Читать книгу Holistic Herbal: A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using Herbal Remedies - David Hoffmann - Страница 39

The concept of amphotericity is of great value when we deal with the apparently contradictory actions of many plants. The term is borrowed from chemistry where it is used to describe a substance that is capable of acting as either an acid or an alkali. Amphoterics, which are normalisers, change and adapt their action, depending on the conditions. That such a concept should find a place in herbal medicine might at first seem odd. In orthodox medicine a remedy is expected to have a clearly definable effect, which should be related to the dosage and easily controlled. If we see the body as essentially mechanical, this makes sense. However, in a holistic view it must be remembered that the body is seen as an integrated, synergistic whole, and that the work of the healer is to augment and aid the vital recuperative processes naturally at work. Thus we find that the amphoteric herbs work in a way that suits the systems at a particular time, using the body’s wisdom to do that which is appropriate.

The best respiratory amphoterics are Blood Root, Lobelia, Mullein, Pleurisy Root and White Horehound.