The Roots of Herbalism
Archaeological evidence tells us that during their time as hunter-
gatherers, humans collected and consumed approximately one hundred to
two hundred different plant species in any one year. The diverse chemical
compounds in these plants would have greatly protected the immune
system and stimulated digestion more effi ciently than does our modern
diet. Not only did human kind fl ourish on this diet, but so did the animals
that people subsequently consumed. Sadly, the same cannot be said of the
“animal foods” of today.
Modern people’s normal dietary range of plants is generally only
between twenty and forty species. These include carrots, cabbages,
potatoes, parsnips, onions, apples, bananas, strawberries, peaches, lettuce,
tomatoes, peas, broccoli, beans, wheat, blackberries, zucchini and other
squashes, oil made from sunfl ower seeds or olives, lemons, garlic, chiles,
and rice. Super markets, on average, stock thirty to thirty-fi ve species. It is
an unfortunate fact that many of these plants are also genetically
engineered. Their chemical composition today is far removed from that
of the wild plants they once were, which is an important health
consideration. Interestingly, a herbalist’s materia medica is normally in
the range of one hundred to two hundred plants, some of which are used
frequently, some less so, while others are used very rarely — very much as
the historical range of food species would have been used. Herbs give us
back the diversity of plants in our lives, their complex chemistries mixing
to form patterns as individual and necessary as those taking place in every
human being.
The Chinese, like many other peoples, spend a lot of time considering
the correlation between our bodies and our entire existence, recognizing
that we are in fact part of the sun, stars, moon, earth, and nature. Their
diagnostic work also takes into consideration the effect of geography on
our impressionable bodies — of heat, cold, damp, high or low altitude, and
how they correspond to the temperatures of our own bodies, which consist
mostly of water and minerals. Native Americans, Russians, and peoples of
many other cultures have used these systems, which show a high degree
of similarity in technique and wisdom. Tibetans have similar, yet unique,
forms of understanding disease, which have stemmed from their
experience of day-to-day life on their harsh, barren mountainsides. The
monks of these Tibetan mountains were often the primary healers in the
scattered villages. Among other things, they were excellent at reading the
eye, its color, markings, and depths, with each area of the eye giving clues
about particular parts of the body, genetic tendencies, emotional
predispositions, and so on. A modern-day version of this therapy is now
called iridology; it remains a brilliant tool for assessing constitutional and
4 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition