“I think herbalism is the medicine of the people. When we look at herbalism as a whole, you have to really respect that historically medicine was traditionally it was reserved for the aristocracy and some could even say that those comparisons can be drawn today with our medical system in the United States right now with people being forced to have insurance or have large amounts of finances in order to be able to access certain amounts of care,” said Traas.
The educator said she enjoys herbalism because of the traditions passed down through storytelling and through record-keeping that dates back thousands of years.
“We’re a culture that pops ibuprofen as opposed to ginger and there's some phenomenal research on ginger that shows that it's just as effective on pain as ibuprofen in certain dosages and yet, why hasn't that caught on? And how can we make it catch on? And that's where I get really excited and really passionate because sometimes I just think it's showing people what already exists, which is really exciting.”
