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The Common Dandelion - Friend or Foe?
 Spring will soon be here and with it comes the emergence of the dandelion, one must ask is this a friend or foe?
Most people consider the common dandelion a weed, and one that they must do everything within their powers to eradicate them
from their yard or landscape. But did you
know, they are a free source of one of the healthiest foods you can eat? It's hard to imagine
how the dandelion has become the enemy of chemical lawn care, It's such a multi-purpose plant.
We've been eating wild things from our yard for almost
a month now. Just as last year's onions ran out, the wild onions showed up in profusion. The tops can be cut for use
like chives. With a little care or a trowel, a whole clump of the plants can be pulled or dug up, including the bulbs. Cleaned and finely chopped, they provide that allium zip for stir fries and
omelets. Once the wild onions appear, dandelions quickly follow. We had dandelion greens with wild onions in the salad
with our Easter dinner. Last week we had a salad of just dandelion greens, with a bit of crumbled feta cheese and a
balsamic vinegar dressing, Delicious! Dandelion greens taste best in the early spring, before their flowers develop.
In addition to salads, they're great in stir-fries. After the flowers appear, the greens are more bitter, but apparently this
flavor is much appreciated by southern Europeans and particularly people from Portugal and Italy. We welcome all the dandelions which grow around our place, but especially
the ones in our garden beds. The plants do well with the extra fertility and lack of competition there. The leaves
are at least as delicious as the other greens we grow, and since they are perennial, dandelions appear ready to eat each spring.
Later, they'll flower for beauty and for wonderful wine. The following reprint was
taken from the book "The Dandelion Celebration-The Guide to Unexpected Cuisine"
is recommended to anyone who would like to know more about this remarkable plant. It covers everything you could want to know
about dandelions and more, including recipes, planting, picking and preparing, along with the wonderful history of this "Official
Remedy for Disorders", Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion. Suppose your doctor tells you, on your next visit,
that he has just discovered a miracle drug which, when eaten as a part of your daily diet or taken as a beverage, could, depending
on the peculiarities of your body chemistry: *prevent or cure liver diseases, such as hepatitis or jaundice; *act
as a tonic and gentle diuretic to purify your blood, cleanse your system, dissolve kidney stones, and otherwise improve
gastro-intestinal health; *assist in weight reduction;
*cleanse your skin and eliminate
acne;
*improve your bowel function, working equally well to relieve both constipation and diarrhea;
*prevent
or lower high blood pressure;
*prevent or cure anemia;
* lower your serum cholesterol by
as much as half;
*eliminate or drastically reduce acid indigestion and gas
buildup by cutting the heaviness of fatty foods;
*prevent or cure various
forms of cancer;
*prevent or control diabetes mellitus;
and, at the same time, have no negative side effects and selectively act on only what ails you.
If he gave you a prescription for this miracle medicine, would you use it religiously at first to solve whatever the problem
is and then consistently for preventative body maintenance?
All the above curative functions, and more, have been
attributed to one plant known to everyone, Taraxacum officinale, which means the "Official Remedy for Disorders." We call it the common dandelion. It is so well respected, in fact, that
it appears in the U.S. National Formulatory, and in the Pharmacopeias of Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union.
It is one of the top 6 herbs in the Chinese herbal medicine chest.
According to the USDA Bulletin #8, "Composition of Foods" (Haytowitz and Matthews 1984), dandelions rank
in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value. Minnich, in "Gardening for Better Nutrition" ranks them,
out of all vegetables, including grains, seeds and greens, as tied for 9th best. According
to these data, dandelions are nature's richest green vegetable source of beta-carotene, from which Vitamin A is created, and
the third richest source of Vitamin A of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver! They also are particularly rich in
fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and are a good source
of protein.
These figures represent only those published by the USDA. Studies in Russia and Eastern Europe by Gerasimova,
Racz, Vogel, and Marei (Hobbs 1985) indicate that dandelion is also rich in micro-nutrients such as copper, cobalt, zinc,
boron, and molybdenum, as well as Vitamin D.
Much of what dandelions purportedly do in promoting good health could
result from nutritional richness alone. Vogel considers the sodium in dandelions important in reducing inflammations of the
liver. Gerasimova, the Russian chemist who analyzed the dandelion for, among other things, trace minerals, stated that "dandelion
[is] an example of a harmonious combination of trace elements, vitamins and other biologically active substances in ratios
optimal for a human organism" (Hobbs 1985).
Recent research, reported in the Natural Healing and Nutritional
Annual, 1989 (Bricklin and Ferguson 1989) on the value of vitamins and minerals indicates that:
* Vitamin A is
important in fighting cancers of epithelial tissue, including mouth and lung;
* Potassium rich foods, in adequate
quantities, and particularly in balance with magnesium, helps keep blood pressure down and reduces risks of strokes;
* Fiber fights diabetes, lowers cholesterol, reduces cancer and heart disease risks, and assists in weight loss. High fiber
vegetables take up lots of room, are low in calories, and slow down digestion so the food stays in the stomach longer and
you feel full longer;
* Calcium in high concentrations can build strong bones and can lower blood pressure;
* B vitamins help reduce stress.
