Why Herbs? 10 Good Reasons

Why Herbs?

10 Good Reasons…

When asked this question, my mind was immediately flooded with streams of facts, attributes and a myriad of reasons why I choose herbs almost exclusively over modern pharmaceuticals, but I’m an herbalist. If I feel a tickle in my throat, I brew up a tea. If I get chills, body aches and a runny nose, I’m on top of it with some diaphoretic herbs. If my knees feel achy or a little swollen, I apply the topical remedies. Too much worry? A soothing bath infused with essential oils is my cure.

My moisturizer is a blend of pure nut and seed oils enhanced with therapeutic-grade essential oils. My shampoo is made from soap nuts. I have more herbs stored in my kitchen than most people have food; my pantry is filled with whole grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, beans, 5 kinds of rice, various pure oils, dried mushrooms. My life is centered on all things real and natural. This is just how I roll.

So, when posed with the query, “Why herbs?” I feel that the green allies are so infused in my bones that an objective answer seems a foreign concept. How could I separate myself from something that is so entwined within my every cell enough to report on it? I posed the enquiry to friends and colleagues to gain some perspective on the matter and was delighted by the enthusiastic replies.

1.  Herbal medicine works well with modern medicine. Agreed. Complementary medicine is one of the fastest growing areas of modern healthcare for good reason. It works. Professionally, I have seen many of my patients, who had been previously diagnosed with a variety of health issues, get markedly better results when combining herbal formulas to a pharmaceutical protocol. Using “fu zheng” therapy[1] for patients dealing with cancer and the side effects of allopathic cancer treatments consistently showed marked improvement with recovery time from chemotherapy, better appetite and less nausea. The doctor’s tests results often showed increased white blood cell counts and overall improvement of the patient.
2. Herbal medicine has much less toxicity and fewer side effects than drugs. Statistically speaking, herbs are far safer than even properly prescribed drugs. According to acclaimed researcher and scientist, James Duke PhD, herb-related fatalities are almost unheard of at one in a million[2]; while adverse drug reactions cause injuries or death in 1 of 5 hospital patients.[3] As for Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine specifically, any side effects experienced by the patient (usually bloating or digestive disturbances) merely indicate that the prescription needs minor adjustments to harmonize precisely with the patient’s personal constitution and digestive imbalances.
3. Herbs are much more cost-effective in the short and long-term. In fact, some wild herbs are growing in your backyard right now for FREE! Growing your own herbs, wildcrafting the local weeds, purchasing herbs in bulk, buying remedies at a health food store, or getting particular herbs prescribed to you by a knowledgeable practitioner are still all less expensive than the cost of pharmaceutical drugs in the US. In the short term, herbs are far cheaper, and a long term investment in your health by adopting herbal regimens, eating whole, organic foods, participating in physical activities and getting quality rest will very likely result in good health and fewer medical bills! 
4. Herbal medicine does not support industrial corporate profit-driven agendas. Big Pharma is the world's second largest manufacturing industry after the arms industry[4] and is comprised of approximately 200 pharmaceutical corporations. Deceptive advertising, the invention of new diseases, the renaming of old maladies, suppression of negative trials, inauthentic ghostwriting and countless other measures taken by these corporate giants ensure that public opinion supports their agenda. Herbs are nature’s gift, cannot be patented (let us hope it stays this way), and consequently offer little financial incentive to potential share-holders. 
5. Growing herbs does not cause environmental devastation. Pharmaceuticals are to chemical agri-farming what plant medicines are to organic gardening. Pharmaceuticals produce vast amounts of pollution; Drug factories pollute air and ground water as well as disenfranchising citizens of third world countries. The thousands of chemicals produced and released as by-products create a dangerous cocktail of deadly poisons that are then dispersed through rain over large areas of the planet. Pharmaceuticals are inserting vast quantities of highly bioactive and toxic chemicals into the soil and water worldwide.[5] Growing herbs organically or biodynamically can actually improve the soil and the ecosystem. 
6. The history of Herbal Medicine stretches back thousands of years, and is the basis of all medicine practiced in the world today. The written history alone of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda is at least 3,000 years old and formed the foundations of many healing traditions throughout the world. Practical data gathered for hundreds upon hundreds of generations of herbal healers offers sound clinical information about the efficacy of natural prescriptions. By partaking in the rich lineage of botanical medicine, we are linked back to the wisdom of our ancestors. 
7. Knowledge of Herbal Medicine secures our future by teaching the next generation how to survive. I’m not trying to be an alarmist, and I do hold out hope that humanity will rise above its baser instincts to create a sustainable culture, but as the saying goes, “Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.” Learning and teaching the art of living in harmony with nature, as our ancestors once did, will ensure the survival of our species, come what may. If catastrophe befell us (and calamities seem to be happening so frequently these days), would you know how to find food and medicine in the wilderness? This is a very important question to ask yourself. 
8.  Healing one’s self with herbs is very empowering. The knowledge and ability to relieve yourself of a myriad of common maladies without ever stepping foot out of your own home really encourages a sense of self-sufficiency and self-confidence. It’s actually pretty easy to naturally combat fatigue, get better quality sleep, ease pain, improve immunity, regulate menstrual cycles, adjust the bowels and thrive instead of simply survive. It is our birthright to have autonomy over our own health; I suggest that you not sell it to the lowest bidder.
9. Using botanical medicines gently enhances emotional well-being. Essential oils, herbs, homeopathic remedies, and flower essences all help to support emotional balance without suppressing our tendencies to normal ebb and flow. When combined with wise counsel, personal issues can be navigated more easily and authentically than when we inhibit the healthy expression of our innermost feelings. 
10.  Using living botanical remedies invites us to have a very personal relationship with our medicine. There is nothing more intimate or soul-soothing than planting, growing, tending, watering, harvesting and drying valuable plant medicines right from your own garden. Few activities can compare to hiking along and recognizing the abundant varieties of wild medicinal plants with every sweeping glance. Our souls respond when we crush an aromatic leaf between thumb and forefinger and inhale deeply of that green ally’s unique fragrance; it’s a sensation that goes right to the heart.

