Why do we use whole plant ingredients?
The question of whether to use whole plant or chemical and synthetic options is really a question of whether to use what comes from nature or to use what is synthesized and manmade. When I was recovering from surgery, I realized how hard it was for my ailing body to process anything unnatural or heavily-processed. I developed a rule for myself that I now teach to patients, students, and anyone that will listen: I don’t put anything in, or on my body that I cannot pronounce.
This personal rule changed my life. I began reading everything in a completely different light. My trips to organic grocers would become longer with each new ingredient I was researching. Gone were my days of purchasing products based on appealing colors or logos, arrived were my days of immediately turning products over to read what was inside rather than paying attention to the front of flashy boxes, bottles or jars.
If a product contained more than five ingredients, I had to wonder why? Seeking whole plant ingredients became part of my increasingly green lifestyle. I enrolled in Herbalism classes to try and better understand what herbs could possibly work directly with cannabis to provide the most therapeutic effects possible. There were so many plants that I began learning about and I wanted to use the actual plant matter, not just the essential oils of a plant. I wanted to extract the plant myself.
I started my whole plant journey at a local apothecary through trial and error in small craft batches that eventually took over the space in my cabinets. So, why do companies with mass produced and synthetic ingredients exist if plants are so readily available? Well, because it’s cheap and convenient and a total misconception that a compound is a compound after enough refinement, regardless of its source. Once an ingredient is that refined it is no longer in its natural form.
Herbs and plants are naturally made up of the same vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, hormones, enzymes and oxygen that human beings are comprised of. This is why we benefit from consuming whole plant diets and using them topically for skin care without the harmful side effects of processed offerings.
A perfect example is Chamomile, found in all of our products. Chamomile is very high in anti-oxidizing capabilities, and, when combined with its anti-inflammatory properties, can help relieve skin irritations such as eczema and rosacea. Using the dried organic flowers and utilizing their whole plant properties in their purest form is the easiest way for the skin to absorb and process them. The natural polyphenols and phytochemicals in chamomile have potential to speed up the healing process of scars and minimize wrinkles and breakouts. The polyphenols work mainly to eliminate free radicals that cause premature aging.
Each herb that goes into a Primal Healing recipe has been researched and hand-tested for efficacy and has been sourced from its whole plant form. Every herb is certified organic ensuring that only the purest form of plant medicine can go into our products. The carrier oils we use are not only organic, but also unrefined and cold-pressed, making sure that the naturally-occurring nutrients and antioxidants are still present. The essential oils we use to create our signature scents are certified organic and made using organic whole plant matter. Our customers and patients of cannabis massage treatments at Primal Therapeutics tell us all the time that they can feel the difference. We’ll continue utilizing only the highest quality ingredients and making every hand crafted batch with love, and I hope you will feel the difference, too.