Parsley: More Than a Plate Decoration

Clean your plate—then eat your parsley! Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) is a green, bushy herb commonly served on restaurant plates as a garnish. This is more than just a pretty piece of leaf, though: Parsley is excellent for the urinary system, and it also aids digestion and helps cut garlic breath.
Parsley also serves as a mild aphrodisiac. The word is derived from two Greek words, meaning “rock celery,” and it is rich in chlorophyll, to help get rid of excess water retention in the body without depleting potassium, as diuretic drugs can. Some of the same herbs used for bladder infections are also great used here; these include uva ursi, dandelion, chamomile, cornsilk, and liquid chlorophyll.

Hydrangea: Like a Rollin’ Stone

A kidney stone, a calcification of mineral deposits, is a painful ailment. The pain of having or passing a kidney stone has been described as one of the most painful conditions known to man! The stones can crystallize and cause very sharp, burning pains in the body. They can even be life-threatening if one gets stuck along your urinary tract and inhibits the natural flow of body fluids. Most occurrences of kidney stones happen in the summer time. This is thought to be linked with not drinking enough water to keep the kidneys flowing and stones from forming (during hot weather, the body’s need for water increases due to the excess evaporation from the skin).
Fortunately, the herbal kingdom has a stone-solvent herb for us to help break up these little rocks. Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) leaves and root have been used for the entire urinary system for bladder infections, kidney infections, gallstones, gout, kidney problems, calculi, and other renal irritations. This herb seems to be able to lessen the pain associated with passing kidney stones and also helps prevent them from forming in the first place. Furthermore, hydrangea is known to help back pain associated with kidney problems and has been used to help enlarged prostate glands.
When peeled, the bark of the hydrangea plant displays seven different colors. Thus, it was nicknamed “seven bark” by our ancestors, who used it as a folk medicine.
A Harvard University study showed that the following program prevented kidney stone formation:

• Vitamin B6
• Magnesium
• Hydrangea
• Pure water
• Extra lemon water

Cure for Kidney Problems

Supporting your digestion and getting the right minerals will take you a long way toward keeping your urinary system healthy, but let’s take a look at some herbs that can support that system anyway.
The kidneys are responsible for a lot more than just filtering out waste products. They are also linked to the circulatory system and help keep a mineral balance in the body. They filter out uric acid waste products, so when you eat foods that cause you to be more acidic, you are putting excess stress on the kidneys. Every food we eat is broken down and leaves an acid or alkaline residue.
Ideally, our diet should consist of 80 percent alkaline-forming foods and 20 percent acid forming foods. Here’s a table of some foods that are considered acid and alkaline. How well are you doing to stay in balance?
You can see by the table that most of the acid-forming foods are proteins (meat, cheese, beans, nuts). Therefore, in general, a high-protein diet is not as healthy for your kidneys because they have to filter out the excess acid left over from these foods. For general support for the kidneys, eat more alkaline foods. Also drink liquid chlorophyll daily in your water because it is alkalizing and good for the entire body.