AdAgrA Conference 2025: Growing Better

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Ag and Your Health

Lee Wellard

Best Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments Part 1

Father in heaven, we are so grateful to be here this morning.

And Lord, you've said that we pray for a miracle and you direct us to natural remedies.

And you've also said through your prophet that when natural remedies are used according to your will, it produces supernatural results.

And Lord, we don't want to look at the remedy, We want to look at the 1 that stands behind it, the 1 who created it.

We give you all the glory and the praise this morning.

And we thank you for your Holy Spirit to guide and direct us this morning.

Okay, so first I want to start with a disclaimer.

So this information presented is for educational purposes only.

No information given is intended to be used as a substitute for good lifestyle habits or well-informed medical advice.

Please use your own common sense and apply on what is said.

Remember that herbal remedies are not a cookie-cutter approach to every condition.

What herb may work for 1 condition may not for another, and what may be good in certain situations may not be recommended in other situations.

There's no panaceas, and there's no 1 size fits all.

Herbs have their place, and they also have their limitations.

However, if used correctly, they can help solve a lot of issues that may require medical intervention if not used at all.

Any health advice can be harmful if not placed in its proper setting.

So do your own due diligence that success may attend your efforts.

Well, I like to start by sharing, you know, from inspiration, whether we have some endorsement in what we're talking about here today.

We're told that this is God's method, the herbs that grow for the benefit of man, and the little handful of herbs kept and steeped and used for sudden ailments have served tenfold, yes, 1 hundredfold better purposes than all the drugs hidden under mysterious names and dealt out to the sick." And By the way, she's talking about herbal teas here when she's saying steeped.

Okay, there are simple herbs and roots that every family, get that, how many family?

Every family may use for themselves and need not call a physician any sooner than they would call a lawyer.

I don't know about you, but I don't use lawyers very much, thankfully.

Now, she's not saying we don't need any physicians.

She's just saying we won't need their services as often if we're educated.

The Lord has given some simple herbs of the field that at times are beneficial and if every family were educated in how to use these herbs in case of sickness much suffering might be prevented and no doctor need be called.

These old-fashioned simple herbs used intelligently would have recovered many sick who have died under drug medications.

Now how many clinical studies do you think were done in Alamod's day?

And what do you think would have been the result if after Jesus rose from the dead they did a double-blind clinical study whether he should raise from the dead how do you think that would have gone yes and yet Ellen White gave her endorsement Now I am not saying that science is not important, I'm not saying we should investigate these things, I'm not saying we shouldn't use the scientific methods.

At the same time I believe that we need to put more weight, more leaning towards common sense approach what has been used traditionally in times past and also we use the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to guide us in our investigation.

So things to be cautious about when it comes to any herbal research.

Just to let you know, keep in mind that drug companies do a lot of clinical studies on herbal products and produce a biased slant.

In fact there was a study done in this showing that every time the media reported a herb to the general public it was neutral or negative.

Make sure there was no conflict of interest when viewing the study.

This also goes with herbal remedies by the way.

That includes studies, yeah, studies from herbal companies.

Keep in mind that even the best studies are only given probabilities and not certainties.

Okay, why do we do clinical studies in the first place?

There's 1 reason people do clinical studies.

It's to promote another study and that's why at the end of the study you say we need to investigate further right because it's not conclusive.

Understand that clinical studies are undertaken to get personal or institutional funding.

Don't take double blind studies as irrefutable evidence.

Make sure you understand the limitations of the study and read the whole study before you jump to conclusions.

For example, You've heard of comfrey, right?

Okay, well this study shows that comfrey, you know, is very toxic to rats' liver, okay, and it could actually wipe out their liver.

So the conclusion is if you're a rat don't take comfrey in large doses.

Okay, so I remember I had a store in Indiana and it was against the law for me to sell comfrey.

I could sell marijuana, but not that I did, but I would have to meet someone in a dark alley somewhere if I wanted to give him some comfrey.

So it's amazing, comfrey was taken out of all the stores by the FDA because of 4 clinical studies 2 of which were in America 1 in Australia 1 in England and it it was all all back in the same time back in the 1980s and so why would we take out a herb that has been maybe abused a few times because we think that the alkaloids in that comfrey can destroy rats liver.

