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Use and Abuse of Herbs
Karen Vaughan
 It
concerns me when people say that they take kava kava or valerian each night to get to
sleep. Although the herbs are very useful and probably more attuned to human biology
than synthetic chemicals, the fact remains that it is not healthy to drug yourself to
sleep each night, even herbally. Occasionally, to get over the rocky parts of life,
fine. But we know that pharmaceutical sleeping medication interferes with the
dream states and the quantity of REM sleep. While the herbs are probably more
benign, I would be suprised if they did not have some effect on normal sleep patterns.t
concerns me when people say that they take kava kava or valerian each night to get to
sleep. Although the herbs are very useful and probably more attuned to human biology
than synthetic chemicals, the fact remains that it is not healthy to drug yourself to
sleep each night, even herbally. Occasionally, to get over the rocky parts of life,
fine. But we know that pharmaceutical sleeping medication interferes with the
dream states and the quantity of REM sleep. While the herbs are probably more
benign, I would be suprised if they did not have some effect on normal sleep patterns.
Not all herbs are tonic herbs- like oatstraw, nettles, Siberian ginseng or
astragalus-which are nutritional and need to be taken for several months before they are
effective. Even herbs with specific actions like vitex, which should only be taken
when indicated for certain kinds of hormonal conditions, may need long treatment periods
before their efficacy shows up. But that does not apply to all herbs (say pokeweed
or Amanita muscaria), even if we consider them "natural". Some herbs
should only be taken upon occasion, or at least with consciousness of the possible
negative effects.
We have all probably seen people who abused marijuana, although the herb has legitimate
medical uses. But did you know that in the nineteenth century, people referred
to "valerian users" with the same opprobrium people use for alcohol abusers
today?
Ephedra is useful for asthma and I have had respiratory conditions that only responded to
it. But it isn't appropriate as a stimulant or for weight loss (darn!) because it
stresses the adrenals. I won't even touch guarana because it is way too
strong a stimulant. Coffee stresses the adrenals too (double darn!). I will
use coffee upon occasion for stimulation, but conscious that I'm letting my lifestyle get
out of whack and making things worse in the long run.
Paul Iannone once said that cannabis had a greedy plant spirit which demanded allegiance
of the user. I've heard people involved with shamanic healing who insisted that
heavy use of psychotropic herbs leaves people with holes in their auras (and some shamans
say that unhealthy spiritual entities fill the vacuum of those holes). Whether you take
this as metaphorical or literal, there are many plants that can be abused with negative
consequences.
This isn't to stigmatize some herbs as "bad'", as the media wants to
do, but to urge a conscious use, along with a knowledge of the proper uses and cautions
associated with any herb or supplement we take. Nor am I suggesting that it is always
illegitimate to use herbs for relaxation. Kava kava is used like wine in its social
context. There are dangers to both I suppose as well as enjoyment.
There may be legitimate reasons for people to take a psychotropic medication, herbal or
otherwise for long term use. I have a family member on Prozac who does not function
well without it, (although I wish that the person would consider St. John's Wort instead).
But it would ultimately be better to find the combination of lifestyle, diet,
herbs, bodywork and psychology to eventually not need it . (The same for
diabetes and insulin). Cures may be beyond the constraints of many of our lives
because of current and past choices (and the fact that we can't live in a bubble).
They are probably not impossible.
Karen Vaughan, CreationsGarden@juno.com
Copyright 1996, 1998 by KarenVaughan, Lori Herron, R.N.and Alternative
Nature
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