The Role of Herbs in Human Life

So many of the most nourishing plants on the planet are ones that we think of as weeds. They might not be anything special to look at so we don't plant them in our ornamental gardens. The ones that are native to our climate may grow and spread with the greatest of ease and abundance. It is these most nourishing, cleansing, and healing of plants that we put enormous energy into eradicating. We pull them up by their roots, but they still grow back. We might get serious and dig them up with a shovel to be careful to get every piece of root, but they still manage to survive. We curse at them, we call them names, we resort to poisons, and yet they insist on being in our presence. Could it be that nature has a larger perspective in mind than our perfect lawns or garden beds?

We have plants to thank for the fact that the air we breathe is well supplied with the oxygen that we depend on to sustain human life. Then there are subcategories of plants that nourish us further; we depend on fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes for the calories and specific nutrients that fuel our cells and allow them to function optimally. Nature seems to provide all that is needed to sustain life on Earth.

Nature performs an amazing balancing act, providing tools and methods to compensate for every potential imbalance that is created in sustaining the whole.

Medicinal Herbs

Medicinal herbs seem to fill a very special role in maintaining this balance. They provide more than just nourishment to the body, they cleanse the body of poisons and toxicity, they support immunity, and when needed they act as medicines, but in a way that is balanced and generally supportive of life. Some plants, of course, are poisonous to humans and can be lethal when ingested, even in small amounts. Here I present herbs that are considered safe for internal use. There are, however, some cautions with regard to specific herbs; these are mentioned in the recipes as appropriate.


Herbs Give Much To Us

 A beautiful example of the giving nature of herbs is dandelion. Dandelion serves humanity in so many ways. It is a premiere liver cleanser, and it also supports kidney function. It is a bitter herb, so it promotes good digestion of our food, and it is a strong supporter of the immune system. For something that does all that, you would think that, in this day when cancers and other immunosuppressive diseases are becoming epidemic, we would be willing to pay almost anything for such a plant. A plant that supports our most basic physiologic functioning should be priceless. Actually, we don't have to pay anything for this most precious substance. It seems to know how valuable it is to humans, so it grows all around us. It grows in our gardens, it grows in our backyards and in our fields, and it grows up through the cracks in our sidewalks. It grows everywhere. And instead of honoring this treasure of a plant, we make every effort to get rid of it. It seems, however, that the more we try to get rid of this plant the more abundant it becomes. Isn't it interesting that the plant that we create evermore poisonous chemicals to eradicate is the very plant that will help the body cleanse itself of harmful chemicals? To me, it represents the great gift that herbs are to human life.