August 22, 2019 • 24 mins
This powerfully aromatic herb has been a medicinal staple for millennia and graces sweet and savory dishes alike today. Anney and Lauren delve into the long history and calming science of lavender.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to Sabor Prediction of iHeart Radio and
Stuff Media. I'm An Eeries and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and
today we're talking about lavender. Yep. And this one has
been on my mind since we got back from Hawaii
because while we were there, we found out there was
a lavender farm and it was the one that got away.
I'm so sad we missed it. Yeah, it was Doun
Maui and we technically weren't recording anything on Mauie. That
(00:31):
was a couple of days at Annie and I had
of vacation, but we were still going to go out there. Yeah,
time was too short, it was. It was. There were
just a lot of turtles to see. There were yeah,
many turtles, many beaches to go to, Oh gosh, mountains
to climb, tunas to eat, Oh so much tunas to eat?
(00:55):
Maybe next time. Not another reason to go back. Yes,
there are also other lavender farms. Oh really, of course there.
I would love to go. Oh man, I am out
of practice with those. You guys, It's okay, it's okay,
we're coming back. We're coming back. Um. I also wanted
to know when I was in high school, I was
(01:16):
told by a teacher lions don't like the smell of lavender,
like they run away from it. And it turns out
doing this research, maybe not so much. Um, But I
bought it hook line and sinker, and to this day
I wear lavender sent a deodorant just in case, Just
in case, I mean, has this ever been a thing?
(01:39):
Might have been? Well, I guess you wouldn't know, because
the lions are running from the spell of my deodorant. Well,
and you're also and you're also fresh. Yes, it's got
multiple things that are going on with the lavender deodorant.
But okay, okay, let's get to our question. Lavender. What
(02:04):
is it? Well, Uh, Lavender is a category of herb
in the mint family. It's a small flowering shrub type
plants like one to three feet tall or up to
about a meter. Uh. Those flowers are typically a silvery
bluish purple, but can range into white and pink too.
There they're tiny little things and grow and like ring
or whorl patterns at the top inch or two of
(02:25):
these long spikes that shoot up from the plant um,
the one in one to two inches being like three
to five cis or so. Those flowers contain a lot
of nectar. Bees and other pollinators love them. Um, and
the and the calyx of the flower that the sort
of like support system cupping the petals. Yeah. Um. It
contains a lot of strongly scented oils. Floral and spicy
(02:47):
and sweet and like a little fruity and woody and sharp. Yeah.
H You can grow lavender from cuttings, which is an
exciting thing that I've just learned in this research makes
sense mint family types. There are about species of lavender.
I've seen numbers range from twenty to like forty eight,
so some disagreement there, but yeah, there are hundreds of varietals.
(03:10):
The three main categories though, are what's called true lavender,
which is the species Lavendula and Gustafolia. Then there's spike lavender,
which is Lavendula Latin folia, and then there's lavand in,
which is uh Lavendula intermedia, which is a hybrid of
those first two things. Intermedia intermedia interesting. All kinds of
(03:33):
uses for lavender. A lot of them are scent based perfume, soap, shampoo's, conditioners, lotions, deodorant, aromatherapy.
Food wise, More importantly, this podcast and drinks and mayonades
on meats and chocolates. This was my favorite chocolate flavor
we had when we were in Hawaii. Lots of sweets
like cookies, doughnuts, ice cream cakes infused and alcohol like
(03:54):
Jenner vodka. I have done this. It was magnificent. The
French heard their lamb degrees and fields of lavender and
hope that the resulting meat will be tender in honey, yes, yeah, yeah,
great in cocktails and salads. Fresh or dried lavender goes
especially well with tartish fruits like like berries and citrus,
which really bring out it's kind of sweet floral notes.
(04:14):
If you're ever like, oh man, lemon would be so
good with this. Lavender would probably also be good in there.
Yeah yeah, but so many, so many uses. Different varieties
and concentrations can work as antifungals and insect repellents, or
even insecticides. Note do not eat lavender that is not
labeled for culinary use, or that you or someone you
know didn't go yourself. The garden variety may have a
(04:35):
lot of peticides or or just be way way way stronger.
Yeah yeah, um. The lavand in tends to have a
lot more camphor to it, which is fun but maybe
not maybe not what you want to eat. Yes, and
going with it, lavender does have a strong flavor. I
used way too much once in collagen. Oh god, still
(05:00):
eat it. I still ate the chicken because I was
a college student who had spent all of her money
on lavender, but it was not the most pleasurable experience,
like like like eating a bowl of potpourria. I imagine,
oh yeah, for days. Because again, but let's talk about
the nutrition. Yeah, I guess going off of that story,
(05:23):
probably you shouldn't eat so much lavender that it contributes
to your daily CLOrk intake. Nope, nope, it's a it's
a it's a light spice. But there is a lot
of really interesting research into the possible medicinal benefits of
lavender um. Preliminary research in vivo in animals and in
human animals has shown that that lavender can kind of
(05:44):
just chilla being out like like literally, and that it
can slow down some bodily processes, including the cellular consumption
of energy and thus production of heat um, but also
figuratively in that it can reduce anxiety. It seems like
application orally on the skin and via inhalation can have
a relaxing effect on a few central nervous system systems.
