What I wish for all human beings interested in an overall comprehensive approach to wellness to understand is this: all medicine we have now was originally sourced from the earth… ya know, plants, animals, microorganisms, and minerals. Originally, that is. Many of these compounds are now developed in labs by extremely intelligent chemists who found more efficient ways to duplicate and administer the necessary biochemical compound for whatever cure or use they are aiming for.

This is why biodiversity is so important to medical advancement, which we will touch more on later (save the forests). But to drive this point home from the jump, here are some examples:

Willow tree bark, like all medicinal plants, has multiple bioactive compounds within it. Yes, salicin is in the plant, but there are also other compounds interacting with it, such as triandrin, picein, oxalates, resins, waxes, flavonoids, and so on.

Back to the point. The fact that willow bark has so many active compounds means they all might do something when ingested, smoked, extracted, and so on. Because if there’s one thing active compounds do, it’s interact. This is why modern medicine and pharmaceutical discoveries are so amazing! We can now take one compound found in trace amounts in a plant, isolate it, duplicate it, and make it the main active factor in a medication. That way it is not interacting unpredictably with other plant compounds and contains enough of that singular compound to actually do the Lord’s work and cure that headache. *Bows down to Mother Earth*

Medicine is always evolving.

Medicine and medical technology is ever evolving, but it is in no way a new concept. Doctors were once healers. Once shamans. Once midwives. We now look back at leeches and bloodletting as bizarre, and in 50 years, people will look back at some of our current practices the same way. In an ever-evolving world, there is no reason we should not educate ourselves on how we can take ownership of our wellness.

We all deserve the tools to help ourselves in the safest, most cost-effective ways. Do not even get me started on pharmaceutical and insurance giants and how they screw over the working class every chance they get. Screw them. Okay, moving on.

What this database actually covers.

One of my biggest frustrations with accessible herbal medicine content is that it stops at "this plant reduces inflammation!" and never covers the chemical interactions that are very real when ingesting supplements alongside blood thinners, SSRIs, birth control, or autoimmune medications. Those interactions are important and can cause serious health problems! Do not avoid drug interaction information when considering even the most common herbs and medicinal plants.

A lot of the information I include comes from my class notes and education in Medicinal Plants through Cornell University. I am certified in this, after all. And I apply it to my own personal health and wellness every day. As someone with an autoimmune disease, I will do anything to keep myself pain-free, medication-free, and sick-free. Some of this information had genuinely helped me in my personal health journey. I want you to have the same tools.

I can't promise miracles. I'm not Jesus, okay? Geez. But I will promise scientific backing behind each claim as we go. Let's dive in, besties.

I will never tell someone not to go to their doctor. Modern medicine is a beautiful and ever-evolving science that saves lives every single day. In my humble opinion, the best healthcare model is one that takes all knowledge, both modern Western medicine and traditional medicine, and combines them for the best possible outcome for the patient. Western medicine has not totally caught onto this idea everywhere, but there are doctors popping up who are. And there are plenty of countries outside of America that have already been on this train for a long time.