Commonwealth Podcast For Holistic Herbalism

Herbs differ from pharmaceuticals in important ways. Understanding how they’re different helps us make better choices about what to take, and how to take it, to get the effect we’re looking for. It also helps us avoid common misunderstandings about herbs and herbalism – like thinking that the effect of an herb can be reduced down to the action of its “active ingredient”. And, knowing how herbs are different from drugs lets us set expectations clearly, and recognize that not all preparations of an herb are equivalent.No one would say that aspirin is “synthetic willow”, but people often talk about willow as “natural aspirin”. In our cultural context we have some understanding of aspirin as a painkiller and fever-reducer. Because willow can relieve pain and reduce fever, and because some of its constituents are similar to aspirin, you can see why it’s common to talk about them as if they were nearly equivalent. But this is misleading, because the herb is actually very different from the drug – it doesn’t have th