Herbal Medicine in Context

You know, there’s all this talk about local food.  What about local medicine?  Why aren’t we growing more of what we need right at home?  Why do we get hung up on herbs that grow in faraway places?  Is the grass always greener someplace else?

Herbal medicine in context means the using medicinal herbs in your situation as your circumstances dictate.  In context means considering the climate, soil, space, and sunlight, as well as your age, abilities, and medical history.

Like other herbalists, I list some of my most favorite herbs.  I only write about herbs that grow in my area, which Nevadans call the Great Basin, a smaller region within the Intermountain West.  Just about everything that grows here also grows in the Intermountain West.  However, even if you live in the Great Basin/Intermountain West, my favorite herbs may not be what grows best for you.  I could present a lecture on my ten favorites and that lecture might be next to worthless for you.  Those herbs may not grow at all in your area.  Or they might grow, but only with great effort due to soil, sunlight, altitude, space, or pests.  Those herbs that grow the most readily in your area are the ones that will be the most medicinal and of greatest benefit to you and your family. 

All herbs have places they grow best and those where they don’t grow at all.  Some prefer acidic soil; sweet alyssum and tumbleweeds like alkaline soil.  I raise a beautiful garden (most of the time), with lovely flowers and tasty fruits and vegetables.  There are at least 40 medicinal herbs out there.  But not two of my favorites, try as I might every single year.  Lavender and rosemary do not like the places I’ve put them.  Sometimes they just up and die.  Sometimes they sit there like some spoiled teenager and say they will survive, this year, and then they’re never coming back.  Because they hate it.  I don’t know what their problem is.  Their relatives peppermint, spearmint, and lemon balm are quite well behaved.  And in case you were wondering, my garden is the staging area where catnip and oregano are launching their bid for world domination. 

So context is one of the major issues I have with a lot of herbal medicine courses.  What do the herbalists teach?  Most present insightful lectures and information on their favorite herbs.  Which probably grow best in their location.  Which herbalist may be worth listening to if you live in their area, OR if they cover herbs that grow in your area.  If they wax poetic about the advantages of slippery elm, jewelweed, and sarracenia, and you live in the desert, they aren’t going to be of much benefit to you.  If they tell you to get everything off Amazon, and Amazon isn’t delivering, how’s that going to work out? 

Another context issue we encounter is getting hung up on formulas.  If we look at a recipe and don’t have one or more herbs, we panic and decide we can’t make it.  Herbalists use those herbs because they are familiar with them and they grow in their area.  Don’t get hung up on someone else’s formula.  Make your own formulas with what you have on hand, what you grow.  Sure, those other herbs may be slightly better than what you have.  Like 100 is slightly more than 98.  But remember, when you grow your own, you can provide be best conditions and harvest at the right time and preserve carefully.  Do you think the same is true of herbs you buy online?  (If you do, send me an email.  I have a bridge for sale, really cheap.) 

Instead of getting stuck on someone else’s formula, combine 2-4 herbs you have that will address whatever condition or illness you’re treating.  That’s what herbal healers have done for millennia.  Amazon and UPS are relatively recent developments.  Be your own herbalist.

A lot of references have you foraging out in the woods and mountains or near streams and riverbanks for herbs.  How does that work out when gas is expensive or non-existent?  What if you’ve aged a few years and hiking up the mountain is no longer in your best interest?  What’s wrong with using what grows in your own backyard or neighborhood?  The grass isn’t really always greener someplace else. 

And then there are those people telling you that herbs can fix everything.  I believe herbal medicine is best most of the time.  I wish it were true all of the time.  I wish we knew of herbs for insulin, epinephrine, and levothyroxine.  And a myriad of other diseases.  Unfortunately, at this point in time, herbs can’t fix everything.  But they can fix a whole lot.  And the more they are used instead of resorting to pharmaceuticals, the healthier we will be.  When working with medicinal herbs, remember to keep everything in context.  Do the best you can within your abilities and circumstances, and you will be better off for it.