How to choose the right herb
There is nothing inherent in a plant that defines the way it should be used, and with the wealth of herbs that humanity shares the embrace of Gaia with, some coherent selection criteria is essential to guide herbalists in their healing work. Over half a million plants present themselves as possible healing remedies. The British Medical Herbalist routinely uses 250, whilst in China the Herbal practitioner has about 2000 easily available in community pharmacies. Some set of guidelines is obviously being applied to whittle down 500,000 to a more manageable figure, but what are they?
There are a number of useful ways to group the relevant criteria, but three categories are most helpful in western herbalism.
o Assessment of the herbs impact upon the body & mind.
This is a plant orientated category.
o Using herbs within the context of a system of some kind.
This is a person orientated category.
o Non-Therapeutic criteria such as aesthetics, economics and ecology.
Applying these three sets of criteria facilitates the formulation of treatments that can be wholly specific for an individuals unique needs whilst being environmentally sensitive and economically reasonable. Each of these will be considered in depth.
o Assessment of the herbs impact.
The herbal remedies of the world vary in strength from potentially lethal poisons if taken at the wrong dosage, to gentle remedies that might be considered to be foods. The holistically orientated herbalist works with the underlying idea that the body is self-healing and that the therapist simply supports this innate healing process. Thus the tonic herbs become of paramount importance as this is exactly what they do. A characteristic of tonics is that they are all gentle remedies that have a mild yet profound effect upon the body. Not all herbal remedies are tonics, of course, with many having a powerful impact upon human physiology. These must be used with the greatest respect, reserving their use for those times of illness where strong medicine is called for.
By identifying the intensity of impact upon an individual, a useful selection criteria is found. The remedies may be categorized in the following way ~
1. Normalisers - these are remedies that nurture and nourish the body in some way that supports inherent processes of growth, health and renewal. These are the tonics and are often seen as herbal foods. The Nettle, Cleavers and Chickweed are excellent examples.
2. Effectors - these are remedies that have an observable impact upon the body. They provide humanity with the herbs used in the treatment o
f the whole range of human illness. They can in turn be divided into two groups depending upon how they they work ~
f the whole range of human illness. They can in turn be divided into two groups depending upon how they they work ~
- whole plant actions, where the effects are the result of the whole plant impacting the human body. An example would be anti-microbial remedy Echinacea or the anti-inflammatory herb Meadowsweet. Actions are discussed in more depth below.
- specific active chemicals, where the effect is the result of a chemical whose impact is so over powering upon the human body that whole plant effects are not usually seen. Due to the presence of such intense chemicals they are potentially poisonous if taken at the wrong dose or in the wrong way. The cardio-active herb Foxglove and the Opium Poppy are good examples.
- specific active chemicals, where the effect is the result of a chemical whose impact is so over powering upon the human body that whole plant effects are not usually seen. Due to the presence of such intense chemicals they are potentially poisonous if taken at the wrong dose or in the wrong way. The cardio-active herb Foxglove and the Opium Poppy are good examples.
The value of tonic herbs lays in their normalizing, nurturing effects. These invaluable remedies will usually have some associated action that will further indicated their best use. The cardiovascular tonic Hawthorn is an excellent example that tones the whole system whilst specifically dilating blood vessels and lowering elevated blood pressure. Whenever possible, the herbalist will focus on the use of such remedies, and will use stronger effectors only if absolutely necessary. The chemically based effectors are hardly used at all. They are, however, the foundation of modern allopathic medicine.
The tonics can play a specific role in ensuring the individual is at their personal peak of health and vitality. The quality of such a state of well-being will vary from person to person, but everyone will sense a improvement in their general experience of life. Tonics may also be used to specifically ward off a known health problem or a family weakness. Each system of the body has plants that are particularly suited to it, some of which are tonics. By selecting remedies that act as tonics for the different systems of the body, it is possible to do some impressive preventative work. With the following list, always take into account the broader picture of a herb's range of actions, as it needs this breadth of vision to enable a coherent choice to be made.
o Cardio-Vascular ~ Hawthorn and Garlic. The bioflavonoid containing herbs such as Ginkgo, Buckwheat and Lime Blossom are especially useful for strengthening blood vessels.
o Respiratory ~ Mullein, Elecampane & Coltsfoot
o Digestive ~ No one herb will be an all round tonic as the system is so varied in its form and functions. The bitter tonics will often be helpful in preventative approaches in health. Examples are Gentian, Agrimony and Dandelion root. Chamomile and Meadowsweet are so generally helpful to the digestive process that they might be considered as general tonics here.
o Respiratory ~ Mullein, Elecampane & Coltsfoot
o Digestive ~ No one herb will be an all round tonic as the system is so varied in its form and functions. The bitter tonics will often be helpful in preventative approaches in health. Examples are Gentian, Agrimony and Dandelion root. Chamomile and Meadowsweet are so generally helpful to the digestive process that they might be considered as general tonics here.
o Liver ~ Bitters tonics, hepatics and especially Milk Thistle.
o Urinary ~ Bearberry and Corn Silk are very useful.
o Reproductive ~ For women consider Raspberry Leaves, False Unicorn Root and other Uterine Tonics, whilst for men Saw Palmetto, Damiana or possibly Sarsaparilla.
o Nervous ~ Oats, Scullcap, St.John's Wort, Vervain and Mugwort are all excellent tonic remedies. Siberian Ginseng & Panax Ginseng have a toning effect when the person is under stress because of their effect upon the adrenal glands.
o Urinary ~ Bearberry and Corn Silk are very useful.
o Reproductive ~ For women consider Raspberry Leaves, False Unicorn Root and other Uterine Tonics, whilst for men Saw Palmetto, Damiana or possibly Sarsaparilla.
o Nervous ~ Oats, Scullcap, St.John's Wort, Vervain and Mugwort are all excellent tonic remedies. Siberian Ginseng & Panax Ginseng have a toning effect when the person is under stress because of their effect upon the adrenal glands.
o Musculo-Skeletal ~ Celery Seed, Bogbean and Nettles will help prevent any systemic problems manifest as disease in this system. Comfrey and Horsetail will help strengthen the bones and connective tissue.
o The Skin ~ Cleavers, Nettles, Red Clover and most of the alterative remedies will help.
o Infection ~ Garlic, Echinacea, and system specific anti-microbials such as Bearberry for the urinary system.
o The Skin ~ Cleavers, Nettles, Red Clover and most of the alterative remedies will help.
o Infection ~ Garlic, Echinacea, and system specific anti-microbials such as Bearberry for the urinary system.
o Using herbs within the context of a therapeutic system.
Since the very beginnings of medicine there has been a striving to make sense of the human body, the ills that assail it and the healing remedies used to treat it. This has led to many models or systems of medicine, most of which are only found now in texts on the history of medicine. The use of herbs has been repeatedly organized and then re-organized into systems that reflect the prevailing world view of the time and culture.
Today is no exception, especially with the herbal renaissance in full flood and the transformation of society and its world view still in mid-process. It is possible to identify a number of commonly found approaches being used currently. There are those that use Traditional knowledge or work within the framework of an existing philosophical system. The first grouping based upon the worlds folk traditions varies depending upon the tradition used, and the examples of the second group differ depending on the philosophy at their core. The philosophical context may be one of the profoundly holistic systems of Asia or the western approach which is based on what has been called the bio-medical model. This western model does mean that the herbs must be used within a disease centered approach to medicine, but rather using them within a holistic context.
The herbalist by David Hoffman, (c)1993 David Hoffman, Hopkins Technology
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