Okay so yeah you would have to eat by the way thousands of pounds of this to get the same effect that they give to the rats.

And not all herbal supplements are safe either.

Okay, so this was a report given By the Attorney General and they did DNA testing on the herbs.

They found that 79% of samples of supplements tested either did not have any of the ingredients listed on their labels or contained other unlisted plant materials.

Okay and you'll find this in the big stores okay like Walmart, GNC, Target is another 1 alright.

Only 4% of the tested products from Walmart contain plants listed on the product labels Can you believe that is it any wonder why a lot of people don't get results because they're not getting the original ingredients in the first place.

Alright so we're at Adagra and you guys are learning about growing right?

So the 1 of the best things to do is have your own herb garden.

And you can plant that, even if you only have 10 by 10 foot square garden, you can plant 100 herbs in there for a family of 4 for all your needs for all the year.

So start by growing the things that you're going to eat and the things that are high in medicinal value.

So grow things Like, say your culinary herbs like thyme, basil, rosemary, dill, things that are high in antioxidants like oregano.

And throw in some comfrey, get your garlic going, get some onions going.

They're high in medicinal value, high in antioxidants.

By the way, there's nothing miraculous about herbs.

All they're doing is they're giving back to the body what the body needs.

So they're high in vitamins, they're high in minerals, they're high in phytochemistry.

Okay and the wonderful thing is that the longer you take a herb, the less you need of the herb.

The body will store a lot of those minerals, it'll store some of those fat-soluble vitamins and it can even store some of the phytochemistry.

And so the longer you take a herb, the less you need of it because it's giving back to the body what the body needs.

The longer you take them, the more you need, right?

And you can never get enough of what you don't need.

And so how do we sort of balance this, you know, do we just go from inspiration, Do we just go from science?

Well, I like the approach where you combine all of them together, right?

So we don't use science to validate Scripture, all right?

We don't use it to validate spirit of prophecy.

We use it in conjunction to a supportive argument to people in the world.

Okay, so combine inspiration and combine it with common sense, Combine it with empirical evidence.

Has it been used in the past successfully?

Best Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments Part 2

Someone asked me, can I elaborate a little bit more on the hormone side of things?

So let me just explain something why ladies are having such a hard time.

Now, this doesn't cover everything but Hopefully it will probably make sense for a lot of you that are struggling with this.

So the adrenals are very, very key organs in affecting hormones.

Okay, now they affect, stress hormones affect sex hormones very profoundly.

So the first building block of your sex hormone is the same as your stress hormone.

So it starts with cholesterol, then it goes to pregnenoline, and then from there there's a fork in the road and it can go to progesterone or it can go to cortisol.

I'm just simplifying here but basically put it this way the more stress you have the more shift you get in hormone production.

Alright so your adrenals often are the first to suffer and then they pull down the thyroid gland, okay.

So it usually goes adrenals and then thyroid because the adrenals, they're involved in T3 conversion, They're involved in also the interleukins, the little communication chemicals that translate messages from the immune cells to local tissue.

And so When the cortisol is high, then over time, this takes usually a few years, and it hits ladies usually in their 40s and 50s.

That's when you see the effects of it, and it pulls down the thyroid.

Okay, Another part in that play is often the liver, because the liver is 60% of the T3 conversion happens through the liver.

So if you have fatty liver, for example, if you have a compromised liver, then that can affect the thyroid.

So the adrenals go, then the thyroid gets pulled down, and then that affects hormones as well.

So adrenals go, thyroid goes, hormones go, sleep goes, weight goes, hubby goes.

So, so, so, so That's why you need to really work on helping support the adrenals before you hit that crisis so it can gradually transition you into that period.

And so 1 of the things we use for that is adaptogens.

And I'll cover that a little bit more later.

I'm sorry I've got an impossible task here trying to cover so much.

Now sex hormones have been affected but also male sperm, this is an amazing study that shows from the year 1973 to 2018 there's been a 62.3% reduction in sperm count.

So as you all know the sperm needs a certain count to basically lead to fertility and also spermatility.

