Hello Reader,

One thing that I've noticed over the years is that the majority of us were never taught how our bodies work, almost at all. It seems like a huge oversight! That knowledge can allow us to understand ourselves better, to tell when things are going wrong, and to make more informed choices around our health.

Understanding how the processes of our bodies work is also critical to using herbs effectively. One of my big goals through my school is to help students to re-imagine the way we address health complaints.

We're used to experiencing medicine as a way to deal with symptoms, making aches, pains, coughs, and colds go away. The trouble with this approach is that it often doesn't address the underlying issue causing the symptoms.

It's a bit like spackling and painting a crack in the wall of your house, rather than correcting the settling issues that caused the crack in the first place. The spackle and paint will make the wall look good for a while, but eventually, the issue comes back, often worse than before.

A good example would be the many clients I've seen with heartburn (or acid reflux). The go-to treatment in conventional medicine is a drug called a Proton Pump Inhibitor, or PPI. Often, patients will experience some relief once taking a PPI.

But studies have shown that, not only do PPIs not address the real cause of heartburn, in fact they make it worse. It has also been discovered that they have dangerous side effects. PPIs have been shown in recent years to make it harder for us to absorb calcium and vitamins, leading to increased bone fractures. They also increase risks of kidney disease, heart attacks, and dementia.

Another result of PPI use is that it leaves the gut much more prone to infections, which I see all the time in my practice. It's one of those cases of "is the remedy worse than the disease?"

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I've seen herbs resolve acid reflux many times in my practice, where the PPIs may have been failing or causing other problems. This is because herbs can work in a different way.

If you can change your way of thinking, and look to address the original imbalance that led to the symptom, it is possible to improve health in a long term way. It's an idea that takes a little getting used to, but it's so worth the extra effort to experience real improvement, rather than short term symptom relief.

A thorough knowledge of the organ systems and their actions is what allows us to find those underlying imbalances, and determine what the best interventions are, herbal or otherwise.

Salud,

Caty

p.s. My Organ Systems classes are a great place to start if you are looking to understand how our bodies work. They are part of my →Student Membership (open for one more week!). Or, if you are just interested in just one system, you can purchase classes individually. Herbs for Digestive Health is this Thursday.