We’ve all heard it before. You find a natural remedy on Pinterest for your latest bout with something and try it out only to get…nothing, except maybe sicker. So why do natural remedies not work sometimes?
1. Herbs aren’t prescription drugs
Drugs work by manipulating the body, silencing its natural signals and masking symptoms. This is why you can take a pill for your back pain and even though the pain is gone, you’re still damaging your muscles, spine and cartilage as you continue about your business.
Trying to use natural remedies as a one to one replacement for drugs doesn’t usually work, because these work in an entirely different way in the body. Herbs and other remedies help bring the body back into balance as their active constituents work to gently heal and restore. So unless you’re paying attention to the big picture, popping an herbal pill isn’t much better than popping a drug.
2. You’re sabotaging your health
I’ve heard it so many times. Someone tries a natural remedy, it doesn’t work, and they consequently swear off everything natural as ineffective voodoo nonsense. What they don’t realize, is that a bad diet, years of unhealthy life choices and uncontrolled stress levels are sabotaging their health. Natural remedies are about bringing the body back into balance, and if your body is so clogged with bad choices and toxins, it can’t tell you what it needs and it’s too bogged down to respond natural remedies.
The solution here is thankfully a simple one. Start eating truly healthy foods, like pastured meat, grassfed butter, raw honey, collagen, liver (here are some liver pills that are safe and tasteless), fresh fruits and veggies, and raw milk. Also do stress relieving exercises like deep breathing, meditation, journaling or just focusing on spending some time with yourself.
3. You’re not taking enough
If you drank 2 cups of licorice tea and still have a sore throat a week later, it doesn’t mean that the licorice doesn’t work, it means that you didn’t take enough for it to be effective. Small, frequent doses for acute issues like colds and flus are necessary for results. For long term problems, daily and consistent use of the natural remedy is what’s needed. You have to take the correct dosage, for the right amount of time to see results.
4. You’re taking the wrong one
Similar to the last point, if you’re taking the wrong herb or natural remedy altogether, then it’s not going to perform the task you need to get better. Knowing which natural remedies to choose, and how to combine them is an important step to using them correctly. I’ve seen this happen a lot unfortunately, when someone hears that something is good and the next in thing, so they try what’s popular, instead of what’s going to help their specific issue.
5. You’re not taking them at the right time
Some natural remedies can be used as a preventative measure, while others are good while you’re in the middle of fighting something off. Echinacea is a great example here. If echinacea is taken for longer than two weeks, the body gets used to it and it becomes ineffective at warding off illness, so it shouldn’t be used long term to prevent issues. If however you’ve been sick for three days and turn to echinacea, then it won’t do you much good either, as it’s best used at the first sign that something is wrong.
6. They’re bad quality
This issue is really two fold. You can have a quality herb or tincture, but it can go unused and gets old. Old remedies lose their potency and can be less effective, or not effective at all. If they’re stored in direct sunlight, or in a warm place, then they’ll also go bad faster. The other problem is that your herb wasn’t good to begin with. Maybe it’s been cut with something cheaper, or maybe it’s been mislabeled as the wrong species.
I always make sure I’m buying a quality product, otherwise it’s money wasted. One way to make sure your herbs don’t go bad quickly, is to buy what you need, and not a huge amount that’s going to collect dust on the shelf. I get my herbs and natural remedy supplies from Starwest Botanicals. They’re high quality, fair trade with certified organic options. The best materials give the best results.
Great ideas Jamie. All of them are SO true!
I can add a bit more, if you are interested. Forgive me if you feel that this is what you are saying! (LoL) <3
We need to take our herbal remedies for 2-4 days after the symptoms have subsided. IF we stop taking the remedy too soon, a complete healing can be interrupted and symptoms can re-occur or the 'imbalance' can take root somewhere else.
Sometimes, it's a matter of which form of which herb is appropriate for specific situations. For example, water extraction vs alcohol or even vinegar, can result in a different combination of healing qualities.
Herbal healing is much more than a POST online ~ I have trained many years under amazing teachers and practice as a professional for the last 15 or so years. EACH person and situation is so different and I take into account many variables before crating the medicine. I have lost count of the number of people who have come along to see me, with a chronic issue that was remedied quickly — even after months or years of self-care didn't do the trick. I fully support self-reliance and of course, I write weekly on my own blog with the idea of teaching people to look after themselves and families.. Our bodies, as we know, are intricate machines and, sometimes, a personalized formula, created by a knowledgeable herbalist is the best way to realize a great response.
Thanks for your insight Carol, those are some great tips as well! That’s one of the things I love so much about natural medicine – it’s tailored to specifically fit the individual instead of just a pill for every ill mentality. I had to consult another natural health professional when my husband got very sick last month, even though I’m usually able to treat everything at home. Sometimes its best to get outside expertise like you said 🙂
Interesting read full of insight and great tips.
Using cloves of garlic for yeast infections really works really well if you can get past the gross factor, lol! Thanks for sharing over at the Homesteader hop!
I always like to use the gentlest steps first with my health, and move up the ladder only if it doesn’t result in the desired result. Sometimes we’re too quick to write something off without researching why the relief didn’t turn out the way we thought it would. You’ve given some very thoughtful advice that we can all use, Thanks for sharing! (Stopping by from the Simply Natural Saturday Blog Hop)
Taylor-Made Homestead
Texas
Thanks for stopping by Taylor. I agree that education on remedies is key!
Great tips for using natural remedies. I think you made some valid points about effectively using herbal remedies.
Excellent points! Thank you for sharing on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth!
Some remedies work while other dont work. You just need to do the research to see what works