Natural remedies can offer holistic wellness

WASHINGTON - For thousands of years, humans have used plants to treat a variety of ailments. Their effectiveness is long-proven, even if scientists’ understanding of the process has evolved with time.

Shen Nung, sometimes called the “father of Chinese medicine” by historians, wrote in roughly 3,000 BC that ginger “puts a person in touch with the spiritual realm.” A 2015 study available on PubMed, meanwhile found that gingerols and shogaols - two components of the root - affect cholinergic and serotonergic receptors, to “accelerate gastric emptying and stimulate gastric antral contractions.” Both explanations reached the same conclusion: that ginger helps treat nausea.

“Modern medicine is actually confirming everything that we’ve known for hundreds of years,” said Sofia Adams, who has a doctorate in naturopathic medicine. “It actually confirms this intuitive knowledge that our ancestors had ... we incorporate science-based medicine while also incorporating traditions that have helped our human species for generations, and thousands of years.”

Adams has built a practice around that concept, blending long-held traditional treatments with evidence-based practices to offer what she calls a “holistic” approach to medicine from her home in Southeast Iowa.

On a physical level, some plants contain chemicals that can help with an upset stomach, or a fever. Others can interface with receptors that affect mental health factors like alertness and anxiety.

“We’re not just addressing the physical ailments, but also how we’re feeling mentally and emotionally, because it all ties into our health,” she said. “Health is not just symptoms, health is not a diagnosis, health is being a vital being. We have to be balanced both mentally and physically.”

Adams’ business, Vale of Health, offers clients a mix of consultation expertise and a storefront for various remedies, from teas to chapstick to topical salves, among others.

But she also encourages people to grow their own medicinal herbs, whether in an outdoor garden or an apartment window. She said the process itself could add to the plants’ benefits.

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“To be able to nurture what you’re putting in your body, it’s so therapeutic,” she said. “Being able to grow the things, you get that incredible feeling - not only satisfaction, that feeling of accomplishment - but to know that you’re nurturing it ... and you’re getting outside, you’re getting fresh air, you’re getting sunlight.”

The question, then, is how to get started.

Adams recommends people interested in growing herbs consider what they want to use them for. While many have culinary uses, their medical applications vary wildly. She recommends mint and peppermint for treating fevers and pain relief, while thyme, oregano and coneflower can help boost one’s immune system, and dill can serve as a digestive aid.

Also worth considering is synergy with an already-existing garden. Basil, for instance, notoriously grows well when it shares soil with tomatoes, and has a variety of medical applications.

While she grows most of her plants from seeds, Adams said many beginners preferred growing sprouts they can buy at nurseries.

“I use organic, non-GMO seeds, but for some people, they don’t have the space to grow it, they don’t have the specific lighting system and the right soil, nor do they have the time,” she said. “That’s where it’s very easy for people, if they have a south-facing window in their home ... you can keep oregano, thyme, dill, sage, these really common culinary herbs, right there in your home.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com