028. Dave on Modern Pharmaceuticals vs. Plant Medicines

Mar 12, 2021

Listen to biomedical scientist and pharmacologist Dave explain modern science’s approach to studying and making drugs. In this nerdy discussion, Dave explains to Heather why some people like to take drugs and others are averse to it, and the two compare and contrast the approaches of modern pharmacology with the more indigenous approaches of Ayurveda and herbal medicine. A great listen for individuals interested in either modern medicine or holistic health.

In this episode, Dave and Heather discuss: 

• How pharmacology integrates physiology, chemistry and neuroscience
• Understanding what happens when you take something into your body that’s foreign
• What it means to be a scientist
• Pharmacologists traditionally going into the environment to understand the substances that nature has come up with
• Why modern pharmaceuticals are viewed as targeted poison
• That drugs are trying to interfere with a process that has gone awry in a body
• Ayurveda vs. pharmacology: How a pharmacologist would want to know what is the active ingredient in the Ayurvedic medicine that is working, and then synthesize that single active ingredient
• The difference between using the herb itself or the synthesized compound created from it 
• What an active ingredient is
• How traditional pharmaceutical companies are making an exodus out of treating mental illness, mood and disposition because there is so little known about the brain - and why that’s an opportunity for Ayurveda
• What doesn’t make sense to Dave about Ayurveda

Dave is a pharmacologist and biomedical scientist, whose training and inspiration for getting into the field was from an early pioneer in the field who came from Scotland and spent time in the Amazon with indigenous people. 

Heather Grzych is the author of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility and the host of the Wisdom of the Body podcast. A board-certified Ayurvedic practitioner, she bridges the worlds of conventional and alternative medicine to help women and men heal their physical and emotional lives. Heather is on the board of directors for the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) and has consulted with doctors, governments, and insurance companies. She offers virtual consultations and programs worldwide. www.heathergrzych.com  

Connect with Heather:

Instagram.com/heathergrzych

Facebook.com/grzychheather

 

This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only.