Alcohol In Our Medicine - Good, Or Simply Good For Now?

 

As a Clinical Herbalist, this is one of the trickiest, yet most common, topics I have come to study, and question. 

Alcohol. 

As a medicine? 

Used in medicine.

To preserve medicine? (Herbs or otherwise)

As a medicine enhancer? 

Always good for us? 

Or simply good enough. For now anyway. 

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Is alcohol used in medicine, even 'natural' herbal medicine, actually a secretive long-term destroyer? 

Herbalists, philosophers, doctors, medicine men (and women)....they've been using alcohol in the 'treatment' of the body since antiquity. Practically for as long as alcohol has been around.

In my formal studies, in herbalism school, the safety of alcohol in remedies wasn't  something anyone questioned.

Like vaccines in medical school, alcohol as an ingredient in herbal remedies is just what you do. It's just part of the job. In minimal amounts, and compared to the ingestion of what we call 'social drinking', it's kind of just assumed to be 'okay'.

But my question is: how do we know?  

 I don't often share my personal opinions here because I feel it's more important to ask questions rather than impart yet another belief system on others. 

But I will say, as someone who truly believes, and has witnessed, the power of the body to heal itself when the soul inside simply gives up the power and need to control it (maybe with only a little nudge here and there through the use of medicinal topical ointments, ingested food and food-based liquids, herbal teas and decoctions, water, various salt therapies, and the practice of fasting) I no longer use or recommend alcohol in my herbal remedies in order to help the body provoke its own healing powers.

For myself. And for my clients. 

Because while alcohol has been proven time and time again to increase the potency of herbal medicine, as well as to preserve the medicinal constituents of herbs, (through the practice of extraction, resulting in what we call 'herbal tinctures'), alcohol itself has never been proven to be completely non-toxic when ingested on a regular, or even on a consistent temporary basis. Especially when the body is under the influence of a 'healing crisis' (aka: illness).

And because my fundamental beliefs rest on the foundation that all illness stems from some form of toxicity or another, I don't see how adding more toxicity to the situation could truly be of any benefit.

Plus, I'm just not convinced that we need it. Or that the benefits actually outweigh the risks. Assuming there are risks.

The body is a truly miraculous design. And there are plenty of other, proven, safe methods to aid it in getting back on its feet and healing itself up when ill or broken.

Now...

As always...

I could be wrong in my ways.

But it IS worth questioning, I do think.

What do you think?

As always, you have to be your own judge.

Below is your start.

Enjoy the journey.

And happy reading.

1) Medicinal Brandy

2) Influence Of The Alcohol Present In A Phytotherapic Tincture On Male Rat Lipid Profiles And Renal Function

3) No Level Of Alcohol Consumption Is Safe For Our Health

4) All Cause Mortality And The Case For Age Specific Alcohol Consumption Guidelines: Pooled Analyses Of Up To 10 Population Based Cohorts

5) Alcohol Use And Burden For 195 Countries and Territories, 1990–2016: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden of Disease Study 2016