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, minerals, and now synthetic engineering of those biochemical compounds. Originally, that is. Many are now created 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. But to drive this point home from the jump, here are some examples:
Paclitaxel (Taxus species) used in cancer treatments
Digoxin (foxglove) heart-regulating medicine
Warfarin (sweet yellow clover) anticoagulant
Galantamine (snowdrop) Alzheimer’s treatment
Atropine (deadly nightshade) eye dilation and certain nerve issues
Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid* (willow tree bark) fever, pain, and inflammation treatment
*Note that willow tree bark is a natural source of salicin, which led to the development of salicylic acid. So no, scraping off and gnawing on some bark from a Salix sp. is not going to cure your migraine.
On that note, let’s start with willow tree bark.
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. This is all detailed in articles and databases through the National Institutes of Health if you do not want to take some random woman on the internet at face value. Which, for the record, I recommend. Always do your own research. Maybe I am a quack, for all you know.
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 ever evolving, but it is in no way a new concept. Doctors were once healers. Once shamans. Once midwives. Once whatever title existed depending on where and when they practiced. I mean… yeah… some doctors did weird things like put leeches on people’s toes or bleed them out. We now look back at that as bizarre, because, like, what? But a lot of healers, midwives, shamans, and traditional practitioners had legitimate healing methods that worked. In an ever evolving world, there is absolutely no reason we should not educate ourselves on ways we can take ownership of our wellness.
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.
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 fuck over the poor every chance they get. Screw them. Okay, moving on.
Before we go any further, let’s be clear about something. We are also going to talk about supplements (because everyone is talking about and taking them it seems these days). The good, the bad, and the wildly under-regulated.
Because here is the reality. In the United States especially, supplements are trendy but not regulated the way prescription medications are. Quality can vary. Dosages can vary. Purity can vary. Labels can be misleading. And just because something says “natural” does not mean it is automatically safe.
So we are going to talk about third-party governing bodies to look out for. We are going to talk about reading labels carefully. We are going to pay attention to dosages. We are going to discuss potential drug interactions for every single medicinal plant we cover. This is bold because this one is SO. IMPORTANT. And I see medicinal herbalists skip it all the time.
I mean business over here, okay?
One of my biggest frustrations with easily accessible herbal medicine blogs online is that they stop at “This plant reduces inflammation!” and never go over the chemical interactions that are very real when ingesting supplements. Blood thinners. SSRIs. Birth control. Autoimmune medications. These interactions matter. They are real. And we will not be making the mistake of ignoring them.
When I share my favorite brands that have helped me in my own wellness journey, I will explain why. We will talk about sourcing, extraction methods, certifications, and testing standards.
If we are going to explore herbal medicine, we are going to do it thoughtfully. Evidence-aware. Label-reading. Interaction-checking.
I hope you find some pointers, tips, or even fun facts to save for trivia night as you read through these articles.
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 would be lying if I did not tell you that I apply it to my personal health and wellness every day. As someone with an autoimmune disease, I will do anything to keep me pain-free, medication-free, and sick-free.
I can’t promise miracles. I’m not Jesus, okay? Geez. But I will promise that I will provide scientific backing behind each claim as we go.
Let’s dive in, besties.