It's sort of interesting to me how herbs, essential oils, and such things have made such a mainstream comeback in recent years. People are realizing en masse that health care is horribly expensive, and often wildly overrated. To think that the first "medical" schools in the United States were in fact teaching herbology and naturopathy is rather shocking since we, as a society, had strayed so far from this knowledge. Many folks have come full circle and realized that power of natural medicine allows them to take their health back on their own terms, even at the ridicule of their family medical doctors. It's easier now than ever to learn about natural medicine and the ins and outs because of the internet. However, not everything you read is necessarily correct and there is quite a lot of info that is vital to staying safe on your natural medicine journey that is often simply left out.

When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was sit and read my dads herbal encyclopedia. I guess I was a bit of an odd child. At any rate, that certainly started me down the path to serious learning. Though, my first experience with natural medicine was when I was about 3 years old. I made it a point to toddle through the gardens and fields around our house in northern Washington, completely barefoot. On one particularly lovely day, I stepped on a bee and got stung. I'm sure that Canada probably heard me scream. My father, the quick thinker that he was, slathered mud over the sting. Now, you're probably thinking that was a horrible thing to do, but in fact, it was brilliant. As the mud dried, it pulled the stinger out of my foot and took the pain away. I was hooked!

I would have to say the hardest thing about getting started down the right path is learning the lingo and meaning behind words in the natural medicine world. Thankfully, it's not rocket science! But, it is important because the slightest difference in wording can mean the difference between using something internally that is meant for external use only, for example. With that being said I have created the following basic reference to help you out with terms and meanings:

Reference

Naturopathy-

Naturopathy is basically natural alternative medicine. This includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, and diet. Naturopathic doctors treat the patient as a whole instead of treating individual systems in the body.

Herbal Medicine-

Herbal medicine encompasses the healing use of all parts of the plant or tree. Often times the roots, seeds, leaves, stems, flowers, or bark are used to treat various ailments.

Herbologist-

A herbologist or herbalist is someone who has learned how to utilize plants and their various parts as medicine. A Master Herbologist knows how to grow, collect, harvest, and utilize the different parts of the plant for medicine.

Rosemary Gladstar-

Rosemary Gladstar is a Master Herbalist who has written numerous books on the subject of herbalism, natural healing, and essential oils. She runs Sage Mountain Retreat. If you are in the market for a good starting out book, I highly recommend her "Medicinal Herbs: A Beginners Guide".

Essential Oil-

Once believed to be the "essence" of the plant, essential oil, is in fact the chemical compound of the plant which can only be brought out of the plants by expression, distillation, creating an absolute, tincture or extract. Prior to distillation methods being introduced, all essential oils were created by way of absolutes. They are not actually oils, but lipids with various weights and feels depending on the plant. They are easily absorbed and utilized by the body. Sometimes referred to as aromatic oils, essential oils are primarily used in Aromatherapy. They can also be used in external applications and occasionally internal applications. It is generally frowned upon to take any essential oils internally, however, due to the strength of the compounds and the tax they put on the liver.

Aromatherapy-

Aromatherapy is the practice of inhaling essential oils to accomplish different benefits. Incredibly enough, when inhaling an essential oil, you're not simply experiencing the aroma, you're also breathing in the compounds of the oil. The combination of the aroma and the compounds being inhaled cause reaction in the body. Lavender Angustifolia, for instance, is used to calm the nerves and relax us. Lavendula, or Cottage Lavender, causes excitement and nervousness...great for waking up! Because Lavendula has a much higher yield in essential oils its often found in commercial soaps and bath salts. Basically, if you're wanting to have a nice relaxing bath, you're better off using a few drops of Lavender Angustifolia in your bath water than using a "lavender" bath soap or you will end up with the opposite effect.

Tincture

A tincture is a liquid created by soaking the plant parts (leaves, stems, seeds, roots, bark, etc.) until the medicinal qualities are released into the liquid. Tinctures are extremely concentrated and takes several days to weeks to make. A tincture can also be made using water,alcohol, vinegar, or vegetable glycerin. The most effective method is alcohol (I use vodka) and is the base of most commercial tinctures. Tinctures are made specifically to be taken internally.

Absolute

An absolute is an essential oil that was extracted by solvent. Usually Hexane is used. Absolutes are not considered to be pure in form and are not to be taken internally.

This again, is just a brief overview of some of the more popular terms found in natural medicine. Hope you enjoyed and maybe even learned something new!!! Thanks for checking it out!!!

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