Herbalism “Remedy”: Episodes 4-6 review
Hi and welcome to the second part of this series on "Remedy"!
I'm covering episodes 4-6 in this post, with no. 5 covered more in depth towards the end. So let's begin!
In the fourth episode, the audience is introduced to two main contributors to illness and disease: stress and anxiety. They emphasize the importance of preventative care - namely, long-term use of herbs such as ashwagandha instead of popping a pill for instant relief. Even something seemingly simple and harmless, like ibuprofen, has been shown to cause serious damage to the body when used constantly.
These examples weave perfectly into the overall message of the series thus far: it’s not that modern allopathic medicine is wrong, it’s just not the whole picture.
The next two episodes follow that same thinking. Once again, the most important factor in maintaining good mental function and clarity as well as preventing disease lies in nutrition.
What is good for the heart is good for the mind, since the mind is rooted in the heart - episode 6 dives deeper into this concept. The experts go over their own clinical and personal experiences with heart health and depression, but are also responsible enough to emphasize that there is no “magic bullet”: there’s a lot of work to be done. Some successful herbs include hawthorn berries, garlic, saffron, and St. John’s Wort.
Now, episode 5 delves into a hot-button issue: chronic Lyme disease. Some don’t believe it exists at all, while some claim the exact opposite - it’s already at an epidemic level. As I’ve looked into several arguments surrounding this topic, I’ve been led to conclude that something is happening to these patients, but we don’t have conclusive evidence either way.
A lot of the critical conversation pieces were highly condescending towards what is frequently referred to as the “woo-woo” crowd - the critics of these supposed “woo-woos” reminded me of a certain kind of person who…how shall it politely…is very fond of themselves. Kinda like the dude on Facebook who has to correct everyone’s grammar and uses that as an excuse not to take people’s arguments seriously. You know the guy. Of course, scientific evidence is extremely valuable and should not be dismissed, but let’s also not forget that Galileo was once considered woo-woo himself.
And just because the FDA or CDC or some regulatory agency says something is or isn’t a thing doesn’t make their opinion gospel: smoking used to be advertised as good for you.
Polizzi does his part in reminding the audience that they should always seek a professional and making it clear that this issue isn’t cut and dry. Rather, he continues to allow each interviewee to present their particular opinion, experience, and perspective. With so much content today that treats opinion as fact, it’s a refreshing change.
Stay tuned for my review of the last three episodes!
