According to clinical herbalist Brittany Osborn, the quality of any herbal product is only as good as its starting materials. That’s why she grows all the plants she works with as Animas Botanicals at her farm in the Animas Valley.
“Over 85% of the herbs in the United States come from overseas, and quality is pretty low unfortunately,” she said. “So when we’re working with plants that come from overseas and aren’t very good quality, we don’t quite have the quality that we could have.”
Osborn’s solution to this problem is growing the more than 150 plant species she works with herself.
“Because I grow all the plants on my farm … the quality of my products really reflects that freshness and that vitality,” she said.
Those products include tinctures, flower essences, teas, apple cider vinegar tonics, hydrosols, salves, and a line of herbal-infused body, face and massage oils.
Osborn said she has grown herbs for more than 15 years and started out growing them for other apothecaries. When she saw compounds being compromised during the drying process, it led her to go back to school for eight years and subsequently to start selling products as Animas Botanicals.
She said research indicates that some chronic diseases are linked to the absence of phytochemicals that humans evolved as a species alongside. She likened it to asking a carpenter to build a house but not providing any tools.
“Our bodies evolved with these phytochemicals, and they are not just for when we have challenges in our bodies,” Osborn said. “It’s like these phytochemicals give our bodies the tools they need to be healthy in the first place.”
ngonzales@durangoherald.com
