🌼Real Talk: Herbal Medicine Skeptics, Immune Health, and Fevers

It's time to get real about the Western medicine vs herbal medicine debate. Why is there a divide, and can these two coexist? Spoiler: They absolutely can. We also explore immune health—how to give it a natural boost and why herbs like elderberries are the real deal when it comes to fighting off those nasty flu viruses. 

And since cold and flu season is upon us, I chatted a bit  about fevers and the best herbs to soothe those high temps. Reality is, our kitchen might just be your new pharmacy. 

Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, this episode's packed with herbal nuggets that'll have you rethinking your healthcare approach. So tune in and let's get empowered with plant medicine!
And, if you're ready to up your herb game, check out the Kid Safe Herb Club, where we cover herbal safety, plant identification, wildcrafting, and deep dive studies on one herb every month! It's $7 bucks a month, and  you can check it out right here.

🌼Wondering what medicinal herbs you should grow for your family?
Grab this guide, Medicinal Herbs Every Mom Must Know & Grow! 
You'll learn how to grow them, and how you can use them. Time to start diggin' in the dirt momma!

🤧Allergy Season BITES! But with WishGarden Herbs Kick As* Allergy, it's a lot cooler!
They've blended the best herbs to help get rid of those itchy watery eyes, the sneezing, the coughing, and the wheezing, so you can go outside, and enjoy Spring again! Head to this link, and use code: ALLERGY20 for 20% off Kick As* Allergy products from WishGarden Herbs!

🍄Medicinal mushrooms have the power to completely transform your health, and our planet. But, quality does matter when you're seeking these fungi as medicine, and unfortunately, much of what's on the market today, isn't such great quality.  But, WholeSun Wellness is the best of the best out there. Try a tin of their Mycolites or any of their other top quality mushroom products here.

