Safe use of plants as allies in your health

Are you inspired to use plants for good health? It’s true that there’s a lot of information out there on the internet, and maybe you want to try it, but are aware of a potential danger. And you’re right! Plants are natural, but they’re also powerful. This article looks at the risks, and the precautions you can take to use plants safely, and to encourage the happy cohabitation of medicinal plants in your daily life.

The risks

Taking a drug, i.e. a molecule (whether natural or manufactured) that will react chemically with our body to improve its health, inherently carries risks of side effects. There is more documentation for pharmaceutical drugs, but although the frequency of fatal events is lower with plants, the risks are the same.

It has been estimated that for every dollar spent on ambulatory medications, another dollar is spent to treat new health problems caused by the medication.

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America #ref:101#

Statistics available for prescription drugs

It’s our children and the elderly who bear the brunt of most errors. The former, especially in relation to dosage, the latter often because of the complexity generated by the large number of active substances ingested. Serious errors are rare, but all too frequent, especially since, according to the same article, 2/3 of medication-related problems have avoidable causes.

Parallels on the risks of phytotherapy

I haven’t found any statistics on the frequency of these types of error in phytotherapy. But during my training, I was made aware of very similar risks:

• Long-term consumption of certain plants should be avoided, as they can damage the kidneys and liver;
• Allergy risks (Asteraceae and Lamiaceae, for example, can induce allergic reactions);
• Misidentification of the plant, which can be catastrophic;
• Poor adaptation of an adult dosage to a child or baby;
• Significant adverse effects following overdosing or too rapid an increase, not to mention the mysterious healing crises where, at the start of taking a plant, the symptom increases;
• Interactions with other herbs or medications (which sometimes cause poor absorption or potentiation of drugs when taken simultaneously).

The last thing I want to do here is be an alarmist. It’s true that deaths due to incorrect medication are extremely rare in phytotherapy. In the literature, we can find many cases linked to misidentification of the plant picked. All too often, we see people who have blind faith in our beloved plants and persist too long before consulting a doctor and obtaining a diagnosis. Despite all this, phytotherapy is generally gentler when used judiciously, and promotes a return to equilibrium with fewer side-effects. My aim here is simply to remind you that it is not without danger.

The keys to safe use of plants

This article gives you the keys to the safe use of plants and the confidence to make them a part of your life.

Identifying the problem

Misdiagnosis: in Quebec, only doctors are authorized to give diagnoses. Sometimes, benign symptoms can conceal critical short- or medium-term problems. When you have a good diagnosis, you know the seriousness and urgency of the situation. We’re much better equipped to define the different options available (see the section on good communication).

Identify the plant(s) to be used

There are over 300,000 species of plant; 10% are scientifically studied to identify their active and toxic elements. Few specialists can correctly identify more than 1,000 plants. Also, plants that look quite similar can differ greatly. For example, there have been many poisonings and even deaths because pickers confused wild garlic (culinary and therapeutic) with lily of the valley (toxic) and colchicum (therapeutic, but extremely potent and easily fatal). There are, of course, good technological tools and books for identifying plants. That said, they are not infallible. Please don’t eat or pick a plant if you’re not 100% certain of its identification.

Communication – danger of interactions

While it’s possible to happily combine pharmaceutical drugs with herbal remedies, it’s important to be aware that harmful interactions are possible. The idea here is to communicate. As the saying goes:

Too many cooks spoil the sauce!

In itself, there’s nothing wrong with consulting both your doctor and your herbalist. But whatever the origin of a medicine (pharmaceutical or phytotherapeutic) , the specialists consulted should always know the complete list of other medicines (including herbs) used.

I know it’s frustrating because some specialists, lacking knowledge of the other’s field, get around the problem by forbidding the use of something foreign to them. You can ask for precise explanations of possible interactions: sometimes, vague explanations actually hide our specialist’s ignorance of the other field. Fortunately, more and more specialists are interested in cooperation. Pharmacognosy is a growing field of study, and reference works exist. Your requests help bring the two solitudes closer together.

Be indulgent: some cases can indeed be very complex, and we can’t blame specialists for wanting to avoid possible complications when in doubt. In your research, think about pharmacists, who may have more knowledge than doctors about the active ingredients of plants and possible interactions.

