Living Medicine

Discovering the wonderful ways plants support our bodies reveals a new world in which we are part of, and can work with, nature. Understanding how to use food remedies gives us control and helps us feel good. We update this global cultural knowledge for today’s safe use and to pass on to family and friends.

Most of the time we live in harmony with viruses and bacteria. Beneficial bacteria (flora) protect us from infections by creating acid conditions in the lungs as well as the skin, gut and vagina. If supported, our immune systems are beautifully designed to engulf and digest harmful microbes. Knowing how to improve our defences can help us handle infections which tend to thrive and overwhelm us in cold, damp or other stressful conditions.

Digestion has a strong influence on our nervous, hormonal and immune systems. The role of foods is now increasingly recognised in conditions not previously associated with diet: auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis; mood and behaviour problems such as autism, ADHD and depression; degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and arthritis; allergic conditions including asthma and eczema. Inflammation underlies these and most chronic disease like obesity, heart disease and cancer. We can modify these destructive inflammatory responses by the kinds of food we eat and how we eat them. Common problems like heartburn, indigestion and constipation can be managed with understanding how to use foods, herbs and spices in self care.

The main systems involved are the brain, spinal cord and nerves (nervous system), the adrenal glands (small hormonal glands above each kidney) and the digestive system (abundant in nerve cells). They are all interconnected, so a change in one system can affect the others. In the short term, our bodies respond to stimuli, adapt and then return to normal. However, if the stressor is relentless, the harmonious rhythms within our body go into overdrive until it becomes exhausted of energy to adapt and repair. Understanding these rhythms can help us notice when the body needs support and to choose how to reduce the energy costs. Stress may manifest itself differently in each of us, but the basics of self-care are similar in each case.