Avena Aveeno

I start (almost) everyday with Avena sativum.

Well, Botanical Medicine is officially over, but sadly it didn't end on a happy note. The exam was rough and tough. Oh well, moving on to other modalities/subjects...

But let's be clear: just because my Botanical Medicine learning is over, it doesn't mean that you won't see any more blog posts dedicated to plants/herbs. I love them too much to ignore them for the remainder of my time at CCNM!

Today I'm going to talk about a plant that you probably already eat in the form of cookies, loafs, and morning porridge: let's talk about Avena sativa, or as it is more commonly known as, the oat! 

Avena has many medicinal properties. It can be used to combat depression, anxiety, stress, nervousness, and headaches induced to stress as it is a sedative and nervine tonic. Also, it helps both diarrhea and constipation (due to its soluble fiber content) and removes bad cholesterol (lowering blood lipid levels).

Topically, Avena is especially beneficial for itchy skin, such as eczema. Have you heard of oatmeal baths? They are a combination of two naturopathic modalities: hydrotherapy and botanical medicine! I've never tried one, but apparently you just add a half of a cup of oatmeal to a bath and hop-in whenever your skin is feeling particularly itchy. Be careful getting in/out of these baths, however; the oats' gooey fiber will make the water and bathtub feel extra slippery!

Did you know that the cosmetic company Aveeno is named after Avena the oat? The company is named after oats because they claim to put real oats in their products. However, I doubt that there are enough oats in these products to achieve a proper therapeutic dose...