I'm Afraid of Herbs

Me too.  After all, who wouldn’t be afraid after reading things like “Deadliest Plants in America”, or “Wicked and Evil Plants”?   Ok, I made those titles up, but I have read article after article and even a couple of books that looked at plants that way.  If you look up information on the internet you’re bound to get scary reports of people dying and having horrible emergency experiences because of these terrible plants that come out of the woods and attack!   Do you detect a hint of sarcasm here?  You should.

First, of all there is no such thing as evil or wicked plants.  They do not have a vengeful vendetta against mankind.  There are indeed plants that exist that have unpleasant and even deadly consequences if the right circumstances exist.  But that does not make them evil, it makes them important.  Why?  Because those plants show us by their flashy clashes with us, that plants and their pharmacological makeup are real, and not to be shrugged off as myth, legend, placebo, or folklore.  They prove without a shadow of a doubt that they are powerful and in their own right, just as effective as their synthetic counterparts. But here’s where the common sense breaks down.

If I make a bold statement, like plants are as powerful as drugs, you end up with two spectrums.  There are the medical personnel who think that you are discounting all of their hard-earned education and research and throwing it away for the sake of the weeds in the backyard. I, myself, was in this camp at one time.  Shocking, I know.   Or, on the other hand, you have those who think the ONLY safe thing is the weeds in their backyard and that no harm can come to them because it’s “natural”.  And the rainbow between those spectrum includes every other idea, big pharma, witch doctors and all.

So, I asked myself, “where does common sense lie?”   Let’s start with the line of thinking that plants are effective.  If that’s true – and hemlock doesn’t lie – then the pharmacological components of all plants are not to be taken trivially.  In fact, there is still very little known about their true make-up, and many many chemical components that aren’t even identified as to their purpose.  Sometimes, the chemical compound found in a plant is only found in that one plant – so they name it after the plant. But what does it do??  Only God knows. And I mean that literally.  But, there is also this incredible capacity that plants have in their make-up to alleviate side effects with their symbiotic compounds.  In other words, when a plant is used correctly, and as a whole, it works and there are few side effects.  Which brings me to the other line of thought.  Medical personnel are often opposed to the use of herbs  – for this glaring fact.  They DO work, and there ARE side effects.  But it is the unknown that truly bothers them.  They don’t want people foraging and using mushrooms for pain because of the person who ends up eating C.filaris and dying of liver failure. Because for all their years of knowledge, they still don’t know how it works or how to save someone from that mistake.  That’s not a criticism, it’s an observation of the dedication to keep people alive and safe.  However, there is a tendency for them to believe that they can disregard the potential that herbs have in safe and effective treatment simply because they didn’t get it from their textbooks.  And if they don’t know something, and they give incorrect information they could be sued.  So best to say stay away, right?  The common sense thing to do is this –  treat herbs as effective and powerful allies, get educated, and use wisdom; including correct dosage, consistent production quality, and good use practices.

” Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7  That’s why I’m not afraid of herbs – even supposed evil ones.