Herbs for surgery? How to safely + effectively work with herbs to prepare for and recover from surgery

with clinical herbalist + Green Path Herb School co-founder Elaine Sheff

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Herbs for surgery?

Something commonly overlooked is how many surgeries women and folks with wombs encounter in their lifetime.

From high cesarean rates and hysterectomies to endometriosis excision surgeries to hip or knee replacements post-menopause, we experience a LOT of surgical intervention throughout our lifecycle.

And we're often far underprepared for how we can restore the tissue integrity, reduce scarring, and encourage optimal healing afterwards.

 
The truth is, most healthcare practitioners have no idea how to determine which herbs or supplements are effective or safe or not, so a very common recommendation is to stop taking all of them before/right after surgery.

Today's guest - clinical herbalist + co-founder of Green Path Herb School - Elaine Sheff offers some very grounded and practical tips on what *categories* of herbs to avoid and what herbs and nutrition and other prep work can be incredibly helpful leading up to the surgery.

And then she goes through the 3 phases of recovery post surgery (inflammatory phase, proliferative phase, remodeling phase) and how to pair herbs, flower essences, homeopathic remedies, aromatherapy, nutrition and supplements with each time phase of healing individually.

It's an info-packed episode and a great resource for anyone curious about what's possible at any stage of the surgery process (before, immediately after or long term, even years later) or wanting to help a loved one or a client.



Listen to learn:

• some essential herbal remedies to help prepare for surgery
• what's NOT safe (eg which herbs to avoid directly around surgery)
• a creative and beautiful way to honor any body part that is removed
• how to differentiate the three phases of recovery post-surgery
• herbs and nutrition for each phase of recovery
   

Resources:

• Free Guide: Track Your Cycle Naturally using FAM
• Elaine's article on Herbs for Surgery
• Episode 12: Making herbal teas
• Episode 57: Self-care + healing trauma after cesarean
• Episode 130: How body neutrality led to a breast reduction 

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Connect with Elaine: 

• Check out her website:
  Green Path Herb School
  
  

• Read her article: 
  Herbs for Surgery
  
  

• Explore her YouTube:
  Green Path Herb School
  

• Connect on social:
  IG - @greenpathherbschool
  Twitter - @greenpaths
  Pinterest - Green Path Herb School
  
  

DISCLAIMER: This podcast and blog is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

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