The Nutritional Herbalist Nourish · Educate · Empower Open the library
Nutritional Herbalist · Wellness Educator · English & Español

Learn the plant
before you buy the bottle.

This is a teaching site first and a storefront second. Start with a real materia medica — 131 herbs and 59 essential oils, with Latin names, parts used, preparations, dilutions, and honest cautions — then decide for yourself what belongs on your shelf.

Open the Materia Medica Open the Oil Reference
  • 1,000+ classes taught
  • Six countries
  • Bilingual instruction
  • Est. 2016
  • Celiac-aware since 2008

Milky Oats

Avena sativa
NervineNutritive
Part used

Milky green seed head, harvested in a short window when it releases a white latex.

Traditional use

Classed in Western herbalism as a nervine trophorestorative — a slow, food-like support for people who feel worn thin. Taken over weeks, not hours.

Cautions

Generally well tolerated. Fresh-plant tincture and dried straw behave differently; know which you have.

Celiac & sensitivity note

Oats are the classic cross-contact crop — routinely rotated and milled with wheat. If you have celiac disease, source purity-protocol oatstraw only, and skip it entirely if you're one of the small share of people who react to avenin itself.

Every monograph carries that last field. No other herbal reference online does.

Start here

Three honest sentences before we go further.

You don't need everything.

Most people arrive at natural wellness holding a shopping list. You'll leave this site holding fewer things than you expected, chosen on purpose. Subtraction usually beats addition.

Food and sleep come first.

No herb, oil, supplement, or device outruns a diet that isn't working or a night that never happens. I'll say this often enough that it gets annoying.

I earn commission. Here's where.

Some links here pay me. Every one of them is labeled on the page it appears, and the products I use but earn nothing from are labeled too. You should always be able to tell which is which.

Find your pathway See the full partner list
The library · 131 monographs · Growing

The Materia Medica

131 monographs in the traditional format: what it is, what part you use, how it behaves, how it's prepared, and — plainly stated — who should be careful with it. Plus a celiac and sensitivity note on every single entry, because sourcing is where most people actually get hurt. Species under conservation pressure are flagged.

Monographs are educational and reflect traditional Western herbalism plus current sourcing realities. They are not a substitute for care from a licensed clinician, and nothing here diagnoses, treats, cures, or prevents any disease. If you take prescription medication, are pregnant or nursing, or manage a chronic condition, talk to your prescriber before adding any herb.

The oil reference · doTERRA singles

Every single oil, with the safety data.

Botanical source, plant part, extraction method, and — the part almost no reference gives you — actual dilution ceilings, photosensitivity ratings, hot-oil warnings, and age and pregnancy cautions. Blends aren't here; these are the singles.

How I teach oils, stated plainly. This reference covers aromatic and diluted topical use only. I don't teach routine internal use of essential oils as a daily habit, which is a departure from common practice in this community — it's my editorial call and I explain my reasoning in class. Nothing here is a doTERRA publication, none of it is approved or reviewed by the company, and none of it diagnoses, treats, cures, or prevents any disease. Dilution figures reflect published aromatherapy safety guidance for healthy adults; children, pregnancy, and medication change the math.

Hot oils

Cassia, Cinnamon Bark, Clove, Oregano, Thyme, Wintergreen. These burn skin and mucous membrane at ordinary dilutions. They are never applied neat, never used on children, and never dropped into a bath without a dispersant.

Photosensitive oils

Bergamot, Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit — cold expressed only. Keep treated skin out of sun and tanning beds for twelve hours. Sweet orange, tangerine, neroli, and petitgrain are not phototoxic, which surprises most people.

Around children

Peppermint and eucalyptus near the face of an infant or young child can cause dangerous respiratory slowing. Wintergreen is the highest-risk bottle in any home — a teaspoon can kill a small child. Store it locked.

Dilution percentages are drawn from published aromatherapy safety literature and represent maximums for healthy adult skin, not targets. Start lower. Patch test anything new on the inner forearm and wait 24 hours. If you take prescription medication, are pregnant or nursing, or are using oils with a child, talk to your doctor or a qualified clinical aromatherapist before you begin. doTERRA is a trademark of its owner; I am an independent Wellness Advocate and this reference is my own work.

Pathways

Start where it actually hurts.

Six routes through the same material. Each one opens with education, moves to daily habits, and only then names any product — in that order, every time.

