Veriditas Botanicals: Veriditas Botanicals: Local Therapeutics

While many people in the city are focusing on eating locally this month, why not take it one step further and promote your health and wellness with therapeutic products made by local companies? This month, Wedge Worldwide will be featuring Veriditas Botanicals essential oils, a company owned and operated by locally-grown herbalist and aromatherapist, Melissa Farris.

Veriditas Botanicals offers pure, therapeutic grade, organic essential oils imported directly from their producers worldwide. Their close relationships with internationally known essential oil distilleries allows them to provide these oils at affordable prices. These organic essential oils are produced with the intention of being used for their healing properties. It is our privilege to bring them to you with the love and regard in which they were grown. Come to the Wedge and smell the difference. Once you've tried Veriditas, you'll never go back.

Why Choose Therapeutic Grade?

Most essential oils on the marketplace are traded through distributors or brokers and pass through many hands before reaching a retail store. These oils are often adulterated with substances that "boost" or "extend" one or more of the fragrant properties in the oil. One liter of pure, organic Lavender is sold for around $300. On the other hand, a liter of synthetic or adulterated oil is sold from $10 to $60. One can see why boosting and extending a true oil to increase profit margins might be a seductive choice. Adulterated oils can also cause short term side effects such as rashes, burning or other irritations. It is unknown what long term effects synthetically treated oils have on human physiology.

Veriditas offers only pure therapeutic grade essential oils, shipped directly from the producers that grow and distill them organically. This direct relationship allows them to offer essential oils that you and your nose can trust.

Why Choose Organic?

When an essential oil is labeled "organic," this certification ensures that the plants were farmed, harvested, distilled and distributed according to organic methods. Following organic farming methods ensures that oils are free of pesticides, synthetics and adulterants.

written by Wedge Co-op HBC staff

reposted from wedge.coop

Post Holiday R & R

Wedge Worldwide hopes that you had a wonderful holiday season and that the year ahead will be an outstanding one! Now that the excitement and busyness are winding down are you feeling like you could use a little pampering and well earned rest? Allow us to recommend a few all natural products that will sooth your senses and calm your mind.

A hot, fragrant foot bath is a wonderful winter treat. This is an ideal activity to preform right before bed as it will deeply relax you and promote a great nights sleep. Simply fill up a large bowl with hot water and put a few pumps of one of our Dr. Hauschka Aromatherapy Baths in the bowl and stir. The bowl should be deep enough so that the water will cover your ankles. Sit back in a chair with a blanket as you soak and listen to soothing music. This is a great time to do some deep breathing and let your mind settle. Hauschka's Lavender Bath is the perfect choice for sweet dreams and easing anxiety and stress. The smell is amazing too! Or for those who are feeling chilled Rosemary Bath is excellent for cold weather as it is warming and stimulates circulation.

Looking for a little something to make your mornings special and give you some gentle get up and go? How about starting the day off with a warm cup of delectable, special tea? Wedge Worldwide offers a variety of organic and Fair Trade teas that are sure to please. Personally I love our Organic White Peony Tea. This tea has a subtle and beautifully refined taste. It sweetly stimulates my senses without the jittery caffine side effects. Or bring some olfactory fun to your shower with Pangea's fresh scented body wash with Canadian pine and white sage which is packed with organic ingredients and pure essential oils. Or try one of our customer's all time favorites, Stinky Hippie Patchouli Body Wash.

Be sure to check back with us throughout the new year as we continue to add more wonderful new products to our site. Happy New Year!

How To Use Essential Oil Of Lavender

We have some great new products for you to check out! Wedge Worldwide is excited to offer excellent, high-quality essential oils from a great company right from our own backyard.

Minneapolis native Melissa Farris, pictured to the left, is a certified herbalist and aromatherapist who started her first company, Veriditas Botanicals in 1995. Melissa holds the distinction of being the first herbalist to bring organic essential oils to the marketplace and refuses to sell endangered species. Veriditas Botanicals offers pure, therapeutic grade, organic essential oils imported directly from their producers worldwide. Their close relationships with internationally known essential oil distilleries allow them to offer excellent oils produced with fair labor practices at affordable prices. Veriditas has a deep respect for their growers and producers because they make the highest quality medicinal essential oils offered in the world. These organic essential oils are produced with the intention of being used for their healing properties. Veriditas brings them to you with the love and regard in which they were grown.

True Lavender essential oil is the panacea of aromatherapy. Because it is used for so many different ailments, it is considered to be a pocket-sized first aid kit. Keeping a bottle of Lavender is a definite must in your home pharmacy, car or workplace. Reliable, safe and great smelling, this strong oil is gentle enough to be used "neat" or undiluted, directly on the skin.

Melissa offered us some tips on how to use Lavendar Angustifolia therapeutically. A few recipes call for Peppermint, Lemon and Tea Tree essential oils in addition to lavender, but don't worry, Wedge Worldwide carries these oils as well.

