Herbs and Safety, a few points...

We associate herbs with natural unadulterated medicine. Our confidence and hope may be accentuated with claim of being "organic." There are certain conditions that will mitigate your positive experience with herbs; I hope to shed light on your eagerness to experiment and to be frank about the unpleasant side of self medicating with herbs and supplements.

Firstly, we are all very unique in our physiology. What's more, is that our physiology is not stagnant and is ever changing with events, age and phases of the body. Have you ever heard

someone say that they 'outgrew" and allergy, or even suddenly claim to develop one? Because of this reality, exercising caution should be taken seriously. Not only are allergic reactions a possibility, there is also a possibility of at least experiencing an adverse reaction. The medical world defines them as such:

Allergy: a damaging immune response by the body to a substance.

Adverse reaction: An undesired effect of a drug or other type of treatment

An adverse reaction can be mild to life threatening and can include an allergy. This is something we want to avoid and is the same approach we take with pharmaceutical products that we have never taken before. The difference between an adverse outcome from allopathic medicine and herbs is simple. Allopathic doctors know what to do to mitigate a bad reaction to processed pharmaceutical preparations, but most do not have experience nuetralizing the effects of herbal supplements. Sometimes there are internal symptoms that don't visually present as adverse: kidney or liver inflammation, internal ulcerations, headaches and stomach pain.

Why Herbs Might Fail Us

1. We have the western model of taking medicine. We expect instant relief of symptoms in the shortest amount of time. In this case, the attitude is not about healing, it's mainly about relief. This might encourage us to take more herbs or give up entirely which could be inaccurate proof of ineffective herbal medicine. Really, this could be dangerous in the cae of high doses.

   
   

2. Diagnosis is an art. Most people focus on the symptom without knowing its whole system role in showing you disease. Many people don't have body knowledge and might not realize a back ache can be an indication of a muscle injury, a skeletal misalignment or even a kidney infection. There are symptom checkers, and various educational resources, but experience is key. I have studied a combination of naturopathic, herbal, TCM and ayurvedic schools of thought to provide clues, even so, I proceed with caution. Getting help with a diagnosis is important. Lab work and diagnostic machinary can be so revealing and completely clear up an confusion about your situation.

   
   

3. Conflicting Diet. Nothing is more frustration to me than someone with kidney stones drinking three cups of coffee a day while taking kidney tonics. How about eating sugar or drinking alcohol when your immune system is compromised by a cold? Eating greasy food and expecting a pill to remove it so that you can continue jeopardizing your arteries? Makes no sense. When it comes to healing, are you in or are you out? You will not see results with herbs if you are keeping the body in a vicious circle of repair.

   
   

4. Be Safe with Dosage. Less is more! Its better to take consistent small doses that try to bomb the affliction with a greater amount. Everything passes through the liver. The liver works so hard for us to help process all chemical changes in the body. The liver goes beyond digestive duties and has a role in bloodwork and with sex hormones too. We can stress out the system with the wrong or incapitable herbs. Taking herbs in tea form is the safest, next pills, then finally the heaviest hitter is in tincture form. Getting some guidance with dosage can bring the body resilience, gentle healing and actual renewal of our bodily systems.

   
   

5. The Source of Your Medicine is important. I grow my own medicine, create much of my own tea and tinctures, but there are many excellent sources of herbal medicine. Organic or wildcrafted herbs are best. Tinctures (extractions) made with alcohol can complicate things as the alcohol base should certainly be organic. Vodka is safer than brandy as even organic spirits have some questionable treatment where grapes are involved. Most commercial tinctures try to provide directions for a conservative dosage, which is wise. Tinctures should be used short term, while pills can be taken for a few months and teas can be taken almost daily for a longer term and continual maintenance.

   
   

6. Anxiety and Stress Can Disrupt Healing. Allopathic medicine or herbs will not serve you well if your stress levels and anxiety are part of your circumstance. On several occasions a few of my relatives were so anxious during prep for surgery that the anesthesiologist had a hard time shutting down the patient for a procedure. Stress hormones have the power to overide the healing process and just keep you moving. Not the best environment for healing. Relax. Trust. The body is quite the miraculous system and was built to thrive. Tune into changes, sensations, any improvement and learn how your body repairs itself with a cooperative mind.

   
   

Should We Seek out Herbal Treatments?

Of course. The point is not to discourage anyone from using herbal medicine but to treat it no differently than you would any commercially prepared prescription medication. There is a learning curve to what works with your body. Even foods are substances that may work for or against your particular physiology. Look out for paradoxical reactions, for example if I give my husband Valerian he will feel sleepy, which is the intention. However if I take Valerian, it will amp up my system and I will have insomnia. Everyone is different.

With careful testing you might find herbs that work well and others that have unpleasant side effects. Make a list. Consider adding an herbal encyclopedia or other reference book to your library. There are many herb companies that offer mini courses on particular herbs, preparations or treatments. I encourage you to learn herbalism and become familiar with a very rewarding self care modality. A list below includes several businesses that might provide support for your next medicine making project. Be safe! Be healthy! Wishing you the best.

Mountain Rose Herbs has a great how to on making tinctures: Click Here!

Wish Garden Herbs sells tinctures that take the guesswork out of remedies: Click Here

Star West Botanicals Organic Herbs and Tea: Click Here!

Essential Organics Bulk Herbs and Foods: Click Here!