What Holistic Really Means (and How Herbal Fads Have Twisted It)
The Misuse of the Word “Holistic”
Once upon a time, holistic meant looking at the bigger picture and seeing the whole body, mind, and environment as one interconnected system. The word comes from the Greek holos, meaning “whole,” and that’s exactly what it stood for: considering everything that shapes your health, from your diet and lifestyle to your trauma history, your surroundings, and the way your organ systems work together.
Fast forward to today, and holistic is stamped on everything from “good for all” miracle supplements to trendy “detox” teas. Most of them have nothing to do with the true principles behind the word. It’s marketing dressed up as holistic. This overuse hasn’t just stripped the word of its true meaning, but it’s also made some people doubt whether the whole approach is even real… This is highly frustrating for those of us who have taken the time to properly study and truly understand its true meaning.
And here’s another common misconception is that people often assume “natural” automatically means “holistic.” But just because something comes from nature doesn’t make it holistic. Holistic medicine is an approach, it’s about how and why you use a remedy. You can absolutely use an herb in a suppressive way, and even something like ice (cold therapy) can be used suppressively if applied without considering the bigger picture.
"Natural” Isn’t Automatically Holistic: The Allopathic Trap of Natural Remedies
I’ve been there especially when I was first starting out. I thought I was being holistic when I reached for ginger every time I had nausea. It’s natural, sure, but I wasn’t asking why the nausea kept happening. Ginger’s physiological qualities are circulating, drying, and clearing, and what I didn’t understand then was that it only helps if the nausea responds to those specific qualities. The times it didn’t work or even made things worse, were because the root cause wasn’t something ginger root could address. Nausea can have many different causes, and each one may require completely different qualities in a remedy.
It wasn’t until I found a good herbal school, that went into depth and kept traditional systems alive, that I began to understand just how complex herbs are and how deeply interconnected the body is. Anxiety isn’t just “in the head”; it can be linked to your gut, your hormones, or even your lungs. Nausea can be connected to the nervous system, diet, or circulation issues. Nothing in the body happens in isolation, and there’s always an underlying cause. Herbs work best when they’re matched to both the person and the root imbalance, not just the symptom. Once I started using herbs this way, I realized that’s when herbal medicine truly becomes holistic.
The remedy itself isn’t the issue, it’s the approach. Using something natural in a quick-fix way is still an allopathic mindset, focused on stopping a symptom rather than exploring its root. And this approach has its place, as long as if it’s not relied on as a long term crutch especially when the root cause isn’t clear or easy to pinpoint. While this can have its place, relying on it long-term risks overlooking deeper patterns. A truly holistic approach looks for those patterns, addresses the underlying cause, and works toward lasting balance instead of temporary relief.
How Herbal Fads are Born
You’ve probably seen it before… one day, an herb is just… an herb.The next, it’s everywhere. On TikTok. In your grocery store. At a Smoothie Shop. One year it’s ashwagandha, then turmeric, then elderberry. Suddenly, it’s “good for everyone” and will “fix” whatever you’ve got going on without you changing a single thing. That’s an herbal fad. These trends usually start with either a flashy new study or an influencer mention. Companies jump on it fast, launching capsules, powders, teas (you name it).
Herbal fads flatten all that complexity into one quick-fix solution. They focus on a single “star” quality of a plant (like echinacea for immunity) and ignore its other actions, its traditional uses, and how it might work differently depending on the person. Even the research driving these fads can be misleading. Some studies are done in petri dishes, not people. Others are funded by companies that want positive results. Sometimes they only test one isolated compound instead of the whole plant which isn’t how herbal medicine works in the real world.
The result? A small number of people might rave about a remedy, while others feel nothing or even worse, have side effects. And suddenly, the story shifts from “this herb works for everyone” to “herbs are fake. like how I mentioned above. Herbal medicine gets discredited when it’s treated like a fad. Its effectiveness comes from matching the right plant to the right person at the right time, not from chasing the latest miracle cure trending on social media.
The Ecological and Cultural Cost
When a plant goes from local tradition to global wellness trend, the impact can be huge and not always in a good way. Matcha from Japan, Ashwagandha and Turmeric from India, and Elderberry from Europe have all faced sudden surges in demand. This can drain farmland, stress wild plant populations, and push smaller farmers out of the market. To meet global orders, large farms often switch to monoculture, planting nothing but one crop. This strips soil nutrients, reduces biodiversity, and ramps up pesticide use, leaving ecosystems fragile.
Many fad herbs have deep cultural and ceremonial roles where they originate like ceremonial matcha in Japan or turmeric in Ayurvedic traditions. But when the global market takes over, traditional uses are replaced with quick, marketable fixes, and people in the regions where these herbs naturally grow or have been traditionally cultivated, often Indigenous communities or small-scale farmers, are not the ones making most of the money from the global wellness trend.
True holistic medicine respects not only a plant’s chemistry, but its ecological place and cultural story. Without that, “holistic” becomes just another buzzword, replaced with quick, marketable fixes that ignore the deeper meaning. Real holistic health is about caring for the whole picture, your health, the plant, and the planet.
How to Reclaim the Term and Your Health
If you really want holistic health, without all the hype, start with the basics: know who you’re learning from. Work with practitioners who have real training including knowledge in traditional systems of medicine which offer a personalized framework, and who can explain why their suggestions are both safe and effective. Don’t be shy about asking, “Who is this remedy best suited for? How is it prepared? Are there side effects?” That curiosity will help you tell the difference between truly holistic guidance, clever marketing, or well-meaning advice that still uses herbs like long-term drugs instead of part of a bigger healing plan.
When you do buy, think quality over quantity. Make sure you buy from a brand where the herbs are sourced in ways that respect the people and places that have kept them alive for generations. Fewer, well-chosen herbs will do more for you than chasing every new “superfood” that pops up on your feed. Support brands that give back to local communities, harvest responsibly, and are open about where their plants come from. And don’t forget… herbs aren’t magic on their own. Herbs are supportive and diet, environment and lifestyle is the foundation and root of health. This is true holistic healing.
Why This Distortion Matters?
When “holistic” gets stamped onto every new wellness craze, the meaning gets lost. Three big problems follow: people get a false sense of doing something healthy just by buying more products, they delay real solutions by chasing trends, and they end up disappointed when the fad doesn’t work, sometimes giving up on the whole idea of holistic health altogether. Think of turmeric lattes suddenly being sold as a cure-all, or matcha becoming the “must-have” drink without context for how it’s traditionally used.
So the next time someone recommends one magic quick fix herb for everyone’s anxiety, digestion, or fatigue… run. That’s not holistic. That’s marketing. Holistic health isn’t about chasing the next super herb or miracle cleanse. It’s about reconnecting with the bigger picture: your body, your mind, your environment. It’s about making choices that create real, lasting balance. When we protect the true meaning of holistic medicine, we protect not only our own health, but also the cultural and ecological integrity of herbal traditions.
If your first thought is “What can I take to make this go away?” you’re using a natural remedy in an allopathic way. If your first thought is “Why is this happening, and what needs to change so it doesn’t keep coming back?” you’re thinking holistically. Your Turn: The next time you reach for a remedy, whether it’s an herb, supplement or a tool, pause and ask yourself: Am I chasing a trend, or am I addressing the root cause? Share your answer in the comments below.
