Buying High Quality Herbs For Your Herbal Preparations

Those who want to open own herbal pharmacy and master the art of preparing own herbal remedies usually face a problem of obtaining the highest possible quality herbs and plants.  It is quite difficult for many of us to cultivate own variety of herbs on our kitchens or gardens, though this could be the best option, definitely. Buying fresh herbs in a neighboring supermarket or health care stores can be a little expensive. Besides, very often the herbs from supermarkets are lacking quality and go bad even before they are used for herbal preparations.

That is why a better decision can be buying herbs and plants for making herbal preparations from known and reputable companies, which quite often sell their products in various online stores. In our epoch of heavy environmental pollution, improper cultivation and global commercialization of everything, it is very important to be sure that the herbs you purchased and want to use for your herbal preparations are organically grown, properly harvested and processed.

Specialists and herbalists say that using fresh herbs for any sort of herbal preparations is always beneficial, but in most situations it is possible to use only dried herbs. Usually, provided the herbs were cultivated and processed in a proper way, dried herbs and plants can retain all important qualities and therapeutic powers. In order to be sure that dried herbs you are about to use are of high quality and will be effective, you need see, smell and possibly even taste them. There are several factors to check out before buying and/or using dried herbs:

• Smell. All herbs and plants have their special smells, and this factor is the key one for determining quality of herbs. They not necessary should smell of something pleasant (some could actually smell really disgusting and terrible), but the fragrance should be fresh and strong.  Therefore, all you need is just to smell the herbs you are going to use and reject those ones which smell of artificial things, chemicals, molds and so on.
• Color. Color is also a very important factor when choosing dried herbs and plants. When looking at a dried plant, envision it alive and remember that the only thing that is missing is its water content. Blossoms and flowers should look bright and live, green leaves and stems should look green and vivid. Roots should look fresh, be firm and live. Therefore, when checking out the color, you have to be sure that the dried herbs you are about to use look vibrant and live.
• Taste. You can pay attention on the taste as well, if it is appropriate. Many of dried herbs or plants have a distinctive taste, and high quality ones always have strong and fresh taste.

If you bought your herbs in an online shop and the quality of the delivered product does not satisfy your demands, return back those herbs which do not look enough fresh, vivid and alive. Do the same in case if you buy your herbs in a store: bring poor quality stuff to the attention of the store managers. Be sure that you use only organically grown and properly processed herbs. Find the best dealers and use ONLY the highest quality herbs for your herbal preparations.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

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