Apothecary Essentials & More

10/06/2025

10/03/2025

I will be back today!
I might be moving a little slow but I will be back today!

10/01/2025

It’s the 1st of the month. Time to light her up!
My personal money bowl

10/01/2025

Guess what? It’s October 1st!
Let’s all do this! I do it every month.
At home and at work.

Bethany you’re gonna have to take over for me this month at the shop!

10/01/2025

I made fresh ginger and clove tea last night and it helped me to fall asleep.

But most importantly, ginger helps with your digestion.

In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger causes heat in your intestine, your stomach, and you want your stomach to continuously being warm. Because it helps with digestion.

I drink lots of hot water. When I’m out and about and I don’t have my tea bags with me, I drink hot water while I eat.
I avoid cold drinks. Yes I have cravings but I drink very little of cold drinks.

Think of the Stomach as a “Cooking Pot”

In TCM, the Stomach and Spleen are seen as the body’s “cooking pot” (the digestive fire):

Food comes in → the Stomach “cooks” and breaks it down.

The Spleen then “transforms and transports” nutrients into Qi and Blood.

If the “fire” in this pot is too weak or gets doused with cold, digestion slows down — just like trying to cook with a flame that’s too low.

Why Warm/Hot Water?

Supports Yang (warmth and activity): Warm water keeps the digestive fire strong.

Protects Qi flow: Cold water slows or blocks Qi movement, making digestion heavy.

Prevents “dampness”: Cold weakens the Spleen, causing phlegm, bloating, and loose stools.

Everyday Example
Warm tea or hot water with meals → feels soothing, digestion feels lighter.

Ice water or ice cream with meals → often leaves people feeling heavy, bloated, or sluggish.

So in TCM terms: hot water protects and preserves the digestive fire, while cold water dampens and weakens it.

Cold (Yin) Foods vs. Warm (Yang) Foods

In TCM, foods carry an energetic temperature (not just their physical temperature).

Cold/Yin foods cool the body, slow digestion, and can weaken the Spleen/Stomach if overused.

Warm/Yang foods support digestion, circulation, and metabolism.

Cold (Yin) Foods
Raw vegetables (salads, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach)
Tropical fruits (watermelon, banana, pineapple, kiwi)
Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese)
Cold drinks & ice cream

Benefits: cooling heat, calming inflammation, good in hot climates or for overheated bodies.

Risks: for people with weak digestion, they can cause bloating, loose stools, fatigue.

Warm (Yang) Foods:

Cooked vegetables (steamed, roasted, stir-fried)

Warming spices (ginger, cinnamon, garlic, pepper, cloves)

Animal proteins (chicken, lamb, fish, bone broth)

Soups, stews, porridges, teas

Benefits: support digestive fire, improve circulation, provide lasting energy.

Risks: for people with excess heat, too much can cause irritability, dryness, or inflammation.

09/30/2025

Read to the end and you will understand why I make this post. 

The three worst tea brands in the US.

1. Celestial seasonings branded as herbal wellness mini consumers report allergic reactions and headaches.
In a 2024 consumer survey found 72% of the herbal tea contain pesticide level exceeding FDA safety limits. 

2. Bigelow Tea- lab test showed contain less than 50% actual tea The rest are filled with additives and fillers.
Customers often report, moldy or stale teabags.

3. Lipton tea-a chemical cocktail. Independent test found pesticide residues with some samples, exceeding legal safety limits.

Someone came into the shop last week while I was not there and told my daughter that she can find cheaper Herbs at a different place.
Absolutely you can! You can find it on Amazon too.

Does Amazon listen to you, and tailor to your needs, the Herbs to your symptoms? wherever you go to to find cheaper Herbs, can any of the staff special blend herbs for your symptoms?

And are you valuing cheaper over quality and effectiveness? 

But this is where we are different than those cheaper herb shops. 

Our niche is not “cheap “
Walmart’s niche is “cheap “
Our niche are:
Freshness
Expertise
Personalization
Value

Freshness: Our herbs are purchased in smaller batches so they move quickly — nothing sits on a shelf for months or years

Expertise: Every blend is crafted by a trained herbalist with years of knowledge in how herbs interact and support specific symptoms. Me.

Personalization: Unlike pre-packaged products, your blend is created for you and your needs. If we don’t have it already made, we can special blend it for you.

