About Herbs, Herbal Theory, Notes

There are many modern misnomers with respect to herbs and herbal products.

The first is that we need to constantly be taking herbs in order to be healthy. This is false. Herbs need only be used when there is an imbalance in the body. Herbs, being alternatives are meant to address these imbalances to help correct them. When the imbalances are corrected the use of the herb can be gradually tapered off and eventually stopped altogether.

This leads to a second misnomer – that herbs can be taken indefinitely. This is a classic marketing ploy. Marketing dictates infinitesimal sales are good for business. Unfortunately, human needs never match the ambitions of marketers. Although there is a period of time that herbs need to be taken in order to restore the specific imbalance that they are addressing but when the herbs have done their job they can be put aside until needed again.

For people who constantly have recurring bodily imbalances. Lifestyle choices should be examined. Food, physical activity, adequate sleep and so on should be looked at for general and long term well being first.

However, there are several herbs that can be used indefinitely. These are called universal herbs. Chamomile, fennel, peppermint, hawthorne etc. are among the most common – there are many others.

A third misnomer is that a herb in a tea, a capsule a tincture or an extract will all do the same thing. Some herbs will do nothing or very little unless they are properly extracted. Herbalism and actual healing is an art not a science. Each method of preparing a herb will make it more suitable for different purposes. An example is that tinctures in their functioning should only be taken for about 2 weeks. Then they should be put aside. If they did not fulfill their function, it is likely that the wrong tincture was taken. Many will dispute this.

Standardized Herbs:

The latest trend is the standardization of herbs. The belief being that by concentrating what are believed to be the active ingredients of a plant that it will be more effective. The truth is that what are believed to be active ingredients by the scientists is actually what a real herbalist disregards as waste. What standardization actually achieves is making a useful herb into a pharmaceutical like substance. It also means that it is possible to start with a lesser quality raw material and still get a relatively consistent end product.

We will never standardize our products. Instead we ensure our quality by going to the expense of importing the best raw materials. We use pharmaceutical grade herbs. As a result we have many satisfied customers. Our money goes into making a better quality product not advertising. Our quality is our advertising and marketing can not improve quality.

At this time our herbal products are made of powdered herbs in capsules. We realize that in this form they have an inherent limitation and are therefore consciously formulated to take advantage of this. Not many companies are aware of this and do not take advantage of nature in this way.

We hope that our effort may be of benefit to our customers.