Chapter Eleven - Herbs and Mild Food We have shown that since the beginning of creation, our Father in Heaven has counseled His children to rely on herbs and fruits for their food. The scriptures also tell us that God has given us herbs and simple foods for medicine. Through revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith the Lord instructed, "And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food..." (D&C 42:43) Joseph Smith believed this revelation and encouraged the Saints to do likewise. On one occasion he said, "It was according to the revelation that the sick should be nursed with herbs and mild food, and not by the hand of an enemy."1 On another occasion he exhorted the Saints as follows: I preached to a large congregation at the stand, on the science and practice of medicine, desiring to persuade the saints to trust in God when sick, and not in an arm of flesh, and live by faith and not by medicine, or poison; and when they were sick, and had called for the Elders to pray for them, and they were not healed, to use herbs and mild food.2 The Lord's counsel to use herbs and mild food when sick was part of a revelation "embracing the law of the church."3 Hence, it was not given as a suggestion, but rather as a commandment. It is clear that Joseph Smith regarded this revelation as a commandment because he wrote the following in the History of the Church: Went to visit my father, found him very low, administered some mild herbs, agreeable to the commandment. May God grant to restore him immediately to health for Christ the Redeemer's sake. Amen. 4

He also recorded the following experience about his own illness: I continued to grow worse and worse until my sufferings were excruciating, and although in the midst of it all I felt to rejoice in the salvation of Israel's God, yet I found it expedient to call to my assistance those means which a kind Providence had provided for the restoration of the sick, in connection with the ordinances; and Dr. Levi Richards, at my request, administered to me herbs and mild food, and nursed me with all tenderness and attention; and my Heavenly Father blessed his administrations to the easing and comforting of my system...5 There are many other scriptures which speak of the use of herbs. In D&C 59, the Lord declares, "the herb, and the good things which come of the earth" have been given "in the season thereof...for the benefit and the use of man...to strengthen the body and enliven the soul." (D&C 59:17-20) The Nephite historian Mormon also commented on this subject: And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the - land but not so much so with fevers because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate." (Alma 46:40) The psalmist declared: "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;" (Ps. 104:14) The Apostle Paul affirmed that the earth "...bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed..." (Heb. 6:7)

The Bible also instructs us that herbs are part of the glorious city of God which is yet to come. There the Lord will plant the tree of life, whose leaves will heal the nations of the world. ...on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manners of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations. (Rev. 22:2) And by the river upon the bank thereof, shall grow all trees for meat, and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. (Ezek. 47:12) The Bible contains many other references on herbs, especially on specific herbs. For example, in addition to gold, the three wise men brought two herbs: frankincense and myrrh. These two herbs were highly valued for their medicinal properties in the Middle East. God Planned for Man's Needs These passages have led many believing people to try herbs after failing to find answers through orthodox medicine. In my travels I have met many people, both members and non-members, who testify that God led them to the use of herbs in answer to their prayers for healing. These people bear strong testimony to the goodness of the Lord in providing these natural healing substances. As a teenager, I had an experience which convinced me that God planned for the needs of His children and provided remedies for all their afflictions in the herbs of the field. I had been learning about edible and medicinal wild plants to earn a merit badge in scouting. As I sat upon a hillside pondering the many uses of the plants around me, a thought came into my mind: "If you were a loving God, wouldn't you have provided everything naturally upon the face of the earth to keep your children healthy and strong?"

This question caused some reflection. I thought about all the people who had lived on the earth. Realizing that millions of people have lived and died on the earth before modern medicine was developed, I knew that God must have provided for their health needs. He would not have provided adequate health care only for a small percentage of relatively wealthy people living in modern times. Even today, there are millions of people living on the earth who cannot afford the expensive technology of modern medicine. I knew that God was the loving Father of all men and no respecter of persons. With His infinite foreknowledge He must have known every affliction that could come upon His children in this world. In answer to this unspoken question, I concluded that God must have placed a plant upon the earth to heal every disease with which His children could be afflicted, regardless of their wealth or technological advancement. Years later, I found several scriptures which tended to confirm this belief. As we noted, the Book of Mormon says that God prepared plants and roots "to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate." (Alma 46:40) Also the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that herbs have been provided to "...strengthen the body and enliven the soul." (D&C 59:17-20) My experiences with these herbal remedies over the last ten years has further confirmed this belief.

A Controversy In spite of the passages in the scriptures referring to herbs, it seems that most LDS people believe they are no longer needed. Modern science teaches us that herbs are a crude form of therapy belonging to a less enlightened era. We are told that modern drugs are more effective than these primitive herbs. We are even led to believe that they are safer. However, there are many Latter-day Saints who feel that the counsel to nourish the sick with herbs and mild foods is just as applicable today as it ever was. In fact, the modern resurgence in the use of herbs is largely due to the influence of Latter-day Saints who believed strongly that herbs were given of God for the healing of the sick. LDS people like John Christopher, LaDean Griffin, Stan Malstrom, and others have been leaders in the movement to encourage the use of herbs. Furthermore, Utah is the home for most of the prominent manufacturers of herbal products. Most, if not all, of these herb companies are run by LDS people who believe that herbs are ordained for "the constitution, nature, and use of man." To understand this difference of opinion better, we need to remember the nature of orthodox medicine in Joseph Smith's day. In that day orthodox medical doctors relied primarily on mercury, strychnine, arsenic, antimony and procedures like blood-letting and blistering. Joseph's older brother Alvin was killed by a dose of calomel, a mercury compound commonly prescribed in that day. So we can readily see why Joseph counseled the Saints "to trust in God when sick...and live by faith and not by medicine, or poison..." We can also see why Brigham Young said: "Doctors and their medicines I regard as a deadly bane to any community."6 Most modern doctors would probably agree that this was good advice in their day, given the dangerous nature of orthodox medicine.

Of course, medicine has changed since the time of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Hence, most people feel that the counsel is no longer applicable. Few people realize that much of the advancement in modern drug therapy came from the study of plants and molds. The majority of the drugs available today, with or without a prescription, contain at least one substance originally derived from a plant. Common drugs derived from plants include digitalis, resperine, quinine and even aspirin. Many over-the-counter medications rely on volatile oils from herbs, such as menthol, eucalyptol, and thymol. There are bulk-forming laxatives whose major ingredient is an herb, psyllium hulls. If substances derived from molds are included, our current materia medica is about 60-70% plant-derived drugs.7 The Key Issue Note, however, that the materia media of modern science is composed largely of plant-derived drugs. The key issue between those who favor herbs and those who favor orthodox medicine is not really whether or not herbs are effective, but rather the method in which the herbs are used. Modern medicine does not use the whole herb, but rather isolated "active" constituents. In most cases the drugs they use are not derived from the plants anymore. Instead, modern science has created synthetic duplicates of the plant constituents. In most cases, they have also chemically altered or modified the molecular structure of the original substance, so that it is different from the substance originally found in the plant.

In contrast, those who believe in herbs generally believe that when God created the herbs he knew what he was doing. That is, they believe that God, in His perfect wisdom, made the whole herb to work in harmony with the "constitution and nature" of man. Hence, the herbalist believes that the whole herb is safer and perhaps even more effective in the long run, because it works more in harmony with the body. So the question is, could it be that modern medicine has made a mistake in departing from the use of whole (or wholesome) herbs in favor of isolated chemicals? Is it possible that both have their place? Here is some food for thought on this subject. First, it is a fact that a whole plant is different in nature from a chemically isolated and purified drug. In his book, Understanding Conventional and Alternative Medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. summarizes the differences between whole plants and pure drugs. He indicates that the idea that plants owe their effects to a single compound is simply untrue. Herbs are complex mixtures of substances. Whereas a drug is a single chemical, an herb may contain hundreds of chemicals which no doubt modify the action of their so-called "active" ingredients. Dr. Andrew Weil, author of Health and Healing. He says, "isolated and refined drugs are much more toxic than their botanical sources." They work faster, but their effects also wear off faster. He also notes that isolated chemicals do not always reproduce the actions of the whole plants they come from and that the plants sometimes have natural safeguards which the chemicals do not.8

According to Dr. Weil, the margin of safety in using herbs is much greater because the bulk of an herb is indigestible fiber, the percentage of active ingredients is low, and the active ingredients are absorbed slowly through the process of digestion. It is also possible that some of the other compounds in plants act as buffers or safeguards for the active chemicals. One of the complaints modern science has had about herbs is that the strength of their "active" ingredients may vary. This issue is not as critical with herbs, because they do not have the high risk of toxicity that drugs do. However, even if one is concerned about precise dosage, there are ways of controlling growth and assaying quantities to obtain standard doses for whole plants.9 In fact, several herb companies are already producing herb products with standardized levels of known active ingredients. These standardized herbs may represent a compromise between whole herbs and refined drugs. Reasons for Using Isolates One of the problems we face is that very little research has been done on whole plants compared to isolated chemicals. Doctors have been mistakenly lead to believe that the abandonment of herbs in favor of isolated chemicals was due to research which demonstrated they were safer and more effective. The truth is that this type of research has never been done. This is merely a matter of current scientific opinion, not scientific fact; because the question has never been seriously studied. Why then do we use isolated chemicals rather than whole herbs? Here are some possible reasons.

