The PhytoDynamic Art of Herbal Formulation

Herbal formulation is the heart and soul of most systems of traditional herbalism. In order to truly promote health in a system, individual ingredients need to be skillfully combined to address the different aspects of the system that need to be brought into balance or made to function efficiently. Just as herbs contain a myriad of compounds, combining herbs with different actions allows an expert formulator to tailor an herbal formula that will best bring optimal efficiency to human physiology. Planetary Herbals uses this PhytoDynamics principle of balanced formulation in every product.

This is in direct contrast to “magic bullet” approaches to health care, herbal or conventional, that typically address health and healing by seeking single active constituents that may elicit some positive, but often only symptomatic, action. This type of modern investigation is of value.

Modern science continues to validate what traditional herbalists have known for generations, while adding different insights into the dynamic actions of herbs, their influences on human physiology, their far-reaching benefits, and occasionally even new applications for age-old botanicals. Planetary Herbals fully embraces this evolving science. However, to simply utilize a magic bullet approach in the development of herbal products greatly limits the health potential of herbs and creates products that will be helpful for some of the people some of the time, but will not be effective for many of the people much of the time. This is one of the reasons why many people are confused about what products to use or get mixed results with the products they try. In contrast, fully integrating traditional principles of PhytoDynamics into herbal product development has the potential to offer preparations that will positively impact most of the people most of the time.

Clinical Efficacy

A fundamental distinction of Planetary Herbals is the level of clinical experience behind every product. Planetary Herbals' original and primary formulator, Michael Tierra, is an herbalist, licensed acupuncturist, Oriental Medical Doctor, and renowned author, with a 35-year clinical practice. Michael is one of the most influential herbalists of modern times. He is a visionary who conceptualized the fundamental principles of planetary herbalism and has dedicated his life to melding the best of the world's herbal traditions into a system that is based on clinical efficacy. He has clinically devised formulas based on these revered systems, observing first-hand their efficacy, and making the riches of these traditions available to the public.

Michael's contributions to this exciting evolution are complemented by an exceptional team of formulators, which includes herbalists, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic practitioners who each bring their own unique perspectives and clinical experience to the development of the Planetary Herbals product line. These include nationally and internationally renowned herbalists such as Jill Stansbury, Lesley Tierra, Alan Tillotson, and Roy Upton. Planetary Herbals delivers more than 35 years of clinical experience in every bottle - in addition to the thousands of years of experience embodied in the most well-developed of the world's herbal traditions.

PhytoDynamics and Full Spectrum™ Herbs

A key aspect of PhytoDynamics is the recognition that the beneficial properties of plants are due to the myriad compounds they contain, acting together as they do in nature. This also contrasts with the typical Western, magic bullet approach of isolating "active" constituents, such as aspirin from willow bark, under the misperception that one constituent can have more than limited, symptomatic health benefit.

Identifying and quantifying specific compounds can be useful to ensure the presence of key compounds shown to be beneficial by modern scientific investigation, and can be an important quality assurance tool. But it is also important to maintain the broad spectrum of compounds contained within the herb. Planetary Herbals ensures the delivery of a Full Spectrum of herbal compounds by combining whole herbs or whole herb extracts with ingredients that have been prepared to supply standardized concentrations of the most important key compounds, in dosages determined by modern clinical research to be most efficacious. In this way, Planetary Herbals Full Spectrum formulation preserves the natural integrity of the herbs themselves, providing consumers with a Full Spectrum of benefit.