Tips when Using Herbs

Recently I saw another wonderful article about how local folks are going after coal-fired power plants as gross air polluters. This is great, and I encourage folks to fight the grand battle. Carry on...

I wrote a Letter to the Editor of the original article's publisher, USA Today, to point out we also need to spread the word about the problem with coal combustion waste. It's not just the air pollution, but it's the solid waste that pollutes our water, too.

While I was happy to see my letter published, it was not exactly in the form I originally submitted it. Precious facts and figures are gone, and the emotional wind has been chopped out. The once gloriously unfurled flag I knit together has been hobbled, chopped, reduced to the paltry patch-work hanky we see now hanging from the bum-end of a used car salesman's back pocket. (sniff!)

For better or worse, here it is:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/11/coal-is-big-pol.html

Anyway, I wanted to share the original text with you, in its full glory, as a testament to the editorial axe that can and will be swung to save precious cyber-ink. Thus, a paltry 212 words pared down from the following fact-filled original of 441 words.

THE ORIGINAL TEXT

TO: USA Today Reader Editor

My thanks for your great eye-opening article, "Opposition takes on coal plants", dated October 29, 2007. I wish to point out other grave problems related to coal-fired power plants not mentioned in your article.

While it is well established that coal combustion is a significant contributor to carbon emissions and airborne toxins, the coal combustion process is also the largest culprit in solid waste pollution in the United States - to the tune of approximately 135 million tons in this year alone! Fly ash, smokestack scrubber sludge and other solids derived from coal combustion are frequently dumped back into the mines from which the coal was originally dug, or into open pits and landfills serving under a similar disposal function.

While coal waste may lie inert for up to a decade or more after dumping, this waste eventually leaches highly-concentrated levels of numerous poisons into subterranean water tables, thus attacking all life forms on a new front as water pollution. Water-borne poisons may include not only those airborne pollutants mentioned in your article (mercury and sulfur dioxide), but would also include harmful levels of aluminum, chloride, iron, manganese, extreme pH, other sulfates, high total dissolved solids and toxic levels of trace elements such as arsenic, nickel, selenium, lead, molybdenum, cadmium, copper, chromium, antimony, boron and zinc.

While much credit needs to be given to those citizens who have fought hard to reduce or eliminate airborne pollutants derived from coal combustion, we need to become aware that by killing one monster we are allowing another to take its place. Through the use of smokestack scrubbers and similar technology we have made significant headway in reducing airborne pollutants. However, scrubber waste accumulates as a concentrated solid or sludge and needs to be disposed of also. Where does it go? It is dumped into pits, mines and landfills along with coal ash waste.

That the list of air- and water-borne toxic pollutants is so long is appalling. The alarming increase in instances of disease and sickness associated with coal waste sounds an even greater alarm in the argument that coal combustion waste is an overall extremely pervasive and insidious destroyer of the environment and an eventual cause of illness to plants, animals and humans. Coal waste attacks us not only in the air we breathe, on ground READ THE BACKGROUND ARTICLE FIRST

Hey folks, this is Part Two.

Read Part One first for the skinny on how I came to use herbs as the basis for this article. Used in conjunction, these two articles pack in some advice that may turn out to be pretty helpful. Hopefully encouraging, too!

(While we're at it, be sure to read the legal text at the end of this article).

INGESTION TIMES

I take herbs mostly a while before going to bed. I do this for maximum effect as the body does most of its miraculous healing during the hours of rest. This way, we are most likely able to benefit from the extra leverage that herbs can provide in expelling toxins from the body.

For those herbs which seem to have a really strong effect - for example, for me, like a liver cleaner/detoxifier (see page 4 in the first article) - I take them during the day when I am busy or after I have eaten some food in order to diminish the otherwise powerful effects of that herb.

SUBTLE OR POWERFUL?

What is a powerful effect from herbs?

Because everyone is working with a different mix of factors (among them: diet, exercise, and an overall body chemistry that can be attributed to the genes your parents gave you) this is a difficult question to answer. My advice: consult a dietician and a doctor before trying out any herbs. Herbs may have a known (or possible) reaction with certain "western" medications you may currently be taking.

Again, what is a powerful effect from herbs? For instance, when I take the liver-cleansing mixture during the night, by morning I have at least one or two large skin eruptions (pimples) that have volunteered to expel toxins. In addition, my eye ducts invariably may have some form of dried discharge. Urine is a deep yellow, showing the presence of many toxins that have been expelled through a pair of hard-working kidneys. These are strong indicators as to the powerful effects herbs have on my body. If I took perhaps one or two more liver-cleansing capsules, I would be concerned at overtaxing my body. Better to take fewer herbs, and over a longer period of time.

I've spoken with folks who express a concern that I am having an allergic reaction. I say: possible but unlikely. These effects from herbs do not cause me any discomfort, and yield a less evident effect if taken during the day when my body is otherwise "distracted" by daytime activities.

