A real understanding of Innate Intelligence is needed here, as toes are already expecting to be stepped on. As Robert Frost once said, "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper, or your self-confidence". Please link to Innate Intelligence before continuing.

Herbs as seasonings and food is a reasonable use of plant parts. Some of them taste pretty good in small quantities, so they were probably put here for our pleasure. Herbs as medicine (drugs) is a subject to be looked at carefully. We were meant to eat FOOD: things that look, smell and taste good. Herbs often smell bad and taste terrible. There are some pretty volatile toxins in herbs, (nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously), so the body's "all natural" defense mechanisms REJECT herbs. Thus herbalists put herbs into capsules to get past the gag reflex. Even many herbal teas are taken with honey so they are palatable. HERBS are the ancestors of our modern DRUGS resurrected under the "feel good" mantle of "All Natural", but they are still Drugs if they are used to force the body to do something it would not do "naturally".

HERBS DO NOT HEAL the body, most do not even have a healing effect! It is the body reacting and responding to the toxins in the herbs that causes SYMPTOMATIC changes to take place when herbs are administered.

Your body heals itself on a priority basis, see STAMINA, so the most important parts of the body get healing attention first, before the less vital tissues. For this reason it is of utmost importance (for reasonably healthy people) not to dictate through conscious intervention what the body is to work on. (Dr. Joel R. Robbins). So you take Goldenseal to cleanse toxins from your liver. Perhaps it needed to be cleansed, but if that was so why wasn't the body doing it? Maybe there was something more important to be done first that is now on hold and getting worse due to you diverting energy to cleaning your liver.

Please understand what is happening here. Goldenseal is a poison. When you put this poison into your body your Innate Intelligence reacts by doing everything that it can to neutralize it, dilute it, and flush it out at fast as possible. Your liver strains what it can out of your blood, gets over loaded, and then throws up, so to speak, force flushing itself to get rid of that terrorably toxic material, (goldenseal) and in the process much of the other stuff in there. When you throw up, you don't feel so good afterward. Neither does your liver, it's a real strain on it. Keep straining any organ and it will wear out. Unless you have a spare liver somewhere, stashed away for emergencies, you might consider taking it easy on your present one, perhaps even reducing some of the strain you have been putting on it by eating all those rich cooked foods. Why don't you take the TEST and see how healthy you really are?

Much of what you do with drugs or herbs depends on how much you trust your own body's innate intelligence. It is quite possible to alleviate symptoms with these chemicals, (artificial or natural), but addressing the cause might be ultimately more productive. Learning how to interpret and respond to your body's signals is most enjoyable, it's like meeting someone who really likes you!

====================================================== NOW! That said, all you herbalists who have managed to plow thru this heresay this far are fuming mad.
There are good uses for herbs. Aloe Vera is well know to be as good or better than any chemical preparation for burns, and skin problems. It is also a good food.

Dr. Richard Schulze has reams of material out on Cayenne. The man is a martial artist and attacks the body like an opponent, but he gets results where most herbalists and many doctors fear to tread. He states that most herbalists use such weak preparations that the effects are negligible. He states:
"One of the worst aspects of many herbal formulae today is the poor quality of the herbs used. The vast majority of herbal products are made from herbs grown outside the USA. There is only one reason for this: they're cheap. Herbs brought in from India, China, Egypt, Mexico or Eastern Europe cost literally pennies a pound. I have visited these countries and found filthy, disgusting growing conditions, toxic polution, outrageous use of pesticides and insecticides. When we travel to these countries we don't drink the water, don't even eat the food, then why would we eat the food there? I never used these poor quality herbs in my clinic. I have always used organicly grown American herbs that can cost over 20 times as much.

If you are "into" herbs and self treatment of your body, or if you are really sick and have had it with conventional allopathic medical "solutions", or if you are looking for emergency preparations to save lives when no medical help is available, I suggest that you call Dr. Schulze's School of Natural Healing 310-576-6575 and order his "Save Your Life" video collection.

At the same time call The American Botanical Pharmacy 310-453-1987 and get a catalogue and Dr. Richard Schulze's "Patient Handbook". I like the man's style. There are lots of situations where the natural processes of the body will result in death. In those cases I would trust Dr. Schulze. I hate to admit it, but I have some of his herbal preparations, and am trying some of them them: (the emergency preparations I hope I never have to use). Please check out the Y2K material at the end of my index. If we do have disruptions in supply and services, these preparations could be invaluable. What if you call 911 and nobody can come?

I suggest that you might like to look at Supplements next, but if you are really mad at me for questioning the value of herbs, go to MISSION STATEMENT first, and find out where I am coming from..

"5"