Before I knew much about herbs, I assumed that they were useless. I can now look back at my life and see that I was very influenced by the culture in my thinking. I believe there’s been a movement in our country to make users of herbs appear foolish, wicked, uneducated, or magical. Think of the movies that portray a witch standing over a big kettle with her potions, or the headlines shaming people for taking a more natural approach to healing. Because of what I witnessed in my own health, along with stories from other people, I now find herbs to be my best option as medicine and nutrition.
After having my sixth child, I started praying and researching about better ways to get my vitamins and minerals naturally. I was desperate for more energy and had other health struggles going on. I knew I didn’t want to take medications the rest of my life. That was when I discovered herbs and nutrient dense, ancient foods. Since that time, I have learned everything I can about them, and I still have so much to learn.
One of the benefits of using herbs is that I can grow, harvest, and use them for free or with very little cost. It does take a lot of time, and that is definitely something I need to take into consideration when I count my cost, but the work in itself is also beneficial to my health. There are herbs that I purchase in bulk, since I can’t grow them myself like seaweeds for example. I also buy some organic herbs since we go through so many that I simply can’t keep up. When it comes to quality, this is one area that I actually believe that what I buy is stronger and greener than what I grow. When I use my own herbs, I simply use a little extra.
When I first started working with herbs, I made a tea with two parts raspberry leaves to one-part peppermint. I simply boiled water and put my leaves in a pint jar, poured boiling water in the jar, covered it with a pot holder, and strained it whenever I remembered. I liked this hot in the winter or on ice in the summer. I did this at least twice a day and noticed a big difference in my energy levels. I also gave this to a family member and she noticed similar results. Over the years I have done a lot of experimenting and now add more herbs depending on our needs. I only use loose leaf organic herbs for tea since powdered herbs lose their nutrients faster.
As I have learned these skills, I have shared my knowledge with my husband and kids. It has been fun to watch them take what they have learned and start applying it. One of our daughters started experimenting with herbs for her complexion and skin issues. After sharing her tea with friends and family at different events she decided to start a business selling this popular tea. Her tea tastes a lot better than my original tea. It has been so fun to be able to help my husband with pain that he has been experiencing since doing more physical labor with his electrical business and a daughter that kept developing more food allergies after a strong antibiotic was given to her on accident when she was younger. These are just a few stories. I can only say praise the Lord!
Working with herbs has taught me that everyone has different needs, and it takes time to truly heal and reverse symptoms if it’s God’s will. There’s also more to it than taking herbs like proper diet, exercise, sleep, keeping stress low, adequate sunshine, etc.
I also learned that it is very important to go slow when working with herbs and to make careful observations. To make a long story short, I used dandelion root internally and developed some confusion every time I took it and several years later, gumweed on my face that caused terrible itching and pain for a day. In both cases I learned that these plants contain latex which I now know that I’m allergic to. That taught me how important it is make my own observations about my body, because nobody can take the time to do this like I can.
I share this post to glorify God in that He has given us these amazing plants as medicine. I love that the vitamins work synergistically with one another, and I don’t have to worry as much about getting too much of one vitamin like I did with single vitamin supplements. It is such a great skill to learn, and I look forward to learning more.
Have you worked with herbs? We LOVE to hear from you!