Why do I like whole herb? Balance. We spend our lives trying to find balance in work and home life, school and sport, personal time, and family time. When it comes to healing our body, imbalances abound, but no one seems to notice.
White willow contains a plant compound salicin. Salicin was harvested by the Bayer Company around 1890. It was used to make chemical called acetylsalicylic acid. The common name for acetylsalicylic acid is Aspirin. Aspirin does have pain and anti-inflammatory properties, but it is very hard on the stomach, liver, and kidneys. White Willow bark has the salicin, but
also has flavonoids, which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties without the aggressive side effects of the pharmaceutical.
There are thousands of dietary supplements, of various quality, to choose from. Some are pretty good, but most of them are capsules containing ground and purified rock, harsh acidic compounds, and cheap fillers. I have years of experience in the manufacture of these products and have found they all fall short of standards set by whole herbs. I can get vitamin C in a tasty gummy format. What are you really getting? Gums, sugars, and ascorbic acid in various forms. Without the other vitamins and minerals your body requires to process this chemical the human body will just flush it out. When a client asks me about needing vitamin C, I tell them go eat an orange, find rose hips, perhaps grow some sorrel. With a whole food option you will get the most of all vitamins and minerals offered.
Plant oils are very beneficial for the body. They can be very powerful, and harmful if not used correctly. I have had clients come to me with damage from using undiluted oils. One client suffered
from constant fatigue because of oil overuse. Burns and sensory overload is a real thing, and you aren’t getting the benefit from the other chemicals in the plant that allowed it to grow and reproduce. Oils are useful but are out of balance as well.
Homeopathies are super useful in conjunction with herbs. By themselves, you will find an imbalance. The way I explain it to people is that homeopathies are instructions the body uses to find its balance. The only issue is that it does not provide any of the vitamin and minerals the body requires. You have given the builder the blueprint,
but no tools or materials. I have had people call me looking for help. They were instructed to do a homeopathic parasite cleanse, and it was pushing the body to hard. The homeopathic was doing its job, however, it was pushing a body that was not properly prepared and supported for the task. The result was some intense flu like symptoms for a number of days. I suspect people who receive these results will be loath to try this again.
Whole herbs are perfectly balanced. Fresh, dried, and prepared in a variety of ways gives the human body all the vitamins, minerals, and plant chemicals it needs. If you give the body what it needs, it will do what it was
created to do.
What about the instructions?
Can herbs be balanced, without the instructions that homeopathies can provide?
The question I ask is: Have you ever walked in a forest? Have you left the busy city to go hiking or camping? Perhaps you enjoy gardening. People who do these things leave the experience feeling refreshed and renewed. Personally, I have a window full of plants every winter. Around January in Minnesota, I need a green fix. Living and growing plants continuously emit frequencies that we are exposed too. They are outside of our audible range, but they do exist. We are created to co-exist with plants. Enjoy the world of plants
we have been provided and the balance they bring to our lives.
That is why they are there.
