Deer ticks are well known as a carrier for Lyme disease and are therefore a serious concern for farmers, gardeners and those of us who otherwise like to spend our time outdoors. Several other tickborne infections can result from a tick bite, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including anaplasmosis,
Red clover and dandelion root – two nourishing wild plants to tincture. English photo By Joyce White Plants are all chemists, Tirelessly assembling the molecules of the world. – Gary Snyder What a revelation to me at midlife in the 1990s when Maine naturalist Jean Hoekwater introduced me to the idea that I could
State develops plan for possible spraying By MOFGA Staff Arboviral diseases are transmitted by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes and include Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus (WNV). Because EEE and WNV have been detected in Maine, the Maine Legislature directed the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (MDACF) and the Maine
Bowdoin College, October 1997 Every three minutes, another woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Every 12 minutes, another woman dies from breast cancer in the United States. These were some of the grim statistics presented by Andrea Martin, founder and president of the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, at a conference
John Bagnulo. Photo by Joanna Bagnulo. By Polly Shyka John Bagnulo is a naturalist and nutritionist. With a master’s in public health and a doctorate in food and nutrition sciences, he has a nutrition practice in Belfast and has taught nutrition for the past 12 years. He lectures widely on nutrition and health and has
Insidious and Invited Invasion of the Immune System Random odors can enter the body on a cellular level in seconds. By Diana Prizio Wake up, get out of bed, but before you drag that comb across your head you might take a quick shower. Soap up. Wash your hair, condition it, maybe use shave cream.
Toki Oshima drawings By Sue Smith-Heavenrich Regular yard work can help prevent osteoporosis, says Dr. Lori Turner from the University of Arkansas. She and her team of researchers have found that women aged 50 and older who garden at least once a week have stronger bones than their peers. Digging holes, pulling weeds, pushing a
By Diane Schivera Last winter MOFGA hosted two presentations about livestock health care that were well received by and very helpful to growers. One was presented by Dan Leiterman and by Paul Dettloff, D.V.M., from Wisconsin; the other by Henrietta Beaufait, D.V.M., from Albion. Beaufait will be speaking at MOFGA on a continuing basis throughout
Equisetum hyemale is the species of horsetail that grows in the mid-South, while E. arvense (below) grows in New England. Both species benefit bones and other aspects of health. Illustrations by Leslie Wood. By Leslie Wood, with Fredda Paul Spring shoots of horsetail have just begun to come up from the earth. In the early
By Jean English Fatty acids are straight chains of carbon (C) atoms that have hydrogen (H) atoms attched. The beginning of the fatty acid is a methyl (CH3) group, and the end is a carboxyl (COOH) group. The carbon atoms are numbered from 1, at the beginning, to n, at the end. Omega-3 fatty acids
