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    Bit to Do

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    Sitting fifteen minutes early in the waiting room of Weeds of Eden, the office of Myron Hardesty, while coughing the same cough with which I have struggled for two weeks, I felt more like a patient than a journalist.  The room itself was appealing with calming green walls and energizing mango-colored accents. There were bamboo sprouts, bonsais, and orchids scattered on side tables and the floor. I had zoned out staring intently into a box of herbal and green teas set on the front desk while listening to “Dreams” by The Cranberries playing softly, when a man in an earthy brown and green flannel button-down interrupted my musings.

    “Ashlie? I am Myron Hardesty, the owner of Weeds of Eden” he said while stooping to shake my hand. I followed him past a room filled with bottles of what I could only assume were some form of herbal extracts, as Hardesty is not only a physician’s assistant, but also a clinical herbalist. Once settled in his office, which looked more like a library, due in part to the large number of books on herbalism, botany and plant-based medicine, he explained the benefits of herbalism, especially for those (like me) having a difficult time staying healthy this cold and flu season.

    “Herbalism is a vitalist medicine; it helps the body do what it is biologically designed to do,” Hardesty said. “As a physician’s assistant, I am certified to diagnose, and as a clinical herbalist I really believe in the power of individualized treatment. Think about modern medicine—it is a suppression of our bodies’ own evolutionary medicine.”  Hardesty went on to explain that typical fall and winter symptoms, like excess mucous, cough and fever, are actually our bodies’ way of alerting us to, or ridding us of, infection. Oftentimes, traditional medicine is prescribed as a way to treat ailments symptomatically, rather than aiding the body in expelling infection.

    During the 15 minute consults Hardesty does for acute issues, like viruses, allergies or bacterial infections (basically anything you would go see a “normal” doctor for), he would first determine the patient’s constitutional type—Vata, Pitta or Kapha, in the Ayurvedic tradition.  Your overall constitution includes your unique set of attributes, tendencies and personal traits. It also explains your personal needs for health and happiness, dietary requirements, types of exercise and climate; all of which can be determined through simple questions.

    He would then diagnose your ailment, similar to how any other doctor would, yet it is through the treatment-process that Hardesty’s commitment to individual care becomes evident. He first explains why he feels that sometimes modern medicine is an insufficient option for certain patients. “Antibiotics have caused treatment-resistant bugs. These bugs develop over time, evolution is on their side. But plants also have evolution on their side,” Hardesty said with a smile, continuing to say that plants have adapted to survive and reproduce for many, many years – which is why he prescribes them instead.

    After diagnosis, Hardesty would then offer up suggestions for single-herb treatments to help your body do what it needs to do for self-healing, based specifically on your individual constitutional type and past medical history.

    Hardesty also offers one hour well-visit consultations, in which he discusses diet, nutrition, lifestyle and supplements—all for prevention of acute and chronic illnesses. However, in all of his consultations, Hardesty seeks to help patients reach one main realization:

    “The importance of self-care.”

    Weeds of Eden-- 

    (502) 456-9453, 

    7505 New LaGrange Rd #102a

                    

    Ashlie Danielle Stevens's picture

    About Ashlie Danielle Stevens

    I am a freelance food, arts and culture writer. Among other publications, my work has appeared at The Atlantic’s CityLab, Eater, Slate, Salon, The Guardian, Hyperallergic and National Geographic’s food blog, The Plate.

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