The stage has four planks
Presque Isle Farmers’ Market
You don’t get to “go all maverick-y” with a political platform and expect to continue to be supported by your party. The health platform of herbalist Natalia Bragg is somewhat similar. She identifies The Four Planks of Health as what we as owners need to do and to pay attention to if we want to keep our vehicle in good running order for the long haul. None of the Four Planks are rare or obscure. All are essential.
The first plank is the intake of selenium. Soils in New England are generally selenium poor. Natalia insists that a number of common systemic issues, including problems with our immune system, arthritis pain, and even cancer clusters, are the net result of failing to consume the fruits, nuts, and berries that accumulate selenium “to keep our chassis sassy.”
Stress is a chronic enemy of good health. Few among us deny that stress keeps us awake, wired, and feeling less than 100 percent. Natalie believes “Stress = Disease” and the net results are autoimmune issues and chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia. She identifies her second plank as B vitamins, chemically capable of nullifying the poisons created by stress.
Plank 3 addresses heart and circulation issues with a light spritzing of garlic oil. Natalia believes that ingesting garlic oil will recondition veins and arteries, thin the blood, and eliminate the problems of “stickiness” in our circulatory system. Her graphic description of blood components coated in garlic oil and “sliding past each other like a bunch of greased up pigs,” rioting through our circulatory system and increasing “juice” to our brains, will cheer even the most hard-hearted among us.
Vitamin D3 is already all over the news for those of us who spend a good part of every year bundled up in parkas, hats, scarves, and mittens. It is hard to convince yourself when it is minus 35 that bare skin in the paltry sunlight is likely to do more than turn blue and crisp. Natalia identifies Vitamin D 3 as a Master Hormone and the fourth plank. “The framer, the plumber, the electrician, and the mason are all just sitting around having coffee unless the main contractor shows up to direct the project. Without Vitamin D3, our body is just coasting,” she insists.
You can learn more with a visit to Natalia Bragg of Knot II Bragg Farm in Perham. She can also be found with the other venders of the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings in the parking lot of the Aroostook Centre Mall.
The Presque Isle Farmers’ Market contact person is Gail Maynard, who operates Orchard Hill Farm in Woodland with her husband, Stan. Their phone number is 498-8541 and their email is orchhill@gmail.com.
