One of the best things about Ayurveda is learning how to use herbs and even some spices in your kitchen for medicinal purposes. Lots of people talk about herbal medicines being snake oil, and there are some snake-oil salesmen out there, but if you think about it - most pharmaceuticals were originally derived from plants.
While many drugs have plant origins, advances in pharmaceutical science have allowed for the development of synthetic or semi-synthetic drugs, which may mimic the properties of natural compounds from materials like plants or be designed entirely from scratch. In some cases, plant-based drugs are synthesized in labs to make production more efficient or to modify their properties for specific therapeutic uses.
However, plants continue to be an important source of inspiration for new drugs, and ongoing research into medicinal plants has led to the discovery of many compounds with potential therapeutic uses.
A pharmacologist I know told me that I am like an old-school pharmacologist simply because I like to try different herbs and see what they do. That's really different than how drugs are discovered today in a lab with medicinal chemists. It’s interesting to see how animals know what to avoid eating. I aim to not lose that faculty: by looking at things, smelling them, feeling, tasting and listening. The body tells us things. Then we see how it digests and processes.
I never try an herb I think would be bad for me after conducting my own research, but I do find trying herbs to be quite fun. It’s amazing to see that certain herbs warm the body, or cool us off, create better sleep, or even help improve digestion, blood flow, memory or other basic human functions.
That being said, we do need to be a little bit cautious about herbs. In episode 153 of the Wisdom of the Body podcast, I cover some of the most important things that should be considered about herbs through an Ayurveda lens. I introduce nine different features of herbs that are studied in Ayurveda, and explain why generic terms like “women’s formula”, “digestive formula” or “mind support” can be misleading to those who haven’t studied herbal medicines. I also discuss marijuana from an Ayurvedic perspective. (Which, by the way, is NOT my herb of choice, but you do you.)
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