Herbs To The Rescue…Again

artemisia annua homegrown herbalist

Sir Isaac Newton, the famous physicist that discovered and quantified the law of gravity, codified the laws of thermodynamics, motion, mechanics and astronomy and (when he got bored with all of that) invented the reflective telescope and created the mathematical system of calculus, described himself as follows: 

I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

I feel the same way about my journey as an herbalist. In spite of the decades I’ve spent studying these amazing plants, I am constantly made aware of new powers and properties they possess. I feel like we aren’t even scratching the surface of their potential.

When the Covid-19 virus started being an issue, I immediately wondered what herbs would be helpful in supporting the body’s immune system in countering this infection. As I dug deeply into the research, I learned of more and more new (to me) wonderful properties that plants I’d used for years possessed that would be wonderful support for those cases. I’d been wondering if I needed to create new formulas but the more I studied, the more I realized I didn’t need any new herbs or new formulas for this new bug. My old friends, herbs I’d used for years, were perfectly capable of doing the things I wanted them to do. As it happened, I’d launched a Respiratory Preparedness Kit the year prior to the corona excitement and the formulas it contains seemed to be just what I’d want them to be for this situation. Since then I’ve received a number of emails, texts and phone calls from folks that were very happy that they had the kits on hand. Some of the stories have been very dramatic and moving. We’ve been very grateful to God and all of His little green creations for the amazing blessings we’ve seen.

As I’ve continued my research, I’ve discovered and rediscovered still more herbs that have excellent potential to be of help in current, global pandemic adventures. One I’m quite excited about is Sweet Wormwood, Artemisia annua. Artemisia is a well known genus of plants most of which have been used medicinally for millennia. Sagebrush, wormwood, silver sage and others all have good properties for a number of issues but Artemisa annua has some particularly wonderful properties. It contains a substance called Artemisinin which has a very unique chemical composition (at least compared to other boring susqueterpine lactones that don’t have cool peroxide bridges). The compound was discovered in 1972 by a nice Chinese lady,Tú Yōuyōu who received the Nobel Prize in medicine for it. Research has shown artemisinin to have benefits in cases of malaria, worms, cancer, autoimmune inflammatory diseases and…wait for it…serious coronavirus infections. In fact,  Artemisia annua was used extensively (and successfully according to the research) against the SARS coronavirus in Asia which is a near cousin to our current Covid friend.

So, the journey of herbal discovery continues here at HomeGrown Herbalist. We continue to learn wonderful things about our botanical allies while they wait patiently in our fields and forests and vacant lots and gardens. They have been there all along like the great “ocean of truth” Newton described, ready and able to nourish us, strengthen us, protect us and heal us if only we are willing to discover their beautiful secrets.

If you are reading this little article, you likely have some interest in herbs. I hope you’ll expand that interest and enlarge your thinking. I hope that you’ll increase your efforts to bring to light the power of these beautiful plants to bless your family and friends. Let us not be the generation that drops the ball and loses this information forever. Let us be the generation that scours the beach for overlooked treasures and ventures into that great ocean of knowledge to discover the wonders that await.

I’d be honored to join you in that journey.

Doc Jones

HomeGrown Herbalist School of Botanical Medicine

29 thoughts on “Herbs To The Rescue…Again

  1. cherylokelberry says:

    Love the post. …and while we are looking out at that vast ocean we realize the treasure is right beneath our feet❤️

  2. Arnie Juelfs says:

    Thank you for another great blog Doc! I am enrolled in your school, and have learned a lot. I knkw it is an ongoing learning process, but it is very worthwhile. My goal is to help educate as many people as possible about God’s gifts to us the Herbs. Thank,you very much!!

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Glad to hear it Arnie. A side benefit of teaching others is that our own learning is significantly re-enforced.

  3. Julie says:

    Working within the hospital I see more and more reason to get into the herbalist field. Money driven medicine is literally killing us a slow death. Thank you for sharing your love for life.

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      I have tremendous respect for folks that work in hospitals. They provide life-saving services for folks every day. Unfortunately, modern medicine (much like all the rest of us) sometimes falls prey to tunnel vision and misses or discounts other avenues of health and healing. The good news is that many in the field are starting to broaden their vision. I have a number of nurses and physicians in the herb school that are very excited about getting some new tools. :0)

      https://homegrownherbalist.net/about-the-school/

      • Sandra says:

        Oh my. Doc, you are being so kind. I also work as a nurse in the hospital. I work part-time at a for-profit hospital and have a short-term contract now with a govt hospital. The difference is amazing. The for-profit cares about profit, not the community or its employees. Safety is not a concern and the public is not safe with the minimal controls in place during this pandemic. At the govt hospital, we screen and mask everyone 24/7 (including every employee, everywhere). Here the community and staff health are a priority. Public can get tested 24/7 and ALL staff are tested every 2 weeks to keep everyone safe. I guess you can say the for-profit hospital provides service, but then, McDonald’s provides food, right? Although each provides life-saving services that we should all be grateful for, they also make the most profit on those services. It’s undeniably past the time when medicine should return to a service-oriented profession that includes everyone at the table. Thanks for providing your education and encouragement.