(06:06):
In general, better effects have been observed in mild cases
of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and pain management than in more
severe cases of any of those things. But it has
performed better than placebo in all of those cases. UM.
That said, bodies are complicated. More research needs to be
done the saver model. MM, we need that on a
(06:28):
T shirt. UH. If you're looking to self treat with lavender,
do your research, consult a medical professional. UM. Also be
aware the ingestion of lavender, like medicinal quantities of lavender,
has been associated with some gastro intestinal discomfort UM, and
topical application has been associated with mild hormonal changes. UM.
It can have like a estrogenic effects. So UM, so
(06:50):
maybe limit the amount of pure lavender oil that you
apply to the skin of young male children. That's a
very specific advice, like got it heard and seeing Lauren,
Yeah yeah, Or if you've got other stuff going on
with your with your hormone balance, then you know, just
(07:11):
keep that in mind. UM. Again, a short term it
seems to be absolutely fine and safe for use, but
more studies need to be done on long term effects. Indeed,
if we look at numbers, a lot of lavender comes
from Provence, France, but you can find it growing all over.
Bulgaria actually produces the most, but yeah, lots in France.
(07:32):
It's also farmed in England, Russia, Australia, the United States
and Canada, South Africa and all around the Mediterranean um,
both the Southern Europe side and the North African side
and ranging out into Turkey. M Over metric tons of
lavender oils are produced every year, most of it levandon um,
which again is kind of sharper and less expensive. As
(07:55):
of the global market for lavender was worth seventy six
million dollars um, most of that in non food applications,
but the food and beverage segment seems to be growing. Wow, Sequiam,
Washington or perhaps Sequium as the lavender festival and we
just missed it sty Oh if anyone has been please
(08:19):
to any lavender festivals, certainly indeed right in it in pictures.
Is there some kind of crown that we can get
a scepter? Lavender scepter? It would spell so good, it
might keep lines away. No, it wouldn't, But I like
to think that it would. Lavender and other edible flowers
are experiencing a little bit of resurgence when it comes
(08:41):
to their culinary side. Edible flowers. But how did we
get here? Well, we'll tell you, but first we're going
to take one quick break for a word from our sponsor,
and we're back. Thank you, sponsored, Yes, thank you. Like
(09:03):
a lot of things we talked about, lavender started out
as mainly a medicinal thing as far as the historical
written record goes. Lavender's first mentioned took place over two thousand,
five hundred years ago, and it was referenced in both
the New and Old Testament of the Bible. Some historians
believe that the people of Arabia were the first to
domesticate lavender. Sometime around six d b c. Lavender made
(09:27):
its way to France. The ancient Romans used it as
a medicine and antiseptic for washing and insect repellent. Roman
soldiers even to lavender with them into battle to have
available to treat wounds, dropsy, jaundice, kidney disorders, upset stomach,
and insect fits. Women would be given lavender to clutch
during childbirth for strength and courage, and from what I
(09:49):
understand still are in some places it was fairly expensive
to a pound going for the equivalent of a farmer's
monthly salary. There's a superstition in Rome at the time
that asps nested in lavender bushes, which may or may
not have been a ploy to drive up the price.
I have a suspicion that it was. It really has
(10:11):
been used to treat all kinds of things, insomnia, depression, anxiety, fatigue.
In Chinese traditional medicine. It was thought to have cooling
properties for the mind and heart. The word lavender comes
from the Latin lavarre are lavo, meaning to wash. The
Greeks and Romans frequently used lavender scented bathwater. Or it
might come from the Latin lividus, meaning bluish and or
(10:34):
livid um. Either way, Yeah, the two words were associated
with each other and and would be for a very
long time, the the washing sense and the bluish sense.
Right before we recorded this, Lauren and I were discussing
how we'd agreed on this right. We both thought it
was spelled a R at the end. Oh yeah, I
thought that there were It was just nothing but a's
I don't know, like I spelling is very strange. Lavender
(10:58):
heavendar with colors. I feel like that Crayola Crown game
I used to have it had a a R. I
think I was probably being improperly influenced by like lavendarbiez
like yeah, like laundromats. Well, I was thinking of crayons,
and probably incorrectly. So there that goes all right. Um.
(11:20):
People would also burn lavender innocence for angry gods, and
they thought that the scent of lavender might keep untamed
lions ant tiger's calm. So I guess that's where the
whole lions don't like the smell of it thing came from.
I've been living a lie. I don't want to calm
them down. I want them running fear My lavender deodorant
(11:43):
will not keep the lions away. I must go back
to the drawing board. I think that either a calm
lion or a running away lion, I think both are Okay,
it's true, but I just like the idea of be
blocking up all tough in the lion taking off and
people looking at me like whoa, you know what I mean.
(12:03):
I never had that dream. I've never had that dream.
