Are Herbs Really Good For your Health?

By Ursula Basch
The Herbal Bear School of Botanical Medicine

Anyone who has ever gone into a health food store has seen the overwhelming variety of herbal remedies on the shelves. Consumers often have questions:

• What is the best way to take herbs, teas or tinctures?
• What does it mean when an herbal remedy is "standardized"?
• How long is the shelf life of a medicinal herb?

Good questions - but where can you find good answers? The best answers are often not by asking the cashier at the health food store - but rather by doing a little bit of homework yourself - before you go out to buy herbal remedies. There are a number of excellent books that discuss herbal remedies including:

• Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs, by Penelope Ody
• The Herbal Handbook - A User's Guide to Medical Herbalism, by David Hoffman
• Herbal Remedies for Women, by Amanda McQuade Crawford
  

Another good source of information is taking a class with an experienced herbalist. The advantage of a class is that you often have the ability to see the actual plants and ask the instructor questions you may have concerning various herbs. In New York, the Herbal Bear School offers many classes specifically designed for beginning herbal students. The classes range from short one day introductions to herbal remedies to a full six weekend course called the Botanical Medicine program. Often your local botanical garden or horticultural society has guest lecturers that offer classes on herbalism. It is just a matter of taking the time to find a class in your area.

De-Mystifying Organic
What is "Organic" anyway?
Americans are buying organic products for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons include belief that organic foods are better: for the environment; for their health; and for quality and taste. Organic food has both a popular meaning, and, a legal definition. In everyday conversation, it usually refers to all "naturally produced" foods, or the product of organic farming. As a legal term, it means certified organic. The distinction is important, as the two definitions can represent quite different products.

In the United States "Organic" is defined by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA) . As of October 21, 2002, all agricultural farms and products claiming to be organic must be guaranteed by a USDA-approved independent agency to be meeting the following guidelines:
Producers must abstain from the application of prohibited materials (including synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and sewage sludge) for 3 years prior to certification and then continually throughout their organic license.
Prohibit the use of genetically modified organisms and irradiation.
Employ positive soil building, conservation, manure management and crop rotation practices.
Provide outdoor access and pasture for livestock.
Refrain from antibiotic and hormone use in animals.
Sustain animals on 100% organic feed.
Certified organic meat, eggs, poultry and dairy are produced from animals not inoculated with antibiotics or growth hormones.
Avoid contamination during the processing of organic products.
Keep records of all operations.
So Organic is the Best Standard - Right?You may think that "Organic" is the highest standard for our food. Unfortunately there are a number of other factors that you may assume come along with the "Organic" label - that are not necessary so. Click Here to see entire article.