March 3, 2025 • 32 mins
Episode 174 with Herbalist Tasha Rose and talk herbal medicine! We discuss common misconceptions, what herbs may be effective herbs for various ailments, and we also discuss some of the medical literature on natural remedies.
To learn more about Tasha Rose, here is her website:
Tasha's favorite place to buy herbs: Oshala Farm
Here are links to some published medical studies reviewing herbal medicine.
Peppermint and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): "Peppermint oil for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24100754/
The study found that small-intestinal-release peppermint oil significantly reduced abdominal pain, discomfort, and IBS severity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31470006/
Lavender and Anxiety:
"Effects of lavender on anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31655395/
Ginger and Digestive Health:
Ginger Benefits" According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, ginger aids digestion by relieving discomfort from bloating and gas.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ginger-benefits
"Effect of Ginger on Inflammatory Diseases"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9654013/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7019938/
Elderberry Extract Reduces Duration of Cold Symptoms
A study found that those who took elderberry experienced relief about four days earlier than those who took a placebo.
Does Elderberry Really Help with Cold and Flu symptoms This article reviews studies on elderberry & found some studies show significant benefits, others find minimal effects, at reducing cold symptoms
Dr Jessica Hochman is a board certified pediatrician, mom to three children, and she is very passionate about the health and well being of children. Most of her educational videos are targeted towards general pediatric topics and presented in an easy to understand manner.
For more content from Dr Jessica Hochman:
Instagram: @AskDrJessica
YouTube channel: Ask Dr Jessica
Website: www.askdrjessicamd.com
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Do you have a future topic you'd like Dr Jessica Hochman to discuss? Email Dr Jessica Hochman askdrjessicamd@gmail.com.
The information presented in Ask Dr Jessica is for general educational purposes only. She does not diagnose medical conditions or formulate treatment plans for specific individuals. If you have a concern about your child's health, be sure to call your child's health care provider.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Unknown (00:00):
Hi everybody. Welcome back to your child is normal.
(00:02):
Today we're exploring a topicthat sparks a lot of curiosity,
herbal medicine. There's acommon misconception that herbal
remedies just aren't effective,or that they lack scientific
backing. However, there are manyherbs that have real research
backed benefits, even forchildren. To talk about this,
I'm joined by Tasha rose, anexpert in herbal remedies and
natural healing, and in thisepisode, we're going to examine
(00:23):
the more well known herbs, likeelderberry, peppermint, lavender
and chamomile, among others, andwe're going to explore what the
research says about theirbenefits for children. And for
those interested, I've alsolinked relevant studies in the
show notes so you can review theevidence for yourself. Now,
whether you're an herbalmedicine skeptic, an herbal
medicine enthusiast, orsomewhere in between. I really
hope this episode gives abalanced perspective on how
(00:44):
herbs can complementconventional pediatric care and
hopefully add more options toyour child's wellness toolkit.
And lastly, before we getstarted, please consider leaving
a five star review wherever itis you listen to your child is
normal, Your feedback helps usreach more listeners, which
allows this podcast to grow now,let's begin. Tasha rose, thank
you so much for being here. I'mso excited to talk to you. I
(01:07):
love the work that you do, andI'm so excited to share your
work and your story with myaudience. So first, can you tell
everybody a bit about yourbackground and how you became
interested in herbal medicine?
Absolutelythanks for having me, Jessica, I
am happy to be here too andspread my love of plants. I am a
lifelong plant lover. I havebeen really connected to the
(01:29):
plant world since I can remembermy mom had a garden growing up.
I loved playing in it. I canremember the plants and the
flowers in many different homesthat I've lived in around the
country, and I'm also a trainedherbalist. And when I became
pregnant with my first, I justknew that I wanted to bring
(01:50):
herbs to more people. And sothat was when I founded my
company, and I've been on a realjourney since then, with the
plants that just keeps goingdeeper. How
does one become a trainedherbalist? Can you tell me? What
was that process like? Yeah, soI did a two year advanced
apprenticeship. We studied wholedifferent types of plants. The
(02:11):
focus was mostly on Westernherbalism, but we also looked at
herbs in Ayurveda andtraditional Chinese medicine and
and I traveled to Costa Rica aswell to study some of the
tropical plants there. I then,after those two years, mentored
incoming apprentices for thenext two years, and that was
(02:33):
basically all before I had my mykids.
That's amazing. I'm sure youlearned a lot.
I did, for sure, and I'm stilllearning a lot. You know,
there's so many plants that Ifeel like I don't know anything
about and want to get to know,but there's definitely a lot of
plants that are dear friends,that I have worked with a lot.
(02:55):
What I find so interesting aboutherbal medicine is that it's
been used for 1000s of yearswith humans.
Yes, it is. It's the originalmedicine. You know, I mean, even
so many of our modern daypharmaceuticals are derived from
plants, like aspirin comes fromthe bark of a white willow tree.
You know, that's just oneexample. And I'm not like anti
(03:15):
pharmaceuticals, but I really dobelieve that, like nature and
God intended to put all thedifferent plant constituents
together in a plant. And I'm abig proponent of using the whole
plant myself.
It's so interesting.
I mean, I think it's it shouldbe easier to bridge the world of
traditional medicine andhomeopathic or herbal medicine,
(03:37):
and I think we're doing thatmore and more. But I'm excited
to talk to you because there, Ithink a lot of traditional
Western medicine enthusiasts cankind of poo, poo herbal medicine
that it doesn't really work. Andso I wanted to talk with you
about these commonmisconceptions, and maybe bring
to light some of the herbs thatreally had been found to be
effective with kids, just soparents have these tools in
(04:00):
their arsenal, and they can knowwhat to use when, or what to
consider when and where to findquality herbs. So I'm looking
forward to learning from you.
Yeah,I was just gonna say that my
mission is really to empower andeducate moms out there so that
they are feeling prepared whenthe inevitable sniffles or
stresses of life show up.
Because, like I said, they areinevitable, and it's really
(04:23):
vital for kids to get sick. Youknow, each each time they get
sick, their immune system isbecoming more intelligent and
more more understanding of howthe world works and what they
need to do so that they canreally grow into a resilient,
vibrant, healthy adult one day.
I agree with you. I do feel likethe more they're exposed to, the
stronger they get, and also it'shelpful to know how to make them
(04:47):
feel better when they're notfeeling well. So let's talk
about some of these herbs. Andbefore we get to that, before we
talk about some of the herbsthat might help kids with
specific ailments, what are somecommon myths about herbs? That
you wish were demystified. Whatare the most common
misconceptions about herbalmedicine that you find? I
think just speaking kind of ingeneral terms, is that either
(05:09):
they don't work or they're notsafe. I think those are the two
biggest misconceptions.
