Looking for answers in the natural world.

Chris writes: I am looking for some herbal suggestions for my health. I feel like I’m in a hurry and yet I’m not motivated to do anything, including work or enjoying socializing with friends and family. As a boy I had athletic asthma but 30 years ago COPD wasn’t well known in my opinion. I don’t know which I have but my breathing is getting worse.

Thanks for writing in Chris. So, herbalists are not doctors and we do not prescribe nor do we diagnose. We only make suggestions (as you’ve asked for).

Here are my suggestions:

Write down the issues you are experiencing so that you have a clear idea of what they are, for yourself and for whatever type of practitioner you see.Keep a food/mood and sleep diary. You are your best detective when it comes to your health, so write down what you’ve eaten along with any reactions (mood, gastro-intestinal, etc.), along with your sleep record. This will be asked for by your herbalist, so start now so you that will have more information at hand.Understand your surroundings. Are you in an area with a lot of agricultural or chemical pollution? Are you using products that may not be safe to breathe? Take a history of your environment to see if there are any connections between how you feel and your environment.Self reflection. Take the time to write down how you are feeling and then ask yourself why you are feeling a certain way. This will help to get you in touch with your conscious as well as subconscious thoughts.Get a complete lab work up: metabolic, hormonal and blood panel. Our body is an amazing system, but can get out of balance due to a myriad of issues (environmental, food, work, social stressors to name a few). Getting an analysis of where you stand on a functional basis will help you and your doctor/herbalist/health coach, better understand your needs.

Herbal recommendations. In the meantime, why not consider an herbal tea that can both nourish the body as well as give you a greater sense of well-being. Some wonderful herbs to consider are:

Organic holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum)

Organic ashwaganda root (Withania somnifera)

Organic oat tops (or oat straw, milky oats) (Avena sativa)

Organic lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

Organic passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Organic American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

Organic California poppy flowers (Eschscholzia californica)

Good luck! Jayne

Staff writer, editor and lecturer, Jayne Tamburello, is the founder of Invibe Herbal (www.invibeherbal.com), a company dedicated to creating organic tea blends to meet your needs. Jayne is a licensed nutritionist (LDN) and certified nutritionist (CNS) practicing in the states of Delaware and Pennslyvania. She holds an MS in Herbal Medicine from Maryland University of Integrative Health and is a registered herbalist (RH) with the American Herbalist Guild (AHG).