Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> Roxanne:
> > Herbs contain dozens or more components that work together to bring  
> > about
> > a change or make an effect, and even though sciences identifies one  
> > or two
> > of them as the 'active' ingredient, they all work together and i  
> > don't
> > like separating out >the 'active' ingredient.
>
> Lynn:
> I've also noticed that many 'herbals' work to strengthen specific  
> systems,
> like the immune system, or help the liver detox. These help the body
> recover, instead of taking over it's function, or forcing it to do  
> or not do
> something, as many allopathic medicines do. These herbals (not  
> all...some
> are for specific limited use) have no bad side effects and can take  
> months
> to work...they can also be eaten as a regular part of the diet. Many  
> people
> in this country incorporate garlic in everyday meals; the Chinese add
> astrogalus to soup bases, and use a lot of garlic and ginger in  
> cooking.

In The 120-Year Diet, Roy Walford, MD, suggests many menus and recipes  
that use ingredients largely unavailable except in big cities. I found  
myself inspired by the potential but dissuaded by the effort.

Since reading that book about 20 years ago, however, I have come  
around to the premise that by eating a diet composed of the widest  
variety of ingredients, we likely do many unknown favors to our  
bodies. While there is anecdotal evidence that a simple, dependable  
diet of a short list of ingredients can be very healthful--note the  
Hunzacuts--it seems to me that our bodies most likely benefit from not  
only known vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc., but from the synergism  
of various ingredients in each food and among foods. As Roxanne is  
uncomfortable with pulling out a scientifically-dictated "active  
ingredient," from an herb, I am uninterested in advice that dictates a  
diet limited to supposedly necessary or useful foods. And, as Lynn  
notes, herbs are known to be beneficial to many parts and pieces of  
the human body.

Our bodies are more complex than anyone can now guess. They have  
evolved over the last 200,000 years or more depending on one's  
acceptance of scientific information. It seems to me that over this  
time span our ancestors have ingested about every plant and animal on  
Earth, gaining from some and rejecting others. With the exception of  
known poisonous plants, we might well profit from chomping a bit of  
far more foods than we now enjoy.