And yes, and so and so. Fromyour experience, you found that
there are, there are many herbsthat are safe, and there are
many herbs that are effective,absolutely yes. And it is true
though. I mean, everything canhave side effects. So I do want
to put it out there that certainherbs, specifically, if taken
(05:31):
too much or the wrong way, cancause harm. But that's true for
anything out there. It's justreally about being educated for
sure. You know, there's peoplecan be allergic to all different
things, and the same can be saidfor plants. You know, one of my
favorite plants is nettles. It'sa nourishing herb. They're the
safest class of herbs. They'reconsidered food because of their
(05:52):
high vitamin and mineralcontent. And my sister is
allergic to it. You know, likeshe gets itchy if she if she
drinks it. I drank it every dayfor the last 10 years. And like,
am in love with it. And like,talk about it to everybody that
she's allergic to it. So that'snot the plan for her. The common
example in medical school, theyused to talk about a lot when
(06:13):
referring to potential harm fromherbs was licorice roots. They
used to always talk about how ifyou have too much licorice, it
can actually affect your bloodpressure, so I always found that
interesting. Yeah, that'sanother one that I am getting to
know a lot better. We've used ita lot this winter. It's in every
immune supporting tea that Imake for my family the second
(06:36):
like I hear a kid sneezing orsniffling, yes,
and to be clear, in theappropriate small amounts, it is
very, very safe and tastes goodand smells good, especially for
my daughter, licorice is her, isher favorite,
yeah, and like anything, ifyou're using too much of it, too
much of anything, is not a goodthing. Absolutely,
absolutely. And I also say myfeeling with herbs, as long as
(06:59):
it's not found to be harmful. Ifsomebody enjoys it, or they feel
like they're feeling better fromtaking that herb, then I think
it's a good thing, because theplacebo effect is very real,
especially with kids. I findjust the act of giving them
something, doing something forthem makes them feel better. So
in that sense, I am very much afan, even if there's not robust
(07:21):
studies around certain herbs,which we'll get into. What I
would love to do is now gothrough with you some of the
common questions that I get fromparents about whether or not
herbs may be helpful in certainsituations. The first that comes
up a lot is the common cold.
What do you recommend for kidsif they have common cold
symptoms? Youknow the common cold is common,
(07:43):
and there's nothing that's goingto prevent it that I found. But
my favorite thing is elderberry,if taken within the first day or
two of those sniffles orsneezing or scratchy throat
showing up, there is actually alot of literature on elderberry
that shows that it stops theviral replication. You can feel
(08:04):
better up to four days faster,and it has been shown time and
again in my home to work.
Yeah. So the what studies haveshown about elderberry, just to
reinforce what you're saying, isthat it's been shown to not
prevent colds, but it mayshorten the duration. It may
lessen the symptoms if you takeit soon enough.
(08:25):
Yes, yeah, symptoms areoftentimes relieved up to four
days faster, which is, you know,for a kid, and if you're a
parent with a kid home sick,like, if your kid can go back to
school four days faster and befeeling better four days faster.
Like, that's huge. That's,that's a lot of time,
absolutely, absolutely. Is thereanything that parents should be
concerned about with elderberry,for example, is there, is there
(08:47):
a wrong way to take it? Can theytake it too much or improperly?
You know, is there anything thatyou want parents to know about
taking elderberry?
And most of the studies thatwere done is typically on
adults, and it's 15 milliliters,four times a day, and the dosing
on our bottles for children is,you know, weight or age
dependent, and it's less thanthat. So we just say four times
(09:09):
a day through the duration ofsymptoms, typically, that's, you
know, four or five days thatthey're using it and you're
good. I don't recommendpersonally taking it every day.
I know that some people do, butI'm of the belief that
elderberry is an immunestimulant and it's turning on
the immune system, and it's kindof like getting everything ready
(09:30):
and active to fight. I preferadaptogens to really build that
resilience in the body. If youwant to take something on the
daily to really build the immunesystem rather than have it
turned on and ready to go. Now,what
about the formulation of takingelderberry? So for example, if
you see elderberry and you growit, if someone were to grow
(09:50):
elderberry and just pick it offa bush, would that be the right
way to take it? How are youpreparing elderberry in a way
that's helpful for cold? Forcold? Symptoms?
That's a great question. So theelder berries, actually, if you
eat them raw, especially if youeat a lot of them, you are going
to get an upset stomach. Andthey are a mild poison or toxin.
(10:13):
So they always need to be cookedor extracted in water. So we
simmer them down in a decoctionof water, and then they're not
great tasting. They're a littletart, a little bitter. So we add
a local raw honey, and we addapple cider vinegar, and we also
havecloves and ginger in ours as
(10:34):
well. Thankyou for saying that, because I
think that can be confusing forpeople that you don't want to
eat actual elderberries. Youwant to make sure you're eating
it in the form of an extract ora syrup, and that's the safest
way to take it. Yes,yeah, definitely. I had a friend
call me one I'm who hadelderberry bushes in the back of
her yard, and she's like, my sonate the elderberries and his
(10:55):
stomach is hurting. Like, do Ineed to call poison control? I'm
like, he'll probably be fine,but if you want to be on the
safe side, like go to thedoctor. He was fine, but yeah,
your stomach's not going to feelgood. Now,
what about kids that have upsetstomachs? There's quite a few
herbs that have been shown to behelpful for indigestion, for
(11:16):
stomach upset. Do you have anyfavorite go tos, and when do you
recommend them, so for stomach,indigestion, anything like that,
ginger and mint are my twofavorites. They're herbs and
plants that everyone is familiarwith. Think of them as food as
medicine. They both areclassified as carminatives,
(11:40):
which help to relieve gas in thebody. So think burping or
farting is like getting rid ofthat extra gas in the body.
They're both permitted, butpeppermint is more of a cooling
herb, and ginger is more of awarming, warming herb. Think of
it and like that spicy tastethat we all know, and really
(12:01):
it's just what the tastepreference is of your child.
They're both really wonderfulfor supporting any sort of
indigestion. Ginger is also veryanti inflammatory, antiviral,
antibacterial. There's a lot ofactions that it has on the body,
and it's been shown to be safeand effective at supporting kids
(12:25):
if they're having vomiting ornausea as well, too. And then
for peppermint, like I said,it's carbonative. It's nice and
cooling. It also is helpful fornausea and especially morning
sickness for women, and it'sbeen shown to have really
multiple actions that it cansupport the body with. It
(12:48):
relaxes the smooth muscle of theintestines, like the stomach and
the small intestine, and itsupports balancing abdominal
pain. It's also antimicrobialand anti inflammatory. And
another thing that peppermint ishelpful with, and that can
(13:08):
sometimes tie into digestivedistress, is that it really can
support the balancing of ouremotions. And a lot of times,
our emotions can be tied towhat's happening in our
digestionso fascinating, and it makes so
much sense.
I remember very distinctly thefirst book I read where I became
(13:29):
interested in plants asmedicine, and that was as a
teenager, Andrew Weil. I don'tknow if you're familiar with
him, but he's an MD, and he'svery interested in herbal
medicine, and he had a wholesection in his book, this is in
the 1990s about ginger and itsanti inflammatory properties and
how it helps with digestion.
It's so fascinating to me thatwe can, we can meld these
worlds, and we can use somethinglike something that's grown from
(13:52):
the earth, something that reallyhas very few side effects, to
help with very common issueslike indigestion, like
inflammation. So I think aboutthat every time I go to a sushi
restaurant, I make sure tofinish all the all the ginger
next to me, thinking it could behelping me
feel like everything we need toheal is given to us. Yeah, it's
(14:12):
all around us in the world.
