki). Each of these eliminates … Read more

by Michael Tierra Are you ready to hear about a medicinal named after a supreme god? Because of its rejuvenative healing properties Mahanarayana tailam (oil) is honored with the name … Read more

by Michael Tierra The secret to successfully treating the common cold and cough is to differentiate the type based on Traditional Chinese diagnostics (TCM) principles. Chinese medicine differentiates between three … Read more

By: Michael Tierra It seems that each year it is getting increasingly more difficult to depend on my garden “weeds” to produce enough to barely pay the water-shortage-in-Northern-California water bill. … Read more

by Michael Tierra Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is described as a rasayana in Ayurvedic medicine. In Ayurveda, rasayanas are used as Traditional Chinese medicine uses tonic herbs, and they correspond to … Read more

by Michael Tierra In a previous blog, I described ragweed as one of the most notorious herbs known for causing severe allergies and, at the same time, taken internally to … Read more