I'm sure a lot of people here prefer herbal medicine to prescription medication whenever possible. I have had plenty of remedies fall flat, but I have also had amazing success with things like eyebright for my (previously) chronic red and irritated eyes, or holy basil for overall well-being. It just feels better turning to known and trusted plants to solve what ails me instead of grabbing a bottle of pills that will probably make me drowsy.
Additionally, herbal concoctions have been used for ritual or spiritual use dating pretty far back into the 5000-year history of tea (https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/tea-still-h ... 5000-years.)
However, I have run into some pretty scary stuff in my years of getting informed about ritual and medicinal use of herbs. For example, I went to a public lecture given by a local author a while back and she told her audience that herbal remedies were the way to go since adaptogens (which is what the lecture was on) have no side-effects and only side-benefits so they are perfectly safe. While some herbs are safer than others, even adaptogens can have dangerous side-effects in high doses, for long-term use, or when mixed with other herbs/medications. The woman meant well and had some solid info, but suggesting such things can be dangerous.
I adore plants though!!! And I will continue to try to be as informed as possible when ingesting them. The following site is excellent and contains info on any herb I've thrown at it:
For the automatic interaction checker, it does require the addition of prescription medication to check for interactions, however. An herb can be looked up on its own, though, and there is interaction info there.
These two sites are also decent and check for interactions between herbs alone, or with prescription medication.
They are not as concise as the previous one, but still pretty great.
Does anyone else have any books, resources, or anything to suggest? I am curious about using dandelion or some other tea used for cleansing, but I have to admit the warning on those tea boxes ("consult a healthcare provider", "do not use if you have a medical condition") kind of weird me out. I tend to err on the side of caution....possibly to the point of paranoia ;)