The himbalist, an alternative perspective on herbal medicine. By Nic Geere
So what is a himbalist? It is a word not found in any dictionary nor encyclopaedia, which explains nothing because I made it up. In all fairness to my creativity, the word is a play on the factual word “herbalist”.
See what I did? I changed the “her” to a “him”, without surgery. Herbalist is a term to describe an individual who uses medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments. This person may have studied the subject, I have not, so I made up a word, although I do pride myself in my self taught knowledge of the herbs used in herbal medicine. I also choose to identify as a “him”, not a “her”. I am comfortable with my birth gender and choose to continue with the affirmation.
For further clarification on my made-up word, particularly the American pronunciation of the word – herb, they sound like they are missing teeth when they say it, “erb”, my word is pronounced “him-ba-list” not “im-ba-list”, I would not want it to be mistaken for a similar sounding noun “im-be-cile” although this may be more accurate. To be fair to the Americans, a silent “H” is very common in the English language and you can understand why they make this assumption, words like, “hour” and.. well, that’s it. I insist on this standpoint on pronunciation for my good friend Herbert, the classic 80s film “Herbie goes to Hollywood”.
I am a salesman and have been selling medicinal herbs for over 15 years, they are my products and I know them well. Product knowledge in sales is very important. I am not a doctor, nor do I offer any medical advice. I just sell herbs, like some people sell vacuum cleaners and don’t clean homes, except herbs don’t suck. While gaining my product knowledge though I learned to love herbs.
I love everything about them, the rich history, the fantastical myths, the medicinal uses, the plants, everything. What I want to share is some of the reasons and stories about some of the herbs, what made me fall in love with them. This is not a medical reference guide, if you are looking for that, look for something written by a doctor, preferably a herbalist.
Now that I have theoretically prevented a lawsuit, let me tell you a little about herbal medicine. Please don’t call it alternative medicine because it should be the first choice. Think about it, as humans we used to eat seasonally and eat what we could find at the time, at least what the women could find, while manly men sharpened sticks, prepared to hunt. So ancient animal wearing humans ate an average of 300 different plant varieties over a one-year period, we evolved this way. Modern convenience has reduced this to an average to only 30 plant variants. 30! Quickly count on your fingers the plants you eat in a year. Potatoes, rice, corn. Don’t count fruit juice, that’s basically flavoured sugar. Apple, banana, grapes. Be honest, you haven’t eaten a cherry this year? Onions, Garlic, ginger. Don’t count unless fresh, it’s likely a synthetic flavour otherwise. Carrots, mushrooms, peas. Hate any of those? Wheat and peanuts. Any Allergies? That is only 15. So please admit your human body may not be getting all the stuffs it has evolved with. Stuffs like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, flavonoids and so on.
It is not only about deficiencies. It is, but there is more. Plants don’t have arms nor legs, they can’t run away from danger or put on clothes for protection from the elements. They are stuck, rooted in one place. From beginning to end. So how do they protect themselves? The answer is simple… Chemical warfare. They make chemicals for protection, procreation, and other things. 80% of synthetic medicine, like garlic flavoured crisps, is based on mother Nature’s original recipes. Aspirin is from willow, penicillin from mould. Ritalin, sit down, from cocaine but don’t send your 12 year old to rehab just yet. Modern science gets its resources from nature, like the blueprints of old buildings before the revamp. Nature uses the chemicals they produce to fight their own battles. Humans can use these same chemicals to fight different battles, from cancer to algebra. Sometimes man tweaks the plants chemicals to improve and make it safer, sometimes to copyright and make them money. Grey area. Either way there are useful, powerful chemicals in plants and nature that can do a lot of amazing things. With hundreds of thousands of plants, and humans evolving alongside them, eating and living with the effects, it’s not surprising that a select few have found their way into use by healers around the world. This is what I want to share.
