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One of the goals of my work is to find ways to educate people about health in really basic, intuitive ways that they’ll never forget. When I’m teaching about how we’re affected by the stuff we put into our bodies, I like to go over what I call the Foods-Herbs-Drugs Spectrum (or the Foods-Supplements-Drugs Spectrum). My own understanding of foods and drugs has been greatly informed by my background as an herbalist. I feel that traditional systems of herbal medicine offer a valuable perspective on the continuum between foods and medicines.
Sophisticated systems of herbal medicine (Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine in particular) define herbs not just by the medicinal actions they possess – such as diuretic or sedative – but on their nature or energetics. Herbs can be understood based on where they fall on multiple spectrums, such as temperature, moisture, and trajectory. It’s what makes herbs much more than just weak natural substitutes for drugs.
For instance, on the temperature spectrum, an herb can be warming, meaning it literally raises body temperature or otherwise tends to do things like speed up function or metabolism, enhance circulation, or induce sweating. Ginger, chili peppers, wasabi and many other plants have this quality, and people usually have an easy time perceiving it. Then there are cooling herbs, which may do things like reduce fever, clear infections, calm irritation, and suppress inflammation. An herb’s “energetic temperature” can range anywhere from very cold to neutral to very hot.
On the moisture spectrum, there are drying herbs which can be useful for things like eliminating phlegm or reducing edema from the legs. Then there are moistening herbs which are employed for lubricating and soothing dry and irritated membranes, or for hydrating the skin, muscles, hair, and other tissues. There are numerous other characteristics to consider – clearing versus fortifying, calming versus stimulating, and so on – all of which make each herb a complex medicine.
When herbs don’t work or cause negative effects, it’s usually because consumers don’t really understand them. Most laypeople choose herbs based on common symptoms they’re known to treat, but without comprehending the energetics of the herbs or the state of their own body/mind – which may not be compatible. A person with “hot” disorders (acne or other red rashes, irritability, high blood pressure, etc.) probably will not do well with hot herbs. An anxious person probably should avoid stimulating herbs. Otherwise, negative effects, or “side effects” are likely to result.
Foods and drugs can be understood as possessing all of these same properties and risks, except that foods are all relatively close to neutral on any given spectrum, and drugs range much farther to the extremes. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other dietary supplements fall mostly within the same range as herbs.
In the diagram above, the left end of the spectrum pertains to substances that are neutral in all characteristics. They have almost no potential for harm, but also almost no potential to fix an imbalance, because they don’t cause much change, and/or the change the cause happens slowly. Rice would be pretty close to the left end of the spectrum.
At the right end of the spectrum are substances that have one or more extreme characteristics. They quickly and drastically change the human body, so they have a high potential to correct an imbalance, but they are so intense in their action that they are inevitably destructive at the same time. A good example would be chemotherapy drugs, many of which work by destroying all cells that are in the process of dividing. This means any tissues that grow or reproduce quickly – from tumors to hair to the lining of the digestive tract – will be affected.
As we move away from the blue (left) end of the spectrum, there is greater potential for both disruption and the correction of imbalance. An important deciding factor is the terrain the substance is introduced to – i.e., your body/mind. As the expression goes, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”
The green bar indicates that foods range from completely benign to potentially mildly disruptive or medicinal. (Of course, this doesn’t count food allergies, which could make any food severely “poisonous.”) The yellow bar indicates that herbs and supplements have a very broad range. They can be almost completely neutral or intensely disruptive/medicinal, in some cases approaching the most powerful drugs. Most are somewhere in the middle. The red bar indicates the range of drugs, which go from the fairly benign (TUMS, for instance – which are almost safe enough to hand out on Halloween) to the blatantly poisonous.
Although substances to the left are limited when there is a need to produce a quick and significant change (such as breaking up a clot that has caused a stroke), they are ideal when the goal is to improve or maintain general health or when a problem doesn’t need to be corrected within minutes. If we utilize foods, herbs, and supplements wisely, they can help us avoid getting to a place of such severe imbalance that drugs are our only option (at which point, they may not be able to adequately correct the situation anyway).
Next time I’ll explain more about how foods, herbs, and drugs work, and how to build an understanding of when to best utilize each. Meanwhile, there’s no time like the present to begin paying more attention to how the various things you consume affect you.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => The Foods - Herbs - Drugs Spectrum, Part One
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When I was quite young, my family experienced a “health revolution.” As my mother learned more about holistic health and how to take care of her body naturally, she began to change the way our family ate. We had always been an active family, so it seemed that diet was the missing component for us.As I look back, I can see how huge of a gift my mother gave us. In the 80s and 90s, Handi Snacks’ “Crackers and Cheez” were all the lunchbox rage, and I had apples and pears instead. She also taught me the value of valuing myself and taking care of myself.