First, isolated compounds and synthetics are generally cheaper to produce, easier to store and are not subject to crop failures. It is also easier to control dosage (but it is also more critical to control dosage because of increased toxicity). A bigger reason is that molecules (chemicals) can be patented, but whole plants cannot. Currently the definition of a drug is anything which is sold for the cure or prevention of disease. Even water has become a drug under current laws when it was marketed to affect a disease condition. Expensive and time-consuming double-blind studies are required to verify a specific therapeutic action and to calculate dosages and side effects. Understanding this, we can see why no drug company in its right mind would want to test an herb for therapeutic value. Who wants to go through ten years of testing and fifty million dollars to prove that a commonly available herb could prevent or cure a disease? The investment could never be recovered.10 Finally, modern drug research became so exciting and financially rewarding that it pushed herbal research into the background and almost destroyed it. In the preface of his book, The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine, Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D. explains this phenomenon. At one time in the West, herbs were the subject of intensive scientific investigation. One can find numerous published studies on the effects of herbs on animal and human physiology. As late as the mid 20th century, important herbal research was being undertaken in Europe.

Concomitant with herbal research in this century in the West was the development of powerful synthetic medicines that had the power to virtually wipe out many terrible diseases. As cure after cure was found, great excitement spread through the medical research establishment. Young scientists, especially, were vulnerable to the lure of exotic new lines of study. Unlike the old vanguard, who recognized the value of the new, but attempted to preserve the fundamental value of botanical medicines and continued to pursue research in them, the young students could not resist the excitement of modern drug research. The old vanguard died off (or is dying off). Many of the following generation, who had studied medicinal plants under the tutelage of their masters, left those pursuits at the earliest opportunity in order to join the rush to the exciting sea of synthetic medicines... The movement away from the natural and toward the synthetic was not a conscious rejection of medical botany. I don't believe anybody realized how completely the older positions were being abandoned. Nobody in mainstream medical science intended for it to happen that way.11 So, the movement away from whole herbs had more to do with interest and economics than it did with science. One pharmacologist told me that one of his teachers, a member of the "old vanguard" had told the students in pharmacy school that this "flirtation" with isolated chemicals would be short-lived. He predicted that by the year 2000 we would be moving back to the use of whole herbs for medicine. This pharmacologist was studying herbs because he could see that this instructor's prediction was coming to pass.

Modern Herbal Research Interest in whole plants is growing because of the increasing volume of scientific research being done on the subject. Much of this research was touched off by a mission statement for the World Health Organization issued in 1976 by Dr. Halfdan Mahler, Director-General of that organization. In order to get adequate medical care to all the people in the world by the year 2000, WHO recognized that they would have to rely upon locally available herbs rather than on expensive synthetic drugs. Hence, Dr. Mahler stated: The age-old arts of the herbalists too must be tapped. Many of the plants familiar to the 'wise-woman' or the 'witch-doctor' really do have the healing powers that tradition attaches to them; the pharmacopoeia of modern medicine would be poorer if one removed from it all the preparation, chemicals and compounds whose origins lie in herbs, funguses, flowers, fruits and roots. Let us not be in any doubt: modern medicine still has a great deal to learn from the collector of herbs.12 Because of this mandate from WHO, a great deal of credible, scientifically based information is rapidly becoming available which is validating the fact that herbs can be an extremely safe and effective form of therapy. This research is being conducted primarily in Europe, Russia, China and other parts of the world because of the tremendous legal and financial obstacles here in the United States. Still, there are those in the United States who are following this research with much interest. A world-recognized medical doctor and research scientist, Dr. Bruce Halstead, told me that we do not need to wait for herbs to be proven; they are already proven. However, he said that it takes about 20 years for current research material to filter down into common practice among physicians.13

