particles- H2= dihydrogen, and one single particle of oxygen- O=monoxide. H2O. In its most common name dihydrogen monoxide is in fact just water.
Every danger and every use listed is quite true but it also brings to light one of the problems that our society currently faces. As we trend towards “natural” living, wanting to be “greener” and “organic” in our day to day lives we have come to rely on the new adage “If you can’t pronounce it or don’t recognize it, then don’t eat it.” Natural, green and organic are the new and improved buzzwords manufacturers use to get your attention, and your dollar, while the fear of “chemical” has become so ingrained in us that we lift our forks to our faces in a perpetual state of unnecessary fear.
There is one other truth that we seem to overlook; natural is not always the best way either. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), during the final quarter of 2012, they documented the highest amount of food recall activity seen in the past two years. The 552 recalls of FDA-regulated food products announced during the fourth quarter maxed out at about 6 events per day totally nearly 18.4 million items, including fresh fruit and vegetables, nut products and other foods and beverages. Several of these were recalled for food bacterial contamination; E. Coli, Salmonella and Listeria. All are completely natural and all are things we don’t want to ingest.
When we read labels there are “natural flavorings”, which according to the FDA occur in such trace amounts that they need not be labeled exactly. In fact the wording according to the Code of Federal Regulations is something that gets the head spinning;
“the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” (21CFR101.22).
That paragraph is full of perfectly acceptable, perfectly natural words that most people with an education outside of the sciences would not know or recognize. This means that the use of beaver anal gland excretion as a natural flavoring is completely acceptable, and it falls smack under the “natural” labeling that we cling to. Yet, is this truly acceptable as a food product to you?
Chemicals are not the evil additives lurking in our foods, waiting to build up in our bodies and shut them down. Everything in our lives from what we wear to what we ingest to how we treat our skin and hair has been attributed a chemical name. Even synthesized chemicals do not deserve the bad rap they have received.
In the 1780’s the plant Digitalis (commonly known as Foxglove) was explored as a treatment for heart problems. Over the years the benefits of it in treatments in arrhythmias, specifically atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure have been refined. The problem entered when it was understood that Digitalis is actually toxic and the margin for diagnosis error is quite slender. A slight ingestion of too much of this herb takes a person from a steady heart rate to stomach pains, convulsions, delirium, vomiting, diarrhea and in rare cases, death.
Instead of discounting the herb all together, modern science has isolated the functional chemicals in the plant, cardiac glycoside (digitoxin and digoxin) as well as a naturally occurring steroid (digoxigenin) used in marking DNA and RNA. Two medically used chemicals, ones dismissed when looking at the names, derived from an herb recognized for hundreds of years and adapted for safer use into modern medicine.
Other examples:
Thymol, the anticeptic that makes up anywhere from 24-56% of Thyme is but one of several useful chemicals and compounds in the plant.
Phytoestrogens, used to help ease the symptoms of menopause and PMS can be found in varying degrees in the herbs sage, oatstraw and wild yams.
Melatonin, a chemical that helps to gently lull the body to sleep (and one I use on a fairly regular basis) is found in tart cherries and tart cherry juice.
I could go on but I think you get my point.
The blending of science and herbs/naturals is one that needs to not be feared. Instead of having to eat 80 cherries every night, I can take an extremely concentrated form of tart cherry juice or I can pop a melatonin capsule (once I research it to make sure that it came from the cherries). The concentrates of the extracted chemicals allow us to live easier, more comfortably and more naturally without taxing our ecosystems attempting to produce the copious amounts of herbs we would need to produce the same medicinal amount naturally.
Our world is full of stress and anxiety enough and we simply don’t need to listen to every adage, old or new, that tacks on more. If you don’t know the words on a product, or where it is grown then look it up. The internet, while able to create hysteria, is also the greatest weapon against it these days. Never fear asking a professional for their credentials before you ask them for their help. And most importantly, don’t fear chemicals. Instead question the hype. Treat a product labeled as organic, all natural, green, the next great cure, answer or treatment as you would a new pharmaceutical or a new car. Research beyond the marketing and ask yourself questions, then find the questions. Remember that we’d all die without dihydrogen monoxide.
Owner of Sage Apothecary and Artful Body, Lynne has been apart of the spiritual community her whole life. She was trained by her grandmother as well as growing up with the readers at Lillydale New York. Studied herbalist and healer. Get a reading with Lynn at Pure Path as well as sample her home made, home grown teas and herbals in Pure Paths Store.