Does Natural Medicine Really Work?

Although we have hundreds of years of written evidence, you might still be questioning the effectiveness of natural medicine. Natural remedies like herbal medicine, teas, tinctures, Chinese herbal remedies, medicinal plants, herbs, and supplements all have their place. Even pharmaceuticals and other western medicinal treatments have their place as well.

The World Health Organization estimates between 65 and 80 percent of the world’s population still relies primarily on natural medicine. In this article, we are going to focus on what you might want to know as someone first considering alternative medicine.

After talking to, treating, and teaching literally thousands of people, I’ve found one thing in common. Although everyone is different, they generally start exploring natural medicine from the same place— either they (or someone they love) is having an issue.

Why Consider Natural Medicine?

Access to and awareness of how to use natural medicine can put you more firmly in control of your health. It can feel like a relief to turn yourself over to a Western medical world where someone else hands you a feel-better pill and you go on your merry way. Many people call that freedom, but it’s just an illusion. If you are dependent on a supply chain that can fail for your medication, you have to work more hours to pay for it, or side effects begin to rob you of your health- you are most certainly NOT free!

Using Western medicine in certain cases is not a bad idea, but you should always know what you would do as an alternative… just in case.

With natural medicine you are able to:

• Buy local
• Assure yourself of ingredients
• Access free ingredients in your back yard
• Reduce the possibility of side effects.

Why Do We Doubt Natural Medicine?

The real reason we doubt natural medicine in the Western world has more to do with a lack of understanding of how to use it properly…. That and its competition has pretty deep pockets. When they aren’t used properly, natural medicines can be completely ineffective or worse- they can react with our unique chemistry and cause problems.

How Long Does It Take For Natural Medicines To Work?

It may surprise you to find that herbal and food-based therapies can address symptoms quickly, just like over-the counter options. In other words, you can expect relief from acute symptoms, like a headache that just came on from simple (and not chronic) causes, within 15-20 minutes.

Our Favorite Soda Farm Products That Work FAST:

• Headache Tea- Paired with our Headache Extract or alone, this is the fast track to relieve most headaches
• Nettle Green- Our allergy solution for ANY type of allergy. We’ve seen people sample some, walk around an arena and return with newly cleared eyes and sinuses! This stuff works fast- but also supports long-term chronic issues.
• Indian Spice- Our answer for inflammation and joint pain. We’ve heard from people who stand on concrete every day who saw relief in under 15 minutes… and we’ve had phone calls from elderly customers who couldn’t get out of bed, but now have active lives free from debilitating inflammation. We’re proud of this one! 

Can Alternative Medicine Be Used To Address Chronic Issues?

Natural therapies excel when applied to long-term, chronic imbalances. Herbal and food-based therapies are aimed at supporting your body’s ability to heal itself. While this may take longer, the result is a much deeper level of healing. Unfortunately, many Western medical solutions for chronic issues are aimed at covering up symptoms- or dulling the body’s awareness of them. This is kind of like taking down the smoke alarm in a burning house, but not addressing the fire.

In order to address underlying issues, herbal and food-based solutions require patience and dedication. This route to healing is more about strengthening weaknesses within the body’s systems and making room for the body to effect a repair and less about some magical potion or elixir. If you get the right herb, food or combination of both and do the work- you should begin to see small changes within a week. Most of these types of chronic issues will require at least 3 months of steady progress before big changes begin to be felt.

Our Favorite Soda Farm Products Aimed At Chronic Issues:

• My Cycle- This basic hormonal balancer has helped hundreds of women rebalance hormones for relieving symptoms from cycle imbalances and infertility.
• Toxin Clearing Tea- Just the thing to support liver health when liver enzyme numbers are wonky, or fatty liver is a threat.
• Pie Spice- Digestive balancer that is a true miracle worker for everything from common indigestion to IBS and Colitis!

A Story About My Biggest Skeptic

My father is perhaps the biggest skeptic in my life. When I first started making products, he absolutely refused to try them- instead favoring his over-the-counter and prescription options.

Shortly after I developed my Ache Ease (now known as Indian Spice) blend for inflammation and pain, Dad wasn’t sleeping very well. I had a very successful sleep formula (Sleep Well), but his issue wasn’t the “sleep” part, it was the inflammation and pain of arthritis. So, knowing he would likely turn me down, I brought him a jar of Indian Spice herbal honey.

Within the week, my mom called and told me that he needed more. He had been using the honey every night before bed and he’d been sleeping!! It was a big win, from a major skeptic.

