The Truth About Mistletoe

(Page 3 of 3)

December 2002/January 2003
By Terry Krautwurst 
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The result is lethal. Over a period of years, dwarf mistletoe stunts, deforms and' eventually kills the tree on which it grows. In the West, dwarf mistletoe is a major forest pest.

RELATED CONTENT

American mistletoe and its leafy cousins seldom kill, but they do rob their hosts of moisture and some minerals, causing stress during drought and reducing crop production on fruit and nut trees.

Picking Pocket Money

Although American mistletoe and its cousins are toxic to humans, they're a rich and entirely nontoxic source of nutrition for wildlife. Dwarf mistletoe also provides vital winter forage for animals such as elk. Then too, there's mistletoe's economic contribution. For many families, the plants mean extra pocket money in November and December.

Picking your own mistletoe can be a challenge because the best bunches, it seems, are always highest in the tree. Some folks resort to shooting the sprigs down with a shotgun. I prefer a ladder and a long pole with a nail partially driven into the end and bent over to snag the mistletoe. A sheet spread beneath the tree catches the sprigs. I'm not a superstitious person, but it is bad luck to let mistletoe touch the ground.

The best kissing mistletoe is female mistletoe — plants with plump, white berries. Each of those berries, according to the experts, is good for one kiss.

I wish I'd known that years ago, back when Sara puckered up and planted one on me. Actually, I saw her years later, at my high school class's 20th reunion. There across the room, just past the beer-bellied former jocks and the rich former nerds, I spied a poised, graceful woman with flowing red hair and laughing green eyes.

"Who's that?" I asked an old friend. As I sat there stunned at his answer, Sara noticed me, smiled and waved.

That was the good part. The bad part: It was mid July, and there wasn't a sprig of mistletoe in sight.

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Comments

  • Ben H. 1/20/2009 11:04:15 AM

    What an entertainingly read. Great style!

  • GeneH 12/23/2008 10:45:05 PM

    Good info about the mistletoe!
    How old was the Redhead?
    GeneH

    P.S. My first kiss @ 14 (73 NOW)
    was from a Redhead...green eye!!!!

  • keoma 12/22/2008 4:06:43 PM

    This was a great article-thank you so much! Super sweet...I hope your sarah reads it! :)

  • Eileen Landies 12/22/2008 3:31:34 PM

    Mistletoe preparations (Iscador-Weleda Pharmacy) have been used adjunctly with conventional medicine in 80% of cancers in Europe. It is the #1 prescribed complementary cancer treatment for more than 80 years in Europe. Back in 2003 it was FDA approved and was fully listed in the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR). Due to multiple regulations in obtaining it here via Europe, a US company, Uriel Pharmacy, produces a comparable product calleed Viscum which is readily obtainable via prescription.

    In July of 2007, two poster studies of Iscador were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Lugano, Switzerland that demonstrated use of Iscador significantly decreased the side effects of both chemo and radiation, as well as a greater chance of survival in the Iscador group. For more info on Iscador, please go to www.iscador.com--particularly: Use of Iscador.

    I benefit in no way financially from providing this information. I am hopeful that providing this info, someone may be granted longer life and greater health.

    This info was taken from Lilipoh Magazine Special Edition: Living with Cancer--Perspectives in the Pursuit of Health--Integrative Therapies, Nourishing the Soul and Embracing the Spirit. Also see, Cancer Treatment, R.G.-Maticek et al., Alternative Therapies Magazine, 2001.

    In Health,
    Eileen

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