How does Lavender work?
Applied topically, True Lavender works in the following ways:
• Analgesic - painkiller
• Anti-inflammatory - reduces swelling, redness or inflammation
• Vulnerary - promotes healing
• Anti-anxiety - prevents and relieves anxiety Indications & Treatments
*Use only organic, therapeutic grade, Lavendula angustifolia

How to use Lavender:
•Sunburns - Apply Lavender to the area. Cover lightly with a high quality lotion and repeat up to 4 times per day.
•Pimples/Acne - Apply 1 drop Lavender per pimple/small acne area. Note: Essential oils are drying. Therefore, if skin is dry, apply lotion after using these essential oils undiluted on the skin.
•Natural Deodorant - Place 1-4 drops of Lavender under each arm.
•Sore Throat & Sore Gums - Lavender is used for sore throat, sore gums, canker sores/mouth ulcers, etc. Rub 1-3 drops of Lavender on sore area with 2 drops of Tea Tree if there are signs of infection.
•Headaches - Try applying 4 drops of Lavender and 2 drops of Peppermint to the back of the neck and head. If you are sensitive to oils, add them to a TBSP of lotion or carrier oil.
•Insect Bites CURE - Apply 1 drop of Lavender to each bite. Itching and/or stinging should cease immediately. Normally, you will only need one application for mosquito bites, but several for spider or other insect bites.
•Travel - To help you stay well when traveling on an airplane, subway, bus, etc. place 5 drops of Lavender, 2 drops Lemon and 2 drops Peppermint on a handkerchief and do 5 inhalations when needed. Upon arrival at a hotel, sprinkle room and bed with Lavender as a great disinfectant.

Also, use oils in tub or shower to encourage air purification and relaxation.
•The Bath - Use 5-25 drops of essential oil of Lavender per tub of bathwater.
•Direct Application - Rub Lavender on body and immerse into bath.
•Milk Bath - Add Lavender to 1 cup of full fat milk. Stir. Add to bath water.
•Muscle Relaxant & Nervous System Tonic - Add to hot bathwater with 4 cups Epsom salts for magnesium benefits. Soak for at least 20 minutes.
•Footbath - Place 5 drops of Lavender on each foot and rub vigorously. Emerge feet into basin filled with hot water. Option - switch from hot to cold water for more stimulation.

Contraindications - If swelling, redness or irritation occurs, discontinue use. If you have sensitive skin, try 1 drop of essential oil on the inner arm and monitor effects for 24 hours. Keep out of reach of children. Do not use internally. Keep away from eyes and mucous membranes. Do not use essential oils undiluted or in large doses. Use with caution while pregnant or nursing. GRAS - Generally regarded as safe.

We hope you have fun immersing yourself in the wonderful healing benefits of lavender! For more great information on how to use and enjoy essential oils we highly recommend the book, Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art.

Holy Basil, Bat Man!

Wedge Worldwide's Organic Auyervedic Shanti Tea has already developed a following from our customers across the country. The main ingredient is Holy Basil, known as Ocimum sanctum in Latin, or as Tulsi in Ayurvedic medicine (an ancient system of natural health care native to India). Holy Basil is a well-known sacred plant in India that has been used medicinally for thousands of years. In fact the Tulsi plant is an important religious symbol in the Hindi tradition. One legend states that this plant was originally the nymph, Tulasi, who was loved and revered by the Indian god, Krishna. To this day many Indian women begin their day by offering blessed water to their Tulsi plants in order to bring blessings from this goddess into their homes. These plants are usually found in Hindu households and temples and the Holy Basil leaves are used in worship practices. The woody stems of the plant are made into prayer beads for rosaries used in the Hindu tradition.

Tulsi has been called “The Incomparable One,” the “Queen of Herbs,” and “The Elixir of Life” for good reason. It has an impressive array of health benefits that westerners and modern scientific research have recently become aware of. Holy Basil is perhaps best known for its ability to regulate and protect the body from stress. This herb supports normal cortisol levels in the body. Cortisol is a hormone that can become elevated when we are continually stressed. This can cause our body to lose it's balance, making it difficult to return to a place of physical and psychological health. Research has shown that Tulsi can aid in returning stressed physiological systems to a normal state. The additional actions of Tulsi are numerous, and I will only mention a few more of them here. Holy Basil improves energy levels, stamina and endurance, it offers significant antioxidant protection and helps the body to protect itself from disease, it boosts the immune system, is anti-inflammatory and gives heart and vascular support which aids in lowering dangerous cholesterol and high blood pressure. It also has been said to be helpful in moderating blood glucose levels in diabetics. This herb falls under the category of an adaptogen, which is a nontoxic herb that helps the body defend itself from stress. Adaptogens have a regulating influence on the body, have the ability to balance the adrenals, the endocrine hormones, the immune system and support the body in maintaining overall homeostasis.*


Organic Auyervedic Shanti Tea is not only good for you, it's a delightful treat for the taste buds. The flavor is mild and pleasant, yet it has an invigorating, herby, spicy aroma and taste. This mildly sweet and cooling blend also contains fennel, orange peel and spearmint. Luckily our Shanti Tea comes in one pound bags so you'll have plenty of nurturing, beautiful cups of tea to look forward to.

Perhaps some of the most compelling aspects of the lore surrounding the sacred Holy Basil plant are that it is not only known for being able to elevate the spirit, it also has been said to assist in balancing the energetic systems of the body and soul known as the chakras. It is reported as being conducive to meditation and in the Ayurvedic tradition has been noted as an herb that helps one to attain enlightenment. For myself, Tulsi is an herb that I have enjoyed for many years and continue to be impressed by. I have noted its calming properties when I have taken it over a period of time and I've been interested in its ability to help me feel a greater sense of openness, peace and interconnection. The Bulk Organic Auyervedic Shanti Tea is is a wonderful way to get to know this special herb and be uplifted by its spiritual and healing powers.


*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product and these statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.