And these 2 things are drastically plummeting in not only the United States, but worldwide.

Even in the animals in Antarctica, the seals, the dolphins, the fish, they're all suffering from the effects of this because of endocrine disruptors.

Okay, and the hormones are made up from what we eat, right?

So if we if we're not getting the right nutrition and good digestion, then as a consequence we're not going to have our hormones balanced.

I was over in Utah last year, saw this rock, balancing rock, 2, 000 tons and it's just perfectly situated there and reminded me of this statement, your hormones can't be balanced unless you're balanced.

Alright, so every law of health affects your hormones, whether it be sleep, whether it be drinking, whether it be sunlight, in fact sunlight plays a big part in your hormones.

It is actually a hormone of itself, vitamin D is a hormone and 10% of our genes need vitamin D.

I remember when I was over in Japan I was at this place there was 6 months a year no sunlight and if at all it came out it would be just like a welcoming friend.

You'd be snowing outside you take your shirt off and just have a sunbath because you feel so depressed right?

We feel so depressed when we have too much reduction, when we have a reduction in sunlight and so all the laws of health need to be balanced okay.

It runs through every other law of health, right?

You can get too much sunlight, not enough sunlight, too much Excite, not enough excite, too much food, not enough food, right?

And so when we're intemperate in 1 area, it has an effect in another area.

And so I'll just briefly tell you a couple of really good herbs for ladies' hormones.

Actually, it was Ellen White's favorite tea.

It's a blossom and you'll find this across North America.

If you do find it in the in the woods or out in your backyard just get the blossoms and wash it make sure a dog didn't beat you to it and then you can make a tea out of it and it's very high in isoflavones.

Isoflavones are Converted into the body to what we call brain derived neurotrophic factors.

It basically is brain fertilizer Brain fertilizer it protects you against cancers so if you want to protect yourself against endocrine cancers Which like breast cancer and a lot of the reproductive cancers are pushed by high amounts of estrogen This can protect you if your estrogens too high can bring it down if it's too low can bring it up.

There's no drug on earth that will do that, by the way.

If you have enlarged prostate, this can help bring it down.

It's very high in nutrition, by the way, and it's very good for the blood, it's a natural blood thinner, and some people use it as an estrogen replacement therapy.

Another great herb that I highly recommend is a herb called Vitex.

Now, my wife was told that it'd be a miracle she had children.

Now, we were married at 32, 33, and we tried for several years to have children and you know that get to a point your biological clock starting to tick down and we felt like Abraham and Sarah you know that feeling?

Thankfully there was no Hey Guys but anyway we didn't go to the land of Egypt, praise God.

But my wife learned about Vitex or Chase Berry and within 2 weeks of taking this she was pregnant.

Okay, now I'm not saying the same will happen to you, although I'm not saying it won't happen to you.

If you don't want to have children, stay away from Vitex, okay?

I had a lady call me 1 time in California, she wanted to get pregnant.

I said, well you know what to call your son if you have 1, Isaac.

Anyway, So, but it does have limitations, okay?

So, if you're in your 90s, you shouldn't have to worry about it, okay?

But it's very good for balancing progesterone, okay?

So if you've got fibroids, endometriosis, if you've got infertility, if you've got PECOS, it's good for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, it's good for hormonal swings, mood swings, very good for PMS symptoms.

So I highly recommend Vitex It's not advisable for men, okay If you want to let the side effects You can come up to me personally.

I'll tell you but it's not the best put it that way.

All right Okay, so this is cramp buck cramp buck anyone hit a cramp buck Cramp buck CRAMP buck like a dog box, right?

Cramp buck is anti-spasmodic and this is extremely good for severe menstrual cramping.

It doesn't taste good, just to let you know, but it's a whole lot better than pain.

But you can take this as a decoction and it's from the bark.

This is often used for hormones or hormonal balancing.

It helps with boosting energy levels, improves the mood, it helps with sexual health.

If you're fatigued and depressed, it can help with that.

It treats, helps treat sexual dysfunction, increases energy, balances hormones, improves fertility and helps reduce symptoms of menopause.

By the way, you want to use stimulants in the morning and relaxants at night.

