06/25/2026
As a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I feel this! From the A.I. to the influencers, the holistic health space has become like the wild west....just like everything else.
Herbalism is dangerous, but it's not what you think.
It's not the herbs; it's misinformation presented to you as expertise.
Plants have been used for thousands of years. They are part of God's creation and, when used with wisdom and respect, they can be incredible allies for wellness. But the internet has created a world where information is abundant, and experience is optional.
I see videos telling people to take this herb or that herb because it "worked for someone." AI is now being used to write books, while Social media is filled with quick lists of "the best herbs for..."
There are also posts where people make recommendations without asking a single question about the person seeking herbal help.
Some very important questions to ask before suggesting or taking herbs are:
What medications are they taking?
Are they pregnant?
Do they have high blood pressure?
An autoimmune condition?
Liver disease?
A bleeding disorder?
The right herb for one person can be the wrong herb for another.
One of the best lessons I've learned over more than a decade in herbal practice is that herbalism isn't just about knowing plants and all their actions. It's about people. It’s about learning their physiology, their lifestyle, or their terrain. Two people can walk in with the same imbalance and leave with completely different recommendations because we are created as individuals and have unique needs in different seasons.
When there is a reaction to an herb, or it doesn’t work, the herb wasn't wrong; the recommendation was.
I have spent countless hours studying, growing, harvesting, tasting, making, and working with plants. At Synergy Herbal Works, we see people every day and watch what has a good response and what doesn't. That kind of wisdom can't be downloaded from the internet or generated by AI. It is earned one client, one season, one harvest, and one conversation at a time.
Information is everywhere. The question becomes, is this information lived or just repeated? So, before you take advice from a 30-second video, a stranger online, or a book written by someone you've never heard of, ask yourself if the information is coming from a depth of wisdom or a database of knowledge.
I'll step off the soapbox for a minute. I've been a little hot over what I am seeing on social media lately.
What other topics would you like to see? The picture is of Stinging Nettle. more later