Anny oh, it's a wonderful one. I'll try it out later, Okay,
you should. I highly recommend it. The Egyptians use lavender
as a part of mummification and also as a perfume.
One thing I read claimed that Tuton Common's tomb still
had the smell of lavender when opened three thousand years later.
(12:25):
Some accounts called lavender Cleopatra's secret weapon, her scent of
choice one seducing Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar. The Arabians
and Phoenicians enjoyed the smell of lavender in their frequences.
That seduction thing may not have been limited to Cleopatra.
I don't think it was at all. Apparently, women looking
for a suitor might put a satchel of lavender in
(12:47):
their cleavage, and there's even a lullabye about it. Lavender's green,
dilly dilly, Lavender's blue. You must love me, dilly dilly,
because I love you. Romantic Up into the ages. In Europe,
some folks associated lavender with love and considered it uh
huh and aphrodisiac, of course, though it was also associated
(13:08):
with like purity um. There's a belief that sprinkling lavender
water on a loved one's head would keep them chaste.
A lavender was also believed by some cultures to ward
off evil spirits. Churches in Spain and Portugal had lavender
strewn on their floors, and on St. John's Day, uh
lavender was thrown into the bonfires, perhaps more for luck.
(13:30):
Some Christians believe that putting some lavender in an entrance
or a keyhole would keep away ghost and the evil eye.
Beginning in the twelfth century and all the way up
to eighteen seventy four France, lavender was used to treat lice.
Around this time, which was Medieval Renaissance. Women who you
could hire to do your wash were called lavenders. While
(13:51):
the plague and cholera were a huge concern during the
sixteenth and seventeenth century, lavender was believed to be a
preventative for those things. Lavender made the jury Arney to
the America's in the sixteen hundreds, and then in sixteen
fifty two one Nicholas Culpepper published The English Physician, which
was a book of herbal medicines and astrology, because you know,
(14:12):
that's sort of how things flew at the time. In it,
he wrote about lavender, this is so well known, being
an inhabitant in almost every garden, that it needeth no description,
no description at all. He also associated it with the
planet mercury. Okay, yeah, I don't know, Okaytloger. Queen Elizabeth
(14:34):
the First was a big fan of lavender and always
wanted a jar of lavender concert which jam yeah, it's yeah,
like a jelly or jam on her royal table. She
used it as a perfume too, and on top of that,
she drank lavender tea from migraines. She hired an official
purveyor of lavender essence to the Queen, it's a wonderful title.
(14:55):
I love it so much. And she may have been
onto something with that migraine thing, at least according to
the herbalist and naturalists of the time. William Turner's work
herbal included this note about lavender flowers of lavender quilted
in a cap comfort the brain. Very well. No, I
don't think that's how I don't think that's how it's useful.
But I love the idea of people wearing lavender caps.
(15:17):
Oh man, that that is lovely. Probably smelled nice. John
Parkinson's wrote something similar in the six Theatrum Botanicum that
lavender was especially good use for all griefs and pains
of the head and brain and the tremblings and passions
of the heart, not only eaten, but also smelled or
applied to the temples and some of the bears out.
(15:39):
I mean, there's there's research to this day about about
its use in migraines and it can help lessen them. Yeah,
there you go. Charles the sixth of France wouldn't go
without lavender on his pillow or in his pillow because
he thought it would help him have a RESTful night.
Queen Victoria was integral and popularizing lavender across Europe. She
kept it in every room for fragrance and cleaning purposes,
(16:02):
as an air freshener, and for the linen's. The aristocracy
started growing it ornamentally in their gardens. In the Victorian
language of flowers, lavender oftentimes represented uh mistrust. Art was
associated with mistrust, and this is because, according to Henry
Phillips book Floral Emblems, lavender is frequently used to cover
(16:23):
disagreeable odors. Yeah, trust anybody trying high disagreeable odors, he
knew he'd be very suspective by deodor. He would be.
He would be, I'm like, what if they're just innocently
trying to ward off lions? Come on, man, I thought
(16:43):
that's what we were all doing. I thought that's what
people would assume. It turns out I've just made a
fool of you and me. It seems the French didn't
start cooking with lavender until the twentieth century. Combination of
lavender oil and sphagnum moss was used in the place
of the limited amount of antiseptic for wounded soldiers during
(17:05):
World War One, so that's pretty recent. Maud Grieves one
modern herbal came with this lavender tidbit. In some cases
of mental depression and delusions, oil of lavender proves a
real service, and a few drops rubbed on the temple
will cure nervous headache. Yeah. And then in the nineteen thirties,
French chemist Renee Maurice get the false so impressed with
(17:28):
what he saw as the healing properties of lavender after
he used it to treat a chemical burn, wrote about
it in a Roman therapy de wheel essentiale ormond Vegeti.
He coined the word aroma therapy in this book in
the International Herb Association named lavender the herb of the Year.
(17:50):
Oh yeah um. And then in a research team out
of the University of British Columbia sequenced um true lavender's geno. Wow.
