Oats / Oat Straw
Oats / Oat Straw (Yan Mai)
Botanical Name: Avena sativa
There are oats you drink and oats you eat and oats for medicinal purposes too! In Spring, you can gently squeeze the seed pods to discover a milky fluid that is delicious.
Watch a short video, from Ann Christensen, Founder and Creator of White Rabbit Institute of Healing™ – The Secret Power of Oat and Oat Straw…
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How to take FULL advantage of Oats / Oat Straw's healing powers...
JOIN ME in an exploration of the healing herb, Oats / Oat Straw (Yan Mai). Explore the benefits and applications of oats, from Eastern and Western perspectives, and so much more!

Western
Western Name: Oats
Also Known As: Oat Straw, Sativa, Oats Milky Seed
Organs/Systems: Heart, Nervous, Digestive, Skin, Menses
Key Actions: Sedative, Antioxidant, Analgesic, Relaxant, Neuroprotective, Nutritive Tonic, Antidepressant, Nervine
Medicinal Uses: Lowers cholesterol, lowers blood sugar, diabetes, prevents heart disease, reduces the risk of stroke, stimulates estrogen, depression, Parkinson’s, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, insomnia, weight loss, regulates blood sugar, regulates menses, digestive disorders, constipation, anxiety, stress, skincare.

Eastern
Pin Yin: Yan Mai
Also Known As: N/A
Meridians: Spleen, Kidney, Heart, Chong, Ren
Key Actions: Warms and Moistens, Nourishes and Moves Qi, Increases Blood, Jing (Essence), and Qi, Promotes Bone Growth, Lifts the Spirit, Benefits the Skin, Restores the Heart, Frees Spasms, Relieves Pain, Induces Rest
Medicinal Uses: Heart health, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, balance hormones, stabilize mood swings, builds stamina, counter effects of stress and anxiety, insomnia, improves skin (including both chronic conditions and acute conditions such as sunburn or frostbite), eczema, depression, muscle spasms, libido, constipation, weight loss.
Basic Habitat / Botany:
Oats are an annual plant, planted in early Fall for late Summer harvest or Spring for early Autumn harvest. Oats are a domesticated cereal crop. The grass can grow to be 3 to 5 feet tall. Their long leaves have rounded sheaths at the base and a membranous ligule (small appendage where the leaf joins the stem.) Numerous branches bearing florets produce the caryopsis or one-seeded fruit.
Oats grow in fields in temperate climates all over the world. They are native to Eurasia and Africa. All species have edible seeds.
Parts Most Frequently Used: Grass, Oats, Oat Bran
Flavors/Temps: Neutral, Sweet, Warm, Moist
Caution: Considered safe with no known negative drug interactions.
Key Constituents: Fiber, Beta-glucans, Protein, Minerals (including Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Calcium, and Potassium), B-complex Vitamins, Saponins, Flavonoids, Alkaloids, Steroidal compounds, Vitamin B1, B2, D, and E, Carotene, Linoleic acid Avenanthramides, Ferulic acid, Avenalin
History/Folklore: The mature seeds of Avena sativa are what become the oats you buy, oat straw is made from the grass and stems. The young milky oats work more quickly in an acute situation while oat straw offers support over time.
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an herbalist nun born in 1098, considered oats to be a favorite “happiness” herb.
The first oat factory for bread making was created in England in 1899. Oats are considered a mainstay in the Scottish diet. Some consider oats to be indigenous to the British Isles. The phrase, “sowing your oats” comes from oats used for horses to energize them and encourage them to be sexually active. They have sometimes been used by women in baths to soften hard water.
Oats are a whole-grain, gluten-free food. Oat groats are the most intact and whole form of oats and take the longest to cook. Most people prefer faster cooking rolled, crushed, or steel-cut oats for this reason. Steel-cut oats have the highest protein, iron, and fiber content. Instant (or quick) oats are the most highly processed variety. They cook the fastest but can be the mushiest. Oats are often included in breads, muffins, cookies, and other baked goods. Oats are also used to brew beer in England. Oat straw is green oat grass. It is culled from the tops of oats in the milky stage before mature oats form a head.
Oats are high in a variety of powerful antioxidants that especially support heart health, including avenanthramides, which are known for lowering blood pressure, dilating blood vessels, and improving blood flow. Oats are also high in ferulic acid, another powerful antioxidant, along with beta-glucans which are soluble fibers that reduce LDL and cholesterol, reduce blood sugar levels, and promote healthy bacteria growth in the digestive system.
Oat straw extract suppresses inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting nuclear factor kB activation. Cytokines are implicated in several brain disorders including major depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, oats balance hormones, increase libido, stabilize mood swings, and provide powerful nutrition to your body. Oats support heart health, and proper digestion, and build stamina.

Avenalin

High in Iron

Beer
Oats are used to make beer.
Take FULL advantage of Oats / Oat Straw (Yan Mai)!
Connecting Eastern and Western perspectives on HOW and WHY this herb works. Find out how to safely and effectively use this healing herb for treating conditions and for your Body, Mind, and Spirit. Find True Health. Explore uses, safety information, benefits, history, recipes, gardening tips, essential oil information, if it applies, and much, much more in this online course.
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