We are an integrated part of our ecosystem, whether we circulate blood or chlorophyll, we all possess a life force and a love force. It is widely known that plants show emotional responses to external stimuli and modify their behaviors according to environmental perturbations; all living beings are more alike than divergent. Herbs grow to adapt and adjust in their environment, and in the body, herbs are biodynamic and synergistic.

There are gentle herbs that anyone can utilize for a variety of complaints such as insomnia, anxiety, irritability, pain, digestive disorders, common pathogens, immune building and for beauty. There are much more powerful herbs that can treat more chronic ailments and even sophisticated Chinese herbal formulas that can address difficult to treat disorders and create balance in the body when used with wisdom, knowledge and experience. Become empowered, wise, frugal, and healthier, while cultivating an intimate relationship between your deepest self and the rich, complex tapestry of our natural world. Use Herbs.

Lisl Meredith Huebner, Dipl.CH (NCCAOM), RH (AHG) is a nationally board certified Chinese Herbalist, and a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. Lisl is also a certified Medicinal Aromatherapist, a level II Reiki practitioner, an Acupressurist, an Auriculotherapist, a photographer, a renowned diagnostician, a teacher and a published writer in private practice for over a decade. She is available by appointment.
HerbaLisl.com
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[1] “Fu zheng” is loosely translated as “support the righteous”, meaning to support the normal functioning of the body, so that the patient may recover more quickly from a pathogenic influence.

[2] http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/syllabus/module15.htm

[3] http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/26/prescription-drugs-number-one-cause-preventable-death-in-us.aspx

[4] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Pharmaceutical_industry

[5] http://herbalisl.blogspot.com/2010/02/transcript-plants-trees-have-feelings.html

Trees Speak: A Chestnut Tragedy

I have observed that trees tend to be quite gregarious; they frequently call out to me for admiration and attention. I have had quite a few meaningful relationships with various trees all over the world, and am friendly with countless others. To my deep honor and great sadness, I have often been befriended by trees who are nearing the end of their lives, a fact that they are clearly more aware of than I ever am (at least until they are gone).

One of the more significant friendships I have shared with Tree People was with a small stand of chestnut saplings that lived near my home on Johnnycake Mountain a few years ago. When I first moved there, the 65 acres next to the house offered a high elevation meadow where cows grazed and the view was wide and expansive. The pasture sloped down into a forest where a section of the CT Blue Trail meandered; it was a popular path for hikers and I would stroll around the field and forest frequently. It wasn’t too long before real estate developers infiltrated this peaceful vista, and soon a dirt road circumnavigated the once unspoiled farmland.