Mm hmm. It's all happening. It's all happening right now.
It is. Oh. And I love I love stuff like
this that has these these proven anti microbial, anti fungal
(18:13):
properties that was used to ward off evil spirits uh
in the olden times, because I'm like, yeah, like our
bacteria evil spirits? Does that count? Yeah? I think so.
They were onto something yeah sure yeah. And also I
guess now that I think about it, I have I
have this teddy bear that I call heavy Bear because
he's he's weighted down with like with like barley and
(18:34):
uh and and scented with with like lavender and all
this stuff inside of him. He's it's it's it's meant.
It's like a line of products that's meant to be
uh microwaved and then used as like a soothing nighttime thing.
Although when you tell people that the bear is meant
to be microwaved, they get very upset. You must serve Oh,
(18:57):
how could you, But it is very soothing, like I
don't know, like I like, you know, it's one of
those things that I guess until I did this research,
I was never sure if it was just placebo or right.
But yeah, my mom's favorite scent is lavender, and when
I was growing up, I did not like the smell
of lavender. And it wasn't until because I'm a wild
woman that I heard maybe do'll protect me for flyings.
(19:19):
I was like, Okay, I'm on board. Mom. I love
the smell, but it does like she has it kind
of throughout the house and it makes me think of
her now, which I really it does have that kind
of nostalgia thing, but it's also through that and possibly
through some of this research we went over, it has
been comforting. Yeah. Yeah, all right. It's a divisive flavor
(19:41):
I found. Do you like floral flavor stuff? Um? Yes,
but I did not used to. I did not used to? Um,
but now oh yeah, yeah, I think I always had
or maybe, like I'm not sure if I encountered floral
flavored candies and stuff until I was a little bit older,
maybe like college, high school or call ledge. And yeah,
by that time, I was like, yeah, I want to
(20:02):
eat stuff that tastes like roses, like what like, yes,
I want that a um, yeah, lavenders, it's a really
it's like a lavender swordbet oh yeah, or like a
doughnut with the lavender glaze ourcake. Oh no, oh no no.
Well that's what we have to say about lavender for now.
(20:25):
Hopefully we will get to one of those lavender farms.
Oh absolutely, but we do have a little bit more
for you. We do, but first we've got one more
quick break for a word from our sponsor, and we're back.
Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you, and we're back with listen. Um,
(20:52):
very soothing. Everyone fell asleep, right, and so you won't
get to hear this wonderful listener. Janice wrote, I've been
to write this email for some time, and finally, now
that I have a batch of Jack Tors chocolate chip
cookies in the oven after forty eight hours of doubt chilling,
I wanted to tell you about Bar Snacks in Lebanon.
(21:12):
My fiance and I traveled there last year and much
are surprise, Bars won only served complimentary mixed nuts, but
a small plate of lightly salted carrot sticks and lemon juice.
These snacks were served without fail at every bar we
visited in Beirut and in the town of Biblos. The
only bar that we happened upon that didn't do this
was an Irish tab pub owned by a Russian woman.
(21:33):
I love that kind of stuff for bar snack. Raw
vegetables certainly are not the first thing to come to
my mind, but chilled carrot sticks and lemon juice make
for a really pleasant tasty side on any warm Lebanese night.
I have no idea about the origin of this tradition,
and questioning our bartenders mostly resulted in the shrug. Again,
it's just what you do for an answer. Huh. But
that does sound really refreshing. It does sound delightful. Oh man, okay,
(21:57):
all right snacks Ideas Gretchen wrote while listening to your
m R. E episode, I was struck by how concerned
he sounded at the idea of heating food over C four.
Having seen this in a documentary, I wanted to assure
you it's much safer than it sounds, thank goodness. S
four only explodes when it's exposed to electrical current. If
it's exposed to flame, it burns slowly. A small amount
(22:20):
would be separated for a single use, or one corner
of a large block would be lit then easily smothered
when the heating was done. It also reminded me of
an interesting anecdote I was once told about my grandfather. Apparently,
while he was a mechanic in the Air Force, he
and his buddies would chill beer with jet fuel. As
described me, the method was to one barry a six
(22:41):
pack in the ground with several inches of soil on top.
Two douse the soil over the beer with the jet fuel.
Three light the jet fuel. Shocked face, Yep, we're making it.
And in the email in a moj form, I us
the intense flame at the top of the soil created
(23:02):
a lot of air flow through the loosened soil around
the beer, thus chilling it. Innovative this that that was.
That was a roller coaster of an email, because I
was at once comforted and then terrified of another thing
that I didn't know you needed to be terrifized. Yeah,
(23:24):
well we were, so we gotta find a way to
chill out of beer. I know, Hey, you make do
with what you've got. It's true, It's true, very impressive. Anyway,
Thanks to both of them for writing in. If you
(23:45):
would like to write to us, you can. Our email
is hello at savor pod dot com. We're also on
social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram at saber pod. We do hope to hear from you.
Savor is production of I Heart Radio and Stuffed Media.
