Western Herbal Energetics and Immunity

The immune system can be over active or under active. In a healthy, resilient, individual immune activity would be balanced. Chronic over activity can lead to allergies, which are reactions to perceived threats coming from outside self or autoimmune diseases, which are reactions to perceived threats coming from the inside, self. Chronic under activity can lead to infection as a result of threats from outside self or cancer which is a threat from inside, self. Our immune response is an inflammatory response and inflammation that is not appropriate is associated with most chronic diseases.

Western Herbalists evaluate diseased as an imbalance of the individual’s energetic or tissue state. This can be described as being too hot or too cold and too dry or too wet. Heat is associated with over activity and cold is associated with under activity. Using a formula from logic it may be possible that heat is correlated to allergies and autoimmunity and cold is correlated with infection and cancer. If this is a valid assumption, then can use this to select herbs that support over active or under active immune conditions?

James Brent DDS