The Organic Prepper
Are there medicines in your backyard? Absolutely, but to determine what they are, you first must understand the practice of herbalism.
Herbalism is the forerunner to modern pharmaceutical medicine. One of the main principles of it that should be taken to heart was expostulated by Nicholas Culpepper the author of the Materia Medica during the Middle Ages. This book was the first comprehensive guide in Europe to herbal healing. Considered the “father” of modern herbalism, Culpepper wrote the following tenet, a foundational concept to his field:
“The herb, taken whole with all of its parts, is more effective than any part on its own or combined with other parts.”
Here’s what that means.
As an example, lycopene is an extract that is taken from tomato plants. It has beneficial effects on the heart. While modern scientists have deduced the healing powers of lycopene by itself, they’ve forgotten that in its natural state, it is merely one component part of the tomato. Within a tomato, other chemicals and minerals balance the lycopene, potentiating and making this heart-healthy compound more effective when consumed within a whole tomato rather than in an isolate.
