Herb Basics 101: All herbs are not created equal

herb

All herbs are not created equal.

Herbs fall into three general categories:

1. Tonic
2. Medicinal
3. Poisonous

A tonic is something you can consume daily with no ill effects.

Nettle is a good example of a tonic. Oat straw is another. In common parlance, these are “super foods” (just a whole lot cheaper). Consuming them daily is like putting money in your health bank.

A medicinal herb is consumed … Read more

Herb Basics 101: How to make an infusion

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Herbals teas are a big business and that’s a good thing. Not everyone wants or needs to drink caffeine when they drink a hot beverage.

But here’s something not even 1 out of 100 people who drink herbal teas know…

The health effects of herbs don’t kick in until the healing properties have been extracted from the plant.

A commercial herbal tea bag steeped for a couple of minutes in … Read more

The GMO fraud

Monsanto has succeeded in subverting virtually every mainstream news outlet and academic plant science program in the US. Those it has not bought off, it has terrorized into silence.

Of the handful of legitimate scientists who have published research questioning the safety of GMOs, more than one has had their careers ruined by pressures imposed by the company and its agents.

Add to this a choir of high-profile “useful idiots” … Read more

Herb Sources

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This is a beginning list. We will add to it as we learn of new reliable sources.

Avena Botanicals

Green Terrestrial
(802) 375-8087

Herbalist and Alchemist

The Herb Wyfe

Jean’s Greens

Jeanne Rose’s Herbal Product

Mountain Rose Herbs

Simpler’s Botanicals

– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org

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What is herbalism’s proper role?

Herbalism is not science “lite.”

It’s also not an alternative therapy.

It’s a sophisticated healing system unto itself that has played and continues to play an essential role in the care and survival of the human race.

This is a talk that David Hoffman gave to the American Herbalists Guild Symposium in Portland, Oregon on November 5th, 2005.

In it he addresses the subversion of herbalism by Big Business and … Read more

Herb Basics 101: Buyer Beware

LOGO-charlatan

In our last post, we talked about the importance of being well informed when you source herbs and herbal products.

In case you think we were overstating the need for this, we just discovered the results of an investigation published by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York.

They took at at look at the actual contents of “herbal supplements” sold in Wal-Mart, Target … Read more

Herb Basics 101: Acquisition and storage

rsz_flowerpowerjars

Many sources advocate herbs for healing and cooking, and they’re right – but only half right. There’s another very important part of the equation.

Where you get your herbs and how you store them are of maximum importance.

The best source of herbs

Where should you buy your herbs?

Because the effectiveness of herbs degrades significantly after one year, supermarkets – including most health food stores – are not a … Read more

Wade Davis: The variety of human experience

Fascinating talk by Wade Davis on the varieties of human experience, the value of the existence of these diverse worlds views and the serious and ongoing threat to indigenous people around the world.

At the 11:23 point Davis explains how it is that forest dwellers make profound botanical discoveries that elude the most advanced western science.

– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org

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Photographer Robert Llewellyn

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Photographer Robert Llewellyn is the author of three books: “Seeing Trees”, “Seeing Flowers”, and “Seeing Seeds.”

“When I first looked at trees — really looked at them — it was like meeting another civilization,”

“Picking up a camera changes how I see things. The plant world, previously hiding in plain sight, now reveals itself as another civilization living among us. They have a plan. I’ll never see them the same … Read more