For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can visit
the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
(24:05):
listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our
super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you
for listening, and we hope that lots more good things
are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Sabor Prediction of iHeart Radio and
Stuff Media. I'm An Eeries and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and
today we're talking about lavender. Yep. And this one has
been on my mind since we got back from Hawaii
because while we were there, we found out there was
a lavender farm and it was the one that got away.
I'm so sad we missed it. Yeah, it was Doun
Maui and we technically weren't recording anything on Mauie. That
(00:31):
was a couple of days at Annie and I had
of vacation, but we were still going to go out there. Yeah,
time was too short, it was. It was. There were
just a lot of turtles to see. There were yeah,
many turtles, many beaches to go to, Oh gosh, mountains
to climb, tunas to eat, Oh so much tunas to eat?
(00:55):
Maybe next time. Not another reason to go back. Yes,
there are also other lavender farms. Oh really, of course there.
I would love to go. Oh man, I am out
of practice with those. You guys, It's okay, it's okay,
we're coming back. We're coming back. Um. I also wanted
to know when I was in high school, I was
(01:16):
told by a teacher lions don't like the smell of lavender,
like they run away from it. And it turns out
doing this research, maybe not so much. Um, But I
bought it hook line and sinker, and to this day
I wear lavender sent a deodorant just in case, Just
in case, I mean, has this ever been a thing?
(01:39):
Might have been? Well, I guess you wouldn't know, because
the lions are running from the spell of my deodorant. Well,
and you're also and you're also fresh. Yes, it's got
multiple things that are going on with the lavender deodorant.
But okay, okay, let's get to our question. Lavender. What
(02:04):
is it? Well, Uh, Lavender is a category of herb
in the mint family. It's a small flowering shrub type
plants like one to three feet tall or up to
about a meter. Uh. Those flowers are typically a silvery
bluish purple, but can range into white and pink too.
There they're tiny little things and grow and like ring
or whorl patterns at the top inch or two of
(02:25):
these long spikes that shoot up from the plant um,
the one in one to two inches being like three
to five cis or so. Those flowers contain a lot
of nectar. Bees and other pollinators love them. Um, and
the and the calyx of the flower that the sort
of like support system cupping the petals. Yeah. Um. It
contains a lot of strongly scented oils. Floral and spicy
(02:47):
and sweet and like a little fruity and woody and sharp. Yeah.
H You can grow lavender from cuttings, which is an
exciting thing that I've just learned in this research makes
sense mint family types. There are about species of lavender.
I've seen numbers range from twenty to like forty eight,
so some disagreement there, but yeah, there are hundreds of varietals.
(03:10):
The three main categories though, are what's called true lavender,
which is the species Lavendula and Gustafolia. Then there's spike lavender,
which is Lavendula Latin folia, and then there's lavand in,
which is uh Lavendula intermedia, which is a hybrid of
those first two things. Intermedia intermedia interesting. All kinds of
(03:33):
uses for lavender. A lot of them are scent based perfume, soap, shampoo's, conditioners, lotions, deodorant, aromatherapy.
Food wise, More importantly, this podcast and drinks and mayonades
on meats and chocolates. This was my favorite chocolate flavor
we had when we were in Hawaii. Lots of sweets
like cookies, doughnuts, ice cream cakes infused and alcohol like
(03:54):
Jenner vodka. I have done this. It was magnificent. The
French heard their lamb degrees and fields of lavender and
hope that the resulting meat will be tender in honey, yes, yeah, yeah,
great in cocktails and salads. Fresh or dried lavender goes
especially well with tartish fruits like like berries and citrus,
which really bring out it's kind of sweet floral notes.
(04:14):
If you're ever like, oh man, lemon would be so
good with this. Lavender would probably also be good in there.
Yeah yeah, but so many, so many uses. Different varieties
and concentrations can work as antifungals and insect repellents, or
even insecticides. Note do not eat lavender that is not
labeled for culinary use, or that you or someone you
know didn't go yourself. The garden variety may have a
(04:35):
lot of peticides or or just be way way way stronger.
Yeah yeah, um. The lavand in tends to have a
lot more camphor to it, which is fun but maybe
not maybe not what you want to eat. Yes, and
going with it, lavender does have a strong flavor. I
used way too much once in collagen. Oh god, still
(05:00):
eat it. I still ate the chicken because I was
a college student who had spent all of her money
on lavender, but it was not the most pleasurable experience,
like like like eating a bowl of potpourria. I imagine,
oh yeah, for days. Because again, but let's talk about
the nutrition. Yeah, I guess going off of that story,
(05:23):
probably you shouldn't eat so much lavender that it contributes
to your daily CLOrk intake. Nope, nope, it's a it's
a it's a light spice. But there is a lot
of really interesting research into the possible medicinal benefits of
lavender um. Preliminary research in vivo in animals and in
human animals has shown that that lavender can kind of
(05:44):
just chilla being out like like literally, and that it
can slow down some bodily processes, including the cellular consumption
of energy and thus production of heat um, but also
figuratively in that it can reduce anxiety. It seems like
application orally on the skin and via inhalation can have
a relaxing effect on a few central nervous system systems.