Yeah, certainly there's a lot,there's a lot out there that's
that's provided by by nature,absolutely, and peppermint oil,
what's interesting is, I see itused a lot for really common,
often debilitating stomachissues like IBS, where, where
one can experience a lot ofloading abdominal discomfort.
(14:36):
And it's been shown thatpeppermint oil really makes a
difference. And as you pointedout, they think the reason why
it helps is it relaxes thegastrointestinal muscles,
reduces spasms. And so I lovethat that's been found to be
helpful, because they're reallyin my from what I understand,
there are very minimal sideeffects to peppermint oil.
(14:57):
Yeah, yeah. Peppermint iswonderful. Full a nice some of
my favorite ways to use it arejust to make a simple tea. You
know, like a fresh or driedpeppermint tea is lovely,
especially with a little honeyadded. And also you could use
like a peppermint essential oildiluted and just rub it onto the
stomach, or get a peppermintessential oil roller and rub it
(15:18):
onto the abdomen. That's reallynice if you're feeling gassy or
bloated, or just, you know,having some digestive issues
after eating soundslovely. Now, there's another
really common pediatric medicalissue that comes up a lot with
parents where they're wonderingif herbs have a benefit, and
that is infant colic. So whenbabies are born and they're a
(15:38):
couple of weeks old, typically,and they start to cry a lot,
often, two, three hours a day,and parents aren't sure how to
help them most effectively,there have been some herbs that
have been shown to have somebenefit. Can you describe what
some of those herbs may be, andwhat you found in your
experience?
Yeah, the first one that comesto mind is chamomile. Chamomile
(16:00):
has a long history of being aplant with a really gentle and
soothing action on our body andalso our energy, especially the
digestive system and the nervoussystem, and it really just has
this overall calming energy. Andbecause of this, it's one of the
most widely recommended herbs orplants for children and babies.
(16:24):
And even if you look at theplant itself, the leaf and the
stem and the flower, they'revery delicate. And the flower is
these white petals with a yellowcenter, and yellow is the color
that's associated with our solarplexus, which is the area of the
body that governs our digestion.
And so chamomile has beenstudied, and it's been safely
(16:48):
and effectively used for thetreatment of colic and diarrhea
in infant babies. And it's alsobeen studied and shown that when
taken orally, it supports anysort of gastrointestinal
conditions, and you can also useit topically as a vulnerary or a
wound healer,a wound healer, wow, that's so
(17:11):
interesting. That's reallyinteresting. I know myself I
love chamomile tea, so I'm notsure how much it actually is
working, but I know that I feelbetter after having it. Yeah,
and kind of similar to what Imentioned with peppermint, like
chamomile, also we see thisconnection between emotions and
the digestion. Our digestivesystem and chamomile is right
(17:37):
there with peppermint, kind ofbridging that connection between
the two. Fantastic,fantastic. Now, another common
herb that gets a lot ofattention is lavender. You know,
I have to be honest myself, I'ma fan of lavender. I've even
been to the lavender festival inOjai, California, which is
fantastic. If you're interestedin herbs, and you've never been,
you should definitely check itout one year. But tell me about
(17:58):
lavender. Where do you find ahelpful role for health and
lavender? SoI love to use lavender,
like, as aromatherapy. I don'tlike just personally, I don't
love the taste of, like,drinking the tea. I'm not huge
on, like floral teas. It has canbe used as a tea. But typically,
(18:21):
I think when people think oflavender, they're thinking of
the scent in the aroma therapyor the essential oil. There is a
study that looks at usinglavender essential oil like
inhaling it for kids before theywere having a tooth extracted,
you know, and the anxiety thatcomes with having this dental
(18:41):
surgery, and the group thatinhaled the lavender had
significantly lower anxiety andpain scores after the tooth
extraction versus the peoplethat didn't inhale the lavender.
I lovethat. That's so interesting and
so helpful, isn'tthat amazing? And they also
showed significantly lowerlevels of blood pressure and a
(19:02):
significant pulse rate dropafter the inhalation. And the
lavender group and the controlgroup that wasn't using the
lavender had a statisticallysignificant increase in heart
rate after the anesthesia andafter the surgery. So that's
just like, really wild to think.
(19:25):
Because oftentimes we just thinklike, Oh, something smells nice,
but like, really smell has amajor and powerful and potent
effect on our body and thesephysiological processes that are
happening inside our body,yes, and I feel like, as I was
mentioning the beginning, if it,if it doesn't hurt, why not try
it? I know myself. I loveanything that might help assist
with going to sleep, feelingmore relaxed, and especially I
(19:48):
like, I do like the smell oflavender. I grew with you. I
don't really like it in my Idon't care for it in my ice
cream or my teas, but I do likethe smell of it. So why not? Why
not try it? Why not add it intoyour you? Daily routine,
absolutely, yeah, we actuallyjust brought back our deep sleep
spray today in stock, which useslavender and chamomile, two of
(20:10):
the herbs we've talked about,and vetiver root. And just It
smells amazing. It's so good.
Like, if you just spray it overyour pillow before you get in
bed,it's lovely, especially, you
know, I also like recommendingsome lavender for kids that
might have mild anxiety, becauseit just seems so, so simple. So,
you know, potentially effectivefor kids. And so that's just
(20:31):
something to think about forparents out there where they
want to think of a simple trickto try if they want to help
their kids relax. Yeah, Iwill say one thing, if you're
using essential oils, they arevery potent and very strong. So
a tiny bit goes a long way. Ifyou're a parent out there and
you're like, just starting touse essential oils, put one drop
(20:52):
in your hand, mix it with someolive oil, and just rub your
hands together and then let yourchild, like, smell your hands.
It really is that simple, butmake sure you're diluting the
oil, the essential oil, with acarrier oil, and it can be as
simple as olive oil or whateveryou have in the kitchen.
(21:12):
That's a great reminder, a greatrecommendation. Are there any
other herbs that you'd like tomention that may be particularly
helpful for parents in helpingkids with common ailments.
You know, we were just talkingabout anxiety. I feel like that
is that's a thing with so manypeople and children today, we
mentioned chamomile, wementioned lavender, but I have a
(21:34):
few others that I really love.
One is oat straw, one is lemonbalm, and one is Tulsi, and
they're all pretty commonplants. They're not that hard to
find. Lemon balm, I feel like alot of people have heard of.
Again, it's soothing to thenervous system and the digestive
system, but it is also a reallywonderful antiviral and
(21:55):
supportive of the immune andrespiratory system, and it's
gentle. It's in the mint family.
It has like a nice, mild flavor.
Oat straw is a nourishing herb.
