The healing power of nature

Healing begins when we listen to the rhythms of our bodies and the wisdom of nature.

~ Michael Owende

Much of modern medicine derives from the discovery of the healing properties of plants and other natural substances. 

Relying on instinct and natural strategies, animals healed themselves, as did humans for millennia. 

Wild animals were probably the first doctors and pharmacologists. To survive, they learned what was safe to eat and what to avoid. 

When sick or injured, they would hunker down, reduce activity, and seek out plants or substances with medicinal properties.

Animals acquired this knowledge long before humans, who then observed and learned from them. 

As technology advanced, researchers found scientific evidence for the mechanisms of action of various natural extracts. 

In a recent podcast, a well-respected pharmacologist admitted that 75% of FDA-approved drugs were discovered by observing animal and native healing practices. I am grateful that such information is being shared.

Aspirin comes from willow bark. Compounds produced by bacteria and fungi, which are capable of killing or inhibiting competing microbial species, became life-saving, albeit overused, antibiotics. Blockbuster blood sugar-regulating drugs now widely used for weight loss were formulated based upon a salivary hormone that reduces cravings and overeating in lizards - the Gila monster.

For economic growth and to incentivize innovation, modern medicine creates lab-made versions of natural medicinal extracts and protects them as intellectual property with patents. 

Information is not widely disseminated, so people become dependent, outsourcing their care and the care of their loved ones to health care practitioners who lack the education to promote agency and self-sufficiency.

Pharmaceutical drugs are potent, reductionist, targeting specific pathways in the body while ignoring systems biology, therefore often presenting with countless adverse side effects.

Knowledge is power. Nature provides the remedy for each of our afflictions. When used safely, treatment comes with side benefits rather than adverse side effects.