Transcript

10/26/23 - Real Talk: Herbal Medicine Skeptics, Immune Health, and Fevers

So today on this episode, I wanted to talk about a couple of things. So I'm initially inspired to chat because I put up a post on social media and it was talking about the many different benefits of bringing more herbs into your family and to your home and using them to heal. Right. So it was just quick like, yo, it's empowering, you save money, it is more holistic body health. And just like if it's like a 15 Second Reel, or whatever. And some guy gets on there and just laughs and does a bunch of laugh emojis. And normally, I don't play into the trolls, but I'm like, Sure, I'll check this guy out and see what he's got to say. And I'm like, so you aren't a huge fan of herbal medicine and the ways that these plants can help to heal people and are often a main ingredient and pharmaceutical drugs like what's going on, not a fan. Turns out, he's like a medical lab assistant or something along those lines. And we went back and forth a few rounds. And he was so convinced that there's no way that herbs can work because they're not extracted in this specific way that all the things in his lab were and I'm like, but this is not true. Like you can do standardized extracts with herbs. That's what I teach people how to do in medicine making mommas. And also, like, there's not a ton of scientific evidence about herbal medicine, but it is out there. And it is clear that many different herbs are actually incredibly beneficial. Or else the pharmaceutical drugs that are being created from these herbs would not have been created and be profiting so heavily. But anyways, clearly we were having a good discussion on it. And I'm butchering much of this discussion right now. But it was a lot of talk about like how these two systems are different. Like, I am not anti Western medicine. I know I say that all the time on this show. Because I'm not like, there's definitely a time and a place for that system as it can save lives. And sometimes we do need those pharmaceuticals. But more often than not, we don't and that system is not there to empower people. And that's what I was talking with him about like, I am not anti Western medicine. But what I am anti is the corruption and the misuse and the abuse and the blatant, just broken system designed to heavily profit off of people, right, the common people, they just want to profit off of us and keep us disempowered. And that to me is disgusting. So what I really am is pro empowerment of people pro helping people learn that, yes, plants can heal you. And this person was completely convinced because he didn't have enough scientific evidence. And he tried to say that all the evidence for herbs is all in vitro or done on animal studies, which is also untrue. All of the scientific studies, so I'll get back to him later, but I figured I'd chat with you first about this on this episode. And pardon me if I'm rambling, I might be on a bit of a rant. But I explained how like in the Western medical system, it is like a let's slap a pill on the problem to mask the problem. Whereas with herbal medicine and other holistic medicine, we look at a person as if they're a whole human being. Wow, who would have thunk and we look at all aspects of their life, their diet, their lifestyle, are they living in a stressful world? Are they you know, is their job, a terrible job? Are they being mentally or physically abused? Do they have some trauma that's been held on to for so long? And of course those are major factors but we also try to dig to the root cause of the problem and heal a person from the inside out. Instead of trying to slap that Instant Fix pill upon somebody only to hide or mask their symptoms, until they're ready to come back around for the next dose of a drug to fix whatever those symptoms were, I'm sure you're familiar with that system. And it is it's broken, and it's corrupt. And it's really disturbing. And this person was trying to say that there is no validity in herbal medicine. Whereas I'm like, been doing this well over 20 years, watched hundreds, if not 1000s of people heal themselves with plant medicine and lifestyle changes, helped many people do that helped other people learn how to do that for their friends and family, and get back to me and say, Oh, my gosh, wow, these herbs actually worked. And all in that same space. Like I said to him, like, the fact of the matter is, these scientific studies you're seeking are only paid for by people that know they're going to profit heavily off of them. Now, if we keep studying these herbs, those people that are paying for those studies are not going to see as much profit because people like you and I are going to wake up to the corruption in the bush dine and start using more herbs and plant medicine. Right. And he had a valid point, like, not all herbs are going to just fix things. And that's totally true, right? Like, I think there's a lot of really poor information and education on the internet about herbalism. And it, you know, it can be more complex as it is also very simple. So I'm not trying to scare you out of it. But there's strategy with herbal medicine, there's ways to think about it, there's ways to consider like, what kind of lifestyle choices do I need to make? Do I need to omit something in my world do I? Do I need to add something more to my world, and then we can turn to the herbs to really support the body in the various processes that it's naturally able to do? I feel like I'm getting like on this tangent. But the reality is like, we can do this, we can heal ourselves with herbs. Oh, this was what I was saying to him is like, Mr. Tim, his name is Tim. Your ancestors and my ancestors have used these very same plants as medicine since time immemorial. And