My mother is one of the hardest workers I know. My father became seriously ill, leaving mom to be the sole provider for our family. She brought home the bacon (figuratively), but also provided for her family emotionally as well. I still remember watching her deal with the stress of owning her own business, juggling sports practice and doctors appointments and being in awe that one woman could do so much. I also remember her making a point of taking the time to get her nails done. It seemed like such an insignificant thing to do, and I think that sometimes she felt guilty spending that time and money on herself, but she needed it. It was a small way to help her relax and feel good about herself.
After college, I started a career in interior design. I loved what I did and how it allowed me to utilize the creative part of my brain, but my heart wasn’t in it. After a short stint in Europe, I started over and began a new career in retail management. I loved helping people feel good about themselves and choose beautiful clothing, but I wasn't quite there yet.
Now, I feel so honored to be a part of The Dragontree where I get to help facilitate healing, rest, and renewed energy for others in my community of Boulder. I enable others to feel good about their bodies, relax, and love themselves and others more. It is surreal sometimes that I get paid to do this. I am so thankful for the journey that has lead me here. I am grateful to have a mother who taught me the foundation of healthy living and how to take care of myself. I am thankful to have worked with so many creative colleagues (and clients!) and impact their lives in a positive way. I can see how there were so many different events that happened in my life to prepare me for the role I play today.
I am so excited to help make Boulder a more peaceful place through The Dragontree Spa. I could not be more blessed to work with such an amazing, talented, caring staff and am ecstatic to see what the future holds!
Editors note: The Boulder Weekly is doing Best of Boulder! We would so appreciate it if you could take the time to
vote for The Dragontree for best: massage, acupuncture, skin care, day spa and bath and body shop. Thank you! thank you! Thank you!
Vote here:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1514815/Best-of-Boulder-Survey-2014
[post_title] => Meet Charity, our Boulder Spa Director
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[post_content] => When Briana and I decided to leave Oregon, I had lived in Portland for 15 years and she’d been there for 12. As we prepared for our move to Boulder, Colorado – where we knew no one – Briana was concerned that we’d have a hard time making friends. I assured her it would be a breeze. Maybe I was a little overconfident.
Until then, I’d never had to put much work into establishing a friendship; they just happened. I hadn’t considered that during my tenure as an Oregonian I spent seven years in grad school, I held several jobs, and I lived with many housemates – situations that caused me to be around the same people day in and day out, which made connections easy.
We found it more challenging to get a friendship started through “single exposure” events. When you’re limited to short, infrequent meetings – like a dinner party or an event at your kid’s school – there’s a greater dependency on “chemistry.” We noticed that even after hanging out with people who were friendly and cool, if we didn’t feel a spark of connection, there wouldn’t be a strong drive to keep the ball rolling. Also, if the connection process started but lacked timely follow-through, it could sometimes get a little weird, as if there were a question hanging there: “Why didn’t we take this deeper? (Was it Murray’s gas?)”
Eventually we found a tribe of dear souls who feel like family, but along the way, it became clear that chemistry isn’t everything. Sometimes it’s not there at the outset – it doesn’t develop until you “learn” each other and discover how to harmonize together. Other times, the chemistry never really happens, yet the connection can still be fruitful. For instance, while we might not share meals together, I know I can count on my neighbors to keep an eye on my house or feed my pets – and I’d happily do the same for them.
Through this process, we felt moved to learn more about community building. We recognized the value in having multiple circles that served different functions. And we saw just how much the people can make the place. Until we made connections, we weren’t sure we wanted to stay; once we found our people, we could easily see ourselves living out our lives here.
We go into this (and much more) in our book, The Well Life. Here’s an excerpt of some guiding questions we came up with to help people build community consciously. Feel free to share your insights in the comments section below.
- Describe the kind of community that would make you feel excited to participate.
- If you could shape your community, what values would it have? Some ideas: mutual respect, creative expression, healthy living, education, helping, active participation, safety, tolerance of differences, honesty, integrity, fun, equality, inclusiveness, etc.
- Write down the names of five people you value having in your life (they don’t need to be local).
- What skills and gifts could you share with your community?
- What sorts of people would you like to invite into your community to make it more diverse?
- What forums can you utilize to make these connections? While the internet can sometimes promote physical disconnection, it also provides lots of tools (evite, Facebook events, Meetup, etc.) for organizing real-life get-togethers.
I encourage you to get a piece of paper (or use your journal) and write freely on these questions, even if you already have a healthy community.
