With April showers comes a feeling of cleansing. The weather is becoming much milder and the fresh scent of spring is starting to make us feel refreshed. There’s nothing like an April shower to give one a feeling of hope and anticipation. A good spring rain seems to make us feel cleansed and is a blessing to farmers. Speaking of showers, did you know that singing in the shower is actually a healthy activity? Singing in general promotes the “feel good” chemicals of the brain. This was shown in a recent study at Stanford University. This daily ritual, that so many of us engage in instinctually, is a simple way to feel good naturally.

While cleansing the outside of the body, we should also consider cleansing from the inside. Herbalists throughout times and everywhere often suggest a spring cleanse or tonic each year. Spring “cures” as they were called, would be prescribed for 8 to 14 days and would include teas made of sprigs taken from sprouting blackberries and raspberries in what is now Switzerland, Germany, Austria, etc. Even young branches of pine, oak, larch and ash trees would be harvested to make these curative teas. Every culture has its own spring tonics and foods. Here are some simple food and herb “cleansers” that have traditional uses for detoxification.

In the British Isles, tansy (tanacetum vulgare ) would be harvested to be used as a purging medicine during the springtime. An old Scottish remedy for gout was an infusion of the dried flowers and seed of tansy. In small doses, tansy was used to expel worms and other parasites in children. This herb is not used routinely in modern herbal therapy because of its toxicity in large doses. Tansy was used as a cleansing food during the middle ages. One popular dish was cakes made of tansy and whipped into eggs. The people of what is now Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland would make these brilliant green cakes in the spring to be eaten as a tonic for the body. You can create a similar cleansing food with organic parsley (one tablespoon or more per egg) instead of tansy. Chop up the parsley as fine as you can and add it to whipped up eggs. Gently cook in hot oil as you would an omelette. Parsley is stimulating to the kidneys and is considered a safe cleansing herb. Use it generously in all of your soups, salads and vegetables.

Enjoy artichokes and asparagus as they become available fresh at the market. These vegetables are laxative as well as diuretic. They stimulate the kidneys and the digestive tract. Eat artichokes and asparagus steamed and served hot or chilled. Of course you must skip the fatty sauces that are usually served with these traditional spring foods.

The fennel (foeniculum officinale) is another vegetable that has a reputation for cleansing and clearing most of the body systems. It’s good for the head, the lungs, the digestive tract and the kidneys. Serve it fresh, thinly sliced on a salad. Braised fennel makes a wonderful side dish for fish. Fennel is used a lot in Italian cuisine.

Popular watercress is also stimulating to the kidneys and can be added to fresh spring salads and sandwiches. You can find watercress in your local produce store. Dandelion greens are also very healthful. If you have an untreated, natural lawn you can start to harvest them now. The young bitter greens of dandelion are great for the digestive processes. The bitter principles in dandelion greens stimulate the flow of bile and digestive enzymes. Herbalists also use dandelion greens to nourish the kidneys. They are diuretic and help to remove access water from the body. “Eat your greens” as grandma used to say. There are loads of vitamins and minerals in green leafy foods as well.

Lemon is a wonderful cleanser for the body. Suck on an organic lemon to keep the salivary glands and lymph glands in the neck area cleansed. There are abundant ways to use lemon in the daily diet to cleanse and refresh the body. Lemon juice can be added to salad dressings. Fresh squeezed lemon juice makes a simple condiment for fish and vegetables. A squeeze of lemon can be added to fruit salads and vegetable juice blends. The scent of fresh lemon is uplifting and cheerful aromatherapy. This luscious aroma purifies the emotional part of our selves.

An easy way to include cleansing foods in the spring diet is to make salads of fresh leafy greens. The spring salad recipe below is tasty and includes a lot of bitter greens. If you have not yet acquired a taste for bitter greens you can add smaller amounts of the strong flavored greens to a salad of romaine or leaf lettuce. When I’m in a hurry, I grab a bag of those baby spring greens that are available at most supermarkets. Quick and easy fast food! Just add a healthy dressing or a few squeezes of lemon.

Spring Cleanse Salad

Wash and combine the following fresh ingredients to make a meal for one or a side salad for two.

1/2 cup arugula

1/4 cup dandelion greens

1/4 cup baby spinach

1/4 cup baby romaine

2 tablespoons water cress

2 tablespoons finely sliced fennel stalk

2 tablespoons finely sliced sweet onion

1 scant tablespoon golden seed raisins

Lemon-Mint

Vinaigrette Dressing

Whisk together the following:

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons cider or white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 scant tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint.

Karen Stokes, RN Herbalist is a member of the American Botanical Council and the Michigan Holistic Nurses Association. (248) 515-9863, email karen.stokes@yahoo.com.