Why research can't handle plant medicine

The knowledge and wisdom from our ancestors of traditional plant medicine is frequently observed in modern scientific studies, despite what we're sometimes told. The media love to point out and dramatically declare things that they don't understand as "pseudoscience". Or find someone with a white coat to "debunk" anything that in their opinion isn't evidence based. The truth is, that things just aren't that simple.

Research is an important part of my life and work; it's something I do on a daily basis. I see a lot of flaws in the way research is conducted on plants, leading to a widespread misunderstanding of herbal medicine and nutrition.

Because plant medicine is an extremely complex subject, having a deep understanding of the plants, the human body and the way that research is conducted are absolutely crucial to know which information is truly useful.

For example, in the world of research, a large amount results are immediately discounted as insignificant because they doesn't meet certain statistical standards (just missing the mark by a miniscule statistical number can be enough!). A whole world of language and rules was set up to try to create a fair test but it often misses perspective or context and the current research methods certainly do not suit the way that plants work.

After all, peering down the tunnel of a microscope can only show you what you've put there.

There are many factors which can cause different levels of chemicals within the very same types of plants, such as growing conditions or the extraction methods used (alcohol or water vs oil, for example). To then complicate things even further, plants develop character through adversity (it's a tough life for plants too!). We can observe wear and tear in a similar chemical way to that which we see in the human body, or even different patterns of neurotransmitters, which in humans relate to things like different emotions or pain relief. When plants are attacked in the wild they release chemicals in defence - something which plants grown under controlled conditions will do much less of. These are just some of the many reasons why the exact same observations and results will never be replicated in different studies on plants.

Plants are living substances and chemically they are extremely varied and complex mixtures. As a result, they behave in much deeper and far more extensive ways in the human body than compared to conventional drugs, which are often based on a single compound.

There are certainly very definite limitations to only using a scientific evidence-based approach in the topics of herbal medicine and nutrition, so in order to gain a thorough understanding, we must consult a much wider range of sources, to also include well respected traditional texts, as they can give us insight into what to look for, or where to look, for example.

Beside the chemical, there are physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and environmental elements which play a part in a person's health. As a holistic practitioner, I see the whole plant and also the whole person. Disregarding things which don't immediately make sense doesn't make them go away, or make things fit.

Plant medicine and a holistic approach are fast becoming the new cutting-edge, as we come to re-realise that our bodies require more complex and whole solutions to keep us healthy.

To learn more about holistic science and plant medicine, follow Holistic Insight on Facebook.

#holisticscience #herbalmedicine #holisticnutrition #research