(06:06):
In general, better effects have been observed in mild cases
of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and pain management than in more
severe cases of any of those things. But it has
performed better than placebo in all of those cases. UM.
That said, bodies are complicated. More research needs to be
done the saver model. MM, we need that on a
(06:28):
T shirt. UH. If you're looking to self treat with lavender,
do your research, consult a medical professional. UM. Also be
aware the ingestion of lavender, like medicinal quantities of lavender,
has been associated with some gastro intestinal discomfort UM, and
topical application has been associated with mild hormonal changes. UM.
It can have like a estrogenic effects. So UM, so
(06:50):
maybe limit the amount of pure lavender oil that you
apply to the skin of young male children. That's a
very specific advice, like got it heard and seeing Lauren,
Yeah yeah, Or if you've got other stuff going on
with your with your hormone balance, then you know, just
(07:11):
keep that in mind. UM. Again, a short term it
seems to be absolutely fine and safe for use, but
more studies need to be done on long term effects. Indeed,
if we look at numbers, a lot of lavender comes
from Provence, France, but you can find it growing all over.
Bulgaria actually produces the most, but yeah, lots in France.
(07:32):
It's also farmed in England, Russia, Australia, the United States
and Canada, South Africa and all around the Mediterranean um,
both the Southern Europe side and the North African side
and ranging out into Turkey. M Over metric tons of
lavender oils are produced every year, most of it levandon um,
which again is kind of sharper and less expensive. As
(07:55):
of the global market for lavender was worth seventy six
million dollars um, most of that in non food applications,
but the food and beverage segment seems to be growing. Wow, Sequiam,
Washington or perhaps Sequium as the lavender festival and we
just missed it sty Oh if anyone has been please
(08:19):
to any lavender festivals, certainly indeed right in it in pictures.
Is there some kind of crown that we can get
a scepter? Lavender scepter? It would spell so good, it
might keep lines away. No, it wouldn't, But I like
to think that it would. Lavender and other edible flowers
are experiencing a little bit of resurgence when it comes
(08:41):
to their culinary side. Edible flowers. But how did we
get here? Well, we'll tell you, but first we're going
to take one quick break for a word from our sponsor,
and we're back. Thank you, sponsored, Yes, thank you. Like
(09:03):
a lot of things we talked about, lavender started out
as mainly a medicinal thing as far as the historical
written record goes. Lavender's first mentioned took place over two thousand,
five hundred years ago, and it was referenced in both
the New and Old Testament of the Bible. Some historians
believe that the people of Arabia were the first to
domesticate lavender. Sometime around six d b c. Lavender made
(09:27):
its way to France. The ancient Romans used it as
a medicine and antiseptic for washing and insect repellent. Roman
soldiers even to lavender with them into battle to have
available to treat wounds, dropsy, jaundice, kidney disorders, upset stomach,
and insect fits. Women would be given lavender to clutch
during childbirth for strength and courage, and from what I
(09:49):
understand still are in some places it was fairly expensive
to a pound going for the equivalent of a farmer's
monthly salary. There's a superstition in Rome at the time
that asps nested in lavender bushes, which may or may
not have been a ploy to drive up the price.
I have a suspicion that it was. It really has
(10:11):
been used to treat all kinds of things, insomnia, depression, anxiety, fatigue.
In Chinese traditional medicine. It was thought to have cooling
properties for the mind and heart. The word lavender comes
from the Latin lavarre are lavo, meaning to wash. The
Greeks and Romans frequently used lavender scented bathwater. Or it
might come from the Latin lividus, meaning bluish and or
(10:34):
livid um. Either way, Yeah, the two words were associated
with each other and and would be for a very
long time, the the washing sense and the bluish sense.
Right before we recorded this, Lauren and I were discussing
how we'd agreed on this right. We both thought it
was spelled a R at the end. Oh yeah, I
thought that there were It was just nothing but a's
I don't know, like I spelling is very strange. Lavender
(10:58):
heavendar with colors. I feel like that Crayola Crown game
I used to have it had a a R. I
think I was probably being improperly influenced by like lavendarbiez
like yeah, like laundromats. Well, I was thinking of crayons,
and probably incorrectly. So there that goes all right. Um.
(11:20):
People would also burn lavender innocence for angry gods, and
they thought that the scent of lavender might keep untamed
lions ant tiger's calm. So I guess that's where the
whole lions don't like the smell of it thing came from.
I've been living a lie. I don't want to calm
them down. I want them running fear My lavender deodorant
(11:43):
will not keep the lions away. I must go back
to the drawing board. I think that either a calm
lion or a running away lion, I think both are Okay,
it's true, but I just like the idea of be
blocking up all tough in the lion taking off and
people looking at me like whoa, you know what I mean.
(12:03):
I never had that dream. I've never had that dream.