It is one of my ultimatefavorites, after nettles. Like I
mentioned before, nourishingherbs are this considered the
(22:17):
safest class of herbs andconsidered food because of their
bio available vitamin andmineral content. Oat straw is
the plant that we get our getour oats from, and it's really
wonderful for the nervoussystem. It's high in B vitamins,
especially, which really justsupport our mood. And the taste
(22:39):
is really mild and sweet. Soit's just, it's not one that,
like kids are going to be putoff of the colors, kind of this
light golden yellow color. It'snot like a weird green or brown
color like, you know, whenyou're making the tea. So that's
a really wonderful one that Ifeel like, you know, there's a
(23:00):
study that shows the nutrientdensity of our food has really
declined in the last halfcentury or so. And one of the
studies is showing that thevitamin and mineral content in
our fruits and vegetables mayhave declined up to 40% so
anything that we can do asparents to really get more
(23:20):
vitamins and minerals into ourkids in a bio available, you
know, food or plant based formis really wonderful, and that's
why I feel like oat straw isjust a great option for that.
And then the last one, Tulsi, isan adaptogen. It's called the
queen of herbs in Ayurveda. Andagain, it's in the mint family.
(23:42):
It's also called holy basil, andit has just a wonderful kind of
fragrant smell and aroma andtaste to it. And works really
wonderfully for the nervoussystem, and kind of gives this
energizing and calming energy,depending on what we need. So
(24:03):
those are, those are some of myfavorites for children and
adults. Greatherbs to think about and to look
into. Thank you. Now forparents, as you mentioned
before, one of the commonconcerns you hear from parents
is they're worried about thesafety. Do you have any advice
for parents that are lookinginto purchasing herbs? How do we
know, or how can we be sure thatthey are high quality and safe
products? That'sa great question. I wouldn't be
(24:24):
purchasing them off Amazon. Thatwouldn't be the place they would
go. I really love this one farmthat's in Oregon called oshala.
They are certified regenerative,organic. They've been tending
the land for over a decade.
There's family farm, and theygrow hundreds of herbs. They
(24:46):
have a pretty wide variety, andtheir quality is just, it's the
best that I've found. It'sreally just, it's Primo.
Everything you get is justfresh. It smells like amazing.
It looks beautiful. The color isbright, and they have a really
great selection. I can send youa link to them if you want to
(25:07):
include in the show notes.
Another really popular one ismountain rose herbs. They're an
online company. They source fromall over the world. I mean, you
can get any herb that you wanton there, and their quality is
good. You know, if I can't findsomething at oshala, I'll
typically be getting it fromMountain rose herbs. There's
(25:32):
also a website that is run bythe NIH. It's the National
Center for Complementary andIntegrative Health. And then
also for people listening, I canput a link in the show notes to
the website, but that's also agreat resource, where they share
a lot of information aboutcomplementary health products.
Okay, nice. There's also a markon products themselves that can
(25:53):
show if they're that, that canshow if they've been third party
tested. That also is something Ithink that's helpful to look out
for. It canbe Yes, though, I will say, as a
small business owner, gettingthird party testing isn't
something that is thatinexpensive, and so not
everybody, not every company, isgoing to have it, and just
because the company doesn't haveit doesn't mean that they're not
(26:15):
doing the right things. I thinkthe best thing to do if you find
a company that you want topurchase from, like, just reach
out to them. Hey, where do yousource your herbs from? Like,
are they organic? Like, what'sthe difference between
regenerative, organic, certifiedand organic? Or, what does it
mean if the herbs aren'torganic? Like, just ask them
questions if you're especiallyif it's a small company, like,
(26:38):
they're going to want to talk toyou.
Thank you for that tidbit,because you're right. It's a
great reminder that for smallbusinesses, it would be
expensive to get third partycertified, and you don't want to
discount those wonderful smallbusinesses. So that's great
advice that you can reach out tothe owner, and you can reach out
to the company and ask themspecifically, ask them
specifically about the herbs.
Yeah.
(27:00):
I mean, we have people, I wouldsay, on the regular, that email
us, asking us about our sourcingor our production process and
things like that. Theother thing I like to remind
parents that can happen withsome herbal remedies is some
have alcohol in them, which Ithink used to be, honestly, a
common recommendation for kidswhen they were teething, they
would put a little alcohol inthe gums. Didn't think much of
(27:21):
it, but now I think we would.
Now we are a lot more cautionarywith kids and their exposure to
alcohol. So I don't know ifthat's something that you come
across, but I do tell parents tojust make sure that it's alcohol
free, that any tincture thatthey buy specifically should be
alcohol free. Yes,I think that there are a lot of
kids lines out there now thatare using glycerin instead of
(27:43):
alcohol for tinctures.
Specifically, you do want tonote that there are some plants
where the active constituentsthat you're trying to extract
might be alcohol extractedbetter, you know, might be
better extracted in water, likeelderberry, for example, or the
(28:04):
anthrocyanist, and can't talkright, the main active compound
in elderberry is extracted bestvia water. And so you don't want
an alcohol based tincture ofelderberry. It's not going to
it's not going to provide whatyou need. And glycerin is a
really nice option for that.
Glycerin has to be mixed withwater, so you are getting that
(28:29):
water extraction. I will say,our two cough syrups that we
have, we add a little bit ofalcohol to them, just for
preservation. And I get peopleemailing me and DMing me on the
regular, why does this havealcohol in it? And I get it's
like, a personal preference. Thethe amount that you're taking
is, you know, you have to lookat that like, Okay, how much am
(28:51):
I giving my kid? What portion ofthis small amount that I'm
dosing them is alcohol and like,it's a personal preference does
what it's providing likeoutweigh what I think might be a
perceived drawback to it. Soagain, it's really just like a
personal thing. But yeah, I'mnot gonna say like, Hey, give
your kid like a shot of a shotof a tincture. You know, no one
(29:13):
should be taking like, astraight alcohol tincture that's
not dropped in water orsomething.
Yes, yes. There's a joke that Iheard from a pediatrician. He
actually was my pediatrician.
He's now, he just turned 80years old, and he told me the
advice that he used to give toparents when kids were teething
is he would say, Okay, your kidis teething, poor. Shot a
(29:34):
whiskey. Now take a little bitand rub, rub the gums of the
child with the whiskey, and thentake the rest of it and finish
it yourself. Take a shot of thewhiskey yourself. Yeah? And he's
like, I would never say thatnow, but that was what we used
that that was, believe it ornot, advice we used to give
families,yeah? I mean, people used to
smoke in hospitals too, right?
(29:54):
Yes,yes. Now I'm just curious for
yourself, as an herbalist,you've been in the business for
many years. You've. How peoplehave responded to certain herbs?
Have you found a favorite one,two or three herbs that you that
now you love to talk about, thatYou love to spread awareness
about, because you've seen howhelpful they are? Yeah,
absolutely.
I would say nettles and oatstraw, nourishing herbs that I
(30:17):
talked about earlier, andelderberry. Those are like,
those are definitely my topthree
amazing now tell us about yourbusiness. I would love to draw
some attention to the smallbusiness that you've grown and
share with us how we can findyour products.
Yeah. So you can find usonline@tasharose.com
(30:38):
we make organic herbalsupplements for kids and adults.
So elderberry syrup, coughsyrups, immune support, all of
that. And we're also onInstagram at tasharose dot
herbalist, so you can find usthere, and you can email us
through our contact page on ourwebsite, I will get back to you
or one of my team members. Andlike I said, like, I love
(31:01):
talking to to parents andhearing their questions and
trying to support them, like Iam always happy to talk plants.