Are Herbs Dangerous? The allegation is frequently made that using herbs is dangerous. There are poisonous plants such as foxglove (digitalis), coca leaves (cocaine) and opium (heroin) and these plants are dangerous. Ironically, many of our modern drugs are the isolated and concentrated poisons from these poisonous plants. Modern medicine tends to use this type of plant because they want to produce rapid and dramatic effects. This does not mean that these poisonous plants do not have therapeutic value. The Word of Wisdom states that "tobacco is an herb...to be used for bruises and all sick cattle..." (D&C 89:8) In other words, although tobacco is toxic to man's body and belly, it is useful for certain specific therapeutic purposes. Note, however, that such plants must be used with "judgment and skill." Thus there is therapeutic value in many of these poisonous herbs, but there is also a need for trained medical practitioners who can handle these more potent medicines with "judgment and skill."14 It would seem reasonable that "judgment and skill" is also required in the use of isolated, refined drugs. However, there are completely non-poisonous herbs which can be used for therapy. Remember, the Lord specifies that the sick are to be nourished with herbs and refers to all wholesome herbs as being made for the use of man. One cannot nourish the body with an unwholesome poison. One can only nourish the body with a food. Hence, the herbs with which we should nourish the sick must also be safe for use as food.

The majority of the herbs sold on the market today are wholesome herbs, many of which people use in food products without any concern. We are talking about herbs like garlic, cayenne, peppermint, chamomile, ginger, parsley, thyme, fenugreek, fennel, and so forth. These herbs are on the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) list of the FDA. Most are in common use throughout the world in food. Others have been used for thousands of years without observations of harmful effects. Most modern researchers distrust this "historical use" data, but it does have value. A top pharmacognist (one who studies plant-derived drugs), Dr. Norman Fransworth, has pointed out that it is strange that we will eat the foods our ancestors ate and assume they are safe without years of scientific testing, but we are afraid of the plants they used for medicine. If they were smart enough to figure out what was safe to eat, why weren't they smart enough to figure out what constituted a safe medicine? The point is, that as long as an herb is wholesome (ie., not narcotic or poisonous) we simply need to use it with "prudence and thanksgiving." ( D&C 89:11) Of course, anything, even a wholesome herb, may be harmful if not used with "prudence" (reason and common sense).

Biochemist and herbalist, Dr. Edward E. Shook said, "Allopathic physicians use countless poisonous herbs, and ignore the most virtuous and harmless ones."15 These milder, non-poisonous herbs have been largely ignored by modern medicine because they do not produce a "quick fix." Most people going to the doctor want immediate relief, they do not want to gently and gradually nourish their body back to health with gentle herbs and simple foods. They want something that works rapidly and dramatically. As Dr. Michael Lesser stated in hearings before the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs of the United States Senate: Nutrition works gradually and cumulatively over time. Drugs give you a slam-bang effect right away. American people seem to like that to some extent. Unfortunately, you suffer from that later. When you use nutrients you gradually get better, but you don't get that dramatic response immediately using nutrient therapy.16 This is exactly the way these non-poisonous herbs work. In the Lord's own words we are to be "nourished" with herbs when we are sick, not poisoned or drugged. There are complaints that some of these non-poisonous herbs are also toxic. However, these complaints come primarily from people who have only studied the isolated chemicals from these plants. Generally, these people have had no experience using the whole herb. Herbs, like most foods, contain chemicals that are toxic when isolated and refined. For example, spinach contains oxalic acid and potatoes contain solanine, both chemicals are toxic in pure form. The fact that a pure chemical from a food is toxic doesn't make the food toxic, however.17 Even Brigham Young recognized that there was a difference between a whole food and an isolated ingredient. I do not dispute that the poison contained in the bread that has been distributed from the table this afternoon, if extracted by a skillful chemist, would be enough to kill; but still, as combined with the other constituent elements of which bread is composed, it is not injurious, and we eat it without harm.18

In addition, critics of herb use also warn that self-treatment can be dangerous. However, the majority of all illnesses are not serious. Most cases of illness (colds, flu, etc.) are treated at home, anyway. In fact, it has been estimated that about 70% of all illness is self-limiting, that is, one would get better if all one did was rest in bed. There are serious illnesses which may require professional help, but even here it is possible that better nutrition and wholesome herbs could aid recovery.19 Understanding this, we can see why Brigham Young counseled: Give your children, when sick, a little simple herb drink; and if they have eaten too much let them go without food until their stomachs are cleansed and purified, and have faith in the name of Jesus and in the ordinances of His Church, and they will live. That is my faith with regard to this thing.20 Isn't it time we began to re-examine this important part of "the law of the Church"? After all, this law has never been revoked. Even our late prophet, Spencer W. Kimball encouraged the use of simple herbs, when he said the following about caring for our bodies when we are sick. We should do all we can for ourselves first: dieting, resting, taking simple herbs known to be effective, and apply common sense, especially to minor troubles. Then we could send for the elders...Frequently, this is all that is required, and numerous healings can be affected. In serious cases where the problems are not solved, we turn to our skilled and helpful men who can help us so wonderfully.21