Gut & Digestion

Bitters, mealtime rhythm, and why fixing digestion usually means changing when you eat before changing what you swallow.

Enter pathway →

Energy & Metabolic Balance

Blood sugar, fats, minerals, and morning light. Where testing genuinely helps and where it's an expensive distraction.

Enter pathway →

Sleep & Nervous System

Nervines, adaptogens, and the difference between the two — plus the boring inputs that outperform both.

Enter pathway →

Skin, Beauty & Barrier

Olive-tree actives, oil cleansing, and how to read a cosmetics label when gluten can hide in the tocopherol.

Enter pathway →

Home & Environment

Your largest exposure isn't what you swallow — it's what you breathe, drink, and wipe surfaces with all day.

Enter pathway →

Celiac & Gluten-Free Living

Seventeen years of it. Cross-contact in supplements, tinctures, cosmetics, and the "natural flavor" line on a label.

Enter pathway →
Non-toxic home · Room by room

Walk your house, not a product catalog.

Exposure is cumulative and it's mostly boring — the same six surfaces, the same tap, the same air, every day. This section is organized the way you actually move through a house.

Kitchen

Steam · Fiber cloth · Water

The highest-traffic surfaces in the house and the ones most often cleaned with the most fragrance. Start by removing scent, not by adding a "natural" scent.

  • Dry steam on sealed counters, sinks, range hoods, and grout — heat and mechanical action instead of residue.
  • Fiber-and-water cloth systems for daily wipe-downs, laundered separately from cooking towels.
  • A dedicated gluten-free prep zone with its own cloths, boards, and colander if anyone in the house has celiac disease.

Water

Test → Filter → Remineralize

Do these in order. Buying a filter before testing your water is buying a solution to an unknown problem — and along the Wasatch Front, hardness, chlorine, and disinfection byproducts vary meaningfully block to block.

  • Test first. A certified lab panel or your utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report tells you what you're actually removing.
  • Match the filter to the finding. Carbon block for chlorine, taste, and many organics. Reverse osmosis when you have specific contaminants that carbon won't catch.
  • Remineralize if you go RO, and know that RO produces wastewater — worth planning for in a desert state.
  • Shower filtration is the one people skip. Steam plus chlorine, in an enclosed space, first thing every morning.

Bathroom & Beauty

Labels · Barrier · Simplify

Cosmetics don't cause celiac damage through skin contact, but anything that reaches the mouth — lip products, toothpaste, anything you'd lick off a finger — matters. So does contact dermatitis for people with wheat allergy.

  • Watch for hydrolyzed wheat protein, triticum vulgare, avena sativa, hordeum, secale, and tocopherol of unstated origin.
  • Certified organic is a farming claim. Gluten-free is an ingredient claim. They are unrelated, and brands often blur them.
  • Fewer products, used up before replacement. Rancid oils on the skin are their own problem.

Bedroom & Air

Dust · Humidity · Diffusion

You spend a third of your life in one room. It deserves more attention than the living room and usually gets less.

  • Dust is the main indoor exposure route for a long list of compounds. Damp cloth, not dry — dry dusting relocates it into the air.
  • Humidity between roughly 30–50% suppresses both dust mites and mold. A $12 hygrometer beats guessing, and Utah runs dry.
  • Diffuse intermittently, in ventilated space, never continuously overnight — and take extra care around infants, pets, and anyone with asthma.

Laundry

Fragrance-free · Rinse · Line-dry

Fragrance and softener residue sit against your skin for sixteen hours a day. This is the single cheapest swap in the house.

  • Drop softener and dryer sheets entirely before you buy any replacement product. Notice what changes.
  • Wool dryer balls handle static without leaving a coating.
  • Wash new clothes before wearing — finishing agents come off in the first few cycles.
Move & restore

Circulation, lymph, and heat.

Three practices I actually keep up with — described accurately, including what the evidence does and doesn't support.

Rebounding

Low-impact, vertical, daily
What it is

Short bouts on a quality rebounder — health bounce, not jumping. Joint-friendly and unusually easy to sustain because you can do it in five-minute pieces.

Honestly stated

Well supported for balance, bone loading, cardiovascular fitness, and adherence. The specific "lymphatic detox" claims you'll see repeated online are far weaker than the enthusiasm suggests — lymph does move with muscle contraction, but that's true of walking too.

Start smart

A stability bar if balance is a question. Pelvic-floor considerations after pregnancy are real — build up gradually.