So please feel free to DM me oror email us. No and thank you
for sharing your knowledge. Imean, for myself, I find in the
medical world, a lot of peoplehave this idea that herbs don't
work, as you were talking aboutearlier, and they talk also
(31:22):
about how and this is true. Alot of the studies that have
shown herbs to be beneficial, wehaven't shown them in children,
but I think that honestly, aslong as it's not causing any
harm, why not give it a try. Sothank you so much for this
knowledge, and thank you so muchfor empowering parents to know
what options are out there forthem to try for their kids if
(31:43):
they're not feeling well in thefuture? So thank you.
Happy to talk plans always.
Thanks for having me. Thankyou for listening, and I hope
you enjoyed this week's episodeof your child is normal. Also,
if you could take a moment andleave a five star review,
wherever it is you listen topodcasts, I would greatly
appreciate it. It really makes adifference to help this podcast
grow, you can also follow me onInstagram at ask Dr Jessica, see
you next Monday. You.
Hi everybody. Welcome back to your child is normal.
(00:02):
Today we're exploring a topicthat sparks a lot of curiosity,
herbal medicine. There's acommon misconception that herbal
remedies just aren't effective,or that they lack scientific
backing. However, there are manyherbs that have real research
backed benefits, even forchildren. To talk about this,
I'm joined by Tasha rose, anexpert in herbal remedies and
natural healing, and in thisepisode, we're going to examine
(00:23):
the more well known herbs, likeelderberry, peppermint, lavender
and chamomile, among others, andwe're going to explore what the
research says about theirbenefits for children. And for
those interested, I've alsolinked relevant studies in the
show notes so you can review theevidence for yourself. Now,
whether you're an herbalmedicine skeptic, an herbal
medicine enthusiast, orsomewhere in between. I really
hope this episode gives abalanced perspective on how
(00:44):
herbs can complementconventional pediatric care and
hopefully add more options toyour child's wellness toolkit.
And lastly, before we getstarted, please consider leaving
a five star review wherever itis you listen to your child is
normal, Your feedback helps usreach more listeners, which
allows this podcast to grow now,let's begin. Tasha rose, thank
you so much for being here. I'mso excited to talk to you. I
(01:07):
love the work that you do, andI'm so excited to share your
work and your story with myaudience. So first, can you tell
everybody a bit about yourbackground and how you became
interested in herbal medicine?
Absolutelythanks for having me, Jessica, I
am happy to be here too andspread my love of plants. I am a
lifelong plant lover. I havebeen really connected to the
(01:29):
plant world since I can remembermy mom had a garden growing up.
I loved playing in it. I canremember the plants and the
flowers in many different homesthat I've lived in around the
country, and I'm also a trainedherbalist. And when I became
pregnant with my first, I justknew that I wanted to bring
(01:50):
herbs to more people. And sothat was when I founded my
company, and I've been on a realjourney since then, with the
plants that just keeps goingdeeper. How
does one become a trainedherbalist? Can you tell me? What
was that process like? Yeah, soI did a two year advanced
apprenticeship. We studied wholedifferent types of plants. The
(02:11):
focus was mostly on Westernherbalism, but we also looked at
herbs in Ayurveda andtraditional Chinese medicine and
and I traveled to Costa Rica aswell to study some of the
tropical plants there. I then,after those two years, mentored
incoming apprentices for thenext two years, and that was
(02:33):
basically all before I had my mykids.
That's amazing. I'm sure youlearned a lot.
I did, for sure, and I'm stilllearning a lot. You know,
there's so many plants that Ifeel like I don't know anything
about and want to get to know,but there's definitely a lot of
plants that are dear friends,that I have worked with a lot.
(02:55):
What I find so interesting aboutherbal medicine is that it's
been used for 1000s of yearswith humans.
Yes, it is. It's the originalmedicine. You know, I mean, even
so many of our modern daypharmaceuticals are derived from
plants, like aspirin comes fromthe bark of a white willow tree.
You know, that's just oneexample. And I'm not like anti
(03:15):
pharmaceuticals, but I really dobelieve that, like nature and
God intended to put all thedifferent plant constituents
together in a plant. And I'm abig proponent of using the whole
plant myself.
It's so interesting.
I mean, I think it's it shouldbe easier to bridge the world of
traditional medicine andhomeopathic or herbal medicine,
(03:37):
and I think we're doing thatmore and more. But I'm excited
to talk to you because there, Ithink a lot of traditional
Western medicine enthusiasts cankind of poo, poo herbal medicine
that it doesn't really work. Andso I wanted to talk with you
about these commonmisconceptions, and maybe bring
to light some of the herbs thatreally had been found to be
effective with kids, just soparents have these tools in
(04:00):
their arsenal, and they can knowwhat to use when, or what to
consider when and where to findquality herbs. So I'm looking
forward to learning from you.
Yeah,I was just gonna say that my
mission is really to empower andeducate moms out there so that
they are feeling prepared whenthe inevitable sniffles or
stresses of life show up.
Because, like I said, they areinevitable, and it's really
(04:23):
vital for kids to get sick. Youknow, each each time they get
sick, their immune system isbecoming more intelligent and
more more understanding of howthe world works and what they
need to do so that they canreally grow into a resilient,
vibrant, healthy adult one day.
I agree with you. I do feel likethe more they're exposed to, the
stronger they get, and also it'shelpful to know how to make them
(04:47):
feel better when they're notfeeling well. So let's talk
about some of these herbs. Andbefore we get to that, before we
talk about some of the herbsthat might help kids with
specific ailments, what are somecommon myths about herbs? That
you wish were demystified. Whatare the most common
misconceptions about herbalmedicine that you find? I
think just speaking kind of ingeneral terms, is that either
(05:09):
they don't work or they're notsafe. I think those are the two
biggest misconceptions.
And yes, and so and so. Fromyour experience, you found that
there are, there are many herbsthat are safe, and there are
many herbs that are effective,absolutely yes. And it is true
though. I mean, everything canhave side effects. So I do want
to put it out there that certainherbs, specifically, if taken
(05:31):
too much or the wrong way, cancause harm. But that's true for
anything out there. It's justreally about being educated for
sure. You know, there's peoplecan be allergic to all different
things, and the same can be saidfor plants. You know, one of my
favorite plants is nettles. It'sa nourishing herb. They're the
safest class of herbs. They'reconsidered food because of their
(05:52):
high vitamin and mineralcontent. And my sister is
allergic to it. You know, likeshe gets itchy if she if she
drinks it. I drank it every dayfor the last 10 years. And like,
am in love with it. And like,talk about it to everybody that
she's allergic to it. So that'snot the plan for her. The common
example in medical school, theyused to talk about a lot when
(06:13):
referring to potential harm fromherbs was licorice roots. They
used to always talk about how ifyou have too much licorice, it
can actually affect your bloodpressure, so I always found that
interesting. Yeah, that'sanother one that I am getting to
know a lot better. We've used ita lot this winter. It's in every
immune supporting tea that Imake for my family the second
(06:36):
like I hear a kid sneezing orsniffling, yes,
and to be clear, in theappropriate small amounts, it is
very, very safe and tastes goodand smells good, especially for
my daughter, licorice is her, isher favorite,
yeah, and like anything, ifyou're using too much of it, too
much of anything, is not a goodthing. Absolutely,
absolutely. And I also say myfeeling with herbs, as long as
(06:59):
it's not found to be harmful. Ifsomebody enjoys it, or they feel
like they're feeling better fromtaking that herb, then I think
it's a good thing, because theplacebo effect is very real,
especially with kids. I findjust the act of giving them
something, doing something forthem makes them feel better. So
in that sense, I am very much afan, even if there's not robust
(07:21):
studies around certain herbs,which we'll get into. What I
would love to do is now gothrough with you some of the
common questions that I get fromparents about whether or not
herbs may be helpful in certainsituations. The first that comes
up a lot is the common cold.