Be well-informed, to consume a plant safely

• Consult a well-trained herbalist, phytotherapist or naturopath;
• Consult reference books. There are some excellent books available, both in hard copy and in electronic format. If you choose content from the Internet, please be critical of the sources you consult; look for those who have documented their references and validate the information with new sources, especially before putting into practice the advice of a forum participant… I’ve seen a lot of things, from the best to the worst!

My blog and my platform provide the keys to learning and experimenting. As you can see from the hyperlinks in this article, many plants (over 400) have their own detailed fact sheet. In each plant sheet, you’ll find attributes to identify them, their toxicology, possible allergies, precautions, interactions, side effects and recommended safe daily amounts. Despite all the effort put into preparing the information, the precautions below are still applicable. That said, on the one hand, this knowledge continues to develop, and on the other, be aware of your body’s reactions – we’re all different!

Paying attention to yourself

When implementing any change to improve our health, it’s important to slow down, give ourselves space to heal, pay attention to ourselves and check the impact of the change on the overall situation. As we have seen, medication is a difficult and error-prone process. It is imperative to observe oneself carefully and to communicate in order to adjust according to observations.

All quantities given in my blog or on the tisanji platform are suggestions. They represent averages of the quantities suggested by various reference books. Remember to adjust according to each person’s sensitivity, age and weight.

Comfort point

As we’re all different, a good practice is to start at minimum dosage and gradually increase according to the effect felt. This is ideal for finding your comfort point and reducing the chances of a healing crisis. The aim is to find the quantity where you get the best from the plant; it’s not always the higher dosage that will have the best effect. The body often responds better to micro doses taken more frequently. Also, a preparation that is too concentrated and unpleasant to the taste may sometimes be less well absorbed or more likely to cause side effects. The psychological aspect is very important in the healing process. Just look at the importance of the placebo effect in various double-blind studies.

Side effects

Plants can contain thousands of active ingredients. In many cases, this diversity is an asset (better balance, reduced chance of resistance to parasites, etc.). However, they multiply the possibility of side effects. Watch out for dizziness, nausea and headaches. If a plant doesn’t suit you, don’t take it!

Allergies

Even when we don’t know ourselves to be allergic, it’s still possible to be allergic to a plant we’re consuming for the first time. Again, observe and, when in doubt, stop using the plant.

Although it is rare for a plant to cause anaphylactic shock, if you have difficulty breathing, contact emergency services immediately (911 in Canada).

Long-term use and the benefits of breaks

Beware of long-term therapeutic use of plants.

In the case of some plants, taking them over a long period of time is downright contraindicated. Some contain elements that accumulate in our tissues and organs, notably the liver and kidneys. In the short term, unless there is weakness in the organs concerned, they may be harmless, although some are very powerful and should be used only occasionally. However, even if there are no special precautions, long-term use of a plant increases the risk of addiction and unbalance.

A thumb rule for taking breaks: 1 day / week, 1 week / month, 1 month / year

There are, of course, a few exceptions, notably among nutritious plants such as flowering oats(Avena sativa), raspberries(Rubus spp.) and nettles(Urtica dioica), to name but a few.

Using plants safely with children

During a child’s first six months, the kidneys, liver and immune system are not fully developed. External applications (baths, ointments) are preferable. Avoid alcohol-based preparations. From the age of 4, a few drops of liquid alcohol concentrate can be added by evaporating the alcohol in boiling water and allowing it to cool before serving. That said, children generally don’t like the taste left by the alcohol. It’s best to make your concentrates with glycerine, which will give a sweet taste without adding carbohydrates.

Obviously, dosage must be adapted for children according to age and weight. There are two main methods of approximating dosage for children. Nevertheless, you should be particularly careful to avoid drastic plants, those containing alkaloids and saponins. Remember that in children, the absorption and transformation of active ingredients may be substantially different from that in adults.

Young’s rule (age-related)

The child’s age divided by the child’s age plus 12. For example, if you have a 4-year-old child:

Clark’s rule (based on weight)

The child’s weight divided by 70. For example, if your child weighs 15 kg:

If there is little scientific research into the effects of medicinal plants, there is even less that is specific to children. The plants recommended are mainly based on popular usage and tradition.

