Herb Corner Issue 15

Good Morning everyone! It amazes me how fast the months go. Life has been pretty busy, so this month I would like to share a little bit about Homeopathy.

The belief in Homeopathy is "like cures like." This is done through the use of diluted and succussed (shaken) tinctures of plant, animal, and mineral. How this works is through "symptom aggrivation." It stimulates the body to heal itself. So, for example, if someone was to get stung by a bee, then they could take Apis mellifica (honeybee) to get it to stop stinging. Bee stings or bug bites that have a stinging feel to them can be helped with Apis.

I know it sounds odd. When I first heard of it, I told myself I wouldn't even touch it. But then I thought, well I might as well learn more about it and have a more informed opinion. Some of the things I have learned have been amazing. They are designed so that the symptoms a Homeopathic creates in a healthy person are similar to those of a disease. They have be thouroughly tested in the past 200 years and the information has been recorded in a materia medica.

If you were to look at the label on a homeopathic usually there is a 6X on the label. This is the potency or how many times it has been diluted and succussed. So with 6X one drop of the Mother Tinture (base tincture with the actual plant, animal, mineral) is added to 999 drops of water. It is then tapped on the palm (succussed) 100 times. Then one drop of that is taken out, the bottle dumped out and rinsed with hot water (or a clean bottle if you prefer), then the drop is put into the bottle with 999 more drops of water. This process is repeated until it has been done a total of 6 times. So, by the end there is little if any of the original substance in the end product.

Homeopathics are non-toxic, will not interfere with medication, and can be given to pregnant women and small children (including infants) with no side effects. Also, with Homeopathics it is not about how much is taken, but how often it is taken. Most Homeopathics are in a lactose base, but the amount is small enough that people who are lactose intolerant can still take them with no problem. Another thing to remember with Homeopathics is the more symptoms match up with a specific Homeopathic that is the one that will do the most good. If it could be several, it is okay to combine them because they will all do some good.

This is not to say that all the homeopathics should be mixed. But, for example, someone is having troubles with diegestion than there are several different ones that can be used: Carbo Veg (activated charcoal), Arcenicum album (arsenic), Nux Vomica (poison nut), and Spongia tosta (Toasted sponge). Most of the time it only takes one Homeopathic to get the desired results. When it comes to taking Homeopathics usually only one is needed in a twenty ounce bottle that can be sipped through out the day. Another method is the dry method, which is just taking the homeopathic as it is and not adding it to water.

There are many home homeopathic kits out there, some contain 15, 35, or more homeopathics. There are currently over 3,000 homeopathics, but those contained in the kit are the ones most often used. You should be able to find these in any health store or even online. For emergency dosage you will want to find the ones that have 200C on the label.

The lactose pellets disolve instantly in the mouth and are sweet (which is why children will take them). A sub category to Homeopathics are the Cell salts. There are twelve of them, and I will talk about them in another newsletter.

May health continue to follow