The Truth About Organic Herbalism: Does it Really Help You Heal?
Alternative medicine and herbalism are two things that seem to be antithetical in nature to what modern medicine is all about. While modern medicine is precise, synthetic and relies exclusively on chemicals. Herbalism, as the name implies, relies on the use of plants and herbs for medicinal and therapeutic uses. With that being said, the notion of organic herbalism still unfortunately suffers from the accusations of ‘hocus-pocus’ and unscientific, and to dispel that notion, in this blog post, let us take on the question about organic herbalism: does it actually help you heal or is it a prime case of a mere placebo?
Let us start off by stating the obvious: yes, organic herbalism does work, and while some people might not be best friends with it, it still has its uses, proven and scientific. Let's start by looking at some of the myths surrounding organic herbalism and understand the actual facts behind them, and then, we can delve deeper into whether or not herbalism really helps you heal or not.
Organic Herbalism: Does it Work?
A lot of people like to think that organic herbalism doesn’t work. They think that the addition of the word organic isn’t meaningful at all, and while these skeptics may prefer synthetic drugs, the simple matter of fact is that herbs and plants have been mankind’s main source of healing ever since the dawn of mankind, and will continue to do so for the future ahead. Let's look at a few myths that are perpetrated against organic herbalism and explore the actual facts.
One of the main issues that people seem to have with organic herbalism stems from the fact that people have been misled into believing that herbalism and organic herbalism both do not have any scientific credibility at all, since they don’t go through the testing and development phase that synthetic medicine usually goes through. This lack of testing and industrial research lends to the distrust of organic herbalism, both in terms of its results and its usage for specific health problems and for healing. However, the fact is that contrary to the popular belief, herbal remedies, minerals, vitamins, amino acids and other supplements medicine and many medications do go through a rigorous testing process and scrutiny before being approved by Health Canada and receiving a NPN (Natural Product Number)that ensures that the remedy actually heals whatever the issue is. In fact, many scientific studies have been conducted that detail the therapeutic effects of plants and other herbs, specifically to test out the active components of it. There are many examples of herbalism being scientifically proven to have excellent effects: a good example can be the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric.
Modern medicine tends to take effect immediately, while organic compounds and herbalism is generally thought to be more slow-acting, taking its time in delivering relief. However, that isn’t the case; in fact, herbal remedies and supplements medication can be equally fast-acting, and in some cases, when applied topically, can be even quicker. However, let us explain this: some remedies, specifically some complex compounds derived from herbs and plants may take time to act and provide relief; however, even then, herbalism is still extremely efficient. Considering that medication requires multiple doses to deliver the desired effect, herbalism is much more permanent and pretty much a single use remedy. It permanently relieves the ailment with minimal uses, whereas with modern medicine, you’re stuck with longstanding dosages that have to be taken without missing any. So, while herbalism isn’t slow-acting at all, at times when it does act slow, it acts permanently and helps the ailment without the need for additional dosage.
Herbalism and organic herbalism is something that is usually associated with counterculture, and just a passing fad or trend that isn’t really as rooted and grounded as modern medicine. Which is not the case, once again. The focus for organic herbalism isn’t rooted in being the poster child for counterculture, instead, herbalism and this reliance on plants and herbs for therapeutic medicinal purposes is something that is rooted in our history, and this reliance spans multiple generations, beginning from the day man understood that certain plants and herbs had certain therapeutic medicinal properties. Even today, despite the passage of centuries, you might still see clove-infused toothpaste and other herbal therapies medicine that claim to have an enhanced therapeutic medicinal effect due to the usage of active compounds present in these plants. Therefore, organic herbalism isn’t a fad or trend that is rooted in counterculture, rather it's something that has stood the test of time and has been part of human knowledge that spans centuries.
Many people think of herbal medicine as a temporary solution or a stopgap measure to health problems. They think that by using vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies such medicine, these health issues will resurface, prompting the use of more sophisticated and modern medicine to finally uproot the problem once and for all. However, that is obviously not the case, and as explained beforehand, many herbal remedies or plant-derived remedies medicines actually require less dosages or amounts to deliver therapeutic medicinal effects. Organic herbalism tends to resolve a medical issue much more quickly and with fewer dosages, and once the problem has been resolved, it is extremely unlikely to come back or resurface yet again. That is because with organic compounds, the issue is resolved organically and naturally, whereas modern medicine tends to lean towards synthetic compounds that can deliver medicinal effects to the issue but don’t actually resolve it.
Organic Herbalism: Does it Actually Help? the healing process?
Yes, definitely. For centuries, man has used herbs and plants for their therapeutic medicinal effects for a wide variety of health related medical problems. From toothaches to stomachaches and even some complicated issues, herbalism has had a long, illustrious and proven track record of relieving healing the pains and ailments of all kinds. And now, by infusing scientific processes and knowledge, we have been able to amplify the effects of these plants to support us in our health help heal better and quicker. Organic herbalism is just that, and with this track record of excellence, it does actually help the healing process and even on its own, it is a very potent solution.