Anny oh, it's a wonderful one. I'll try it out later, Okay,
you should. I highly recommend it. The Egyptians use lavender
as a part of mummification and also as a perfume.
One thing I read claimed that Tuton Common's tomb still
had the smell of lavender when opened three thousand years later.
(12:25):
Some accounts called lavender Cleopatra's secret weapon, her scent of
choice one seducing Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar. The Arabians
and Phoenicians enjoyed the smell of lavender in their frequences.
That seduction thing may not have been limited to Cleopatra.
I don't think it was at all. Apparently, women looking
for a suitor might put a satchel of lavender in
(12:47):
their cleavage, and there's even a lullabye about it. Lavender's green,
dilly dilly, Lavender's blue. You must love me, dilly dilly,
because I love you. Romantic Up into the ages. In Europe,
some folks associated lavender with love and considered it uh
huh and aphrodisiac, of course, though it was also associated
(13:08):
with like purity um. There's a belief that sprinkling lavender
water on a loved one's head would keep them chaste.
A lavender was also believed by some cultures to ward
off evil spirits. Churches in Spain and Portugal had lavender
strewn on their floors, and on St. John's Day, uh
lavender was thrown into the bonfires, perhaps more for luck.
(13:30):
Some Christians believe that putting some lavender in an entrance
or a keyhole would keep away ghost and the evil eye.
Beginning in the twelfth century and all the way up
to eighteen seventy four France, lavender was used to treat lice.
Around this time, which was Medieval Renaissance. Women who you
could hire to do your wash were called lavenders. While
(13:51):
the plague and cholera were a huge concern during the
sixteenth and seventeenth century, lavender was believed to be a
preventative for those things. Lavender made the jury Arney to
the America's in the sixteen hundreds, and then in sixteen
fifty two one Nicholas Culpepper published The English Physician, which
was a book of herbal medicines and astrology, because you know,
(14:12):
that's sort of how things flew at the time. In it,
he wrote about lavender, this is so well known, being
an inhabitant in almost every garden, that it needeth no description,
no description at all. He also associated it with the
planet mercury. Okay, yeah, I don't know, Okaytloger. Queen Elizabeth
(14:34):
the First was a big fan of lavender and always
wanted a jar of lavender concert which jam yeah, it's yeah,
like a jelly or jam on her royal table. She
used it as a perfume too, and on top of that,
she drank lavender tea from migraines. She hired an official
purveyor of lavender essence to the Queen, it's a wonderful title.
(14:55):
I love it so much. And she may have been
onto something with that migraine thing, at least according to
the herbalist and naturalists of the time. William Turner's work
herbal included this note about lavender flowers of lavender quilted
in a cap comfort the brain. Very well. No, I
don't think that's how I don't think that's how it's useful.
But I love the idea of people wearing lavender caps.
(15:17):
Oh man, that that is lovely. Probably smelled nice. John
Parkinson's wrote something similar in the six Theatrum Botanicum that
lavender was especially good use for all griefs and pains
of the head and brain and the tremblings and passions
of the heart, not only eaten, but also smelled or
applied to the temples and some of the bears out.
(15:39):
I mean, there's there's research to this day about about
its use in migraines and it can help lessen them. Yeah,
there you go. Charles the sixth of France wouldn't go
without lavender on his pillow or in his pillow because
he thought it would help him have a RESTful night.
Queen Victoria was integral and popularizing lavender across Europe. She
kept it in every room for fragrance and cleaning purposes,
(16:02):
as an air freshener, and for the linen's. The aristocracy
started growing it ornamentally in their gardens. In the Victorian
language of flowers, lavender oftentimes represented uh mistrust. Art was
associated with mistrust, and this is because, according to Henry
Phillips book Floral Emblems, lavender is frequently used to cover
(16:23):
disagreeable odors. Yeah, trust anybody trying high disagreeable odors, he
knew he'd be very suspective by deodor. He would be.
He would be, I'm like, what if they're just innocently
trying to ward off lions? Come on, man, I thought
(16:43):
that's what we were all doing. I thought that's what
people would assume. It turns out I've just made a
fool of you and me. It seems the French didn't
start cooking with lavender until the twentieth century. Combination of
lavender oil and sphagnum moss was used in the place
of the limited amount of antiseptic for wounded soldiers during
(17:05):
World War One, so that's pretty recent. Maud Grieves one
modern herbal came with this lavender tidbit. In some cases
of mental depression and delusions, oil of lavender proves a
real service, and a few drops rubbed on the temple
will cure nervous headache. Yeah. And then in the nineteen thirties,
French chemist Renee Maurice get the false so impressed with
(17:28):
what he saw as the healing properties of lavender after
he used it to treat a chemical burn, wrote about
it in a Roman therapy de wheel essentiale ormond Vegeti.
He coined the word aroma therapy in this book in
the International Herb Association named lavender the herb of the Year.
(17:50):
Oh yeah um. And then in a research team out
of the University of British Columbia sequenced um true lavender's geno. Wow.
Mm hmm. It's all happening. It's all happening right now.
