Medicinal Rosemary for your Dog or Cat’s Health

Rosmarinus officinalis   “rose of the sea” Rosemary is one of my favorite plant allies. She is gentle and safe yet powerful. It is an easy plant to grow and harvest in great abundance. It is in the Lamiaciae or mint family with many more gentle friends, such as lemon balm, catnip, and motherwort. It is aromatic which gives me the metaphorical sense of infusing itself through the toughest of blockages and obstructions in the body. It feels to me as though it can penetrate deeply into tissues and gently wisp away sticky collections of toxins in the cells. It has no boundaries in the body and even penetrates difficult areas, like the brain or the ocular lenses. That property lends itself to support problems such as memory loss or canine cognitive dysfunction and oxidative damage to the lenses, such as cataracts. Like any other plant that sits in one place near the moist ground full of bacteria and fungi or commingles closely with its brothers and sisters, it is full  of antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. These properties are touted in some plants and overlooked in others. However, all plants have developed such properties, aka phytochemicals to protect themselves in their vulnerable state. We and our animals developed the ability to chew them up and absorb them to protect ourselves. Another benefit common to rosemary and pretty much anything green with roots in the ground is its level of antioxidants. The label “superfood” and antioxidant rich is a bit misleading. It is used commonly to market foods. They are popular terms and help sell foods for those trying to make more money from a certain species of plant. However, it is unfair to the rest of the plant world that grows equally beneficial and high numbers of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds too. What I have said is an over generalization but is more accurate than saying goji berries imported from Africa for $15/lb are more healthful than blueberries grown for free in your yard or down the road in your local farmer’s field. How about exchanging that expensive spirulina for the super organic, free chickweed outside your door? .. or taking it easy on the cod populations in the oceans 2000 miles away and picking a little rosemary from your herb garden each day and nibbling on it. That simple step will help keep the inflammation at bay. In any case, Rosemary can be used to fight most any infection and is great for allergies, as it reduces histamine production (like benadryl). It is known to lower blood pressure and could be used in older cats with this problem. It could even be dosed transdermally, because of its volatile...