Infrared

Sauna & targeted light
What it is

Far-infrared saunas heat the body directly at lower ambient temperatures than traditional saunas, which many people tolerate far better.

Honestly stated

Repeated sauna use has good observational evidence for cardiovascular and mortality outcomes, mostly from Finnish traditional-sauna cohorts. Red and near-infrared light therapy is promising for skin and recovery. Sweating is not a meaningful detox route — that's the liver and kidneys.

Cautions

Hydrate and replace electrolytes. Skip or clear with your doctor if pregnant, on blood pressure medication, or managing a cardiac condition. Check EMF and off-gassing specs before buying a cabin.

Dry brushing & walking

The unglamorous two
What it is

Five minutes of brushing toward the heart before a shower, and a real walk outdoors in morning light most days.

Honestly stated

Dry brushing exfoliates and feels good. I won't sell you more than that. The walk, on the other hand, moves circadian rhythm, blood sugar, mood, and lymph at once — and costs nothing.

Why it's on this page

Because if a section on wellness devices doesn't also name the free thing that works better, it isn't education. It's a catalog.

The shelf

What I actually use — and exactly what I earn.

Full disclosure. I'm an independent doTERRA Wellness Advocate, an independent Zinzino partner, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other affiliate programs. If you buy through links marked below, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Products marked No commission earn me nothing — they're here because I use them. I am not employed by, and do not speak for, any brand listed. Results vary, and no income is guaranteed to anyone who joins a program through me.

doTERRA

Wellness Advocate
Essential oilsSupplements

Where I started teaching, and still my go-to for aromatic use and topical blends. My classes focus on dilution, safe use around children and pets, and why "more drops" is almost never the answer.

Where I differ: I don't teach routine internal use of essential oils as a daily habit, which is a departure from common practice in this community. That's my editorial call and I explain my reasoning in the classes.

Shop doTERRA →

Zinzino

Independent Partner
Omega balanceTesting

The reason I include it is the dried blood spot test — you get a measured omega-6:3 ratio before and after, instead of taking anyone's word for it. Measurement over marketing is the whole point of this site.

Read the fine print: the test is a research-grade fatty acid panel, not a clinical diagnostic, and improving a ratio on paper is not the same as a health outcome. Fish oil also interacts with anticoagulants.

Shop Zinzino →

Oliveda

Partner
Olive-tree skincare

Hydroxytyrosol-rich olive leaf and olive water formulations. A genuinely different base than the seed-oil-and-water emulsions that dominate the shelf, and it fits the Mediterranean thread running through everything else here.

Note: olive polyphenol research is real but mostly dietary and in-vitro; topical claims outrun it. Patch test if you have sensitive skin, and check individual products against the gluten register below.

Shop Oliveda →

Ogee

Not GF certified
Certified organic makeup

Vermont-based, NSF certified organic, Leaping Bunny certified, and the finish on the face sticks is the reason it stayed in my bag. Their FAQ states their products do not contain gluten.

Read this before you buy: Ogee is not certified gluten-free by GFCO or any third party. What exists is the company's own statement that gluten isn't in their formulas — a Tier 3 claim in the register below. Their organic certification is a farming standard and says nothing about gluten. If you're highly sensitive, or the product goes near your mouth, contact Ogee about that specific item first, or choose a Tier 1 brand instead.

Visit Ogee →

ENJO

Add your link
Fiber cleaning

Fiber technology and water — no detergent, no fragrance, no residue on the surfaces your food touches. For a household managing cross-contact, "nothing left behind" is the feature.

Honest caveat: fiber and water is excellent for soil removal. It is cleaning, not disinfecting. Know which one a situation calls for.

Link pending →

Sargent Steam

Add your link
Dry vapor steam

Dry vapor steam for grout, appliances, upholstery, and the corners that never quite come clean. Heat and pressure instead of a bottle of anything.

Use it right: dwell time is what does the sanitizing work — a quick pass looks satisfying and accomplishes less. Not for every surface; check the manual.

Link pending →

Amazon Storefront

Associate
ReboundersFiltrationInfraredKitchen

Curated lists for the equipment side, grouped by pathway rather than by price. Every link below carries my Associates tag.

How I pick: I list what I own or have taught with. Where I've only researched a category, I say so on the list itself.

