Choosing the Right Herbal Remedies

Why is it that people take herbal remedies? People take herbal remedies because they feel that their diet, lifestyle, environment or genetics are not enough for them to enjoy the level of health, happiness, and well-being they are looking for. In other words, people believe that by ingesting herbal remedies they will gain something that they otherwise lack.

Of the thousands and thousands of herbal remedies that exist, one of the most commonly known is ginseng; panax ginseng being its botanical name. Panax ginseng got its name from the Russian botanist CA Meyer who evangelized its reputation as a panacea or cure-all. The ginsenosides, (phytonutrients found in ginseng) have double direction activity on a lot of different systems in the body. This double direction activity means that this herbal remedy is classified as an "adaptogen". Adaptogens can help the body improve its balance or homeostasis on many levels, i.e. raise low blood pressure and lower high blood pressure, increase energy in the lethargic and calm the over-agitated. This really only applies to high-quality older ginseng roots. It does not apply to the ginseng that you find at the truck stop during that long road trip.

 

Ginseng is so famous for its wondrous benefits that it has encouraged a series of other common herbal remedies used in other parts of the world to be commonly called ginseng as well. For example: jiaogulan or gynostemma is known as southern ginseng. This is the drink of choice for many of the octogenarians throughout southern China because it helps the liver release toxins, strengthens the kidneys, modulates energy levels, and balances stress and blood pressure levels. It has a great number of long-term benefits. There is also siberian ginseng, eleuthero, which came into prominence due to its use by a number of Olympic athletes to increase stamina and endurance. It was also used by many cosmonauts (Russian astronauts) to increase stamina, endurance and the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. A famous Tibetan herbal remedy, rhodiola, is known as the Tibetan ginseng. Rhodiola is considered a tonic for the mind and the body and can dramatically increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, (very useful at high altitudes), and it also increases the body's ability to handle stress. It is yet another herbal remedy with a long history of use. Because it grows in such an isolated and far-flung place, rhodiola is far more expensive than most forms of ginseng which are generally considered expensive herbs to begin with.

 

Another herbal remedy with a long history of use is goji, gojitza or the wolfberry. This is grown throughout central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, and the high mountains of China. This berry is known as the "happy berry" or "joyful berry" for its ability to improve people's mood. It strengthens both the liver and the kidneys and is said to improve eyesight and the strength of the blood.

 

Panax ginseng is known as such because it was thought to be a panacea, something that would cure or heal anything. But our health, like everything in our life, is an aggregation of countless factors and it is highly unlikely that any one substance is going to be it. In many herbal remedies we are looking at compounds that either don't exist or exist in very small quantities in our regular staple foods but exist in these specific plants in moderate to high quantities. People consume herbal remedies in order to acquire these compounds, phytonutrients, antioxidants, microminerals and other dietary supplements. The consumption of the right substance can often go a long way to modulating stress and reducing long-term wear and tear. But substance by its nature cannot repair that which it is not. It is rare to find an herbalist who has the herbs and insight to repair many levels of our being all at once.