In this section, seven Boston-area herbalists discuss their approaches to finding and correcting imbalances in the body’s energy, using herbs (including homeopathic remedies and essential oils), muscle testing, and, in some cases, iridology.

“The Chinese have a take on health that you don’t find in American medicine. We tend to be more focus-approached. ... For the Chinese, there’s no one isolated system." Elisa Adams

Before there were drugs, there were herbs. Herbs contain the necessary trace elements to help keep the body balanced, and because herbs are foods, the body absorbs them more readily.

“Herbs are just foods — no more, no less — that have been noted over centuries of time for having certain effects.” Bill Fage

Nature always seeks a balance. The fundamental flaw with the pharmaceutical approach to health is that drugs can help balance the body one way, to relieve a particular problem, but they unbalance it in other ways. Sometimes these show up as side effects; other times, we don’t perceive them directly.

“I don’t argue with the designer. I don’t replace body functions. I enhance your ability to heal by supplying you what you need." Gene Fitzpatrick

As several of the herbalists point out, illness typically arises for three reasons: nutritional deficiencies, toxic overload, or stress. Nutritional deficiencies are common now, because of the refined, chemicalized, artificial foods in many people’s diets and the depleted soil in which much of our food is grown. Toxic overload is common, both from the environment and from the adulteration of the food supply. Stress is a frequent result of the fast pace of modern life.

“I don’t look at diseases — I look at where the deficiencies are, how we can help the elimination organs work better, and what we can give the body to help it with the stress." Diane Brigida

A whole-food diet helps us stay balanced but is often not enough. Herbs can help keep us healthy by supplementing dietary deficiencies, promoting the discharge of toxins, and providing support during stress.

"A weak-constitution person can actually have a stronger constitution if they apply the correct methodologies of healing themselves and providing nutrients for their children.” Cheryl Kelly

But finding the correct herbs or combination of herbs we need, and the correct amounts, can be a challenge. It’s easy to spend a lot of time and money on herbs without any improvement in health. Everyone’s needs are different. Moreover, not all herbs are equivalent in quality. The herbalists interviewed here use muscle testing (and, in some cases, iridology) as an effective way of determining a person’s needs for a successful herbal program.

“If people come in and they have questions about products, I say, ‘Let’s just do some muscle testing.’ I can’t tell you the response we’ve been getting lately, because it works so well.” Joan Reardon

“A lot of people just know it works—they don’t understand why and how, but they want you to do it anyway, because they’ve always had good results." Jeanne Polcari