What
are tinctures and herbal remedies? They’re an alternative medicine to seek
relief from aches and pains, cold and flu. An alterative from traditional
medicines that is readily available to us, using natural plants to combat
sickness and other aliments. I started becoming interested in tinctures and
herbal cures a few years ago, since then I’ve learned much, and realized that
there is still much for me to learn. The world of herbal remedies is vast and
exciting, but can seem untouchable. I certainly found myself in that mind set
to begin with, I don’t know how medicines work, or how they could react in my
body. But I trust that those who created the medicine know what they’re doing,
and certainly wouldn’t provide something that could be damaging. Now I’m not
trying to put down the pharmaceutical world and dispute all medical science. I
think that there’s some fantastic modern medicine out there.
I
would be lying if I didn’t say I never use medications, I still take ibuprofen
sometimes, and if I’m fighting a sinus infection that I can’t get under
control, then I go to the doctor for antibiotics (sorry if this is getting to
personal to quickly!) But my hope is to someday feel that I have enough
knowledge and am comfortable enough with my knowledge to better care for
myself. I’m in transition, where I use both herbal remedies and traditional
medicine.
There
are many benefits to switching to natural remedies, including a natural
substance to heal you (most tinctures are typically alcohol and plant extract)
that your body can process. Most tinctures are made on the smaller scale, and
are more environmentally friendly and sustainable. The process of making
tinctures is very low input, which makes more earth friendly. A step beyond
that that I’ve just started to get into is making your own tinctures. By doing
this you’re lowing the transport of those tinctures to your store, and because
when you make your own tincture, it’s typically in large batches, you can limit
how often you would run to the store to pick them up. Making your own tinctures
puts you in control of your health in a way I don’t think anything else can.
Because it means you’ve done the research to understand a specific ailment, you
know what herbs you need to treat it, and how it will treat you, and interact
with the processes within your body. How neat is that?! Tinctures and herbal
remedies connect us back to our bodies and ourselves. More so, if you can find
the herbs and plants outside your house, then you’ve used no energy input to
finding them. Tinctures and herbal remedies (such as teas) are a way for us to
connect with our surrounding again, to engage with nature, to heal from mother
earth directly. I encourage you to start inquiring about tinctures, herbal remedies
and other alternative medicines, for your health, sustainability and wellbeing
and for that of the earths.
Here’s some good starting places (although a simple google
search will also get you heading in the right direction)
http://mcphsnaturalproducts.wordpress.com/countway-community-garden/
-Kaiya
No comments:
Post a Comment