Date:   1/4/2012 12:22:35 AM ( 12 y ago)
Hits:   6,177
URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1896466

theherbalist2011 --->>> >>>Generally, "equal parts" implies weighing out each herb to the same weight.<<<

Oops, nope, incorrect, false, untrue, wrongo...insert that 'game show Wrong Answer buzzer' sound here.

Equal parts must be qualified...equal parts by weight? OR equal parts by volume?

Since Dr. Christopher was the greatest American herbalist & healer of which we have record (and between he and his student, Dr. Schulze, they have written & published more information than any other American herbalist); and since this forum follows the works & tenets of Dr. Christopher & Dr. Schulze (along with their mentors, students and other great healers & herbalists of the same methodology). :::deep breath::: and since Dr. Christopher and Dr. Schulze virtually ALWAYS measured the herbs for their formula as "parts by volume", it is incorrect to state: 'generally, equal parts implies equal parts by weight'...particularly when dealing with American herbal formulas.

Are there exceptions? of course...but when it comes to these prolifically published herbalists, the exceptions are not the 'rule of thumb'

One of the most stellar traits of Dr. Christopher (and Dr. Schulze, up until a few years ago), was in the free & open sharing of their formulas.  In fact, Dr. Christopher's goal was "an herbalist in every home; a master herbalist in every community".  If everyone on earth has knowledge & the ability to create their own healing herbal tinctures and blends, there'd be no need for the Pharmaceutical Cartel.  But what percentage of homes in the US/worldwide have a scale that weighs in ounces?  Very few.  Grams? Even fewer!  I realize you're a "bio-chemist" so you deal in "exactitudes"...but there's virtually no illness OR herbal formulation that requires such persnickety-perfect-exactness.  It's my goal (hence this forums) to EMPOWER people 'exactly where they are'.  No one needs to have any 'specialty equipment' in order to make successful tinctures and herb blends (certainly peoples for thousands of years that healed themselves with herbs/foods had only the most rudimentary of tools).  There are MANY people on this forum and CZ (and the world) that have the money for, say, a month's worth of Superfood OR the money for a scale...I want to be sure they have what they need (and that they don't feel as though they're "messing up" or somehow "doing harm" to themselves because they've made their herbal blends without a scale).

Methinks anyone that has the "ocd need" for persnickety-exactness AND has a calling to assist others to heal themselves, has the responsibility to translate their "formulas by weight" into "formulas by volume" so that every person can easily create them.  Of course, in many cases, the entire reason for the illusion of the need for sensitive scales and "scientific detail" is to ensure the profitability of the herb blend (and/or to ensure that those buying become dependent upon the seller).  One of the biggest lies ever embedded throughout society is that we don't have the 'scientific knowledge or exactitudes' to be able to treat & heal our own bodies.  That ensured that they own our wallets AND our bodies for as long as we live.  As modern healers, we should be part of the solution, not part of the problem :)

Speaking of 'persnickety-perfect-exactness' (as in the kind you'd expect to find in a laboratory)...the fact is, only the most advanced of equipment would yield technically 'exact' results when measuring by weight.  That's because the water content varies (sometimes substantially) in both fresh OR dried herbs.  What we commonly source as "dried herbs' are not necessarily 100% dry - the percentage of 'dryness' will vary (sometimes substantially).  So unless one has done advanced testing to reveal the exact hydration of every dried herb (or fresh herb) they're using, even the same exact weight will yield differing amounts of the herbal constituents in each herb.  Even the humidity in the room will alter the exactness.

As you likely know (so this is for all readers now & 'to come'), this is CRUCIAL to creating herbal formulas!  One pound of dried mullein or peppermint leaf has the volume of small pillow; one pound of dried comfrey or echinacea root has the volume of the size of a couple of pounds of butter.  When an herbalist instructs to use 'equal parts' in one of their formulas, it is IMPERATIVE to know if they mean by weight or by volume, and not to make assumptions.

Blessings,

Uny

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