Last month I was at the Annual Herbal Forum at Round Top. This is a gathering of people, from across Texas, who grow and use herbs in cooking and for health benefits. I use herbs in cooking but there is a very long tradition for the beneficial uses of herbs for curing aliments, preventing illness and maintaining wellness. I’m going to spend an occasional week, here and there, on exploring an herb or two as they relate to the rural elderly.
The use of herbs and plants in healing and wellness is the oldest approach in medicine. Early people discovered that leaves, bark, sap and other parts of plants helped in healing cuts and curing maladies. The average person today would not recognize the “pharmacy” of the 17th century which was filled with dried plants and other natural items which were ground into the various medicinal powders. As medicine evolved, practitioners developed purified chemicals and the use of prepared pills became our common mode. Today, there is a gulf of perception between a bottle of aspirin and a box of peppermint leaves, but both are used to reduce the discomfort of a headache.
Three assertions. First, we may generally acknowledged that the use of homemade remedies and herbs is more common in rural communities and among the older population who may be more familiar with local traditions of self-care. Second, the validity of a herb for any particular use usually lacks a systematic history of clinical trials to verify its utility and effectiveness. Third, modern health care providers have been slow to return to using herbs because of concerns about the difficulty in predicting exactly how a natural product may effect a patient.
A consequence of these assertions is that often patients use herbs to treat themselves and others and if the health care provider is not aware of this, his/her treatments may interact negatively with what the patient is doing. Thus, it behooves care providers to be aware of herbal health practices, find out if patents are using them and plan their interventions accordingly.
This can get complicated. For example, Echinacea is commonly used as a preventative measure for colds or as an intervention to reduce the severity of a cold. However, there are two varieties of Echinacea and each has somewhat different properties and uses (Brinker, 2013). The article by Brinker reviews historical uses and clinical trials with Echinacea angustifola root extracts and Echinacea purpurea fresh plant extracts. They each may be useful in helping resolve different health issues, but there is also overlap between the varieties and varying levels of effectiveness depending on the exact source and processing. Thus, the modern care provider needs not only to find out what his/her patients are doing for self-care, but he/she needs to be aware of subtle differences between varieties of the same thing.
Reference
Brinker, F. Echinacea: Differences Matter. HerbalGram, February/April 2013, issue 97, pp 46-57. The HerbalGram is a journal published by the American Botanical Council (www.herbalgram.org) which is a good source for herbal and botanical information.
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Join us for a real-time discussion about questions raised by this essay on Wednesday from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. See Discussion and SL tabs above for details. Link to the virtual meeting room: http://tinyurl.com/cjfx9ag.
May 1, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Weekly Discussion on Aging Transcript (5-1-13)
[10:07] Rodger Markova: Hi Regina. How are you?
[10:07] ReginaJKnox: Great! I apologize for not being here in for awhile
[10:08] Rodger Markova: It’s fine. There are so many things that happen at noon. Like lunch!
[10:08] ReginaJKnox: Yes. I’m eating and typing… multitasking
[10:08] Rodger Markova: Hi Tony. You are scheduled to write the blog this week. Is that still ok?
[10:09] Drdtrain: I am writing it as we chat.
[10:09] Rodger Markova: Ah. Sounds good.
[10:10] Drdtrain: It centers around the future of technology and John Mellancamp’s line ‘..if you’re not part of the future, then get out of the way.’ See some potential for an aging society in that?
[10:11] Rodger Markova: Yes.
[10:11] Drdtrain: Personally it scares me since I feel as we age, life should be more simple and relaxing. Can we relax in a high tech society? The good and scary parts to think about.
[10:12] ReginaJKnox: Its hard to relax when your always “plugged” in
[10:12] Drdtrain: Exactly!
[10:13] Rodger Markova: Yes, the electronic world needs to be unplugged at times
[10:13] Drdtrain: There is the risk of ‘being left behind’ and if so, what will that mean to quality of life for an older folk? Digital bridge games or bingo? communication by texting between folks in nursing homes?
[10:14] ReginaJKnox: My son is in the Army and is going to Germany. I have to learn how to Skype
[10:14] Drdtrain: (Notices the music being played on the sim) Fitting with ‘Teenage wasteland’ playing in the background.
[10:15] ReginaJKnox: LOL
[10:15] Rodger Markova: Life has its contradictions.
[10:15] ReginaJKnox: Rachel Little is joining us, She works in our office
[10:15] Rodger Markova: Greetings. Please join us
[10:20] RALittle: I’m still trying to work out the controls for movement, etc
[10:20] Rodger Markova: That takes a bit of practice.
[10:21] ReginaJKnox: Agreed
[10:24] ReginaJKnox: What other herds do you use Rodger? I’m not much of a cook but I would like to start an herb garden
[10:25] Rodger Markova: We grow the usual stuff: sage, rosemary, bay, oregano, lavender, thyme, and basil.
[10:25] Rodger Markova: I pick ones that like hot, dry climates
[10:30] Drdtrain: My girlfriend and I have kind of vegetable garden competition going. We both built raised boxes and planted the same veg plants – pepper, carrots. lettuce, some rosemary and arugola and see which does better – all friendly of course. My peppers are blossoming and driving her crazy since all her plants are getting eaten. I have offered to help her with her ‘garden’ much to her chagrin 🙂
[10:32] Rodger Markova: Ah. Sounds like fun. I have corn and tomatoes going, plus strawberries and asparagus
[10:33] Drdtrain: We thought of tomatoes – but got it going too late – by the time we got the boxes built. Yes – friendly competition, I guess.
[10:34] Rodger Markova: I know little about actual medicinal uses but find the interplay between alternative and “usual” practices to be fascinating
[10:34] ReginaJKnox: I’ll take some veggies if you have more than you need
[10:37] ReginaJKnox: Sharing your herbal remedies would make a great activity for older adults
[10:37] RALittle: It was over a decade ago, but I can remember working on a project that surveyed Mexican American Elderly – and there was a good rate of herbal remedy usage , tied to economic hardship and use of OTC vs prescription meds
[10:41] ReginaJKnox: Can you see an herbalist and have your health insurance reimbursed?
[10:41] Rodger Markova: Sometimes. Many alternative options are independent providers and to get coverage one often needs to be part of a medical practice with a physician who can refer.
[10:41] ReginaJKnox: Is that considered alternative medicine
[10:41] Rodger Markova: Yes
[10:43] Rodger Markova: Also, nutritionists and some Chiropractors, even though they can be covered, often do not accept health insurance.
[10:44] ReginaJKnox: Maybe with all the changes with the ACA they will be more inclined to do so. Somebody should tell them they are missing out
[10:45] Drdtrain: Gotta go. Rodger – about to send my blog. Later all. Welcome again Rachel.
[10:46] ReginaJKnox: Bye Tony
[10:46] Rodger Markova: Bye Tony. Thanks
[10:46] Rodger Markova: Get that cup Tony
[10:46] ReginaJKnox: I’m out also Rodger. Thank you as always for hosting
[10:47] RALittle: I hope to catch next time, thanks!
[10:47] Rodger Markova: Thanks for coming.