The Cult of Crunch: Breaking Down the Good, the Bad, and the Biblical (or not) of Natural LivinG Part 10: Herbal Medicine

“You know, witchcraft things, like tinctures and herbs and stuff,” she said. I contemplated it a bit, then said, “actually, I think God gave us herbs we can use for aiding in healing. I don’t see it as witchcraft.”

But I did question myself a bit after this conversation and others like it. It called for further research and discernment. And a blog post.

What is herbal medicine?

Herbal medicine is just what it sounds like. It uses plants to aid in treating disease or improving overall health. You can find it made in capsules, teas, powders, extracts, and tinctures. Herbalist can use part or all of the plant to make herbal medicine. Common uses are using turmeric for joint pain, saw palmetto for prostate health, passionflower for anxiety, lavender for relaxation, and ginger for nausea.

What is the history of herbal medicine?

We can break down the history of herbal medicine into 6 parts:

1.      Observation

2.      Tradition

3.      Documentation

4.      Science

5.      Modern Split

6.      Revival

Herbal medicine is just using plants for healing. This started out by observing what animals ate and how it affected them and noticing what worked when tried. It was really trail and error! They were just out exploring and trying plants wound healing or pain relief or the like.

This turned into tradition and generational wisdom. Herbal medicine was developed my many different cultures using what they had available to them in their region. We see this with Native Americans, Indian Ayurveda, South American plant medicine, Chinese Medicine, and more. Herbalism mixed with the spiritual practices of the native cultures.

As societies developed, they wrote down their practices. We see documentation in ancient Egypt, Greece, and China. Each civilization wrote down their uses of plants and the physical effect they produced. This was the early science of plant medicine.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, we see documentation of monks and monasteries preserving herbal knowledge by growing their own herb gardens and copying texts on the uses of the herbs. Herbalism continued to be used by folk healer and would often contain a spiritual and superstitious aspect. But it was the basic healthcare of the day, spiritual or not.

The Scientific Revolution shifted how herbalism was done. More testing on plants was done instead of just relying on ancient wisdom. At this point, they were able to isolate certain compounds in plants instead of just using the whole plant. This was the basis of modern pharmacology.

The isolation of the compounds in plants created a split in traditional herbalism and modern pharmacology. Science was able to make morphine from the isolated compounds in the opium poppy and other like drugs. Some preferred the old ways, while many appreciated this new science.

Herbalism is now making a comeback thanks to the modern-day crunchy movement. People want whole foods over junk food, natural over synthetic, and herbs over drugs. We see a melting pot of science, traditional wisdom, and spiritual approaches in today’s herbal medicine.

Is herbal medicine effective?

Yes! And yes, but don’t. And also no.

Let’s clarify.

Yes, it is effective. It isn’t all fake or magic or woo-woo hullabaloo. Plants have real chemical compounds that affect the body. Willow bark has salicin which is a natural compound related to aspirin. Chamomile helps with sleep and anxiety. Psyllium husk has fiber and is amazing for constipation. Ginger affects the nausea pathways easing queasiness. Peppermint is great for those with IBS and digestive issues as it relaxes the muscles in the digestive track. There are many cases where herbal medicine can helps support symptoms, improve function, and assist the body.

Yes, but don’t mean yes, it’s effective, but in a wildly damaging way. I asked someone if something was safe for pregnancy when I was pregnant and the response was, “yeah should be! It’s natural!” Whoa buddy. So is hemlock. Natural does not mean safe. Comfrey can cause liver damage if taken internally, but is safe for external use. St. John’s Wort can interfere with certain pharmaceuticals if taken together, and may cause life threatening serotonin syndrome if taken with SSRIs. High, medicinal doses of sage can cause contractions that could lead to miscarriage. When taking herbs, you want to be sure of what you’re taking and the research on it. That being said, there is not a ton of research on herbal medicine for serval reasons. One could argue that it does not profit as pharmaceuticals so there may be less research. But also, whole plants contain different compounds which makes things difficult. Also, potency can vary by soil, harvest, and preparation. One must use discernment.

As for the “no,” some herbs, tinctures, salves, and so on are not effective. While some claim that Black Cohosh is great for menopause symptoms, studies are inconsistent and it can cause liver damage. Kava used for anxiety is in the same boat. We in the crunchy sphere think that often Big Pharma is just hiding the effective supplements from us and that only damage can be done by pharmaceuticals. But the reality is those pharmaceutical drugs were often derived from plants. Could not plants also be dangerous? The answer is yes. There are risks with both. We must know what we are taking when we opt for either conventional or herbal medicine.

How should we view herbal medicine through a biblical worldview?

Herbalism in its simplest form is the use of God created plants for their physical properties to support the body. It is not a spiritual system inherently but a natural form of medicine.

Where it gets dangerous is when one thinks that there is a spiritual power in nature and plants that bring healing. When we worship creation over the Creator, we fall into sin. When we mix occult practices with herbal medicine, we dive into spiritual danger.

One herbalist made certain tinctures with the sun’s essence in the flower which gave powerful solar energy in to the tincture. If you’re using tinctures to harness energy from the sun or the earth or a “life force,“ this is not a biblical way to use herbal medicine. You are trusting in another god. The god of nature or the god of plants or the god of the sun or whatever it may be that you think is healing you other than the Creator of the universe.

Tinctures and herbal remedies are not witchcraft by nature, but rather by distortion.

Using God made plants for aiding in wellbeing as apart of a spiritual practice is not how God intended them to be used. Ultimately it is the Lord who heals us. We see this scattered across the bible from the Psalms to the Prophets to the New Testament that our healing comes from God. And no more important healing than the healing from our sins. It is a grace and mercy that God has given us herbs to aid in our wellbeing while on this earth. Let us not extort that good gift by coupling it with dark spiritual practices. Let us give credit where credit is due: to God.

I think that it is fine to use herbal medicine, so long as we remember where our true healing comes from. We must also be careful of our sourcing as some do not have the same spiritual intent that we do in using herbal remedies. And lastly, we must be wise in what we take as not all things natural are beneficial.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8