The Medicinal Uses of Dandelion

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on nutritional needs and deficiencies that you might wish make sure you have covered in your food storage supplies and plans.  No medication or supplement, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

Spring is just around the corner for some of us, and with it, the arrival of dandelions in the lawn and everywhere else.  Everybody knows what they look like and where they grow.  Most everyone has heard that they're edible, like salad greens.  Common sense hopefully dictates to all of us that we don't want dandelions from lawns fertilized with synthetic fertilizers (or by dogs) or treated with pesticides.  Gather them from meadows or abandoned lots, or plant them in your garden. ;)  Dandelions are high in pro-vitamin A; vitamins B, C, D, and K (one cup of chopped dandelion greens has 112% of the RDA of vitamin A, 32% of the RDA of vitamin C, and 535% of the RDA of vitamin K); and the essential minerals magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus.  And they have a little bit of protein as well.

The bright yellow flowers are used raw in salads or dipped in batter and fried.  When it comes to fresh eating, as for salads, young leaves are less bitter than older leaves.  The leaves can also be sauteed or added to soup. 

Dandelions aren't just for soups and salads, however.   They are also quite medicinal.  Dandelion tea is said to reduce sugar cravings and promote lactation.  The dried roots can be steeped to produce a tea that is supposedly a substitute for coffee, albeit without the caffeine.  This may be important for coffee addicts once their stash runs out, but having never drank coffee, I can't comment on this from experience.  I do admit to being a bit skeptical on this one.

While the foregoing could be of some benefit, those reasons alone would not inspire me to stock dandelions.  I might perhaps pick some out of the garden and try them in a salad should the opportunity present itself, but I'm usually pretty meticulous about weeding in my garden beds and I just don't think I'll be able to let the dandelions grow only to use them in a salad.

But if I needed a diuretic--and my husband may need one in the future--I would be sowing dandelions in a dedicated bed.  Dandelion is a powerful diuretic, but it has the distinct advantage over many other herbs in that it is high in potassium, so it helps replace the potassium that is eliminated as a diuretic, maintaining that important balance of potassium in the body.

Dandelion is also used in the treatment of gall bladder and urinary disorders, jaundice, gall stones, cirrhosis, and high blood pressure.  Precious little clinical research has been done in the West on the medicinal uses of dandelion; however, it is showing some promise in the treatment of leukemia and colorectal cancer.

Time to harvest:  Leaves in spring when in flower and then dry or use fresh; roots in fall, and given a choice, two-year-old roots are preferable to one-year-old roots.

Infusion:  1 teaspoon dried herb or 2 teaspoons fresh herb (leaves and/or chopped root), steeped for 15 minutes in boiling water, covered, and sweetened with honey, if desired.

Decoction:  2 teaspoons dried root or 4 teaspoons fresh root, boiled for 15 minutes, and taken when cool enough to drink. 

Fresh root tincture: 1:4, 40% alcohol, one half to one teaspoon, two to three times per day

Fresh leaf tincture: 1:4, 40% alcohol, one half to one teaspoon, two to three times per day.

The milky sap from the stalks may aid in removing warts if dabbed on regularly.

Warning:  Do not use dandelion before going to bed.  It is a strong diuretic.  The French slang for dandelion is pissenlit, which translates to "wet the bed."  It comes by this name honestly.  If you don't believe it, you can try it yourself.

Contraindications:  Do not use if you are allergic to ragweeds, including marigold and chrysanthemum, chamomile, yarrow, feverfew, sunflowers, or daisies.  Dandelion contains significant amounts of iodine and latex, so do not use if you are allergic to either.  Because dandelion is high in vitamin K, speak with your doctor before using if you are taking warfarin or other blood thinners.

Links to related posts:
Hypothyroidism
Iodine 

For further reading:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5553762/ (Accessed on 5 January 2019, The physiological effects of dandelion on type 2 diabetes)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22078030 (Accessed on 5 January 2019, dandelion extract as anti-viral)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29507587 (Accessed on 5 January 2019, antibacterial effects of dandelion extract)
http://naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/t/taraxacum-officinale=dandelion.php (Accessed on 5 January 2019)
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dandel08.html (Accessed on 5 January 2019)
http://naturalhomeremedies.co/Dandelion.html (Accessed on 10 January 2019)
https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-benefits-of-dandelion-root-89103 (Accessed on 10 January 2019)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341965/ (Effect of dandelion on colorectal cancer cells; accessed on 10 January 2019)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3281857/ (Effect of dandelion on leukemia cells; accessed on 10 January 2019)
https://draxe.com/dandelion-root/ (Accessed on 10 January 2019)
http://herballegacy.com/Chhabra_Medicinal.html (Accessed on 10 January 2019--ideas and springboard for further research)

18 february 2019 

12 may 2024