When I delivered the next jar, my dad told me he wanted MORE- not just another jar, but longer relief. He had noticed that, with one dose before bed he had relief overnight… not he wanted a new product that would prevent the ache from returning the next day- in one dose! He was suffering from a classic misunderstanding of natural medicine… he already had the solution in his hands- he just wasn’t using it correctly. By simply switching to three teaspoons a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for three weeks, he was able to keep the consistent level of the herbs in his blood stream that was needed to break the cycle of inflammation.

This change worked so well that dad, now in his late 70’s, now only uses Ache Ease BEFORE putting a hard day’s work. He’s able to be proactive instead of reactive to pain and inflammation, using either the honey version or our Soda Concentrate (depending on his mood)- and he became one of my biggest promoters! 

What Are The Benefits of Natural Medicine?

The best reasons to choose natural medicine therapies are:

• No One Size Fits All- Customizable!
• You Can Buy Local
• You Can Be Sure of The Ingredients
• Deep Healing Instead of Chasing Symptoms
• Reduced incidence of Side Effects
• Lower Cost

The biggest benefit to natural medicine is customization! The great thing is that many plants carry similar chemical compounds within them….

Let’s say you need to increase your antioxidants! Right away, we know that you might choose to increase your intake of antioxidants with strawberries, blueberries or pomegranate. But what if you are allergic to strawberries? Or… you hate pomegranate juice? No problem, you can choose to make blueberries your “medicine”, or any other fruit, vegetable, spice or herb that happens to be high in antioxidants.

When using food or herbs to support your body’s healing, diversity is key- because there is no “ONE” answer for everyone…. Our bodies are all different and carry different risks, and sensitivities.

What Are The Disadvantages of Natural Medicine?
The main disadvantage of natural medicine is that food-based and herbal therapies don’t often work with just one dose. I consider that a plus, actually…This is because they are not designed to poison or “trick” the body. They do not contain synthetic chemicals that have what is known as a half-life, or a persistence in the body that can be hours, days, even weeks or more.

Why Would You Want Medicine To “Wear Off”?

Natural medicine is made up of REAL ingredients that the body recognizes. This means that your body knows how to process the chemical contents (including vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds) of your chamomile tea. So, like food, these natural medicine therapies enter the body, get digested and shared throughout your cells, and any excess is sent out through your elimination channels.

For instance, if you eat a carrot at breakfast, your body digests it, shares its components to your cells and moves what is left out through your bowels or your kidneys. The carrot is not designed to be the only thing you eat for the day- you will need to eat another carrot at lunch and then at dinner. This is how the real ingredients of natural medicine function in your body. If you want to keep the chemical benefits of a real substance (like a carrot) present in your body all day long so it is there for use, you need to keep eating carrots!

In contrast, Western medicine relies on pharmaceuticals. Much of what is inside a pharmaceutical is synthetic, and it is part of the design that there is a half-life. The very fact that there is not much “Real” there is part of the design. Because the body doesn’t know what to do with many of the components, the medicine gets stalled… it is retained in the body (often the liver) and is therefore present for use longer. This can mean less doses… it can even mean that an over-the-counter synthetic might help you in just one dose.

The trouble with overcoming this disadvantage with prescriptions is… there is a cost for the half-life. What you gain in convenience, you may lose in your health in the end.

Is Natural Medicine More Work?

In a way, yes, natural medicine requires work. It requires sacrifice, dedication and sometimes even… change! This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. The work you do making healthy changes in your life actually SAVES you time, energy and work later.

Let’s be real…. Many people go into Western medical solutions expecting to take a prescription for the rest of their lives. That diagnosis and long-term sentence is only meant to prevent the worst of your symptoms- and usually robs another part of your body to pay for the relief… creating new problems (and more work than you started with). Why not do a bit more work up front with the goal of regaining balance in your body? 

 How long will it take? For every year you have lived with the imbalance, you should expect a month to dig out- barring any structural damage or abnormalities that prevent the body from returning to balance. That’s guaranteed to be a much shorter amount of time than “forever”. Best of all? Once balanced, you stop needing the therapy!!! So actually…. Natural medicine winds up saving you time in the long run. 

Conclusion- How To Use Natural Medicine So That It Works for You

Yes! Natural medicine does really work! But it is important to approach the problem thoughtfully. Natural medicine is NOT magic. It doesn’t work the same for everyone, and you must use it wisely and with your end goal in mind. If you just want to pick up a pill and give it a try without any understanding, you just might wind up as a skeptic.

Rules For Using Natural Medicine

• Know your body
• Know your prescriptions and check for negative interactions
• Use the right amount
• Use it often enough
• Be open to changing it up- not everything is right for you- if it doesn’t work- try something else!
• Understand the limits- Herbs aren’t magic and they can’t perform surgery… sometimes they can take longer than you have to wait for a result (serious injury or disease). It is still wise to balance the “keep you from dying” talent of Western medicine against a desire to seek more natural solutions.