By Jamila Owens-Todd, ND
Naturopathic Doctor & Herb Chemist

Why do I do this? It started from my very own personal journey to heal myself. Two decades ago, I dreaded my menstrual cycles due to excruciating pain. I shopped at the local health food store (Golden Grocers at the time) and found a tea, specifically for menstrual cycles. I drank this tea religiously and noticed that my next period improved. I still had some symptoms, but was considerably better.

I started to explore the herbs in that tea and found them each, individually in powdered form. I created capsules of the herbs and found a greater benefit with my periods. They weren’t just better, they had essentially, become pain-free. I then realized that my periods were much improved, however, the results were not consistent monthly. I realized that when I had more sugar and bread and carbohydrates, that my pain level would return but I also noticed significant bloating.

At that point, I made the decision to go “sugar-free” for one full year. Not only did my cramping pains go away, I noticed that my periods were shorter and that the bloating was non-existent. Another item, that I had never even considered, was that my moods had improved. My moods and emotional levels became more optimistic and an overall increased level of contentment.

What an added benefit! Healing can not only exist in the physical, it must cover the mental/emotional sphere as well. That realization opened many doors for me. I wanted to share these herbs with my friends and families. Once I started sharing with my loved ones, I also realized that I needed more education. I wanted to be safe in making these suggestions as herbs have side effects. I knew that I would have to study to become an herbalist and that was the birth of my plan to pursue Naturopathic Medicine.

Now, after 9 years of practice, I have found that these same herbs are just as applicable today as they were then. I not only have the knowledge to use them, but I have the clinical experience of seeing hundreds of patients improve with some of these very herbs.

Initially, I would prescribe herbal tisanes (teas) as this is an affordable means of using herbal medicine. I find today, that this is still a highly, reliable source of “prescribing” herbs. The mere act of steeping herbs in hot water, releases dozens of active, disease-fighting chemicals. This is my preferred method of consuming herbs. The ritual of sipping tea has become a mainstay in my life. It is the end of a long day, a rough week as well as a welcomed reward. I love sharing the benefits of herbs and preparing a formula for my patients! I welcome the opportunity to share my passion with you as founder of RootBerryLeaf. A tea company, providing high quality, organic, fair-trade, herbal teas (tisanes). Please join us in an upcoming Tea Talk Dec. 10, where I will share the science of many common herbs.

Yours in herbal healing,
Jamila Owens-Todd, ND
For more information, please contact Jamila at The Meridian Institute for Naturopathic Therapies (MINT), 314-918-1555 or visit This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2016 at 5:13 pm and is filed under December 2016. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.