Throughout history, dandelions have had a reputation as being effective
in promoting weight loss and laboratory research indicates that there is some support for this reputation. Controlled tests
on laboratory mice and rats by the same Romanians indicated that a loss of up to 30% of body weight in 30 days was possible
when the animals were fed dandelion extract with their food. Those on grass extract lost much less. The control group on plain
water actually gained weight. Beyond nutritional
richness, however, are the active chemical constituents contained in dandelions which may have specific therapeutic effects
on the body. These include, as reported by Hobbs (1985):
* Inulin, which
converts to fructose in the presence of cold or hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Fructose forms glycogen in the liver without
requiring insulin, resulting in a slower blood sugar rise, which makes it good for diabetics and hypoglycemics;
*
Tof-CFr, a glucose polymer similar to lentinan, which Japanese researchers have found
to act against cancer cells in laboratory mice; Lentinan is a yeast glucan (glucose polymer) that increases resistance against
protozoal and viral infections.;
* Pectin, which is anti-diarrheal and also
forms ionic complexes with metal ions, which probably contributes to dandelion's reputation as a blood and gastrointestinal
detoxifying herb. Pectin is prescribed regularly in Russia to remove heavy metals and radioactive elements from body tissues.
Pectin can also lower cholesterol and, combined with Vitamin C, can lower it even more. Dandelion is a good source of both
Pectin and Vitamin C;
* Coumestrol, an estrogen mimic which possibly is responsible,
at least in part, for stimulating milk flow and altering hormones;
* Apigenin and
Luteolin, two flavonoid glycosides which have been demonstrated to have diuretic, anti-spasmodic, anti-oxidant and
liver protecting actions and properties, and also to strengthen the heart and blood vessels. They also have anti-bacterial
and anti-hypoglycemic properties, and, as estrogen mimics, may also stimulate milk production and alter hormones;
* Gallic Acid, which is anti-diarrheal and anti-bacterial;
* Linoleic and Linolenic Acid, which are essential fatty acids required by the body to produce prostaglandin
which regulate blood pressure and such body processes as immune responses which suppress inflammation. These fatty acids can
lower chronic inflammation, such as proliferative arthritis, regulate blood pressure and the menstrual cycle, and prevent
platelet aggregation;
* Choline, which has been shown to help improve memory;
*Several Sesquiterpene compounds which are what make dandelions bitter. These
may partly account for dandelions tonic effects on digestion, liver, spleen and gall bladder, and are highly anti-fungal;
* Several Triterpenes, which may contribute to bile or liver stimulation;
* Taraxasterol, which may contribute to liver and gall bladder health or to hormone
altering.
These chemicals, individually, are not unique to dandelions, but the combination
of them all in one plant, along with high levels of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fiber account for the
many claims made regarding the plant.
These claims include the following results of clinical and laboratory
research, again as reported in Hobbs (1985):
* A doubling of bile output with leaf extracts, and a quadrupling
of bile output with root extract. Bile assists with the emulsification, digestion and absorption of fats, in alkalinizing
the intestines and in the prevention of putrefaction. This could explain the effectiveness of dandelion in reducing the effects
of fatty foods (heartburn and acid indigestion);
* A reduction in serum cholesterol and urine bilirubin levels
by as much as half in humans with severe liver imbalances has been demonstrated by Italian researchers;
* Diuretic
effects with a strength approaching that of the potent diuretics Furosemide and Lasix, used for congestive heart failure and
cirrhosis of the liver, with none of the serious side effects, were found by Romanian scientists. They found that water extract
of dandelion leaves, administered orally, because of its high potassium content, replaced serum potassium electrolytes lost
in the urine, eliminating such side effects common with the synthetics as severe potassium depletion, hepatic coma in liver
patients, circulatory collapse, and transmission through mothers' milk;
* In 1979 a Japanese patent was filed for
a freeze-dried warm water extract of dandelion root for anti-tumor use. It was found that administration of the extract markedly
inhibited growth of particular carcinoma cells within one week after treatment;
* Dental researchers at Indiana
University in 1982 used dandelion extracts in anti-plaque preparations;
* In studies from 1941 to 1952, the French
scientist Henri Leclerc demonstrated the effectiveness of dandelion on chronic liver problems related to bile stones. He found
that roots gathered in late summer to fall, when they are rich in bitter, white milky latex, should be used for all liver
treatments;
* In 1956, Chauvin demonstrated the antibacterial effects of dandelion pollen, which may validate the
centuries old use of dandelion flowers in Korean folk medicine to prevent furuncles (boils, skin infections), tuberculosis,
and edema and promote blood circulation.
Also, Witt (1983) recommends dandelion tea to alleviate the water buildup
in PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome).
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