what makes you think that that is not a valid way of saying yes, this work. So you don't have your precise scientific study next to you for every single herb. Yet, we are watching people actively become healed by using plant medicines and not relying so heavily on the pharmaceuticals that are actually making them more sick. Whoa, mind blowing. The other part of it is like the whole system is set up to keep us sick, the whole entire frickin system, from our food to our medical system, at least here in the United States. It is here to keep us sick. We're being fed, like sugar out the wazoo, which is obviously a ginormous immune suppressant. And as we head into cold and flu season, actually, next week is Halloween, and my kid could not be more stoked about it, because she knows she's going to get a bunch of candy. And it's really funny because I actually, right before recording this podcast, I just finished teaching a class inside of the apothecary, Mama mentorship, all about what to do when your kids get the flu. And some of the things that we need to do is really avoid dairy and avoid sugar when they're really sick, particularly. And we talked about how sugar is a huge factor to everybody getting sick, like pay attention. If you've ever noticed, during this time of year, Halloween happens. Everybody pumps themselves full of sugar. And then we head into the rest of the holidays where there's tons of other feasts and sugar galore and all of the things and we're wondering why people are getting sick, right? Why are people sick all the time during this time of year? Well, because we're treating our immune systems and our bodies like absolute crap. And then we Yeah, oh, rants. I'm not meaning to just be on a rant fast. So I apologize. I just get frustrated with the system. I get frustrated at telling like people like this guy saying, hey, herbs don't work, because I can't see it on a piece of paper and the numbers. But he's wrong. There's plenty of studies, go check out PubMed go check out the research and dive deep into it. And there are so many freakin studies on how herbal medicines can work incredibly well. But you know, we're not feeding into the system and his exact career. So that that became an offensive problem, I think for him but it was fun to have the healthy debate so I don't I don't need to rant too hard and if you're listening to this podcast, you already know that the Western medical system is broken, you already know that plants have the power to heal us. And, and that's really beautiful. It is really, really beautiful. Yeah. So like the flu, we were talking about things like, you know, all the symptoms that come along with flu like the sore throat, or the fever, or the restlessness and the tiredness and when other modalities, other healing modalities hear that a person maybe has a fever, or the instant thought is to suppress the fever during that time, which is quite unfortunate, because a fever is actually a very, very beneficial process of the immune system at work. So it's basically our bodies thermostat, right? And it is raising the temperature because that number one is going to make a very unfriendly environment for foreign pathogens, foreign invaders, so the immune system can, it's the immune system like attacking these guys and saying, Hey, viruses, hey, bacteria, you are not welcome in this body right now. It's also a time where the body is increasing all of the cytokines, which are a cool little like a chemical messenger that your body makes when there are different foreign invaders coming in that yell to the rest of your immune system, like, hey, there's a bad guy here, it's time to get up together and really start to fight. And then the body starts to make more macrophages, which are amazing cells also, that helped to fight off the bad guys, right? The bad guys being the viruses or the bacteria, or what have you. And they come in, and they like, or like little PAC man's, and they just basically eat up all of those bad guys. And it's just amazing. So not only that, like your body's ability, your body's antibody production is 20 times at what it would normally be when you have a fever, which is pretty darn cool to think about, and so is your white blood cell production. So in western medicine, they're like, go take acetaminophen, go take ibuprofen, and these can cause all kinds of other difficulties within the body. But in herbal medicine, we know that there are so many herbs that can really support the body and support that process of fever. Knowing that fever is not an illness, fever is not a disease. Fever is a beautiful part and process of your immune system doing its job. So let's bring on herbs that can support the body during that process of fever. And there's a whole host of them. I went through a ton of them during class tonight. But some of my favorites, like what I love is lemon balm for kiddos because it's yummy. And it's also got some mild antiviral properties to it. And it's a wonderful diaphoretic. So it's diaphoretic herbs that are really your friend during times of fever. And that's basically herb geekspeak for helping your body to release or regulate heat by making you sweat so it's releasing heat through your skin. And lemon balm is fantastic for that. And the other reason it's fantastic is because it's a calming herb for kiddos. So it will encourage your kiddo to actually do the rest of that a kid needs to do or you do too if you've got a fever or the flu or anything, we need to rest we need to allow our immune system to be able to do what it does best. And yeah, not push yourself when you are sick. And another way that you can make sure that it has all of the energy and everything it needs to to function well is to not eat heavy foods, not eat that dairy I was talking about not eat that sugar, and really focus on light foods if any foods at all. So basically, you want to starve your fever. And you can think about broth. Broth, particularly with more diaphoretic and antiviral herbs like garlic or ginger, maybe some time in there, maybe oregano, all of these herbs have incredible medicinal properties that are going to be so supportive for the flu or fever process and keep you nourish just enough to where your digestive system doesn't have to work so hard that it takes all of your body's fuel and energy away from your immune system doing its job. So that is really important. What other herbs do I love with flu and fever. I love elderflowers. They are another great diaphoretic that's going to support the body in so many great ways. Elderberry, of course elderberry was our herb of the month in the kidsave Herb club for the month of October, which if you want to join us in there, we do a deep dive study on one entire herb plant every month. And then you also get the foundations of herbal safety, we talk about some dosage, some wildcrafting, gardening and plant ID stuff in there. And then every month, it's a new herb, and you get recipes and all that cool stuff. And it's like a really great program for somebody just getting into herbalism. And maybe you're intimidated by all of it out there. Because it can get intimidating, trying to learn all the things. It's also great for somebody like me, like I had one of my students in there that was like, Oh, you don't need to know this. And I'm like, but actually, every lesson I'm writing, I am learning something new again. And that's you know, that's the beauty of herbalism. So, if you've been in this game for a while, and you're just looking to like dive deeper on each herb or explore them even more. It's a great place for you to be it's the kids safer club. It's seven bucks a month. Yes, the herbs we talk about are also really great for adults. But I just want to encourage you to start learning herbs but not have to know like hundreds at a time. Instead get to know one herb and how you can use it as medicine for your family. And like 1020 30 the more ways you can discover the better off you are anyways. Yes elderberries, I love them for times of flu because they've actually been scientifically proven Tim. Sorry. Do scientifically proven to fight off over 10 Different flu viruses, they also will shorten the duration of illness from six to eight days down to just two to three. Yes, there have been studies on humans done with this that prove all of this efficacy. So Tim is wrong. He just hasn't been showed those studies. Sorry. Social media is such a such a bad place. I'm glad you listen to my podcast. Thank you for listening to me ramble about herbs and my thoughts on the western medical system versus empowering you to be able to take better care of yourself and your family.

