Or is there a kinder way to support your body?
I know you've probably seen videos and reviews of people insisting that you are full of poisons and parasites. They'll share horrifying images of what came out of their own bodies after doing a "cleanse". But what you'll notice about these types of videos is: they're always selling the very product they claim you need.
Best case scenario: the products they're selling are made herbs similar to the ones I'm about to share with you in this post.
And the good news about that is— you can make your own preparations with these herbs that are much safer and more affordable (plus, you'll actually know what you're ingesting. There's no way of knowing if commercial supplements actually contain what they claim to, since supplements are not required to be tested. But it is often found that they do not contain much, if any, of the herbs they claim are inside.)
Worst case scenario: the products they're selling are "cleansing" by causing such an extreme reaction in the gut that what is actually being passed is mucous, partially digested food, and potentially even intestinal lining. (Notice that the examples of what people have passed while promoting these cleanses are never tested to confirm that they are, in fact, parasites. They're just assumed to be worms when the reality is: intestinal parasite infections are rare in the US. And if you do ever have one: it's more likely they would be microscopic and would not appear as literal worms in feces like these videos suggest)
More good news is: the human body has evolved beautifully to remove everyday waste products through five elimination organs:
the bowels,
the kidneys,
the liver,
the lungs, and
our largest organ: the skin.
As long as your own elimination organs are not injured or diseased, they are working constantly to make sure your body is not full of poisons. The need to filter waste products is an expected part of being a human. That's why these organs have evolved to do this so well!
Yes- our modern environments present some new substances that need to be eliminated. These substances are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. But even our ancestors- whom we might imagine having exclusively eaten hunted and gathered wild foods, drank the purest stream water, and breathed the freshest air— still pooped and peed.
That's because their bodies still eliminated "toxins". They metabolized what went into them, turned it into energy, and produced waste products from this metabolism. Metabolic waste is a normal part of human design. There is no level of "purity" in your diet, environment, or lifestyle that can avoid it.
If our systems responsible for elimination become sluggish or overworked, however, we might experience things like:
low energy,
chronic inflammatory conditions,
skin issues,
autoimmune conditions,
degenerative diseases,
and poor digestion
When our internal elimination organs like our liver, kidneys, bowels, and lungs can't quite keep up with removing the inflammation caused by things like allergies, autoimmune responses, hormone imbalances, and more, the only remaining option is for that inflammation to appear on the elimination organ of last resort: the skin.
We probably feel it, but we can’t really look in the mirror and see when our overworked kidneys are causing low energy. Or when our sluggish liver is failing to keep our hormones in balance. Or when our bowels are backed up. These sorts of things are sometimes just accepted as our new normal or, at the very least: unrelated.
But we can certainly see when our skin has to pick up the slack for these other organs. We may be having breakouts, we may feel puffy or inflamed, we may have rashes, eczema, or psoriasis. But because we couldn’t see the internal imbalances leading up to this, it often isn’t until the issue reaches this point that we can see that we even notice anything is wrong. We might not think to connect the way we’ve been feeling inside with these skin issues on the outside, or some people might not even have anything else feeling off at all!
This is why topical treatments often only work temporarily before the issue returns. The call is coming from inside the house and some or all of our elimination organs might need some extra TLC...
Enter: Alterative herbs
The traditional definition of an alterative herb is one that is “blood-cleansing”.
In modern times (despite what the wellness industry will advertise) if your blood was toxic or in need of cleansing: you would be in septic shock in the ICU.
So, a more accurate definition of an alterative (all-TEAR-uh-tiv is how I pronounce it, but I'm sure others say it differently) is a plant that gradually restores overall body function, vitality, and metabolism.
Many alteratives support the body's own elimination organs to optimally perform their jobs. They help them to rid the body of waste by providing specialized nourishment so that these organs aren't fighting an uphill battle due to added environmental pressures.
If you’re thinking this sounds extremely unclear, you’re not wrong. Plants that are considered alterative cover a broad spectrum of processes, and the mechanisms of how many work are not fully understood.
Alteratives can have an impact on almost every bodily system. Some function in a very broad sense, and some have very specific and direct organ affinities. These can be used in combination to speed up the alterative action and target systems that are specifically sluggish.
Some of the ways an alterative can function are by:
Supplying nutrition aka vitamins & minerals
Supporting the body’s own detoxification organs (liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin)
Stimulating digestion
Balancing the immune system.
Other terms you might see used to describe alterative herbs are: nutritive, restorative, nourishing, tonic
Herbs in this group typically have a slow action, over a 2-3 month period of continuous administration. This is because a deficiency or imbalance likely didn't happen overnight— it could have taken months or even years to develop. Therefore, it can take just as much time and consistency to restore balance and rebuild reserves.
In other words - nourishing ourselves is not an overnight fix!
There are plenty of herbs that have a direct and pretty immediate action on a symptom or ailment: valerian and sleep, chamomile and indigestion, horehound and a wet cough... we love these herbs as we can grab them in a pinch and often notice improvement right away.
We must be mindful, though, that working with herbs this way does come close to working with them allopathically. That is to say, working with them in the "take this herb for this condition" way, which is the same way modern medicine approaches ailments with over-the-counter medications. If we're not careful, we can end up using herbs as band-aids in the same way that drugs are used to treat symptoms rather than the cause.
This is why, the longer I work with herbs and learn about them- the more I realize that working with alteratives, while less "sexy" and trendy than herbs that immediately address symptoms, proves to address the root cause of more issues than we may realize.
In this way, we may be able to strengthen and bolster our systems to be more resilient and resistant- possibly even avoiding the development of exhaustion, chronic conditions, or symtroms to treat altogether.
This is why alteratives are quite possibly my favorite category of herbs!
So, which plants have alterative actions?
Here's where I'll introduce several herbs that are known alteratives, which all work in extremely different and unique ways... By no means is this intended to be an exhaustive list.
(Plants marked with an * are profiled in-depth in my Rootcraft Online Herbal Programs- that's where we learn how, when, and why to harvest, prepare, and work with these amazing plants)
Mild alteratives:
*Garlic Allium sativum
*Black Cohosh Cimicifuga racemosa (endangered)
*Purple Cone Flower Echinacea spp. (endangered)
*Plantain Plantago spp.
Violet Viola spp.
*Chickweed Stellaria media
Strong alteratives:
*Burdock Arctium lappa
*Cleavers Galium aparine
*Red Clover Trifolium pratense
*Nettle Urtica dioica
*Oregon grape Mahonia aquifolium
*Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis (endangered)
Yellow Dock Rumex crispus
Very strong alteratives:
-use with caution and thorough training only-
Poke Phytolacca americana
Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis (endangered)
If you're interested in learning exactly how to grow, harvest, and incorporate herbs like alternatives (plus a dozen other categories of herbs) into your life throughout the entire year:
Join me in my next Seasonal Herbalism Intensive!
Reserve your spot in the next cohort here
Sending you all warm, nourishing wishes this season!
-Jovie
留言