It was disheartening to watch the steady encroachment of modern civilization. Summer afternoons became punctuated by the rhythmic tapping of the carpenters hammering nails into the frames of new construction. The sharp smell of fresh tar wafted on every light breeze for months after they paved the road. Blast alarms would ring out moments before the ground would rumble and shudder from the dynamite ripping ancient boulders asunder. It was impossible to block out, yet I continued to walk my circuit, in spite of the assaulting asphalt and mushrooming mcmansions. 

Regularly, I would engage with the chestnuts; even if it was just a nod and a cheerful hello. I was excited that they grew there, as the chestnut blight decimated nearly the entire population of this once incredibly prevalent species early in the 20^th century. An introduced species of chestnut from Japan harbored the disease that wiped out this critical food source for humans and animals alike, drastically altering the entire ecosystem. The trees that tenaciously cling to life these days generally succumb to this fungal infection before they are mature enough to produce a viable seed. 

This small, but sturdy stand along my route had actually begun to produce chestnuts, lots of them, and upon discovering them for the first time, I was exultant. This was incredibly rare, so I snipped some specimens to mail to The American Chestnut Society, but it was for naught. As I was passing them one afternoon, I offered my usual greeting, to which they replied, “Goodbye.” My heart leaped into my throat and I protested. “No! Not goodbye! I’ll see you on my walk tomorrow!” I hurriedly pushed away my apprehension and trudged on.

I didn’t take my usual walk for a couple of days after that, and as I approached the place where the chestnuts lived, a feeling of dread grew within me. I rounded the bend and saw them. They had been bulldozed. Stuffed unceremoniously, crown-first into the earth, their roots upended, dried dirt still clinging in clumps to their withering roots. I cried out in grief and pain and rushed to their supine forms, feeling their nearly extinguished life fading, no sense of consciousness reached out to me. I screamed and wailed and beat the ground; my tears fell onto the dust until I was exhausted from the anguish. 

I now understand that when a plant or tree bids me farewell, its death is imminent and as much as that causes me profound heartache, I feel privileged that one of the Elders would even be bothered to make friends with me, as humans are so frequently ignorant and detestable. I feel like a Lorax, shouting for the trees. Please, don’t just listen to me; try listening with all your heart… to THEM.

“HerbaLisl” Lisl Meredith Huebner, Dipl.CH (NCCAOM), RH (AHG) is a nationally board certified Chinese Herbalist, and a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. Lisl is also a certified Medicinal Aromatherapist, a Reiki Master an Acupressurist, an Auriculotherapist, a photographer, a renowned diagnostician, a teacher and a published writer who has enjoyed a successful private practice for nearly twenty years.

www.HerbaLisl.com

Please call 8 6 0 - 4 8 0 - 0 1 1 5 or email HerbaLisl@hotmail.com  if you have any questions would like to schedule an appointment or are interested in participating in classes or retreats.

Trees Speak: Luminous Crab Apple

I began talking to trees and plants as a child, and for a brief period of time, this communication was educated right out of me… I’m thankful that it was only a brief period. I resumed my interest in the natural world as a teenager: stones, earth, herbs, gardens and the magical whispering of the nature spirits. 

I vividly recall the first time -since I was a child- that a tree addressed me directly. She was a gnarled old crabapple growing just off my front porch who offered several comfortable spots to recline. I enjoyed her immensely; I would frequently perch in her low, sturdy branches and observe the world. One evening in early November, I stepped out onto my porch to breathe in the cool, moist air. It had been raining steadily all day, and a fine mist persisted, visible in the glow of the streetlight across the way. 

“Welcome.” She said. I heard it distinctly in my head. The thought was simple and it was placed there, but not by me. “Hi.(?)” I replied tentatively. “My berries are luminous.” She stated. They were. The pea-sized fruits were heavy with pendulous droplets of rain that reflected the streetlamp’s amber radiance. I agreed, “Yes. There are.” somewhat dumbstruck. “Taste them.” She urged and when I hesitated, she added, “I would never harm you. I love you.” I plucked one and tasted it slowly, reverently. “What is my medicine?” she asked, encouraging me to consider the flavors and sensations.