Let us seek to better understand these natural medicines which God prepared to remove the cause of our diseases. We should not blindly accept everything which people tell us is "natural." Nor, should we completely reject the knowledge and skills available to us through modern medicine. However, by seeking the help of the Lord and exercising wisdom and prudence we may discover that God has prepared simple and inexpensive means for our healing.22 We may only need to look and live. (Num. 21:6-9. 1 Ne. 17:41)

Chapter Eleven Footnotes 1 Alma A. Burton, Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1965), p. 229 2 History of the Church 4:414 3 See preface to D&C 42 4 History of the Church 7:228 5 Ibid. 2:493 6 "History of the Church 4:414 and Journal of Discourses 14:109 7 Andrew Weil, M.D., Health and Healing: Understanding Conventional and Alternative Medicine (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983), p. 97. See also: Margaret B. Kreig, Green Medicine, (Chicago: Rand McNalley and Company, 1965). 8 Weil, Health and Healing, p.99 9 Ibid., chapter 9. 10 Consider the case of Kelloggs. All Bran Cereal became a drug when they published the findings of the National Cancer Institute on the box. Hence, when a disease claim is made for a food, it becomes a drug. This is why herb companies are unable to publish legitimate research on herbs. Herb salespeople are not deceiving the public by promoting herbs as foods. They are simply complying with the current FDA law which classifies them as foods and forbids companies to claim them as anything else. 11 Daniel B. Mowrey, The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine (Cormorant Books, 1986) pg vi. 12 Dr. Halfdan Mahler, "The Staff of Aesculapius" (a mission statement of the World Health Organization in possession of the author). 13 From a private conversation with Dr. Bruce Halstead in 1988. 14 It would still be worth investigating the possibility that some of these herbs might be less toxic and hazardous in their whole form than in their current form as purified drugs. For an excellent discussion on this problem using the difference between foxglove herb and pure digitalis as an example, see Weil, Health and Healing, pp. 99-106. 15 Edward E. Shook, Advanced Treatise in Herbology (Beaumont, CA: Trinity Center Press, 1978), p. 25. 16 Statement of Dr. Micheal Lesser, Psychiatrist, Diet Related to Killer Diseases, V: Nutrition and Mental Health, Hearing Before the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs of the United States Senate, June 22,1977, p. 18. 17 The government has been partially responsible for this misinformation. In an article entitled "Herbs are Often More Toxic than Magical" the FDA claimed there had been numerous cases of poisoning by herb teas. When the Herb Trade Association pressed them for documentation on this point they never produced a single case of anyone being poisoned by a commercial herb tea. The only problems on file were a few allergic reactions. (Maybe we better tell people strawberries are dangerous). This was reported in the November 1984 issue of HerbalGram. 18 Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 13: 276 19 In conversation with the author, Dr. Bruce Halstead, M.D. he stated that there is no longer any need to prove that herbs and nutrition work. On the contrary, he says it has already been proven that they do work. Dr. Halstead reviews medical journals from all over the world and has contacts with researchers in Russia, China, Europe and so forth. Although the research is there, he says it will take about 20 years for it to filter down into actual practice in orthodox medicine. 20 Journal of Discourses 14: 108 & 109 21 "President Kimball Speaks Out on Administration to the Sick," New Era, October 1981, p. 50. 22 For some reliable information on herbs you may wish to consult any of the following sources: The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine by Daniel Mowrey, Next Generation Herbal Medicine by Daniel Mowrey, Planetary Herbology by Michael Teirra, The New Holistic Herbal, David Hoffman; Nutritional Herbology, Mark Pederson; Magic and Medicine of Plants, Reader's Digest Books; The Illustrated Herb Encyclopedia, Kathi Keville; and HerbalGrama quarterly publication of the Herb Trade Association.

|| Walton's Home Page || Walton Self Reliance Home || Health Is A Blessing Home