A list of plants suitable for children, inspired by Danièle Laberge’s Soins de la naissance à l’adolescence#ref:103# and Joerg Grünwald’s The Phytotherapy Guide#ref:15#:

Variations in the concentration of active ingredients in plants

Living organisms are infinitely complex and constantly changing. The proportion of an active ingredient can vary from one harvest to the next, sometimes by an order of magnitude of one to ten, sometimes more. Variation can be reduced by purchasing standardized phytotherapy products.

Buying processed medicinal plants and standardized plant extracts

Here are a few plants I prefer to buy rather than grow:

• Burdock(Arctium lappa): my boyfriend doesn’t think it’s elegant enough for our garden, and as it often grows in soil polluted by heavy metals, I prefer to buy organic produce rather than risk picking it;
• Licorice(Glycyrrhiza glabra), tea tree, devil’s claw, star anise, cinnamon and clove: they don’t grow in my climate;
• Blessed thistle(Cnicus benedictus) and Mary thistle(Silybum marianum): I like growing these thorny plants, but harvesting the seeds is quite a pain;
• Castor oil(Ricinus communis) and Ginkgo(Ginkgo biloba): I have them nearby, but I don’t have the tools to process them;
• Goldenseal(Hydrastis canadensis) and American ginseng(Panax quinquefolius): I’ve started growing them, but it takes 3 years to harvest the meagre roots;
• Slippery elm(Ulmus rubra): unfortunately, this species has become rare in our country.

Optimizing the variation of cultivated medicinal plants

As someone who considers plants to be life’s companions and allies, I prefer to control variation factors in most cases:

• By choosing the seed varieties I need and selecting seeds from the most vibrant plants;
• By giving my plants a healthy, diverse environment, but with little or no fertilizer to force the plant to dig deep into the soil;
• By selective hand-picking at the best time (taking into account plant development and weather conditions);
• By rapidly transforming my plants and repeating the same recipes and concentrations.
• For dried plants, by producing only what I need for one year and replacing my reserves in the new year.

All this doesn’t prevent certain variations… some years are better for certain plants. But just compare a commercial bag of German chamomile (even organic) with a fresh or hand-processed product and you’ll be convinced that variation is life and synonymous with flavour.

The best medicinal plants to grow

Of course, we still have to agree on what “better” means. First, there’s the pleasure aspect: seeing the plant add color to the garden and taste to your dishes and herbal teas. Then there’s the utilitarian aspect: the plant’s ability to support your health and the ease with which you can grow it. Here are the plants that, on average, receive the highest marks for these various aspects. These are certainly good guidelines for someone wishing to start introducing medicinal plants to their garden, but your environment or personal needs may vary. Any plant in its preferred environment is easy to grow, so don’t limit yourself to my favourites!

• All herbs: it’s easy, economical, many help control pests and attract foragers, and it tastes great!
• Mullein(Verbascum thapus), elecampane(Inula helenium), borage(Borago officinalis), arnica chiamisson(Arnica chamissonis), poppy(Papaver rhoeas), Californian poppy(Eschscholzia ‘californica’): they grow and reseed themselves;
• Periwinkle(Vinca minor) and thyme(Thymus vulgaris) make excellent ground cover (the former for shady trees, the latter for lawns that turn yellow from lack of water).

And let’s not forget the beautiful, easy-to-grow perennial flowers.

Finally, growing plants is very therapeutic; my garden is my anchor, a place for physical work, but also for psychological relaxation.

Wild picking

Wild harvesting is reputed to produce more powerful plants than cultivated ones. Obviously, in the wild we have less control over variation. There’s a greater risk of misidentifying a plant. But there’s also the long walk, the chance, the time to find it. Picking a wild plant can feel like a quest. For the sake of your health and the perpetuity of species, make sure you know how to do things, what the regulations are and which species are protected.

A final word

Plants have enriched my life in so many ways that I can only wish the same for you. Whatever your affinity with beautiful greens, I know they have the potential to make your life more beautiful. Be sure to show them the respect they deserve, and never forget that even natural plants are very powerful.

Photo credit

Title page, original photo: Dids, modification M. Leduc

Valerian (Audray Pepin), echinacea (4028mdk0), motherwort (Audray Pepin), comfrey (Agnieszka-Kwiecien), feverfew (H.-Zell), St John’s wort (Audray Pepin), wild pansy (Kjetil Lenes), lavender (Sten Porse)