What do you recommend for kidsif they have common cold
symptoms? Youknow the common cold is common,
(07:43):
and there's nothing that's goingto prevent it that I found. But
my favorite thing is elderberry,if taken within the first day or
two of those sniffles orsneezing or scratchy throat
showing up, there is actually alot of literature on elderberry
that shows that it stops theviral replication. You can feel
(08:04):
better up to four days faster,and it has been shown time and
again in my home to work.
Yeah. So the what studies haveshown about elderberry, just to
reinforce what you're saying, isthat it's been shown to not
prevent colds, but it mayshorten the duration. It may
lessen the symptoms if you takeit soon enough.
(08:25):
Yes, yeah, symptoms areoftentimes relieved up to four
days faster, which is, you know,for a kid, and if you're a
parent with a kid home sick,like, if your kid can go back to
school four days faster and befeeling better four days faster.
Like, that's huge. That's,that's a lot of time,
absolutely, absolutely. Is thereanything that parents should be
concerned about with elderberry,for example, is there, is there
(08:47):
a wrong way to take it? Can theytake it too much or improperly?
You know, is there anything thatyou want parents to know about
taking elderberry?
And most of the studies thatwere done is typically on
adults, and it's 15 milliliters,four times a day, and the dosing
on our bottles for children is,you know, weight or age
dependent, and it's less thanthat. So we just say four times
(09:09):
a day through the duration ofsymptoms, typically, that's, you
know, four or five days thatthey're using it and you're
good. I don't recommendpersonally taking it every day.
I know that some people do, butI'm of the belief that
elderberry is an immunestimulant and it's turning on
the immune system, and it's kindof like getting everything ready
(09:30):
and active to fight. I preferadaptogens to really build that
resilience in the body. If youwant to take something on the
daily to really build the immunesystem rather than have it
turned on and ready to go. Now,what
about the formulation of takingelderberry? So for example, if
you see elderberry and you growit, if someone were to grow
(09:50):
elderberry and just pick it offa bush, would that be the right
way to take it? How are youpreparing elderberry in a way
that's helpful for cold? Forcold? Symptoms?
That's a great question. So theelder berries, actually, if you
eat them raw, especially if youeat a lot of them, you are going
to get an upset stomach. Andthey are a mild poison or toxin.
(10:13):
So they always need to be cookedor extracted in water. So we
simmer them down in a decoctionof water, and then they're not
great tasting. They're a littletart, a little bitter. So we add
a local raw honey, and we addapple cider vinegar, and we also
havecloves and ginger in ours as
(10:34):
well. Thankyou for saying that, because I
think that can be confusing forpeople that you don't want to
eat actual elderberries. Youwant to make sure you're eating
it in the form of an extract ora syrup, and that's the safest
way to take it. Yes,yeah, definitely. I had a friend
call me one I'm who hadelderberry bushes in the back of
her yard, and she's like, my sonate the elderberries and his
(10:55):
stomach is hurting. Like, do Ineed to call poison control? I'm
like, he'll probably be fine,but if you want to be on the
safe side, like go to thedoctor. He was fine, but yeah,
your stomach's not going to feelgood. Now,
what about kids that have upsetstomachs? There's quite a few
herbs that have been shown to behelpful for indigestion, for
(11:16):
stomach upset. Do you have anyfavorite go tos, and when do you
recommend them, so for stomach,indigestion, anything like that,
ginger and mint are my twofavorites. They're herbs and
plants that everyone is familiarwith. Think of them as food as
medicine. They both areclassified as carminatives,
(11:40):
which help to relieve gas in thebody. So think burping or
farting is like getting rid ofthat extra gas in the body.
They're both permitted, butpeppermint is more of a cooling
herb, and ginger is more of awarming, warming herb. Think of
it and like that spicy tastethat we all know, and really
(12:01):
it's just what the tastepreference is of your child.
They're both really wonderfulfor supporting any sort of
indigestion. Ginger is also veryanti inflammatory, antiviral,
antibacterial. There's a lot ofactions that it has on the body,
and it's been shown to be safeand effective at supporting kids
(12:25):
if they're having vomiting ornausea as well, too. And then
for peppermint, like I said,it's carbonative. It's nice and
cooling. It also is helpful fornausea and especially morning
sickness for women, and it'sbeen shown to have really
multiple actions that it cansupport the body with. It
(12:48):
relaxes the smooth muscle of theintestines, like the stomach and
the small intestine, and itsupports balancing abdominal
pain. It's also antimicrobialand anti inflammatory. And
another thing that peppermint ishelpful with, and that can
(13:08):
sometimes tie into digestivedistress, is that it really can
support the balancing of ouremotions. And a lot of times,
our emotions can be tied towhat's happening in our
digestionso fascinating, and it makes so
much sense.
I remember very distinctly thefirst book I read where I became
(13:29):
interested in plants asmedicine, and that was as a
teenager, Andrew Weil. I don'tknow if you're familiar with
him, but he's an MD, and he'svery interested in herbal
medicine, and he had a wholesection in his book, this is in
the 1990s about ginger and itsanti inflammatory properties and
how it helps with digestion.
It's so fascinating to me thatwe can, we can meld these
worlds, and we can use somethinglike something that's grown from
(13:52):
the earth, something that reallyhas very few side effects, to
help with very common issueslike indigestion, like
inflammation. So I think aboutthat every time I go to a sushi
restaurant, I make sure tofinish all the all the ginger
next to me, thinking it could behelping me
feel like everything we need toheal is given to us. Yeah, it's
(14:12):
all around us in the world.
Yeah, certainly there's a lot,there's a lot out there that's
that's provided by by nature,absolutely, and peppermint oil,
what's interesting is, I see itused a lot for really common,
often debilitating stomachissues like IBS, where, where
one can experience a lot ofloading abdominal discomfort.
(14:36):
And it's been shown thatpeppermint oil really makes a
difference. And as you pointedout, they think the reason why
it helps is it relaxes thegastrointestinal muscles,
reduces spasms. And so I lovethat that's been found to be
helpful, because they're reallyin my from what I understand,
there are very minimal sideeffects to peppermint oil.
