Herbs just what are they? · Herbalism with Lori

Herbs just what are they?

So… what are herbs, really?

Before supplements, before pharmacies, before anyone decided to put everything in plastic bottles with warning labels longer than the Bible, there were herbs.

And by herbs, I mean plants people noticed worked.

That’s it. That’s the origin story.

No lab coats. No marketing team. Just humans hurting, hungry, sick, tired, or annoyed, looking around and thinking, “Well… this leaf didn’t kill me yesterday.”

Early humans didn’t have Google. They had trial, error, observation, and a lot of “don’t eat that again” moments. Over thousands of years, they figured out which plants eased pain, helped digestion, calmed nerves, healed wounds, or kept food from rotting long enough to eat tomorrow.

Herbalism wasn’t a hobby.

It was survival.

Every culture on Earth developed herbal knowledge. Not because it was trendy, but because plants were the medicine cabinet. Grandmothers knew things. Healers knew things. Farmers knew things. And that knowledge was passed down by memory, story, and watching what worked.

Then fast forward a few thousand years and suddenly herbs got labeled as:

“Old-fashioned”

“Folk remedies”

“Alternative”

Which is funny, because modern medicine literally comes from plants. Aspirin came from willow bark. Digitalis from foxglove. Morphine from poppy. Science didn’t replace herbs. It isolated them, concentrated them, and put them in capsules.

Herbs didn’t disappear. They just got quieter.

And here’s the part people forget: herbs were never meant to be magical cure-alls or miracle fixes. They were tools. Support. Helpers. Sometimes gentle, sometimes strong, sometimes not right for everyone.

That’s what I’m here to talk about.

Not fantasy herbalism.

Not fear-based herbalism.

Not “this plant will fix your entire life” herbalism.

Just honest plant knowledge, where it came from, how people actually use it, and when to respect it instead of romanticizing it.

Plants have been taking care of humans long before humans decided they knew better.

We’re just remembering how to listen again.

— Lori

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