Why Botanicals?

Before there was modern medicine, humans relied on botanicals to treat illness, disease, and injuries. If our environment had been left untouched by industrialism and other modern factors, most of us could walk out in our back yard today and find some sort of cure or treatment for anything that ailed us. A botanical is a plant or part of a plant that is valued for its medicinal or therapeutic properties, flavor, and/or scent (National Institutes of Health). A huge portion of these plants that can be used medicinally are considered mere weeds to most humans today.

For example, I give you Yarrow. I know at least 99% of you looking at this photo recognizes this plant. It grows wild all over the country. You can see it across the medians and on the sides of highways and all over fields almost everywhere you go at the right time of year. It is considered by most people your normal weed or, at best, a wildflower. However, this plant has a TON of medicinal and therapeutic benefits. If you do a simple google search on the benefits of yarrow, you'll find a few articles from mainstream health websites that say stuff like "emerging" benefits of yarrow. Don't play into their verbage though because yarrow has been around for thousands of years. The Native Americans relied on yarrow for many different purposes like pain relief, anti-inflammatory, fever reducer, natural sleep aid, and even warding off mosquitoes and flies.

There are a ton of other healthy benefits of this plant, but this isn't a yarrow article. It's a botanical article and I'm just trying to expain why botanicals are awesome. Imagine if this one "weed" has tons of different medicinal purposes and benefits, then what about all the others? Next time you're outside (especially if you live out in the sticks) pay attention to the weeds and wildflowers you have around you and look at them in a new perspective. It's pretty incredble that we're allowed to not only exist, but THRIVE on this amazing planet that naturally provides for us in every way. :)

At Poody&Moose Botanicals, we will always choose botanical over synthetic because that's what our bodies love and trust most. Keep an eye out for future blog posts that dive into the benefits and purposes for each of the specific botanical products we utilize in our skincare and homecare.

- Heather M.