One of our first-year students on our herbal medicine course in the UK recently asked a great question - can the tastes of herbs give us an indication of how much we need? We work a lot with the tastes of herbs on our herbal medicine course in the UK, so it was a brilliant question to explore. Here’s a snapshot of our discussion.
How to Work with Herbs that Have a Really Strong Taste
The herbs that have a really strong or intense taste - whichever taste they have (e.g. extremely bitter, extremely sweet, extremely mucilaginous) - are usually only needed in small amounts and/or for a shorter period of time. That intensity of taste is the signal to us to pay attention to how much we work with and for how long.
For example, liquorice. Love it or hate it, nearly everyone will agree liquorice has a very strong taste. You only need a little bit because the taste is really intense - it’s very sweet. Liquorice in small amounts can help alleviate nausea. However, liquorice in large amounts is emetic and will make you vomit. So we have that clue from the first moment it hits our tongue as we’re getting to know it that this is a plant we likely won’t need excessive amounts of. What’s more, some people will have a small amount of liquorice and feel nauseous from it, which leads to the next point we discussed.
Why the Intensity of a Herb’s Taste May Change For You Over Time
Our bodies are constantly communicating with us. They let us know where they need support, where something is out of balance and what they need. Sometimes, you’ll have a real craving for a particular herb. It tastes great to you at the time. You want lots of it. You can’t get enough of it. And then one day, you make that amazing tea and it just doesn’t have the same oomph. It might even taste unpalatable. Suddenly, a herb that was mildly bitter is now extremely bitter. Or a herb that was nice and sweet now tastes sickly sweet. This is your body letting you know it’s had enough. The need has been met, the body is satiated and it’s time to take a break or move on to another herb or blend.
Sometimes you’ll taste a herb and it’s completely revolting to you. Now, there’s a difference here between something that’s pushing you out of your comfort zone and something your body genuinely doesn’t want. That’s something you need to check with your intuition or gut feeling. Don’t avoid something because it’s not tasty, but don’t force yourself to have something if it’s completely putting you off. These are all messages our body is sending us to help us meet our needs.
Your Body and the Plants Are Always in Communication - Insights from a Herbal Medicine Course in the UK
The brilliant thing is your body and the plants are always in communication with each other. We can then pick up on that conversation, listen and interpret, then gauge and adjust the herbs in our remedy, the proportions or how much of the remedy we’re taking. It’s when people are used to either rejecting something because they don’t like the taste of it or forcing it down because they heard somewhere it was ‘good’ for them - meanwhile the body is screaming at them to please stop!
Our students on our herbal medicine course in the UK are developing the skill to listen to their bodies and understanding how to adjust the strength of the remedy and the herbs they work with, knowing when something is too harsh on that body at that point in time. And that’s the difference between listening to your body, understanding what it’s saying and knowing how to respond (or knowing you need help responding) versus just getting the prescription, do what the doctor says and don’t question it, because the doctor knows best. There’s a huge shift in mindset there.
With herbal medicine, you can tweak and tailor and adjust a remedy. Dilute it, don’t take as much. Dislike the taste, but listen to your body asking for it and continue to work with it. In clinical practice, a remedy is typically adjusted every three months. And that’s not just taking a whole pill versus half a pill. It’s the plants included, the proportions, perhaps the type of remedy. We have all those options in herbal medicine we can work with.
This conversation is just a snapshot of the depth to which we explore the nuances of working with and understanding herbs on our herbal medicine course in the UK. We cover the information in a way that is felt, that illuminates your intuition, that encourages you to tune into the conversation between the plant and yourself. We are not memorising here. We are bringing the deep wisdom within our bodies up to our conscious minds and locking it into our heads, our hearts and our hands.
If you enjoyed this peek into what students on our herbal medicine course in the UK are up to, you’re very welcome to take the next step on your journey building your knowledge, skills and confidence as a home herbalist with us on our intensive herbalism course - Awaken Herbal Wisdom - which spans all four seasons and gets herbalism both deep into your bones and your daily life. Although it is intense, it’s suitable for a wide range of herbalists, including beginners! You can learn more about our herbal medicine course here. Be sure to put your name on the waiting list to see what the current cohorts are up to and get first access to enrolment before it opens.
Whatever your next step is learning herbal medicine, I hope you enjoy the journey!
At Rhodes Roots & Remedies School of Herbal Medicine, our practice of herbalism is rooted in the belief that we must remember, reclaim and relearn our knowledge of our bodies, our autonomy and how to work with plant medicine in order to bring control of our own health back into our families and homes for a sustainable future for ourselves and the planet. Through our intensive herbalism course, we facilitate the development of confident, empowered herbalists, attuned to the messages of their bodies and the natural world. Living the deep wisdom of herbal medicine within themselves, their homes and their communities, they uplift themselves and others, creating a stronger society organically. We do hope you'll join us on your journey!
