The Herbal Sweet Spot

In this era of evidence based herbal medicine many practitioners are reconnecting with their traditional roots and bringing creativity into their practice. One of the key concepts of traditional herbalism is taking a personalised approach by choosing herbs for the person rather than the ailment. This is the art of herbalism – matching health solutions to the person and not the disease. Herbalists and naturopaths seek to understand a person, and their underlying imbalances, and skillfully match herbs, diet and lifestyle suggestions to help them create health from the inside out. When using herbs in this way they become a powerful tool to help someone discover, as well as resolve, the root cause of their health problems. 

A practitioner who integrates energetic principles into their practice is looking far beyond the name of the condition that ails the patient, they are tuning in to the nature of their constitution and the elemental balance in their body. This is one of the reasons that herbalism is such a powerful form of medicine. The idea that we are individuals, and that herbs, food and lifestyle choices should be matched to a person’s particular needs is found in all the major traditional herbal systems including Western herbalism (the four humors), Ayurveda (the tridoshic system) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (the five phases and organ systems) and they take many years to study and comprehend. 

The concepts of herbal energetics can be simplified into an approach that categorises herbs based on four complementary qualities, hot/cold and dry/damp, rather than solely their chemical constituents. This framework is used by many herbalists and naturopaths as their underlying diagnostic principle. Both people and plants can be assessed in terms of the four qualities with the goal being to support health by nurturing energetic balance. The energetics of a person is often referred to as their constitution. For instance, a warming herb might be indicated for a patient with a cold constitution, while a cooling herb could be beneficial for someone with inflammation or irritability. Everyone contains some aspect of the four qualities but has general tendencies, which can be affected by external forces such as weather or food. Using the senses, especially tasting herbs, is a way to understand herbal energetics. Understanding the general constitution, the energetics of the current illness, if there is one, and the energetics of plants leads to the “herbal sweet spot”. 

In holistic herbal medicine the mind, body and spirit cannot be separated. The ultimate goal of utilising herbal energetics is to create a holistic treatment plan that not only addresses physical symptoms but also considers emotional and spiritual wellbeing. By understanding the energetic properties of herbs and their patients, herbalists and naturopaths can facilitate a deeper connection between patients and their healing processes. It is a valuable approach when used alongside a more modern physiological and system-based approach

References

de la Foret R. Alchemy of Herbs. Hay House: California. 2017. p11

de la Foret R. Taste of Herbs. Learning Herbs:Shelton. 2017. p7

de la Foret R. Taste of Herbs. Learning Herbs:Shelton. 2017. P22

Jones L. A Working Herbal Dispensary. Aeon:Glasgow. 2023. p33.