Semester 4, Week 8, Day 3: Phytochemicals

My eye is more swollen today.  Yay. But the stuff I made is helping relieve the itching and dryness.  I even put some on in the night. I just hope it's done spreading.  I watched an interesting video yesterday and discovered eating garlic and onions every day is NOT good for you as we have been lead to believe. Easy change to make.  These are medicinal and should only be taken as such. 

I got my grade back from health and wellness on my interview.  I got docked points again for the kids.  Yeah....  Being a mom is a bad thing I guess.  At one point my daughter fell and wanted mommy as all kids do and she was crying so my sister couldn't hear so I passed her off to hubby since he was still home.  I guess it doesn't matter if it's video or just audio, I'm going to get docked for it.  It's funny how the easiest class I have, I have the lowest grade in.  These practicals are 35% of the grade. I just hope I do well on the final because I won't pass if I don't. I did forget to mention the form that was supposed to be discussed in the video so I do deserve to get docked for that (which was 5 points of the grade). I can't wait to be done with school. 

The capstone instructor got back with me.  Apparently they can't post the rubric of the literature review where it's supposed to be because the course only allows one rubric to be posted for each assignment so they are trying to figure out what to do. It's hard to get started on something when you don't know what the requirements are.  That doesn't mean I haven't done that of course... Love and Light!

On to the discussion!

"Skilled traditional herbalists have been practicing their art for thousands of years without knowledge of phytochemistry or herbal constituents. Why is phytochemical information necessary or relevant to the contemporary practice of herbal medicine?"

I don’t have much time to experiment with cooking but my daughter did request bananas and then discovered she doesn’t like them (I already knew it but wanted to give her another shot if she was willing).  My son, on the other hand was happy about the request and has been devouring them. There is very little he won’t eat! For the ethnobotanists question, I think botany and anthropology are needed and probably should be a combination of the 2 degrees rather than just the base classes.

The phytochemical data is why I chose this degree over a certificate or associates or bachelors.  I looked over the programs and they looked like just enough information to help but also to get into trouble. I think understanding the phytochemical data is vital to ensure (to the best ability possible) to avoid those pesky counterindications. People sometimes forget to tell you they are on a specific medication but I feel with this added information and knowledge of their conditions, it can be discerned and there is a better chance of providing the proper advice the first time. I don’t know if that makes sense? The more tools you have in your toolbox, the better your chances to fixing a problem the first time.  You don’t want to have to “run to the store” in the middle of a “job”! 

In a different but related vane, today when people have been raised to think herbal medicine “doesn’t work”, being able to bring out those studies showing “this” constituent when coupled with the rest of the plant is more effective than the constituent by itself. Since Big Harma likes to use just the constituent, that speaks volumes and people understand the road to health.

Have a Great Day!