See all categories ↓

Herb sourcing

No commission
Bulk herbsTinctures

Where I buy bulk dried herb, and what to ask a supplier: harvest date, country of origin, whether they test for heavy metals and adulterants, and whether the facility handles gluten grains.

Nothing to earn here. This one exists purely so the materia medica is usable, and it's the section I'd point a friend to first.

Read the sourcing guide →

Tea, not coffee

No commission
Preparation

Infusion versus decoction, why a nutritive infusion steeps for four hours and not four minutes, and how to build a daily herbal habit you'll actually keep.

My own practice: herbal tea, no coffee, no black tea. Not a rule I'm placing on you — just context for why the preparation notes read the way they do.

Preparation basics →
The register · Cosmetics & personal care

Gluten-free makeup, sorted by how the claim is verified.

Almost every list online mixes certified brands with brands that simply say they're gluten-free, files them under one heading, and calls it done. Those are not the same claim and they don't carry the same weight. Here's the same information, sorted by who actually checked.

First, the part nobody says plainly. Gluten is not absorbed through intact skin, so lotion and eyeshadow won't trigger celiac damage on contact. What matters is ingestion — lip balm, lipstick, gloss, toothpaste, anything on your hands before you eat — and, separately, contact dermatitis for people with a true wheat allergy. Spend your attention and your money on the products that reach your mouth. Everything else is a lower priority than the internet suggests.
1

Third-party certified

An outside body — usually the Gluten-Free Certification Organization — has tested and audited. The strongest claim available.

Independently verified
  • Afterglow Cosmetics
  • Gabriel Cosmetics
  • ZuZu Luxe

Why this tier is so short: cosmetic gluten certification is voluntary, expensive, and rare. Afterglow additionally produces in a dedicated gluten-free facility, which addresses cross-contact and not just formulation. If you are highly sensitive or newly diagnosed, start here and expand outward only as you learn what you tolerate.

2

Built gluten-free from the ground up

Not third-party certified across the board, but the entire company exists because of gluten — dedicated facilities, founders who live with it, one standard for every product.

Purpose-built
  • EpiLynx by Dr. Liia
  • Monave
  • Red Apple Lipstick

Worth knowing: EpiLynx was founded by a pharmaceutical scientist who is gluten-sensitive herself. Monave manufactures in a fully gluten-free facility. Red Apple Lipstick isn't on most published lists and should be — it's a small, long-running lip specialist with a devoted celiac following, and lips are exactly where this matters most.

3

Brand states gluten-free — not certified

The company says gluten isn't in the formula. No outside body has verified it, and cross-contact in shared manufacturing usually isn't addressed at all.

Company's word
  • Ogee
  • ILIA
  • Au Naturale
  • Ecco Bella
  • BITE Beauty
  • Kopari
  • Rahua
  • LXMI
  • Jouer
  • FARSÁLI
  • LASHFOOD
  • Taste Beauty
  • Lord Jones
  • Skin Laundry
  • Summer Fridays
  • Mount Lai
  • Moon Juice
  • Verb
  • Givenchy

This is the tier where people get hurt, because it gets published under headlines that say "certified." A brand statement is genuinely useful information — it's just not verification, and formulas change without announcement. Two specific cautions: Olaplex is often listed here but is haircare, not cosmetics, and their own language allows for exceptions rather than covering the whole line. And "certified organic," which several of these brands hold, is a farming standard that says nothing whatsoever about gluten.

4

Check every single product

Mainstream lines where some products are fine and others are not. No brand-level answer exists.

Per item only

Most of the drugstore and department-store aisle lives here. Individual products from these lines may be perfectly safe — you simply have to read every label, every time, and re-read after a reformulation. If you want a brand-level answer instead of a product-level one, buy from Tier 1 or Tier 2. That's the whole reason those tiers exist.

DH

If you have dermatitis herpetiformis

The most misunderstood question in gluten-free beauty, and the answer surprises almost everyone.

Read this one

Dermatitis herpetiformis is celiac disease showing up in the skin. It's the same autoimmune condition, expressed through intensely itchy blisters and bumps that typically appear symmetrically on elbows, knees, buttocks, lower back, and scalp. It's confirmed by a dermatologist through a skin biopsy taken next to a lesion rather than through it, looking for a specific antibody pattern in the tissue.