  4. Pamela says:

    Beautifully expressed. I am constantly asking why our culture wants to search outside of nature for “cures”. Whether it be disease, climate change, diet…if we can look to nature and live in harmony with it, many of our modern problems might simply vanish.

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      Humans have a tendency to over complicate things sometimes. Maintenance of good health is markedly easier if we return to the simple foundations of how our bodies were designed to eat and live.

  5. Melody says:

    Thank you for your insight and for sharing with us. It’s our turn to pass the baton to others especially our kids and grandkids. I’ve been saying for a long time…God has given us EVERYTHING we need to be healthy. Our job is to find it. Many treasures in God’s Word are hidden. Finding gems of truth is our job. They are there for the taking. And so are weeds and herbs. I’m so fascinated by all of this. Thank you again Doc for opening our eyes (in such a fun way) to the world of healing herbs. God bless you and your family. Hugs from Montana Melody

  6. Jan Babbitt says:

    Absolutely loved this post, as well as your videos and books and formulas! I am sharing this one for sure with friends and family. Thank you, Doc for sharing with ou!

  7. Loretta Mikolyski says:

    Thank you. I love hearing about inspiration about something coming to the faithful in advance of the event that creates a real need for that inspiration. You were inspired, and you followed through. I’m so grateful to be learning through your school how these plants know what to do when used prudently and with thanksgiving. Every year I come to know a few more medicines that are growing all around our home.

    • Dr. Patrick Jones says:

      I think if we are willing to make some space for quiet reflection/meditation/prayer in our live we can learn wonderful things.

  8. Deanne says:

    Why, oh why, when someone asks me why I am growing such-and-such herb and what it is good for, can’t I remember? I have been reading herb books and trying to study them for years, yet when I’m on the spot, I can’t remember what they are good for…. but I will keep trying…
    Toward the beginning of this ordeal, I read an article and have passed it along to quite a few people. It is by Sally Fallon Morrell and is entitled “Is Coronavirus Contagious?” It is on the Nourishing Traditions website and should come right up in a search. Very interesting. I have also listened to hundreds of podcasts, watched quite a few videos, and read tons of articles. “The infectious myth” podcast is a great source for “covid-19” information. I recently discovered the Weston A Price Foundation podcasts. Both of these sources have interesting perspectives on “covid-19.” Videos by Dr. Robert O Young, Dr. Andrew Kaufman, Green Med Info, Joseph Mercola, James Corbett, and others, are very good.
    And in the end, plants, vitamins, minerals, and simple substances can rescue those who know about them in time.

  9. Toni Kenyon says:

    Thank you for shining the light on our beautiful botanicals. I loved everything about this post and I’m determined to ensure that the torch is carried from my generation to the next.
    I’m so pleased to hear you say that you are still learning. The world of wonderful herbs seems to expand every time I look into it.

  10. John Fulton says:

    Hey Doc, thanks for keeping us updated. So far I’m working with Comfrey and Plantain as a start in my journey. My Comfrey has about overtaken my small garden area and with fall just around the corner I need to figure out how to harvest and save it. So far I have made a concoction with Comfrey, Plantain, Rosemary, Spearmint and Vodka. I’ve used it for all sorts of things from bruises to insect bites. My wife even asked to use some the other day. She is an ICU nurse so if I can get her interested that will be awesome! We missed our lighthouse job this summer because of the virus and thus many of the herbs on the island such as Yarrow, Dock and many more. I did discover a lot of Yellow Dock growing along our road. I also found two mature Elderberry plants in our back area along the creek. However, something has eaten most of the green berries even before they had a chance to ripen! So much to lean and pass along to my grand kids. Five year old kids are able to learn without any prejudice and that’s fun. We had a summer camp week for our two next door and than a week for our two in NC. We also started them fishing so while we are in the woods it will be a great time to point out certain herbs. Keep the faith and be safe. Later…John

  11. Miriam Sellers says:

    Would you post more pictures, and where would you find it. I live near Boise and would like to find it, but I can’t quite tell which plant I am looking for.

    • Evan Jones says:

      Hey Miriam, if you take the latin name “Artemisia annua” and search it you should find many pictures! Just make sure you’re not searching for the common name and you should be good

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