More and more diseases are appearing, and human beings are less and less resistant to these viruses. We are living longer and longer, but not necessarily in good conditions. What if plants and their virtues could help us combat these problems?

Herbal medicine

We underestimate, through ignorance, the power of plants. Herbal medicine has been around forever. In prehistoric times, hunter-gatherers ate plants, but they also used them to heal themselves. Writings dating from 3000 BC mention herbal remedies and in particular the poppy. We currently identify about 330,000 plant species. Of course, not all of them have medicinal properties, but it is unfortunate that this knowledge and these practices are on the way to extinction.

Eating is not a trivial act. It is even fundamental and it should be the first of our concerns. A healthy diet from products that were born on living soils, in a sustainable, local way, would considerably reduce our incessant trips to the doctor or to pharmacies. These have become veritable supermarkets. The number of drugs consumed per person is appalling. The power of the pharmaceutical industry is there to testify.

From plant to medicine

Medicinal plants are the source of many modern medicines. Morphine, for example, comes from the poppy. Savory, oregano or thyme secrete antibiotics. However, the use is not the same. In medicine, molecules of therapeutic interest are isolated to formulate drugs. While herbal medicine works on the synergy of all the active ingredients.

The herbal medicine approach is more global, more subtle. However, it requires a deeper knowledge of ailments and plants. Healing only with plants is unfortunately not possible today. Chemical medicine is unavoidable against certain diseases such as cancer. Plants can, however, be used as a complement.

Plants by Armand Heitz

At the estate, we have set up picking, both from our crops and also from the wild. In line with our philosophy, we are committed to growing plants that are favorable to our environment. They are part of our terroirs. Our first desire was to make herbal teas. It is a drink that we particularly appreciate, quite simple to implement. It does not require a large investment for processing.

After the harvest, at the right time and according to our needs, without damaging the natural environment in order to be able to continue to harvest, comes the plant drying stage. There are several techniques and ways of doing it, with an open-circuit or closed-circuit dryer, upstream or post-drying. The drying must in any case be rapid so that the plant does not oxidize and lose quality, 3/4 days on average. It is also necessary, as in the winery during fermentation, to control the temperature.

Regulation of medicinal plants

Praising the merits of the virtues of plants is not an easy thing these days. The herbalist diploma was abolished by the Vichy regime in 1941 and has still not been restored. 148 medicinal plants are authorized for sale in France since a decree of 2008, but no one can sell them because no indication for therapeutic purposes can be mentioned by plant producers for example, for lack of the diploma having been revoked. Oh, nonsense...

Phytotherapy, despite clear evidence of its benefits, currently enjoys no legal legitimacy. The chemical medicine of pharmaceutical laboratories unfortunately has a bright future ahead of it. For common sense and health, we'll come back. In spite of everything, let's drink herbal teas full of nature to console us. It would be fun to offer a herbal tea for morale precisely.

Find all our herbal teas in our collection grocers and at the Cellier in Pommard.

Fabrice Pastre

Sources:
History of medicinal plants
Phytotherapy: herbal medicine is attracting renewed interest