It is. Oh. And I love I love stuff like
this that has these these proven anti microbial, anti fungal
(18:13):
properties that was used to ward off evil spirits uh
in the olden times, because I'm like, yeah, like our
bacteria evil spirits? Does that count? Yeah? I think so.
They were onto something yeah sure yeah. And also I
guess now that I think about it, I have I
have this teddy bear that I call heavy Bear because
he's he's weighted down with like with like barley and
(18:34):
uh and and scented with with like lavender and all
this stuff inside of him. He's it's it's it's meant.
It's like a line of products that's meant to be
uh microwaved and then used as like a soothing nighttime thing.
Although when you tell people that the bear is meant
to be microwaved, they get very upset. You must serve Oh,
(18:57):
how could you, But it is very soothing, like I
don't know, like I like, you know, it's one of
those things that I guess until I did this research,
I was never sure if it was just placebo or right.
But yeah, my mom's favorite scent is lavender, and when
I was growing up, I did not like the smell
of lavender. And it wasn't until because I'm a wild
woman that I heard maybe do'll protect me for flyings.
(19:19):
I was like, Okay, I'm on board. Mom. I love
the smell, but it does like she has it kind
of throughout the house and it makes me think of
her now, which I really it does have that kind
of nostalgia thing, but it's also through that and possibly
through some of this research we went over, it has
been comforting. Yeah. Yeah, all right. It's a divisive flavor
(19:41):
I found. Do you like floral flavor stuff? Um? Yes,
but I did not used to. I did not used to? Um,
but now oh yeah, yeah, I think I always had
or maybe, like I'm not sure if I encountered floral
flavored candies and stuff until I was a little bit older,
maybe like college, high school or call ledge. And yeah,
by that time, I was like, yeah, I want to
(20:02):
eat stuff that tastes like roses, like what like, yes,
I want that a um, yeah, lavenders, it's a really
it's like a lavender swordbet oh yeah, or like a
doughnut with the lavender glaze ourcake. Oh no, oh no no.
Well that's what we have to say about lavender for now.
(20:25):
Hopefully we will get to one of those lavender farms.
Oh absolutely, but we do have a little bit more
for you. We do, but first we've got one more
quick break for a word from our sponsor, and we're back.
Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you, and we're back with listen. Um,
(20:52):
very soothing. Everyone fell asleep, right, and so you won't
get to hear this wonderful listener. Janice wrote, I've been
to write this email for some time, and finally, now
that I have a batch of Jack Tors chocolate chip
cookies in the oven after forty eight hours of doubt chilling,
I wanted to tell you about Bar Snacks in Lebanon.
(21:12):
My fiance and I traveled there last year and much
are surprise, Bars won only served complimentary mixed nuts, but
a small plate of lightly salted carrot sticks and lemon juice.
These snacks were served without fail at every bar we
visited in Beirut and in the town of Biblos. The
only bar that we happened upon that didn't do this
was an Irish tab pub owned by a Russian woman.
(21:33):
I love that kind of stuff for bar snack. Raw
vegetables certainly are not the first thing to come to
my mind, but chilled carrot sticks and lemon juice make
for a really pleasant tasty side on any warm Lebanese night.
I have no idea about the origin of this tradition,
and questioning our bartenders mostly resulted in the shrug. Again,
it's just what you do for an answer. Huh. But
that does sound really refreshing. It does sound delightful. Oh man, okay,
(21:57):
all right snacks Ideas Gretchen wrote while listening to your
m R. E episode, I was struck by how concerned
he sounded at the idea of heating food over C four.
Having seen this in a documentary, I wanted to assure
you it's much safer than it sounds, thank goodness. S
four only explodes when it's exposed to electrical current. If
it's exposed to flame, it burns slowly. A small amount
(22:20):
would be separated for a single use, or one corner
of a large block would be lit then easily smothered
when the heating was done. It also reminded me of
an interesting anecdote I was once told about my grandfather. Apparently,
while he was a mechanic in the Air Force, he
and his buddies would chill beer with jet fuel. As
described me, the method was to one barry a six
(22:41):
pack in the ground with several inches of soil on top.
Two douse the soil over the beer with the jet fuel.
Three light the jet fuel. Shocked face, Yep, we're making it.
And in the email in a moj form, I us
the intense flame at the top of the soil created
(23:02):
a lot of air flow through the loosened soil around
the beer, thus chilling it. Innovative this that that was.
That was a roller coaster of an email, because I
was at once comforted and then terrified of another thing
that I didn't know you needed to be terrifized. Yeah,
(23:24):
well we were, so we gotta find a way to
chill out of beer. I know, Hey, you make do
with what you've got. It's true, It's true, very impressive. Anyway,
Thanks to both of them for writing in. If you
(23:45):
would like to write to us, you can. Our email
is hello at savor pod dot com. We're also on
social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram at saber pod. We do hope to hear from you.
Savor is production of I Heart Radio and Stuffed Media.
For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, you can visit
the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
(24:05):
listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our
super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you
for listening, and we hope that lots more good things
are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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