Here's the part that gets taught wrong constantly: DH lesions are driven by gluten you eat, not gluten you touch. The immune process starts in the gut and shows up in the skin. So a gluten-containing hand lotion, foundation, or shampoo will not produce a DH outbreak on contact — and switching every product in your bathroom will not calm DH if gluten is still getting into your diet. I've watched people spend hundreds of dollars replacing cosmetics while the actual source sat in the pantry.

So what does help skin that already hurts? The condition itself is managed by your clinicians — a strict, permanent gluten-free diet is the only thing that resolves the underlying process, and skin can take many months to catch up even when the diet is perfect. Some physicians prescribe medication to bridge that gap. That's a conversation with your doctor, not with me, and not with any product on this site.

What I can speak to is not making irritated skin worse. Drop fragrance first — it's the most common irritant in the bathroom and the easiest thing to remove. Skip harsh surfactants, alcohol-heavy toners, and physical scrubs on affected areas. Watch friction: wool, tight waistbands, and backpack straps land exactly where DH tends to appear. Keep water lukewarm rather than hot. And if you're still ingesting gluten through lip products, that's the one cosmetic category that genuinely connects back to DH — which is where the tiers above earn their keep.

Two things worth raising with your doctor rather than deciding alone: some people with DH find that high iodine intake — including from certain supplements and sea vegetables — aggravates their skin, and it's worth mentioning if yours flares without a known dietary slip. And any new or changing rash deserves a real diagnosis; several conditions look similar and are treated very differently. Nothing on this page diagnoses anything.

Ingredients to watch on a label

Wheat, barley, rye, and oats travel under names that don't look like grain. These are the ones worth memorizing — especially on anything that touches your lips.

Sources and how to use this. Brand information here draws on each company's own published statements, GFCO's certified-product directory, and Celiac.com's roundup of gluten-free cosmetic brands — regrouped by verification tier, which is my own framework rather than theirs. Certifications lapse and formulas change, so treat this as a starting point and confirm with the manufacturer before you buy anything you'll wear on your lips. Read the Celiac.com article →

Found something I've placed in the wrong tier, or a brand that belongs here? Tell me and I'll update the register and note the correction.
Amazon · Associate links

The equipment shelf.

Categories rather than single products, because the right rebounder or filter depends on your body and your water. Each link opens a filtered Amazon search so you can compare current stock and pricing yourself.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Every link in this section carries my Associates tag. Prices and availability change constantly, and Amazon listings for the same product can come from different sellers, so check the seller and the current ingredient or spec list before you order.

Move & restore

Water — test first, then filter

Air & the non-toxic home

Herb & tea tools

Gluten-free beauty (Tier 1 & 2)

Gluten-free kitchen

A note on the gluten-free categories: Amazon third-party sellers sometimes list old formulations or repackaged stock. For anything you'll wear on your lips or put in your mouth, buying direct from the brand is the safer route even though it earns me nothing.

Classes & workshops

Over a thousand classes, in six countries, in two languages.

In person across northern Utah and online anywhere. Every class is education-first — you can attend, learn something useful, and buy nothing.

Herbal Foundations

Six sessions. Infusions, decoctions, tinctures, salves, and how to read a monograph.

The Non-Toxic Home

One evening, room by room. Bring your actual cleaning cupboard.

Gluten-Free Beyond Food

Cross-contact in supplements, cosmetics, tinctures, and shared kitchens.

Aceites Esenciales

Uso seguro, dilución y aplicación — clase completa en español.

Ask about a class

Writing

The blog

Longer-form posts, recipes, sourcing deep-dives, and the occasional correction to something I taught years ago and have since learned better. Corrections get their own posts, clearly labeled — that's how this site earns being trusted.

Read the blog Get new posts by email
En español

Recursos en español

Enseño en español desde hace años. Las clases, las guías de preparación de hierbas y las fichas de seguridad están disponibles en ambos idiomas — y las traducciones las hago yo, no una máquina.

  • Fichas de hierbas con notas de seguridad
  • Guía de hogar sin tóxicos
  • Clases en vivo y grabadas
Escríbeme →
The letter

One plant, one practice, once a week.

A short Friday letter: one herb from the materia medica, one thing to actually try, and one honest note about something I got wrong or changed my mind about. No urgency, no countdown timers, no "last chance."

Unsubscribe any time. I don't sell or share your address.

Find me

Elsewhere

Daily teaching happens on social; the long work happens here and on the blog.

Send me a note

I can't answer individual medical questions — but I'm glad to point you to the right education.