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Standardization of Herbs - What You Need to Know About Our Stance

Standardization is a measurement used to ensure that the quality of herbal medicine is controlled. When you are selecting tonic herbs in the market place, you will likely see on labels something like "reishi extract standardized to 10% polysaccharides (37 mg)" or "ashwagandha standardized for 4% withanolides (20mg)". 

  

With a standardized product, the benefits are generally short-lived, as it is acting more like a pharmaceutical drug within the body. Using Ashwagandha as the example here, the majority of extracts in the market today are standardized to contain around 2-20% withanolides as the active ingredient (ours is around 1.5%). This approach is suited to those working clinically, with a pharmacological mindset and approach, with the intention to treat dis-ease.

 

Here at SuperFeast we specialize in wild and semi-wild harvested herbs. We follow both the herbal lore and the science behind an herb's medicinal use and action within the body. Our view is one of holism, and we believe in the medicinal value of the whole herb rather than the some of its parts.

 

In this regard we don't allocate our resources to standardizing our products.

 

With full-spectrum herbal extracts such as those we exclusively work with, we are providing medicine created perfectly by nature. Our intention is to create products that can be easily integrated into your daily diet; those that carry a medicinal benefit to the body, mind and spirit over the long term.

 

The medicinal value of many of the herbs we work with (like Ashwagandha, reishi and lion's mane) have been extensively studied. For example, contemporary literature suggests that it is the withanolides present in Ashwagandha that are responsible for the multitude of its beneficial actions within the body. Similarly, the polysaccharides in reishi and other medicinal mushrooms are very well researched for their multiple health benefits. 

 

Standardizing for isolated constituents requires a lot of human intervention. When we are using something long term - such as adaptogens, tonic herbs, and medicinal mushrooms - we want to produce a potent product that requires minimal intervention from the point of harvest to the point of consumption. This is aligned with our earth-friendly ethos and our respect for the lore of the land and the plant kingdom.

 

Taoist (or Daoist) tonic herbalism aims to utilize plant medicines to create an environment in the body where states of ill health are less likely to occur.  Once you start synthetically isolating certain compounds in an herb, you begin to alter the natural constituent ratio; you alter the medicine. This interferes with the innate wisdom of the herb and its ability to unfurl healing within the organs and meridian systems of the body. You are reducing the herb's capacity to work with you long term.

 

We hope this demonstrates our position here at SuperFeast. If you have any queries at all, please reach to us at hello@superfeast.com or (323) 694 4600 for a chat.

Mason Taylor, founder of SuperFeast, on his latest trip to China

Mason Taylor, founder of SuperFeast, on his latest trip to China, where your SuperFeast herbs are sourced Di Tao (Di Dao) - from their spiritual homeland