*Elephant is not your doctor or hospital. Our lawyers would say “this website is not designed to, and should not be construed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion or treatment to you or any other individual, and is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional care and treatment. Always consult a health professional before trying out new home therapies or changing your diet.” But we can’t afford lawyers, and you knew all that. 

This article is written in partnership with MINERAL—they’re dedicated to creating high-quality, whole-plant hemp products that make us feel good, and we’re honored to work with them. ~ed.

Insomnia, depression, anxiety, and exhaustion—both physical and mental.

These are just the minor side effects many of us are experiencing as a result of living through this year so far.

Let’s face it, though: our health wasn’t doing so great to begin with.

Our stress levels are through the roof. Our nutrition is lacking. We don’t spend enough time in nature. We don’t move enough. We don’t disconnect enough. We don’t connect enough.

It’s pretty clear that the status quo ain’t working too well.

But the gift of a crisis is that it forces us to see clearly. To look the problem in the eye. To change our habits. To do whatever it takes to heal. Because the alternative is pretty grim.

Whole-plant remedies have an important role to play in our healing.

Matthew “Mills” Miller is a man who experienced this gift in a crisis, having gone nearly the way to death’s door, only to come back and pave the way to better health for many others.

Mills co-founded his whole-plant hemp oil company, MINERAL, after high-quality CBD oil played a crucial role in his own recovery from a life-threatening condition.

Now, MINERAL is not just another CBD company. In fact, they don’t even consider themselves a CBD company. One of Mills’ central convictions is that CBD alone is not enough—our bodies need the whole plant as nature intended in order to fully access its potential benefits.

Mills would know since he actually bet his life on it.

In the summer of 2016, Mills went to Peru in search of some kind of epiphany to shake him from the funk he was in. And he got just that, but not from summiting the Peruvian mountains.

After sharing a sherpa stew with his mountain guides, he became violently ill and was taken to a Peruvian hospital. There, he discovered he had contracted a life-threatening amoeba parasite, which was attacking his lower intestine, causing it to inflame and wrap around his colon, “squeezing it like a water balloon.” Doctors warned that it was only a matter of time before this “water balloon” exploded, which would quickly lead to sepsis and death. They urged him toward emergency surgery to remove his colon, but he refused—entrusting his life to plant medicines instead.

Back in Dallas, his diagnosis was confirmed, but he was still not sold on the treatment options offered to him.

Convinced there was a natural remedy, Mills instead undertook a radical regimen of whole-plant therapies to kill the parasite, including activated charcoal, pumpkin, garlic, ginger, and cloves. He also took turmeric, together with copious amounts of high-quality CBD oil to reduce the inflammation in his lower intestine.

After five days, the inflammation had subsided and the obstruction in his bowel had reduced dramatically. In disbelief, his doctor gave him the all-clear to return home to Austin, and he co-founded MINERAL shortly afterward.

As a deeply personal labor of love, MINERAL has been different from most other hemp-based brands on the market from the beginning.

Experience the whole-plant difference for yourself >>

Everything Mills and his team do is centered around preserving the kinetic connection between all elements of the hemp plant and delivering its benefits as effectively as possible to our overstressed and undernourished bodies and minds.

But don’t take their word for it. Because we believe in walking our talk, we make it our mission to personally try all our mindful partners’ products and offerings. Kelsey & Elizabeth Jane were the lucky editors who got to try some of MINERAL’s most popular products. Here’s what they thought:

Kelsey: It’s been tough to soothe my mind and ease tension in my body at nighttime with what seems like an ever-growing list of chaos unfurling in the world. Within an hour of taking SLEEP, MINERAL’s “nighttime aid for those who struggle to fall and stay asleep,” I felt my mind’s clutter decrease and my anxiety slowly fade. By bedtime, my brain and body had calmed down enough that I could sink easily into sleep for the night. I also stayed asleep all night and woke feeling rested and rejuvenated.

An essential for anyone who has sleep problems >>

Elizabeth Jane: First off, the packaging made the eco-freak within me so happy! No plastic! Yay! I’m in love with the MAISON recovery salve. It smells like a yoga studio. I live at 9,000 ft, so at high altitude, I’m used to putting on lotion, oils, and salves all day long. Usually, they leave my skin feeling greasy and heavy (but hydrated!) and I have to wash my hands after. But this was light and smooth. My skin drank it up effortlessly, like butter soaks into bread. I’ve had skin inflammation on my chest and this was a soothing, almost instant, loving release. Also, my fiancé just walked into the room and said, “What smells so good?” Me! Haha!

The ultimate recovery balm made with whole-plant hemp oil for stressed skin and sore muscles >>

The problem with CBD

The recent explosion of CBD has meant that the sheer popularity of this one, single cannabinoid (a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant) has overshadowed all other crucial parts of this powerful plant.

We all got so carried away that we forgot one of the fundamental principles of plant-based medicine: using the whole plant, as nature intended.

This is what MINERAL wants to bring back into focus at a time when we all so desperately need it. By nourishing our biology with a product that incorporates the whole plant and all its cannabinoids, terpenes, and essential plant components, we can gently restore our innate balance and rediscover what true health feels like.

CBN and CBG are just two of the many powerful cannabinoids that nature intended to work in harmony with CBD to stimulate our in-built healing mechanisms.

The research is still young on all cannabinoids, but there are many preliminary studies that show these two minor cannabinoids to have sleep-inducing, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, antibiotic, anti-cancer, bronchodilator, neuroprotectant, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidepressant properties.

Then, there are terpenes, which are the primary constituents of the essential oils found in any plant, not just cannabis. Terpenes’ medicinal properties are independent of cannabinoids with the ability to increase energy levels, improve mood, and relax the body and mind. Check out the amazing range that MINERAL-specific formulations feature>>

Unlike these guys, most CBD products are one-man bands of isolated CBD, carrying none of the synergistic benefits of whole-plant hemp. When we take these, instead of a high-quality, whole-plant version, we may miss out on many of the potentially therapeutic effects.

So, unless you’re subject to drug testing, in which case it’s better to be cautious, always look for a whole-plant formulation like MINERAL which maintains the symbiotic relationship of cannabinoids, terpenes, omega fatty acids, vitamins, and flavonoids through their extraction process.

Together with a supporting cast of natural botanicals, their approach means you’re more likely to experience the wide-ranging benefits of hemp.

While we may not find ourselves in quite as extreme a health crisis as Mills did back in Peru, one thing’s for sure: we could all use a boost of whole-plant nutrition to steady and soothe ourselves toward well-being.

After all, if we want to help make this beautiful, troubled world of ours a better place, we need to start with helping ourselves to feel better.