Kiiera Success Blog

Kiiera ViV: A Brief Herbal History

The concept for Kiiera grew from the combination of two words. “Ki,” the
ancient Asian belief in a life sustaining, vital energy.   And “era,” representing
a new generation of significant events in botanicals.

Scientists are just now beginning to test the properties of herbs, and are
being very pleasantly surprised by their research.   They are finding out what
Chinese herbalists have known for centuries about the healing properties of
herbs.   And these properties are in fact,  scientifically verifiable.

In the beginning,  all herbs were simply referred to as ‘divine herbs’ by the
Shamans who used them along with incantation and ashes to ‘heal’ people.
There were no ‘doctors’ as we know them today and certainly no corner
drug stores filled with pharmaceuticals.

The entire socio-economic structure 5000 years ago was built on agriculture.
Agriculture is where much of the knowledge of herbs and herbal remedies
originated. People used what was available to heal their ailments.   Their
observations of the world around them led to the essential knowledge of
which plants, animals, animal products and insects had healing properties.

As farmers weeded their fields, they learned that the weeds they eradicated
provided fertilizer for their crops and that some of those same weeds had
healing properties that could cure them of disease and ease their pain.

Shen Nong is referred to in Chinese history as ‘The Divine Husband’ and
reportedly poisoned himself with seventy poisons in one day, he then used
hundreds of herbs to cure himself. Shen Nong may or may not have been
a real person, some believe that the stories are only legends, others believe
that he was a real person.

Because herbal research was not government regulated 5000 years ago,
much of today’s herbal knowledge is the product of simple trial and error
testing. Most of the testing has been done on human beings who had no
other options.

All food supplements are considered a subset of food, under federal law.
Vitamins, minerals, and herbs, whether they are in capsule form, liquid form
or chewable are regulated by federal law. The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforce the laws that govern
the safety standards of food supplements as they do with all foods.

The Food and Drug Administration has not only the right but the obligation,
under the law, to stop the sale of any unsanitary product. The FDA requires
dietary supplements meet strict manufacturing requirements, including
regulations for potency, cleanliness, and stability.

The bottom line is that the supplements consumers purchase, vitamins,
minerals and herbs, are as safe as all of the rest of the food supply, when
used correctly.