Because it really is all about like Holistic Health, right? I'm not going to tell you that there is an herb that can fix all of your problems, I'm first going to look to you and say, Hey, what else is going on in your body? How can we match the right herbs in the right places? And how can I teach you how to actually heal yourself with the right herbs. And they're going to be different for everybody. That's that's kind of the fun of it all. It makes me as a clinical herbalist and more like a detective. And that's kind of what I teach inside of apothecary mama as well. So in that program, we definitely get into the science of herbalism. Because it's not just witchy woowoo stuff, even though we're so close to Halloween. It's not just about witchcraft, there is science to back all of this stuff up. And that's what I bring into that program. And I teach you how the body works. Because when you understand how your body works and the different systems within your body, you are going to be better able to choose the right herb at the right time. And then of course, when we're talking about different ailments inside of that program, or deeper dive workshops like we did today, we also talk about different lifestyle choices that you can consider to improve whatever scenario you're going through. And then we talk about the different herbs that you would want to look to for those particular conditions because I like like there's a library of different ailments that people go through and moms have to face with kiddos from pregnancy to emptying the NAS, so things like colic or ADHD for your kiddos or maybe you got cankles when you're pregnant and you're like help me I've got this edema. What do I do? You know, you get the you get the gig. We talk about all kinds of tummy upset things and we talk about cold and flu. We talk about breastfeeding, we talk about diarrhea, we talk about constipation, we talk about acne, we talk about all the things first aid things, really because we our whole bodies and whole beings and that is the mission inside of apothecary Mama is to empower you to think so strategically and so wisely and to really get it to not just sit there and succumb to oh I just have to go take a pill to fix this problem. That's the only thing I can do. But instead to equip you with scientific evidence and and very clear knowledge and wisdom that will empower you to be able to take better care of yourself and better care of your children and your entire family. In fact, I have quite a few of my students that have been with me in this program for over a year now and are being called upon by many, many people within their community to make them more herbal remedies, because they're seeing the such incredibly dramatic effects and benefits from these herbs. And it's so cool to see. I love it. Like it's really, really beautiful. And it makes me so happy. And actually, I'm about to open doors to apothecary mama in November. So I'm sure you'll hear about it some more. And I would love to welcome you in there if now is your time. That would be beautiful. No worries. If not. Yeah, let's empower more people to use more plant medicine. Okay, I have just gone on such a rambly rampage if you feel me in any of this and if my podcast made sense to you, I didn't go off any notes or any structure I'm just chatting with you. And if you relate to this or feel me in any of this, I would love to hear from you. So please let me know shoot me an email reach out to me and Instagram or Tiktok wherever you have found me from and let me know that you feel what I'm talking about here and I can't wait to hear from you. Thank you again so much for listening this long in this episode and I will chat with you next week. Take care