(14:57):
Yeah, yeah. Peppermint iswonderful. Full a nice some of
my favorite ways to use it arejust to make a simple tea. You
know, like a fresh or driedpeppermint tea is lovely,
especially with a little honeyadded. And also you could use
like a peppermint essential oildiluted and just rub it onto the
stomach, or get a peppermintessential oil roller and rub it
(15:18):
onto the abdomen. That's reallynice if you're feeling gassy or
bloated, or just, you know,having some digestive issues
after eating soundslovely. Now, there's another
really common pediatric medicalissue that comes up a lot with
parents where they're wonderingif herbs have a benefit, and
that is infant colic. So whenbabies are born and they're a
(15:38):
couple of weeks old, typically,and they start to cry a lot,
often, two, three hours a day,and parents aren't sure how to
help them most effectively,there have been some herbs that
have been shown to have somebenefit. Can you describe what
some of those herbs may be, andwhat you found in your
experience?
Yeah, the first one that comesto mind is chamomile. Chamomile
(16:00):
has a long history of being aplant with a really gentle and
soothing action on our body andalso our energy, especially the
digestive system and the nervoussystem, and it really just has
this overall calming energy. Andbecause of this, it's one of the
most widely recommended herbs orplants for children and babies.
(16:24):
And even if you look at theplant itself, the leaf and the
stem and the flower, they'revery delicate. And the flower is
these white petals with a yellowcenter, and yellow is the color
that's associated with our solarplexus, which is the area of the
body that governs our digestion.
And so chamomile has beenstudied, and it's been safely
(16:48):
and effectively used for thetreatment of colic and diarrhea
in infant babies. And it's alsobeen studied and shown that when
taken orally, it supports anysort of gastrointestinal
conditions, and you can also useit topically as a vulnerary or a
wound healer,a wound healer, wow, that's so
(17:11):
interesting. That's reallyinteresting. I know myself I
love chamomile tea, so I'm notsure how much it actually is
working, but I know that I feelbetter after having it. Yeah,
and kind of similar to what Imentioned with peppermint, like
chamomile, also we see thisconnection between emotions and
the digestion. Our digestivesystem and chamomile is right
(17:37):
there with peppermint, kind ofbridging that connection between
the two. Fantastic,fantastic. Now, another common
herb that gets a lot ofattention is lavender. You know,
I have to be honest myself, I'ma fan of lavender. I've even
been to the lavender festival inOjai, California, which is
fantastic. If you're interestedin herbs, and you've never been,
you should definitely check itout one year. But tell me about
(17:58):
lavender. Where do you find ahelpful role for health and
lavender? SoI love to use lavender,
like, as aromatherapy. I don'tlike just personally, I don't
love the taste of, like,drinking the tea. I'm not huge
on, like floral teas. It has canbe used as a tea. But typically,
(18:21):
I think when people think oflavender, they're thinking of
the scent in the aroma therapyor the essential oil. There is a
study that looks at usinglavender essential oil like
inhaling it for kids before theywere having a tooth extracted,
you know, and the anxiety thatcomes with having this dental
(18:41):
surgery, and the group thatinhaled the lavender had
significantly lower anxiety andpain scores after the tooth
extraction versus the peoplethat didn't inhale the lavender.
I lovethat. That's so interesting and
so helpful, isn'tthat amazing? And they also
showed significantly lowerlevels of blood pressure and a
(19:02):
significant pulse rate dropafter the inhalation. And the
lavender group and the controlgroup that wasn't using the
lavender had a statisticallysignificant increase in heart
rate after the anesthesia andafter the surgery. So that's
just like, really wild to think.
(19:25):
Because oftentimes we just thinklike, Oh, something smells nice,
but like, really smell has amajor and powerful and potent
effect on our body and thesephysiological processes that are
happening inside our body,yes, and I feel like, as I was
mentioning the beginning, if it,if it doesn't hurt, why not try
it? I know myself. I loveanything that might help assist
with going to sleep, feelingmore relaxed, and especially I
(19:48):
like, I do like the smell oflavender. I grew with you. I
don't really like it in my Idon't care for it in my ice
cream or my teas, but I do likethe smell of it. So why not? Why
not try it? Why not add it intoyour you? Daily routine,
absolutely, yeah, we actuallyjust brought back our deep sleep
spray today in stock, which useslavender and chamomile, two of
(20:10):
the herbs we've talked about,and vetiver root. And just It
smells amazing. It's so good.
Like, if you just spray it overyour pillow before you get in
bed,it's lovely, especially, you
know, I also like recommendingsome lavender for kids that
might have mild anxiety, becauseit just seems so, so simple. So,
you know, potentially effectivefor kids. And so that's just
(20:31):
something to think about forparents out there where they
want to think of a simple trickto try if they want to help
their kids relax. Yeah, Iwill say one thing, if you're
using essential oils, they arevery potent and very strong. So
a tiny bit goes a long way. Ifyou're a parent out there and
you're like, just starting touse essential oils, put one drop
(20:52):
in your hand, mix it with someolive oil, and just rub your
hands together and then let yourchild, like, smell your hands.
It really is that simple, butmake sure you're diluting the
oil, the essential oil, with acarrier oil, and it can be as
simple as olive oil or whateveryou have in the kitchen.
(21:12):
That's a great reminder, a greatrecommendation. Are there any
other herbs that you'd like tomention that may be particularly
helpful for parents in helpingkids with common ailments.
You know, we were just talkingabout anxiety. I feel like that
is that's a thing with so manypeople and children today, we
mentioned chamomile, wementioned lavender, but I have a
(21:34):
few others that I really love.
One is oat straw, one is lemonbalm, and one is Tulsi, and
they're all pretty commonplants. They're not that hard to
find. Lemon balm, I feel like alot of people have heard of.
Again, it's soothing to thenervous system and the digestive
system, but it is also a reallywonderful antiviral and
(21:55):
supportive of the immune andrespiratory system, and it's
gentle. It's in the mint family.
It has like a nice, mild flavor.
Oat straw is a nourishing herb.
It is one of my ultimatefavorites, after nettles. Like I
mentioned before, nourishingherbs are this considered the
(22:17):
safest class of herbs andconsidered food because of their
bio available vitamin andmineral content. Oat straw is
the plant that we get our getour oats from, and it's really
wonderful for the nervoussystem. It's high in B vitamins,
especially, which really justsupport our mood. And the taste
(22:39):
is really mild and sweet. Soit's just, it's not one that,
like kids are going to be putoff of the colors, kind of this
light golden yellow color. It'snot like a weird green or brown
color like, you know, whenyou're making the tea. So that's
a really wonderful one that Ifeel like, you know, there's a
(23:00):
study that shows the nutrientdensity of our food has really
declined in the last halfcentury or so. And one of the
studies is showing that thevitamin and mineral content in
our fruits and vegetables mayhave declined up to 40% so
anything that we can do asparents to really get more
(23:20):
vitamins and minerals into ourkids in a bio available, you
know, food or plant based formis really wonderful, and that's
why I feel like oat straw isjust a great option for that.
And then the last one, Tulsi, isan adaptogen. It's called the
queen of herbs in Ayurveda. Andagain, it's in the mint family.