Wishing you an environment that supports you to be your best,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Six Questions for Connection
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One of the goals of my work is to find ways to educate people about health in really basic, intuitive ways that they’ll never forget. When I’m teaching about how we’re affected by the stuff we put into our bodies, I like to go over what I call the Foods-Herbs-Drugs Spectrum (or the Foods-Supplements-Drugs Spectrum). My own understanding of foods and drugs has been greatly informed by my background as an herbalist. I feel that traditional systems of herbal medicine offer a valuable perspective on the continuum between foods and medicines.
Sophisticated systems of herbal medicine (Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine in particular) define herbs not just by the medicinal actions they possess – such as diuretic or sedative – but on their nature or energetics. Herbs can be understood based on where they fall on multiple spectrums, such as temperature, moisture, and trajectory. It’s what makes herbs much more than just weak natural substitutes for drugs.
For instance, on the temperature spectrum, an herb can be warming, meaning it literally raises body temperature or otherwise tends to do things like speed up function or metabolism, enhance circulation, or induce sweating. Ginger, chili peppers, wasabi and many other plants have this quality, and people usually have an easy time perceiving it. Then there are cooling herbs, which may do things like reduce fever, clear infections, calm irritation, and suppress inflammation. An herb’s “energetic temperature” can range anywhere from very cold to neutral to very hot.
On the moisture spectrum, there are drying herbs which can be useful for things like eliminating phlegm or reducing edema from the legs. Then there are moistening herbs which are employed for lubricating and soothing dry and irritated membranes, or for hydrating the skin, muscles, hair, and other tissues. There are numerous other characteristics to consider – clearing versus fortifying, calming versus stimulating, and so on – all of which make each herb a complex medicine.
When herbs don’t work or cause negative effects, it’s usually because consumers don’t really understand them. Most laypeople choose herbs based on common symptoms they’re known to treat, but without comprehending the energetics of the herbs or the state of their own body/mind – which may not be compatible. A person with “hot” disorders (acne or other red rashes, irritability, high blood pressure, etc.) probably will not do well with hot herbs. An anxious person probably should avoid stimulating herbs. Otherwise, negative effects, or “side effects” are likely to result.
Foods and drugs can be understood as possessing all of these same properties and risks, except that foods are all relatively close to neutral on any given spectrum, and drugs range much farther to the extremes. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other dietary supplements fall mostly within the same range as herbs.
In the diagram above, the left end of the spectrum pertains to substances that are neutral in all characteristics. They have almost no potential for harm, but also almost no potential to fix an imbalance, because they don’t cause much change, and/or the change the cause happens slowly. Rice would be pretty close to the left end of the spectrum.
At the right end of the spectrum are substances that have one or more extreme characteristics. They quickly and drastically change the human body, so they have a high potential to correct an imbalance, but they are so intense in their action that they are inevitably destructive at the same time. A good example would be chemotherapy drugs, many of which work by destroying all cells that are in the process of dividing. This means any tissues that grow or reproduce quickly – from tumors to hair to the lining of the digestive tract – will be affected.
As we move away from the blue (left) end of the spectrum, there is greater potential for both disruption and the correction of imbalance. An important deciding factor is the terrain the substance is introduced to – i.e., your body/mind. As the expression goes, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”
The green bar indicates that foods range from completely benign to potentially mildly disruptive or medicinal. (Of course, this doesn’t count food allergies, which could make any food severely “poisonous.”) The yellow bar indicates that herbs and supplements have a very broad range. They can be almost completely neutral or intensely disruptive/medicinal, in some cases approaching the most powerful drugs. Most are somewhere in the middle. The red bar indicates the range of drugs, which go from the fairly benign (TUMS, for instance – which are almost safe enough to hand out on Halloween) to the blatantly poisonous.
Although substances to the left are limited when there is a need to produce a quick and significant change (such as breaking up a clot that has caused a stroke), they are ideal when the goal is to improve or maintain general health or when a problem doesn’t need to be corrected within minutes. If we utilize foods, herbs, and supplements wisely, they can help us avoid getting to a place of such severe imbalance that drugs are our only option (at which point, they may not be able to adequately correct the situation anyway).
Next time I’ll explain more about how foods, herbs, and drugs work, and how to build an understanding of when to best utilize each. Meanwhile, there’s no time like the present to begin paying more attention to how the various things you consume affect you.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
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Thanks for the podcast. Insightful as always. I wonder if you could tell us about the picture behind you of the anatomical heart with a flower on it. It’s quite beautiful and strikes me as deeply significant.
Hi Scott,
It’s an original art piece that found us in Mexico. We love it so much. Thanks for noticing.
Love,
B