Value: When you purchase here, you’re not just buying herbs — you’re investing in quality, freshness, and expertise you can’t find at a store that offers “cheap “

If you value “ cheap “ herbs, we are not the place for you.
There is no place in Wichita or surrounding cities that you can go into an herb shop, talk to the owner, discuss your symptoms, and walk out with a solution.

If you ever go to a Chinatown that has an herbal shop, that’s exactly what happens.

Some of you know me.
Some of you know that I am there for you.
Some of you know that you can come and sit, talk to me, sometime four hours.

And I will listen, and I will find a solution for you. If nothing else, I listen.

Tell me where you can go to, that you can have this kind of experience? 
Where can you go to that the owner of the shop will sit with you for hours listen to your story, pay full attention to you?

I care about every single person that step foot into my shop. Even if they do not ever come back. I will treat each person the same.  Some even more special because you’ve touched my heart.

I care! I want to help! This is why I can spend time with you.
Sometimes it has nothing to do with Herbs, but more of personal reason that you come see me.
I listen, you have my attention and I provide you with a solution. 

We do not judge! We don’t care about your sexual preference or what you practice! We care about you as a person! Not just a customer.

Based on what is going on in this country right now. If medication starts to go up due to the 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals, and people cannot afford medication anymore and especially insurance coverage, where are you going to go to treat yourself or prevent yourself from illnesses? 

Maybe it is time that you take your health into your own hands and start practicing preventative so that you will not be so ill that you have to take medicine as your food.

Come see us! 

09/29/2025

I do carry salt in my purse.
I keep forgetting to put some in my left pocket.
Just a pinch, not more than that if you want to carry it

09/28/2025

Look up Okinawa Japan. Why the residents live over 100 years old

09/28/2025

Please understand that “Inflammation“ is not just a word.
It is the root cause many diseases.

Here’s a categorized list of diseases and conditions that are strongly linked to inflammation (either chronic or acute):

Autoimmune & Inflammatory Diseases
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)
• Multiple sclerosis
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis)
• Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis
• Ankylosing spondylitis

Metabolic & Endocrine Conditions
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity-related metabolic syndrome
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Graves’ disease

Cardiovascular & Vascular Diseases
• Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
• Coronary artery disease
• Stroke (ischemic damage triggered by vascular inflammation)
• Hypertension-related vascular damage
• Peripheral artery disease

Neurodegenerative Disorders
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Huntington’s disease
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Respiratory & Allergy-Related Conditions
• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Chronic sinusitis
• Allergic rhinitis
• Pulmonary fibrosis

Gastrointestinal & Digestive Disorders
• Gastritis
• Peptic ulcers (when caused by chronic irritation/inflammation)
• Celiac disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, especially post-inflammatory subtypes)
• Colitis (infectious, ischemic, or microscopic)

Cancer Links (Inflammation as a Risk Factor)
• Liver cancer (from chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis)
• Colon cancer (from long-standing IBD or chronic irritation)
• Pancreatic cancer
• Stomach cancer (from chronic gastritis or H. pylori infection)

In summary: chronic inflammation is at the root of many autoimmune, metabolic, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and even cancerous diseases

09/28/2025

Ask your doctor to test you for HS-CRP. It is testing for inflammation in your body. 

09/28/2025

MRI studies have revealed something amazing about dogs. Their love for their owners goes beyond food, toys, or even other dogs. Scientists discovered that when a dog smells its owner, a special part of its brain actually lights up more than it does when the dog smells food or another animal.

This part of the brain, called the caudate nucleus, is connected to feelings of love and reward. The reaction is so strong that it shows dogs aren’t just recognizing a familiar scent, they’re feeling joy and affection.

It proves that when our dogs look at us or come running to greet us, it’s not just habit. Deep inside their brains, they truly love us, in a way that’s powerful and real.

Isn’t this remarkable?!

09/28/2025

Do not forget our fur babies! They too can benefit from preventative.

We have some mushroom powder blend that will help with their overall health.

I lost my last dog to Lymphoma. I wish I started the preventative with her.
Because I got busy at work and always thought that she will always be around because she was still young. I thought she was healthy. I was wrong.

Going forward, the next fur baby I will have in my life, I will definitely practice preventative. I’ve created a mushroom blend that you can sprinkle over your dog food or you can mix it with peanut butter. Give me a treat or bake it into your dog treats if you make dog treats, or if you cook food for your dogs or cats , you can incorporate the powder that way as well.