(23:42):
It's also called holy basil, andit has just a wonderful kind of
fragrant smell and aroma andtaste to it. And works really
wonderfully for the nervoussystem, and kind of gives this
energizing and calming energy,depending on what we need. So
(24:03):
those are, those are some of myfavorites for children and
adults. Greatherbs to think about and to look
into. Thank you. Now forparents, as you mentioned
before, one of the commonconcerns you hear from parents
is they're worried about thesafety. Do you have any advice
for parents that are lookinginto purchasing herbs? How do we
know, or how can we be sure thatthey are high quality and safe
products? That'sa great question. I wouldn't be
(24:24):
purchasing them off Amazon. Thatwouldn't be the place they would
go. I really love this one farmthat's in Oregon called oshala.
They are certified regenerative,organic. They've been tending
the land for over a decade.
There's family farm, and theygrow hundreds of herbs. They
(24:46):
have a pretty wide variety, andtheir quality is just, it's the
best that I've found. It'sreally just, it's Primo.
Everything you get is justfresh. It smells like amazing.
It looks beautiful. The color isbright, and they have a really
great selection. I can send youa link to them if you want to
(25:07):
include in the show notes.
Another really popular one ismountain rose herbs. They're an
online company. They source fromall over the world. I mean, you
can get any herb that you wanton there, and their quality is
good. You know, if I can't findsomething at oshala, I'll
typically be getting it fromMountain rose herbs. There's
(25:32):
also a website that is run bythe NIH. It's the National
Center for Complementary andIntegrative Health. And then
also for people listening, I canput a link in the show notes to
the website, but that's also agreat resource, where they share
a lot of information aboutcomplementary health products.
Okay, nice. There's also a markon products themselves that can
(25:53):
show if they're that, that canshow if they've been third party
tested. That also is something Ithink that's helpful to look out
for. It canbe Yes, though, I will say, as a
small business owner, gettingthird party testing isn't
something that is thatinexpensive, and so not
everybody, not every company, isgoing to have it, and just
because the company doesn't haveit doesn't mean that they're not
(26:15):
doing the right things. I thinkthe best thing to do if you find
a company that you want topurchase from, like, just reach
out to them. Hey, where do yousource your herbs from? Like,
are they organic? Like, what'sthe difference between
regenerative, organic, certifiedand organic? Or, what does it
mean if the herbs aren'torganic? Like, just ask them
questions if you're especiallyif it's a small company, like,
(26:38):
they're going to want to talk toyou.
Thank you for that tidbit,because you're right. It's a
great reminder that for smallbusinesses, it would be
expensive to get third partycertified, and you don't want to
discount those wonderful smallbusinesses. So that's great
advice that you can reach out tothe owner, and you can reach out
to the company and ask themspecifically, ask them
specifically about the herbs.
Yeah.
(27:00):
I mean, we have people, I wouldsay, on the regular, that email
us, asking us about our sourcingor our production process and
things like that. Theother thing I like to remind
parents that can happen withsome herbal remedies is some
have alcohol in them, which Ithink used to be, honestly, a
common recommendation for kidswhen they were teething, they
would put a little alcohol inthe gums. Didn't think much of
(27:21):
it, but now I think we would.
Now we are a lot more cautionarywith kids and their exposure to
alcohol. So I don't know ifthat's something that you come
across, but I do tell parents tojust make sure that it's alcohol
free, that any tincture thatthey buy specifically should be
alcohol free. Yes,I think that there are a lot of
kids lines out there now thatare using glycerin instead of
(27:43):
alcohol for tinctures.
Specifically, you do want tonote that there are some plants
where the active constituentsthat you're trying to extract
might be alcohol extractedbetter, you know, might be
better extracted in water, likeelderberry, for example, or the
(28:04):
anthrocyanist, and can't talkright, the main active compound
in elderberry is extracted bestvia water. And so you don't want
an alcohol based tincture ofelderberry. It's not going to
it's not going to provide whatyou need. And glycerin is a
really nice option for that.
Glycerin has to be mixed withwater, so you are getting that
(28:29):
water extraction. I will say,our two cough syrups that we
have, we add a little bit ofalcohol to them, just for
preservation. And I get peopleemailing me and DMing me on the
regular, why does this havealcohol in it? And I get it's
like, a personal preference. Thethe amount that you're taking
is, you know, you have to lookat that like, Okay, how much am
(28:51):
I giving my kid? What portion ofthis small amount that I'm
dosing them is alcohol and like,it's a personal preference does
what it's providing likeoutweigh what I think might be a
perceived drawback to it. Soagain, it's really just like a
personal thing. But yeah, I'mnot gonna say like, Hey, give
your kid like a shot of a shotof a tincture. You know, no one
(29:13):
should be taking like, astraight alcohol tincture that's
not dropped in water orsomething.
Yes, yes. There's a joke that Iheard from a pediatrician. He
actually was my pediatrician.
He's now, he just turned 80years old, and he told me the
advice that he used to give toparents when kids were teething
is he would say, Okay, your kidis teething, poor. Shot a
(29:34):
whiskey. Now take a little bitand rub, rub the gums of the
child with the whiskey, and thentake the rest of it and finish
it yourself. Take a shot of thewhiskey yourself. Yeah? And he's
like, I would never say thatnow, but that was what we used
that that was, believe it ornot, advice we used to give
families,yeah? I mean, people used to
smoke in hospitals too, right?
(29:54):
Yes,yes. Now I'm just curious for
yourself, as an herbalist,you've been in the business for
many years. You've. How peoplehave responded to certain herbs?
Have you found a favorite one,two or three herbs that you that
now you love to talk about, thatYou love to spread awareness
about, because you've seen howhelpful they are? Yeah,
absolutely.
I would say nettles and oatstraw, nourishing herbs that I
(30:17):
talked about earlier, andelderberry. Those are like,
those are definitely my topthree
amazing now tell us about yourbusiness. I would love to draw
some attention to the smallbusiness that you've grown and
share with us how we can findyour products.
Yeah. So you can find usonline@tasharose.com
(30:38):
we make organic herbalsupplements for kids and adults.
So elderberry syrup, coughsyrups, immune support, all of
that. And we're also onInstagram at tasharose dot
herbalist, so you can find usthere, and you can email us
through our contact page on ourwebsite, I will get back to you
or one of my team members. Andlike I said, like, I love
(31:01):
talking to to parents andhearing their questions and
trying to support them, like Iam always happy to talk plants.
So please feel free to DM me oror email us. No and thank you
for sharing your knowledge. Imean, for myself, I find in the
medical world, a lot of peoplehave this idea that herbs don't
work, as you were talking aboutearlier, and they talk also
(31:22):
about how and this is true. Alot of the studies that have
shown herbs to be beneficial, wehaven't shown them in children,
but I think that honestly, aslong as it's not causing any
harm, why not give it a try. Sothank you so much for this
knowledge, and thank you so muchfor empowering parents to know
what options are out there forthem to try for their kids if
(31:43):
they're not feeling well in thefuture? So thank you.
Happy to talk plans always.
Thanks for having me. Thankyou for listening, and I hope
you enjoyed this week's episodeof your child is normal. Also,
if you could take a moment andleave a five star review,
wherever it is you listen topodcasts, I would greatly
appreciate it. It really makes adifference to help this podcast
grow, you can also follow me onInstagram at ask Dr Jessica, see
you next Monday. You.
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