Modern synthetic medicine is an essential and necessary solution for certain ailments. Often it is not and there is a natural, inexpensive, solution with minimal side effects available which has a rich colourful history of successful use. Yet people are ignorant and dependent on synthetic medicine, making big pharmaceutical companies very happy. Medical professionals like GP’s and pharmacist will seldom advise you against synthetic medicine in favour of a better natural medicine that was possibly used in the creative process of coming up with the synthetic version. Garlic flavour vs garlic. A chef would never make a compromise. Why do these medical professionals? Better? Sometimes perhaps but not always.
Sometimes we need to take a personal charge in our treatment of our ailments. Own them. Herbs are the perfect medium to do this. I once attended a bachelors party, and we raced go-carts and before you ask, yes, the normal party habits were strongly followed. Two of us burnt ourselves on the go cart engines, obviously. We both ran our burns under cold water but afterwards I ran into the bush, found an aloe and covered my burn with the gel found inside the aloe. I offered the other person but he refused and raised an eyebrow, likely thinking I was a caveman. I however healed quickly whereas his wound became infected and he was on antibiotics for the wedding.
I feel this is my fault as I should have carefully explained that Aloe is a natural disinfectant and skin cleanser, used in many commercial products. The aloe industry is estimated to be worth 1.6 billion American dollars, that is one valuable erb. The aloe is originally an African herb, and still a common sight on the continent which holds the largest variety of aloe species. South Africa alone has 27% of the species within its borders, it is no wonder I could find one so easily. In total there are over 6 hundred different aloe species.
The most commercialized species of aloe is the Aloe barbadensis, better known as Aloe Vera. Thailand is the greatest exporter and produces a 3rd of the world’s aloe exports. Another commercial varient is the aloe verox which is indigenous to South Africa. This aloe is also known as African aloe vera, mainly used for it’s natural laxative properties, but also used as an active ingredient in many skin products.
Truthfully though, I don’t think I was in a state to explain nor remember all those facts, and him neither to listen. What I think would have worked, maybe, was if I sang a song, an Adele imitation maybe?
“Aloe, from the other side
I must’ve used it a thousand times”
Not a fan? Maybe Stevie Wonder is more your cup of tea.
“aloe, it is this you’re looking for”
My personal favourite is Roxette.
“Aloe, you fool, I’ll heal you,
C’mon let’s return to the joyride.”
Anyway, Aloe is a natural disinfectant, killing bacteria, virus and fungi. It is also a skin protector which actually reduces the sun’s harsh effects by 20% and uses this protection to survive in the harsh African environment. As humans we are able to utilise these protective properties to our own benefit.
I see my friend’s perspective and I can rationalize why he turned down a drunk man offering him a spiky leaf. He is also not alone in his mindset. This is the 21st century, the modern era of science and innovation, not the dark ages but it’s also the era of commercialism.
Just because something is not wrapped in a brand, doesn’t mean it doesn’t work and just because there is no label listing the nutritional value, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any.
Science and technology are not just about making new things, it’s also about discovering and proving existing things, like herbs. Science has backed up many of the claims made by herbalist over the years and yes they have also disproved some but the positive proven, outweighs the negative, by a long margin. There is still a lot more herbal claims out there to “prove scientifically” but it’s an expensive process with no guarantee of financial gain, because kids, that’s how the world works. Investment and returns. Why invest in research when someone else could use your researched proof for their return?
There is proof is still out there though! The proof from successful use over the course of time. And let’s not forget natures medicine is less expensive and gentler. Empower your healing naturally, the more you know, the more you can use. So, let’s learn our roots, then eat them.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. This is my first article, I hope, of many. Whenever I completed a product training with retail outlets, I receive compliments on my unique approach to helping people understand, why and how herbal medicine works in a fun way.
With understanding comes confidence and selling is all about confidence.
Confidence is also important when trying new things which herbal medicine still is to many people.
So please like, share, subscribe and whatever else they do on these platforms, and help me spread confidence and understanding with herbal medicine. Thank you, Nic.