Phytotherapy and Ethnobotany

The symbiotic relationship between humans and plants

I should start by saying "symbiotic" might not be the right word to describe our relationship with plants. We receive the lion's share of the benefits from the relationship. Without plants we could not exist. Not only do they provide us with food and medicine, but they provide us with the very oxygen that allows us to live. As long as our species has lived on this planet we have used plants to nourish and heal our bodies. Each indigenous culture learned to use their local plants. This knowledge, or lore, was passed down through the centuries and became the foundation of all human healthcare.

The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) is an independent, non-profit scientific organization that sets public quality, purity, strength, and identity standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. It was first established January 1, 1820. Think of it as a list of the medications, their potency, and dosage approved for physicians to prescribe to their patients. In 1900 the vast majority of the US Pharmacopoeia was plant based medicine. We used plants for our medicine and we lived long healthy lives. With infant mortality numbers removed, the average life expectancy in 1900 was 62 to 64 years. In 1900 neither nursing homes nor social security existed. Elderly people continued to work and remained productive members of society. If they were too infirmed to care for themselves, loved ones cared for them. They were not left warehoused as is all too often the practice today. For some reason we have abdicated our responsibilities. These abdicated responsibilities not just to ourselves, but also to those who cared for, supported, and loved us.

As the 20th century progressed, the (USP) shifted focus away from plant-based medicine in favor of pharmaceuticals. The (USP) generates revenue from from the sale of USP Reference Standards, publications (such as the USP–NF), verification services, training, and grants/contracts from public health organizations (such as USAID or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) rather than direct corporate subsidies. While the (USP) is non-profit, it does receive significant funding from pharmaceutical companies. I believe this pharmaceutical funding to be a causal link to the demonization of plant-based medicines.

In 2000 the average life expectancy was 77 years. Roughly 1 in 3 older Americans spend time in a nursing home at some point during their final stage of life. The majority of deaths in 2000 still occurred in hospitals or at home rather than exclusively inside long-term care facilities. While life expectancy was increased, the quality of that life has declined.

Western allopathic medicine and traditional plant-based, or herbal, medicine are fundamentally different. Traditional herbal medicine uses plant based therapy (called Phytotherapy) identified through historical Ethnobotany to support the body's innate ability to heal itself. Western Allopathic Medicine uses pharmaceuticals to treat your symptoms, but does nothing to cure the underlying disease. These drugs force a reaction in your body that is quite often contrary to how your body heals itself.

Currently 50% to 70% of the drugs approved for use in the United States, are built using templates originally designed by nature. This simply means that around 70% of the drugs your doctor prescribes were originally found in plants. The dirty little secret they try to hide is that these plants still exist, and can still be used free of charge. These plants contain myriad phytochemicals that work in concert to help your body heal itself. Pharmaceutical companies cannot patent a plant, so they attempt to isolate what they deem to be the "active ingredient", and synthesize it in their labs. They then patent this new chemical, and make their money. Unfortunately for the patient, this new chemical masks the symptoms, but does nothing to heal the underlying disease or disorder, and it always comes with a long list of side effects.

The difference between plant-based medicines and pharmaceutical drugs is perfectly illustrated by willow bark and aspirin. In 1897, Bayer Laboratory's chemist Felix Hoffmann synthesized the pure and stable form of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) from the bark of the willow tree. In 1899 Bayer registered the trade name "Aspirin" and began distributing the drug globally. In 1915 Bayer introduced aspirin in the convenient tablet form that is still in most medicine cabinets to this day. According to a Google AI search, over 50 million American adults use aspirin daily. Among those 50 million people there are roughly 30,000 reported cases of acute aspirin toxicity, and 100 to 200 people die each year from acute or chronic aspirin overdose.

There has never been a single confirmed case of anyone dying from willow bark overdose. I was able to find one case of a 28 month old child who was treated for a viral respiratory infection with acetaminophen and an herbal tea containing willow bark. This child died from acute liver failure brought on by Reye's Syndrome. The Reye's Syndrome was a result of a reaction between the acetaminophen and the salacins in the willow bark tea. To this date, there has never been a confirmed case of ryes syndrome from using willow bark alone. Both aspirin and willow bark contain salacins. However, willow bark contains myriad other phytochemicals. I believe these phytochemicals act to buffer the toxicity of its salacins.

For thousands of years mankind has used plants to treat illness. Today we are led to believe that before the advent of western medicine man lived short unhealthy lives. If this were true, we would never have become the dominant species on this planet. Common sense tells us we are being lied to. If we compare the life expectancy in 1900 to the life expectancy today, the numbers tell us that we are living longer. That, however, is not the full story. 126 years ago people were vital much longer than they are today. They continued to contribute to their groups until the end of their lives. Today far too many people spend their final years isolated with little or no quality of life.

The American healthcare system is broken. It has fallen prey to greed. Part of the American spirit is being positive, and thinking everything will work out. We like to believe that hospitals and doctors operate from a place where they have our best in mind. In reality, the medical system has morphed into an industry geared toward maximizing profits and corporate growth. The business model of the American healthcare system is to create life long customers. Curing our diseases does not fit with this business goal. The system is geared toward managing our symptoms while keeping us sick. The food pyramid as described by the US government is high is carbohydrates and sugar, and low in meat and fat. Our bodies convert carbohydrates to sugar which makes the body pump out large amounts of insulin. A diet high in carbohydrates causes insulin resistance. Carbohydrates are converted to sugar which is then metabolized i the liver into ATP. Meat and fat are highly digestible, and as such, are bio-available to the human body. Fat is converted by the liver into ATP, which is the fuel our cells use to energize our bodies. Protein is broken down into amino acids that are used throughout our body to repair damaged tissues. They are also high in protein, amino acids, and most of the nutrients we need. The majority of our calories should come from meat and fat.

Between 2010 and 2022, PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) and its 31 member companies gave at least $6 billion in grants to over 20,000 organizations, including major medical and patient groups. This does not include the millions of dollars they contribute annually to politicians. These entities are supposed to act in our best interest. That does not happen when they are paid millions of dollars to enact policies that keep us dependent upon pharmaceuticals.

Myriad studies have shown that Insulin Resistance is the underlying cause of most of the chronic diseases affecting Americans. I did a search on PubMed for papers written about Insulin Resistance, and it returned 18,081 results. Insulin Resistance is caused by a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar. Eliminate carbohydrates and sugar and you eliminate the main cause of diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar, abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypertension, atherosclerosis, increased risk of heart disease and stroke, liver disorders, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, fibrosis, cirrhosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, hyperandrogenism, Cushing’s syndrome, acromegaly, hypothyroidism, obesity, certain cancers, vascular disease, and even mental health disorders such as major depressive disorder.

I believe that we, as individuals, can improve our health by using traditional plant-based medicine and western medicine in a two-pronged approach. Most of our ailments can be cured using traditional plant-based medicines. This fact has been proven time and again throughout the 250,000 our species have walked this earth. Across the world, there have been thousands of scientific studies and clinical trials which have proven the efficacy of these same botanical medicines. We can lessen the burden on our hospitals and doctors by turning to them only when, and if, plant based medicines have failed.