Let the Acacia Smooth ya!

The Acacia or Babul Tree is an average size tree that is commonly found in India and Africa. It belongs to the plant family, Mimosaceae. The leaves are bipinnately compound and 5-10 cm. long, which means they are twice divided. The plant has a good defensive mechanism in its V-shaped thorns that are white or light gray in color. The globose flowers are yellow and the pods are light gray in color. The pods, 7.5-15 cm. long are compressed and constricted at the sutures between the seeds, which range from 8-12 in a single pod.

The parts that are normally used are the flowers, bark, beans, leaves, and the gum also known as Gum Arabic. 
Historically the Bedouin tribes used it in the Middle East as food and also medicinally to soothe irritated area of the digestive tract. Later, it was discovered that it could be used as a binder for pills and tablets.  

In ancient Egypt, the Gum Arabic was known to be a prized herb.
In the present, Gum Arabic is very good for treating inflammation. It's demulcent properties allow it to soften irritation of the stomach and throat. It also softens the harshness of pills and is used as a coating over a bitter or difficult to digest pills. 

Acacia can be used as a salve for burns, nodular leprosy, and for lactating women who are suffering form over-nursed and painful nipples.
Gum Arabic, gum from the Acacia tree, resins naturally and when the resins are placed in boiling water, it becomes a mucilage. Mucilage is a thick, sticky substance that comes from plants that is used as an adhesive. It's edible and has nutritional value. As a mucilage, it supplies a soothing, protective coat on the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary linings. it soothes irritated mucous membranes, including stomach, bowels, uterus, and vagina area. Gum Arabic main effect is to create a protective soothing coat over inflammations. when it is applied it retains warmth and moisture.

With this being cold and flu season Acacia is a great herb to have around. It also soothes sore throats, coughs, catarrh (excessive build-up of thick phlegm or mucus in an airway or cavity of the body), diarrhea, etc.

The Road to a healthier ME

As an individual that has battled with her health for the past 10 years, it has become a passion of mine to find natural ways to heal my body. As a type 2 diabetic and a heart patient at the age of 33 years old, it became evident that it was time to do something about my lifestyle that would result in "A Healthier Me".

On March 2, 2009, I was on my way to work in Schenectady, NY. It was 4 degrees below zero and I began to sweat profusely. Ignorant to what was happening to me, I detoured to a corner store to get myself together. Within seconds of me entering the store I fell to my knees. I tried to shake it off so that I could make it to work but, the cashier insisted that I stay and let her call the ambulance. She begged me to stay. I did and I'm glad I did. If I would have got in the car  to proceed to work I would have had a heart attack while driving and would not be here to share my story with you. I am thankful for the cashier persuading me to stay. When I got in the ambulance I experienced a pain worst than child birth and neither EMT would tell me what was going on. When I arrived in the Emergency Room, the Doctor informed me that I had just had a heart attack.

After being in the hospital for a week and being the youngest patient on the cardiac unit, I knew that it was time for me to change my lifestyle if I wanted to live longer. I left the hospital with 12 prescriptions that made me sleepy, depressed, slothful, as well as so many other emotions. I didn't have any recovery time because I was a single mother and if I'm not working there was no food on the table. We were living paycheck to paycheck. Then job stated that I had changed and I wasn't my usually bubbly self, they stated that my work habit had changed and I was told that I was no longer a "fit" for the organization and was let go. While at home I was watching television and Dr. Oz came on and he began talking about natural alternatives to surgery, prescribed medications, etc. It caught my attention so that I began to go to the library the next day to research herbs and other natural alternatives. This ignited a fire within me to use my findings and see what happens. So I did and I was shocked to find that something natural could give me the kind of results that it gave me. This motivated me to find a school that would tell me more so I enrolled and a certification as an herbalist in 2009. Since then, travel and teach people how to use herbal combinations to heal, improve, and strengthen their bodies.
I do conference calls, workshop, webinars, etc. to educator, empower, and inspire individuals to live healthier happier lives.

So this is the first blog of many and as you take this journey with me, I will share information, testimonies, as well as my own of how herbs and things given to us by God can heal your body and set you free from a lot of the prescribed medication that's out there.