Why choose herbs?Updated 2 years ago

Herbs are our original health allies. Humans and other animals have co-evolved with plants over the course of millennia and become very accustomed to incorporating herbs into our lives as food and health aides.

Thanks to the hundreds, or even thousands, of phytochemical constituents that make up their own defense and immune systems, herbs have the ability to affect the human physiology in myriad ways. Through consistent and intelligent use, herbs have the potential to make gradual and profound impacts on the root factors that maintain good health.

Due to major shifts in our diet and crop breeding since the agricultural revolution, humans now consume an estimated 7-8 times less of the protective phytochemicals than we once did. In addition to eating more diverse and wild food varieties, consuming herbs is one of the most important ways we can reincorporate these valuable phytochemicals into our lives.

Additionally, thanks to a growing body of modern scientific research, we are validating many of the traditional uses for herbs and finding ways to increase their potency and efficacy while preserving their good safety profile. You can find thousands of studies on PubMed — a database of more than 29 million citations for biomedical literature, maintained by The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health — that support the efficacy of herbs, and more research is coming out regularly as interest in herbalism grows.

The herbs we use in Vital Plan formulations are selected in large part for their long history of use and good safety record, in addition to their science-backed efficacy. We look forward to helping you reconnect with herbs and discover the valuable role they can play in your overall well-being.