Bach Flowers: What Are They And How Effective Are They?
That a large number of different plants have medicinal properties It is a fact known since ancient times. Cutting fever, calming anxiety or helping wounds heal are some of the properties attributed to them. Science has demonstrated many of these insights and has extracted various active components from them.
Now, throughout history many ways have emerged to treat ailments linked to the consumption or use of certain plant products, and some have been scientifically proven while others are considered alternative treatments or homeopathy. In this sense, one of the plant-based treatments that have been developed throughout history are those known as Bach flowers
Bach flowers are a set of preparations of plant origin that were devised as therapy by Dr. Edward Bach
This treatment proposal is based on the ingestion or application of these preparations to the skin in order to help treat emotional aspects, so that they are offered to help recover emotional balance and even stimulate the immune system and the capacity for regeneration. .
The Edward Bach project
Specifically, Dr. Bach developed, through different tests, a total of 38 remedies or preparations from the combination of different plants based on what he called “vibrational characteristics.”
Bach flower treatment arises from the idea that illness arises from the existence of psychological conflicts between the personality and the soul, producing a blockage or imbalance of the person’s “internal energy” on an emotional level. Thus body, mind and spirit would be related and influence each other. The healing effect that Bach offered would be explained by the transmission of energy from plants to the person (without biochemical aspects being considered to have anything to do with it).
The plants with which the Bach flower preparations are made emit, according to this philosophy, a series of vibrations that could alter the person’s internal energy and help it reach a harmonious state, transmitting the energy of the plants to the preparation.
Its popularity as an alternative treatment
The use of Bach flowers has become popular in some New Age environments as a method of alternative natural therapy.
Many people administer and prepare the preparations themselves, although there is the figure of the floral therapist which is offered to determine the type of preparation and the doses to be applied according to the person and the type of existing problem.
The preparations and their preparation
As we have seen, Bach flowers consist of a total of 38 preparations, which are made with the use of plants, spring water and sometimes some alcohol as a preservative (other substances can also be used as a preservative in the case that applies to minors).
There are two basic preparation methods : boiling for thirty minutes in spring water to later filter the extract and then add brandy, glycerin or vinegar in the same quantity and solarization, in which the plants are left in a bowl with water for several hours in the sun and then also Filter it and add some of the aforementioned preservatives (brandy or apple cider vinegar).
38 prepared
These are some of the 38 preparations that Bach developed in his method, along with a brief description of what they are used for.
Efficacy of Bach flowers according to science
On a scientific level, treatment with Bach flowers It is considered a homeopathic practice with no proven effectiveness not being recognized as a therapy by the health system except in some countries.
The experiments carried out with the purpose of contrasting the possible effectiveness of this type of therapy seem to indicate that no significant differences are found between this type of treatment and the placebo. Thus, Bach flowers are not supported by the scientific community
In addition to the results, elements related to Edward Bach’s ideas have been criticized, such as the fact that it is based on the concept of the vibrational capacity of the different preparations, because it is a mystical conception and independent of the empirical testing required by the scientific method.