So, general rules: take herbs that show a strong effect during the day, and those with a lesser effect at night. For an even more reduced effect, take strong herbs with a meal. For greater effect, take them without a meal.

MIXING HERBS

For myself, as a general rule I've found it's best to take herbs separate from each other, and without food. The general idea is to send your body a clear message from that herb's specific beneficial effect. By mixing them with other herbs or with food, the chemicals in those other factors may conflict or cancel each other out.

There are always exceptions. Some herbs can definitely be mixed with little to no adverse effect. For example the liver-cleansing herbs I take are sold as a broad-spectrum mixture for maximum effect. Likewise the mushroom mix I take is a careful blend of many mushrooms and herbs designed to help shrink tumors and cysts. So some herbs, taken as a blend, serve as a team to address harmful factors in your body.

DON'T SEND CONFLICTING SIGNALS!

I usually never take any herbs with a meal. Why? Conflicting signals!

The foods you eat are made of chemicals, and contain special nutrients bearing unique signals going into your body. These food signals may override or conflict with other signals borne by the herbs you swallow with your food.

Sure, certain foods and herbs may seem almost designed to be taken together. For example, herbs high in enzymes (like Spirulina or algae) can be taken with food to aid digestion. In the absence of knowing what the compatible foods and herbs are, I find it best to keep things separated. By doing this, the idea is to send your body a clear and singular signal.

So let that herb's signal ring clear, on its own.

BLIND DATES GONE HAYWIRE

Let play the "Dating Game" with certain herbs and/or foods. Here are some obvious "bad matches" on the food-herb dating scene:

- Kava & Gaffeine - This would be a catfight from the beginning. Kava is a muscle relaxer. Caffeine jazzes you up, and is easily associated with muscle tension. Don't go washing down some kava with a swig of coffee. It will confuse your body, thus prompting it to say, "Huh? Whaddya want me to do???" (Same for skullcap and valerian with caffeine. Don't mix 'em).

- Valerian & Ginseng - Same thing as above. Mixing fast and slow together make for static in the signal.

- Ginseng & Caffeine - Wow, this relationship could actually get dangerous. Mixing two stimulants like ginseng and caffeine might actually be harmful. I find that I am very sensitive to ginseng. I am more sensitive to it than the caffeine in coffee. Knowing this, I drink coffee for a lift instead of using ginseng, and I would never mix the two for fear of overload.

- Valerian & Skullcap - I've used both together in small doses and not suffered any adverse effects. Again, I took only small amounts of both. Say, one capsule each. When two herbs seem to serve the same or similar function, I look upon them as two brothers who took on the same job. Best to let them work independently.

TURNING DOWN THE VOLUME

There are times when I wish to intentionally diminish the known strong effects of certain herbs. Okay, this is where mixing with food may help out. By mixing the many signals of foods you eat with the singular signal of a known herb that works strongly on you, you can tone down that herb's signal enough to make it more manageable.

TOO MUCH IS TOO MUCH!

Hey folks. This one is a no-brainer. Everyone knows ingesting too much of anything, no matter how healthy, is no good. Eat five pounds of hamburger. You get sick... maybe even go to barf city. Take too many herbs, bad news. So let's not go overboard.

It goes without saying, taking too much of anything can be bad for you. By all means this caution applies to herbs. Start with a recommend dosage or smaller dosage to see how certain herbs may affect you, and experiment from there. Or better yet, follow the advice of a professional.

HEY! SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH US!

I expect some readers will chastise me for what they may consider inaccuracies or misinformation in my testimony. That's fine. I make this clear now: these words are not pro advice, but are at most merely encouragement.

This said, if you feel you are an expert on herbs, sign up as an AC Content Producer and get your advice published for free!

I hope this has been interesting, encouraging even.

Have fun!

- John

To email me: click here

To read other cool articles: click here

Bookmark these articles conveniently from one page by Clicking Here.

You may also subscribe to these by clicking the "Subscribe" button.

Legal stuff: Disclaimer & Safety Notice: What I discuss here by no means constitute a comprehensive list of herbs that you should have or use. Nor do I profess to be a doctor, nutritionist, health professional, nor an expert on herbs or naturopathy. Try or use anything at your own risk. And definitely before doing so, be certain to consult with a physician or other qualified expert. Author does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, safety, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed or referred to. Information is provided for informational purposes only. Any actions taken on the reader's part are taken entirely at the reader's own risk. Author shall not be liable for any errors in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Furthermore, Author shall not be liable for any loss of profits, contracts, opportunities or any direct, indirect or consequential loss of any kind (including death and/or injury), business interruption or loss of property arising out of or in connection with the use of the information herein. So there.

I both praise and support the growing movement towards the discovery and development of safe energy capture from such alternative energy sources as wind and solar power, and the innovative research being done in Ireland toward the capture of tidal power. Such work must continue in earnest.

Coal has served it purpose and now needs to bow out in deference to safer long-term energy alternatives.