Herbal Sourcing: where do practitioners get their herbs?
A friend recently asked me if I worry about sourcing and heavy metal content in the herbs that I prescribe. The answer is yes - sourcing is forever implanted in my initial thoughts for any product.
Traditional Chinese Medicine always needs more attention and research. It’s obnoxious how many hours are spent trying to find quality information on herbs, especially. I’m guessing this is true for any traditional medicine. Although, come to think of it, this is probably true for many medications too.
These are some herbal sources that I’ve seen wrapped in the “sustainable, clean, quality” herbal company conversation. These are not an endpoint but more a place to start. I’d love any additional companies to look into.
✮ Kan Herbs - gentle warriors collection
✮ Nu Herbs
✮ Griffo - uses Spring Wind herbs
✮ Empirical Health Herbs - has tiers for quality control and testing; sells Spring Wind
✮ Kokora - mushrooms and adaptogens
✮ Radical Roots - hemp products
I do want the best herbs for my patients and loved ones, but I just have to say that we know so little about so little. Sourcing for any product is risky these days. We kinda never know what we’re really getting. That being said, we have to exercise trust somewhere otherwise paranoia will kill us.
So, here are my top herbal companies to source from. Some of these are practitioner only, which I believe is the best way to go about buying herbs anyway. They are medicinal and do have side effects if used inappropriately. I offer 1-on-1 telehealth herbal consults through my site if you can’t find a trusted practitioner near you.
I hope this is a guide that I can return to year after year and watch evolve with collaboration. Many of these brands are quite small so I’m excited to watch them grow!
IG: kieradlayne