By Katya Difani
Our mainstream healthcare system is not working well. Just look around or read news headlines. Chronic health problems are on the rise, including obesity, cancer, heart disease, and gastrointestinal issues. Most people don’t understand their own bodies, never mind understand how to keep them healthy.
A different kind of healthcare means going back to the basics: learning what it means to keep our bodies healthy and taking steps in our daily lives to implement what we’ve learned. That is what the founder of Herban Wellness, a new shop opening in downtown Kirkland, is aiming to do.
It is important to listen, learn, and choose when it comes to healthcare.
“If you feel you don’t have a choice, you feel hopeless or stuck, or maybe just resigned,” says Katya Difani, founder of Herban Wellness. “There’s a lot of information out there, and a lot of it is contradictory or confusing. What I hope my shop will provide is a place where people can find some good information about their bodies and health as well as products to use in their daily lives to feel healthier, or at least know what their options are.”
Herbal medicines have a long history of use. Their acceptance throughout history has waxed and waned with the ages, but medicine began with the use of plants. In the United States, the knowledge about medicinal plants and how to use them all but disappeared in the early part of the 20th Century. Medical doctors often just believed they were harmless, but inert.
Today, many people are rediscovering that herbs have a place in healthcare. In 2007, the National Health Interview Survey found that almost one in five adults surveyed (18.9 percent) had used herbs in the past 12 months. Herb use has also increased for pet care, perhaps largely because herbs often have far fewer unintended side effects.
Fortunately, herbs do not need to stand alone and many clinicians are using herbs effectively and safely in their practice, including naturopathic doctors (NDs), doctors of Chinese Medicine, nutritionists, and herbalists. The increasing integration between various healthcare approaches means more choices and greater combined knowledge. Eating healthier and using herbal and nutritional products does not have to be scary. Education and training make it so that these products can be used safely and effectively. With her lifelong interest in health and healing and her degree in Herbal Science from Bastyr University, Katya Difani hopes to share some of the knowledge she’s gained along the way to help people achieve health.
Katya Difani is the founder of Herban Wellness, located at 103 Lake Street South in Kirkland. Call 206-330-2171.