Diana Fleming

Plants and Gut Microbiome – What’s the Connection? Part 1

Okay, so plants in the gut microbiome, what's the connection, part 1.

So I have 3 objectives to both presentations.

Number 1 is to discuss the basics of gut microbiome science in the context of the word of God.

This is the 35, 000 foot view because as you get closer to the subject, it's complicated because our God is brilliant and the human body is a complicated, brilliant creation.

So this is the basics, but I will leave you with practical things that you can do.

So in Acts of Apostles, page 284, we're told, as in the natural world, so in the spiritual world.

So as I'm sharing this information, I would like you to think about what spiritual applications there are to what's going on in the gut microbiome.

And then at the end, I will share 1 of them.

I have several in my head, but I will share 1 of them.

And then we can take time for you to share from the audience spiritual connections to what is going on in this wonderful subject.

And then in Fundamentals to Christian Education, page 375, the same principles run through the spiritual and the natural world.

The same principles run through both worlds.

So think about what principles we can draw from this, take from this.

So the second objective is that I hope as we delve into this, it will increase your love for our wonderful creator God.

And as I have learned about this subject, I keep learning about it, it just increases my love for the Lord.

And then I hope this will inspire you with the importance of the work that you are doing, growing organic plant foods.

For those of you who are actually doing that, I'm not.

It is such an important work for yourself, for your families, for your loved ones, for the community, for the Lord.

And the purpose, before the purpose, microbes are just microorganisms, same word.

And these are tiny living organisms that are invisible to the naked eye that can only be observed with a microscope.

Bacteria are the most abundant microbes on the planet.

That's about 5 million trillion trillion.

I mean, that's just a number that's incomprehensible.

The purpose of these is to serve as the foundation for all the complex ecosystems that sustain life on our planet.

Did you know that you are also covered in microbes?

From the top of your head to the soles of your feet.

And they're even across the front of your eyeballs.

And I am very grateful to God that I can't see these things.

So they estimate there's about a trillion of them outside of you on your skin.

A trillion is 12 zeros, just to remind you of that.

And so they're more than just in the gastrointestinal tract, that's the digestive tract, but that's the main location.

So there are trillions of microbes in our GI tract, And the vast majority of them are bacteria, and that's about 90%.

There are also yeast, archaea, parasites, fungi, protozoa, and viruses.

Now viruses are not really alive, but they're usually, you know, included in all of these microbes.

So we have them in our nose, we have them in our mouth, we have them in our throat, and they estimate there's billions, right?

20 to 50 billion, I mean, who knows but the Lord, right?

And then, when they get to the stomach, we have hydrochloric acid, and that acid kills a lot of microbes.

And God knows all about this since he designed the body.

And so it's a good idea to keep those microbe populations down so by the time the contents of the stomach leave, there's not very many there.

There are some microbes that live in the acidity of the stomach, but there's not the billions that were there that are in our mouth.

And then when we get to the small intestine, the beginning of the small intestine, we have bile, we have digestive enzymes.

These are also acidic, So they help keep the population down, but then the further we get through the small intestine, the more the microbes are in number because the acidity goes up, the lack of acidity rather, increases.

And so God knew this, so it's really amazing to me that he placed these structures, this is a electron microscope view, these structures in the end of the small intestine, the small intestine's like 20 feet long, these are lymphoid structures.

Lymphoid structures are part of the immune system, they're called Peyer's patches, and they're all inside, all amongst the villi.

Those little finger projections are the villi that cover our whole small intestine that increase the absorption surface.

But these structures are there to monitor the contents of the small intestine for pathogens.

Those are the bad microbes and initiate immune response when a threat is detected.

So God has placed it in here so that we can help keep the bad guys down, right?

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Ag and Your Health

Soil and the Mind – Is There a Connection? Part 2

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Parts

Best Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments Part 1

1h 2m

Best Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments Part 2

1h 1m

Plants and Gut Microbiome – What’s the Connection? Part 1

51m

Plants and Gut Microbiome – What’s the Connection? Part 2

42m

Soil and the Mind – Is There a Connection? Part 1

1h

Soil and the Mind – Is There a Connection? Part 2

59m

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