Herbal Wellness

Is it just me or do ya’ll wonder how people lived before modern medicine? Of course you know all the stories about the doctors who treated “ghosts in the blood”, prescribed cocaine for headaches (the origin story of Coca Cola), and how the average lifespan was maybe 40, if you were lucky.

But there were Healers, often accused of being witches, who knew perhaps not the science behind it, but what herbal concoctions to use to treat a cold or a sore throat.

Did you know that in Europe, during the Black Death Epidemic, people would loot the homes of the infected and deceased. Some of these criminals used a concoction made from a distilled vinegar, infused for several days with herbs such as cloves and rosemary, which prevented them from contracting the highly contagious plague.

Modern medicine was built on the basis of knowledge of herbal remedies. Scientists would take a remedy and break it down into it’s chemical components, and then synthesize those components using chemicals so that they can be patented (and then sold for premium prices).

Before modern medicine, and even western medicine, herbal remedies were common, and everyone knew them. Some of them have survived of course. But the general herbal knowledge is so unstable that the common person cannot identify plants in the wild well enough to be able to forage and use them medicinally the way that our ancestors would have.

Did you know that marshmallow is a plant? Marshmallow was used as a remedy for sore throats, however the taste is pretty bitter, so to make it more palatable they added sugar to it, and eventually it transformed into the sweet treats we identify as marshmallows today. People say if you have a sore throat eat a couple marshmallows, however I believe the recipe has been so transformed from the plant into just refined sugars that I have not found throat soothing relief from the main ingredient of a s’more.

There is a recipe I found for a sore throat cure which involved apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, honey and lemon, and it did actually cure my sore throat, but I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to unpalatable foods. The vinegar made it gag-worthy. (Not a good thing)

Since most of us cannot be trusted to safely create herbal concoctions the way people once did, we have to rely on those who do. And those who do have created several different companies which sell essential oils.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last several years, which I doubt if you’ve found me here in my little corner of nowhere, I assume you’ve heard at least in passing, about essential oils. There are pros and cons to each company.

doTERRA is a company which sells essential oils. Yes. It is one of those pyramid schemes with incentives and parties and sign-ups. Of course, you do not need to sign up to purchase doTERRA oils, you can buy them retail (though it’s more expensive). You could purchase a $35 annual membership and shop wholesale (which gets you a lovely discount). Or you could purchase a kit at over $150 value which would qualify you for a free membership.

Essential oils can be used in a plethora of ways. They can be diffused, either just to make the house smell good instead of using a chemical spray like Febreze, or if you’re ill. During the fall I like to diffuse cloves and nutmeg, and sometimes a little bit of cinnamon though usually I am not a cinnamon fan.

When I’m feeling run down, and stressed, I like to diffuse lavender. It smells nice and it’s calming. It has anti-anxiety effects, scientifically proven. It’s a common scent in many products marketed for stress and calming.

Eucalyptus is a great oil to diffuse for sinus pressure, like when you’re ill. Many people hang bundles of fresh eucalyptus in their showers, because the hot water releases the oils from the leaves and diffuses their showers with the great, sinus reliving scent. I’ve been using shower tablets for years, with a eucalyptus mint scent that dissolve when the hot water hits it and releases it’s aroma.

The great thing about doTERRA essential oils, aside from the fact that many of them are able to be taken internally is that you can get the oil straight as it is, or you can get blends of oils specifically for wellness issues, like PMS, or weight loss, or joint pain.

I love to drink a couple drops of lemon and/or lime and/or wild orange oil in my water. It gives a lovely flavor, like those flavored seltzer waters, except I don’t like the carbonated water!

There’s so much research in the last decade on essential oils and their application to basic health and wellness. There’s information all over the internet. doTERRA oils are all made of pure organic materials-organic meaning made-of-carbon. They can be added to water, to lotions, and some of them can be dropped directly into your mouth, under your tongue. Aside from the drop bottles of oil, they offer rollerballs of many of the oils and many of the blends. They have vitamin supplements, probiotics and creams comparable to icy hot or bio freeze, except they’re natural.

In 2019, I almost died from a severe allergic reaction to a topical cream that “nobody has ever had a reaction to before” according to my doctor. The cream was clotrimazole and I swelled up from my hips to my knees so badly that I could not wear pants, not only because they would not fit up past my knees, but also because my skin was so extremely painful, and because it was weeping.

I was wearing cotton biker-style shorts fully lined on the inside with feminine pads that I had to change three times a day because they’d soak through. It wasn’t blood either, and it wasn’t pus, it was just fluid seeping from all my skin. The issue persisted for three weeks, with me going into the doctor every three days as it kept getting worse and they just kept adding medications. At one point, right before my mother came and picked me up and rushed me to the hospital, I was on seven different medications.

They admitted me to the hospital for severe dehydration, and a systemic staph infection (both of which I had asked my doctor about more than once and she’d denied. Don’t worry, she’s no longer my doctor.) and also because my blood had become acidodic. I’m sure you’ve heard at least on a commercial the words “Diabetic Keto Acidosis, which can be fatal”.

I don’t remember exactly the numbers, since it’s been 4 years, but lets say the normal range was 60, and the fatal range was 15, I was a 12. I was hospitalized for 18 hours, I had my blood drawn at least 14 times before I lost count, I had an IV where they administered 11 bags of fluids and strong antibiotics to kick the staph infection. My doctor told me never EVER try a fad diet, especially the KETO diet, and to never allow another doctor to give me so many medications all at once because that’s what destroyed my blood and nearly killed me.

I don’t like medication. And while I realize that sometimes you need it, and it’s unavoidable if you want to live, I will do whatever I can to stay away from it.

My current health issues are autoimmune, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and STRESS all the time from my job. My foray into herbal medicine began in 2019 but has only recently dipped into essential oils. At this time, I have no personal evidence to give that it undoubtedly works. But I also don’t see how it could hurt, if used correctly.

If you’re interested in learning more, or purchasing, make sure to check out my.doterra.com/karlibrownfield

If you’re not convinced, just stick around, and I will keep ya’ll apprised of my wellness experiences with essential oils! I am starting out with the Healthy Wellness Kit, which includes the vitamins and probiotics as well as a couple oils, and a cream called Deep Blue rub which is supposed to be comparable to Icy Hot that I will be giving to My Love who has been having issues with his shoulder and knees, for which he goes to PT and uses BioFreeze (and is an essential oil skeptic).

Stick around for more updates!