The practice of curanderismo is the living cultural tradition of holistic healing practices of the peoples of “Latin” America. Although variations of this tradition exist within most of the Americas my focus is on the traditions of Mexico and the south-western United States of America. Curanderismo is a holistic healing system that treats the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—using a blend of herbs, rituals, and … Continue reading Empacho and Tripa Ida
in another Post (1) several references note that the “seat of the soul” for the Aztecs was the intestines and as such gastrointestinal illnesses and conditions, specifically trip ida, are synonymous with another condition called susto (2). My research does not indicate this though. For the Mexica, the human body mirrored the cosmos, both being composed of heavy and light substances. The light substance within … Continue reading A Short Discourse on the Aztec Soul.
I briefly look at the masa based drink called atole in my Post Mexican Cooking Equipment : The Molinillo but lets go into it in a bit more detail here and in another related Post I’ll investigate a range of chocolate beverages based on this ingredient called masa. Atole (Spanish) from atolli (Nahuatl) which, according to the definition, is a beverage made from finely ground maize, mixed … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 1 : Atole
I briefly look at the masa based drink called atole in a couple of earlier Posts (1)(2) and I recommend you check these out for a little more context (culturally speaking). They’ll introduce you to the core ingredient (and arguably the basis of life in Mexico), the nixtamalised corn dough called masa, and it will introduce you to an archetypal piece of Mexican cooking equipment, … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 2 : Chocolate Drinks
“We must repeat it: Mesoamericans do not plant corn, Mesoamericans make cornfields. And they are different things because corn is a plant and the cornfield is a way of life. The cornfield is the matrix (womb) of Mesoamerican civilization. If we really want to preserve and strengthen our deep identity, not only agroecological but also socio-economic, cultural and civilizational, we must move from the corn … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Diet
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) arising from the misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a significant global health concern (Saed etal 2024). Studies have found that approximately 40 % of all registered resistant infections were caused by bacteria resistant to last-line antibiotics, which makes them nearly impossible to treat (Murray etal 2022) (Hofer 2019). It is expected that if the antimicrobial resistance issue remains unsolved, the associated … Continue reading Papalo as Medicine : Study Continues.
Porophyllum is a genus of phanerogamous (1) plants belonging to the family Asteraceae (2) . The pore-leaf family includes 101 described species and of these, only 27 are accepted. They are native subshrubs of the Americas. As their name suggests (4), their leaves often have large glands that produce aromatic oils that give off a strong odour. The large majority of these plants are used … Continue reading Porophyllum iruyense
I have briefly looked at this herb in my Post Papalo and Pipicha. Skunk Weed? and as it is tantalisingly close to my love papalo I would like to investigate it a little more deeply (and grow it if I can source the seed). Also called : Yerba del Venado, Coronilla, Cempasuchil sencillo, Corona de Rey, arnica, San Felipe dyssodia, San Felipe dogweed, San Felipe … Continue reading Poreleaf Adjacent : San Felipe Dogweed : Adenophyllum porophylloides
Cover image : roadside offering to the Gods on a street in Bali. Ketumbar Bolivia = Bolivian Coriander : generally identified as Porophyllum ruderale (syn P.ellipticum) Also called : Seungit (fragrant, smells good – Indonesia.) In southeast Asia Ketumbar Bolivia is a type of papalo usually identified as being the variety known as Porophyllum ruderale. Ketumbar (katumbar) is a Brunei Malay (1) word signifying the … Continue reading Ketumbar Bolivia : The Poreleaf in Southeast Asia
Wow. This started as something else. We’ll get to the Aztec diet part in a minute. Before I wanted to start I thought I’d define a couple of terms (one being “Naturopath”) so I thought I’d do a quick Google to get some ideas of the definitions out there and how they measured against what I know and all I can say is Holy Fuck! … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 1
Masa Americana 