Looking the picture of perfect health (think milky-skinned Swiss maid hiking through the Alps), actress/chef Colombe Jacobsen may not be the New Yorker most in need of an herbal blend to aid an overworked adrenal or suffering immune system. Yet, the moment Jacobsen, who has appeared in such films as Mighty Ducks 2 and 3, Rookie of the Year, and Moonlight Mile, met Lata Kennedy, an herbalist and owner of the East Village shop Flower Power, it was as if their two minds spoke the same language.

Both Jacobsen and Kennedy are all too familiar with health-driven endeavors like scouring gardens and farmers markets for the freshest hibiscus, the latter of which Jacobsen made into an excellent tea the day we stopped by her Lower East Side apartment. Considering Jacobsen is a graduate of New York's Natural Gourmet, and was one of the ten finalists in Food Network's hit, The Next Food Network Star, her innovation with regard to food is far from surprising. "Cleansing, but still delicious," Jacobsen divulges of her technique - one which has proved integral to her work as a private chef, as well as her involvement with Harvest Time, a food education program she teaches to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the Children's Store Front School in Harlem.

psychoPEDIA tagged along during Jacobsen's recent visit to Kennedy's herbal outpost in order to learn as much as possible from the two health and flavor mavens. Here, the two discuss sweating it out with herbs, and the best blends for the "cuddly season."

Colombe: What is the most frequent request for herbs?
Lata: Most people come in with physical ailments. We never recommend, but say what we would do personally.

Colombe: During this time of year, when the seasons are changing and summer goes into fall, I feel my immune system trying to balance out. Is this common?
Lata: Yes, it's true with most season changes, especially the winter. Traditionally speaking, people cuddle more. So, I think before we go into the fall it's a good time to do a fast or cleanse. I don't normally use the word cleanse because we're not dirty. But, to give your body a break. Fall, for me, is more about going out. Winter is when we are hibernating. I think most people should expend more energy now. Since it's getting cooler, they can take herbs to warm their body and flush out their immune system, and get ready for the big chill and the big cuddle.

Colombe: Do people get more colds during the change of season?
Lata: When seasonal changes occur people have more allergies. People start noticing that after the summer they need to make some food changes. Like, now we need to eat more harvesting food. But, after the winter begins, we will be eating nothing fresh.

Colombe: What herbs do you recommend to build the immune system for the season ahead?
Lata: I would do a lot of bitters - dandelion and burdock - things to get your digestion going, so you're assimilating more. And, I definitely suggest people take probiotics. It's really important all year long, and especially right now. I also do a fruit fast - something not too drastic. Something that will help your body chill out so that you're much more fortified and are building up your defenses.

Colombe: I've done a bunch of puncha karmas to balance out digestion and the doshas [Ed note: Doshas is a term that, when translated from Sanskrit, means 'humours,' or elemental forces, of which there are three that exist in the body].
Lata: Do you believe that your doshas change?

Colombe: I'm not sure, but I believe the balance of your doshas changes. And, that's the whole focus of the puncha karma, because in the changing of the season your whole system can become upset...
Lata: And all the excitement. I love the seasons changing because it motivates us. Emotionally, we get really excited and stressed out. You definitely get stressed out during the change of the season. The sun is waining. Our psyches are affected by that. Our hair growth is affected. So, energetically we are affected too... until we get used to it and something new comes along.

Colombe: What other herbs or teas do you recommend for the fall and winter months?
Lata: As we go into the cold part of fall I drink mulling cider. It's a warming herb. Cinnamon and orange peel, Cardamon, nut-meg. Chai is great for the winter - the blend we sell has cloves. It's such a fall smell. It just makes you hungry [she opens a jar for Colombe to smell].

Colombe: Wow, that is amazing. How, specifically, does this affect our system in the winter?
Lata: It stimulates the circulation and warms you up. When it gets cold fall, not brrrr winter, but cold fall, my favorite thing to drink is ginger, lemon and cayenne pepper. I love it. But, depending on your doshas and body, everything is good for all seasons. In general, go with the seasons. When it's getting cold, do warming herbs, when it's getting warm, do cooling herbs.

Colombe: What is the best blend to fortify the system this time of year?
Lata: You can certainly fortify with herbal teas. In the fall I would do a cleansing blend. We have one for the seasonal change called radiance. I wouldn't do it all the time, but when the seasons change. It's got burdock, barberry, clever. People only do this to purge. I would suggest not eating complicated foods while doing it, because it stimulates all your cleaning mechanisms. You pee a lot. Sweat, salivate...

Colombe: I find that as a cook it's important for me to give my digestion a break. You find yourself not ever resting your system - eating little bits and pieces, but you're always full because you're surrounded by food all the time. Will this give my digestion a break?
Lata: With the radiance blend you are getting fortified and you're resting the system. I would not do it all the time because it's too stimulating. And, eat as simply as possible. Drink it room temperature 3 to 5 times a day. It's bitter, but it's got to be bitter because it's stimulating. We have a blend called vibrance. It's got all the vitamins and minerals you need that will go straight into your blood stream. You can take it 24/7. In the end when you drink it for a while the accumulative effect is just wonderful!