WHAT IS A SIMPLE?
A “simple” is one herb used at a time. A “simpler” is an herbalist who generally uses herbs one at a time, rather than in combinations.
WHY USE SIMPLES?
Most herbalists I have met – whether from China or Japan, Eastern or Western Europe, Australia or North America – use herbs in combinations. Simplers, like myself, don’t. Why?
Because I believe that herbal medicine is people’s medicine, I seek to make herbal medicine simple: as simple as one herb at a time. Because people worry about interactions between the drugs they take and herbs, I keep it simple: with simples, interactions are simple to observe, and simpler to avoid. Because empowerment in healthcare is difficult, I want to offer others easy, safe herbal remedies: and what could be easier, or safer, than a simple?
SIMPLES MAKE ME THINK
When I was just getting started with herbs, one thing that confounded me was the many choices I had when I began to match symptoms to the herbs that relieved them. If someone had a cough should I use garden sage or wild cherry bark or pine...