Initially, I detected a mild sweetness, followed by sour. The texture was dry and finally I noticed that my mouth became slightly parched. I relayed this aloud to her and she responded, “What does that tell you?” I pondered this information in the context of my herbal knowledge in traditional Chinese medicine. “Tonifying to the Spleen Qi, inhibiting Damp, while also being astringent.” I reported. “Who do you know that needs this?” she prodded. A light bulb went on in my head, and I was offered 5 tiny, ripe apples to give to my friend who was in the house. 

“The tree out front wants you to eat these.” I stated matter-of-factly when I returned to the living room with my open palm extended, offering the fruit. I was met with a look of bemused incredulity, yet my friend complied and ate them. The digestive symptoms he had been complaining about for a few weeks were completely cleared up by the next day. After that, I’ve never hesitated to converse with trees or plants.

“HerbaLisl” Lisl Meredith Huebner, Dipl.CH (NCCAOM), RH (AHG) is a nationally board certified Chinese Herbalist, and a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. Lisl is also a certified Medicinal Aromatherapist, a Reiki Master an Acupressurist, an Auriculotherapist, a photographer, a renowned diagnostician, a teacher and a published writer who has enjoyed a successful private practice for nearly twenty years.

www.HerbaLisl.com

Please call 8 6 0 - 4 8 0 - 0 1 1 5 or email HerbaLisl@hotmail.com  if you have any questions would like to schedule an appointment or are interested in participating in classes or retreats.

CHiCKWeeD... Very Cool Indeed

CHiCK

WeeDS

Lisl Meredith Huebner, Dipl. CH (NCCAOM) ~ Registered Clinical Herbalist (AHG) “HerbaLisl”

 

Just about as common throughout the world as the stars in the sky, Stellaria media is an abundant and welcome sight each spring. Can you believe that people have been known to eradicate this delicious, nutritious and medicinal “weed” without ever learning about its multiple benefits?

Craziness!

First of all: Spring Tonic. I mean the Fat-busting, shed the sluggish winter toxins, put pep in your step and revitalize those sparkly eyes tonic. Boom.

Also… Skin Soother ~ think: inflamed dermal issues from eczema, psoriasis, carbuncles, sores… you name it, this cool chickweed can handle it.

Aaaand, it’s been used to strengthen the bladder, calm cystitis, moisten tissues, cleanse the lymph, soothe dry coughs, nourish the blood, and dissipate benign cysts, benefit malabsorption syndromes, as well as aid in weight loss! Yes, weight loss!

"Rosie" by Sandra Comen 2013

Bionic Tonic: Fill a clean glass jar with freshly picked and washed chickweed, pour boiling water over it and steep for a few hours. Strain well… with clean hands, squeeze out every precious drop!

1.) Use the leftover herb as a poultice, applied directly to sore skin, you will feel it work immediately! -safe for pets too!

2.) Drink the infusion cold or warmed up; up to a quart a day will do you just fine for weight loss, the treatment of the imbalances listed, or just as a general cooling tonic. It tastes like a perfect spring day.

3.) You could also put that strained tea in a bath, or as a wash to cool and soothe any kind of itchy rash. Ahh… sweet relief! (did someone say poison ivy?)

Plus+++ It’s a Vegetable! Chop it up and use it in salads or stir-fries, just like you would bean sprouts… or even put it in the food processor to create a delicious spread or dip (recipe below).

Photo and Pate by Sandra Comen 2013

Chickweed Paté

Roughly chop about 2 cups of freshly picked and washed chickweed and place in a food processor, add the juice of half a lemon, 3 Tbs of any nut/seed butter, or 1/3 cup nuts/seeds, 1 clove garlic, 1 Tbs olive oil. Pulse until smooth, add salt & pepper to taste.

Serve with vegetable crudités or on bread or toast points.

(white beans also work well if preferred over nuts)

“HerbaLisl” Lisl Meredith Huebner, Dipl.CH (NCCAOM), RH (AHG) is a nationally board certified Chinese Herbalist, and a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. Lisl is also a certified Medicinal Aromatherapist, a Reiki Master an Acupressurist, an Auriculotherapist, a photographer, a renowned diagnostician, a teacher and a published writer who has enjoyed a successful private practice for nearly twenty years.

www.HerbaLisl.com

Please call 8 6 0 - 4 8 0 - 0 1 1 5 or email HerbaLisl@hotmail.com  if you have any questions would like to schedule an appointment or are interested in participating in classes or retreats.