An Introduction to Herbalism – Using Natural Plants to Become Less Reliant On Doctors

Many people, even in the preparedness community, are confused about what a prepper or modern survivalist really is.

We could go on all day debating the likelihood of a SHTF disaster, what the government is or isn’t doing or even the flat out end of the world as we know it, but in reality, being a prepper has nothing to do with any of these things at all.

Being a prepper simply means that you are striving to be less reliant on outside systems of support…That’s it.

These systems of support include things like public utilities, grocery stores and yes, even your employer. These systems are things that are out of your control. Utilities can fail. Grocery stores operate on about 3 days’ worth of food and can get wiped out during a disaster. Even your employer (unless you’re self-employed) is a system of support. You rely on your employer for a paycheck. If they up and closed tomorrow, you’d be out of a job, without a paycheck, and it’s likely you’d have no say or control over any of it.

Being a prepper simply means that you’re uncomfortable letting someone or something dictate the important decisions and situations in your life… And you’ve simply decided to take back that control.

Risk management.

Hedging your bets.

Not putting all your eggs in one basket.

In short… it’s called being SMART.

Many of us use some form of alternative energy to be less dependent on grid power. We store food to protect us from shortages and to prepare for disaster situations. We train to defend ourselves to ensure that we don’t have to rely on outside systems of support to keep our families safe.

Modern medicine is probably one of the most persistent systems of support that we have today. Most of us aren’t planning on enrolling in medical school any time soon and it’s not like we can write our own prescriptions when we get sick. Pharmacists and police officers tend to frown on that!

So how exactly do we become more self-reliant when it seems we’re stuck with all the hoops of our modern medical system? Are we doomed to be completely reliant on doctor’s visits, co-pays and prescriptions?

That’s a hard question to answer. On one end, barring some kind of cataclysmic event, modern medicine is here to stay. If I break my leg, PLEASE take me to a doctor. On the other hand, do we really need to be going to the doctor and paying ridiculous amounts of money for prescriptions and co-payments month in and month out?

Half of the time when someone in my family goes to the doctor, they don’t really do a whole lot besides tell us to get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids blah blah blah.

May favorite line from the doctor’s office:

“It’s viral…there’s nothing we can do.” ….as the receptionist runs my debit card for the copay.

Herbalism was the first line of defense against pretty much every sickness for thousands of years. Even today over 25% of all modern pharmaceuticals are made from medicinal plants. The World Health Organization has even said that in some areas of the world that as much as 80% of the population still relies solely on herbs and other medicinal plants for their primary medical care.

There’s a reason why modern medicine has evolved from the days of apothecaries and witch doctors. Advancements in medical technologies have allowed us the ability to treat conditions and maladies that were guaranteed death sentences 100 years ago.

That being said, as a society we have become far too complacent with modern medicine. We are taking prescriptions that we don’t need, paying billions of dollars every year for unnecessary medical treatments; and worst of all, the practice of herbalism, the practice that kept our ancestors alive for thousands of years before modern medicines has been resigned to nothing more than a quaint history lesson with little to no place in the lives of most people today.

As preppers, I think it’s time that we change that…. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE