Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D. earned his advanced degree in experimental psychology from Brigham Young University. His specialized area was psychopharmacology, with related studies in biochemistry, neurology, anatomy and physiology. His interest in medicinal botany began while in graduate school and his dissertation reflected that interest. Over the next several years his research in this area lead to the publications of several books, among which are: Herbal Tonic Therapies, The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine, Guaranteed Potency Herbs: Next Generation Herbal Medicine, and Fat Management: The Thermogenic Factor

I don't know if there ever really was such a thing as the Knights of the Round Table. But I'd like to think there was. And if it is true, then this must have been a special group of men, distinguished above all others; a mere handful chosen from literally thousands of candidates, proven in the field of battle, and sharing a special kinship one with another. I wonder if they would have sat around the Table arguing over who was the greatest. The Bible tells us something about another group of special men, the Apostles, bickering about who was the greatest, at least upon one occasion. But surely such moments were brief and probably few and far between. For the most part, I imagine that Knights and Apostles got along pretty well together, shared similar visions of good and duty and together accomplished far more than they could have done separately.

Tonic herbs are kind of like that.
   Special among the hundreds of thousands of plants that thrive on the continents and in the seas of the world, this tiny handful of herbs is able to work together to maintain the health and integrity of the most complicated organism to ever walk this planet earth. They don't accomplish this by acting alone or by acting against each other. And, although there are certain tonic plants that have the distinction of "sitting at the head of the table," so to speak, the greatest good is realized only when they get together and capitalize on each other's strengths.
   Sometimes I get the feeling that those of us fortunate enough to have in our possession the powerful Jurak Classic Whole Body Tonic don't appreciate our good fortune. Rarely in the United States has such a royal court of medicinal plants been assembled. There are reasons why more of these kind of products have not been commercialized, but we can't review them in the space of this column. The point is that the creation of the Jurak Classic Whole Body Tonic required a special vision not often encountered in Western medicine, a realization that health and wellness of body and mind could be maintained through the application of medicinal synergy derived from plants possessing the unique properties we attribute to tonics. The strength of the concept is found in the synergy, not in the individual plant.
   The tonic concept requires the realization that health is not just about waiting for something to break before you fix it. It is about routine maintenance. The automobile analogy is illustrative. The longevity of your car depends on keeping it in good shape. If you wait till it breaks, it won't last long. Your longevity likewise depends on maintaining inner balance among the body's working parts. Best performance is likewise a function of achieving balance among all internal regulatory mechanisms.

Now, are there some tonics better than others at balancing the body? Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that there are Major and Minor tonics. Two classes. Among the members of each class, however, no attempt is made to exalt one tonic over another. Rather, great emphasis is placed on the synergy that exists among them and how certain combinations yield slightly different effects. In Western herbal traditions, similar distinctions exist, but they haven't been formalized to the extent that exists in Asia. In both systems, the idea of a "whole body tonic" can be found. If you look closely at Jurak Classic Whole Body Tonic, you will see several Western tonic herbs that have their counterparts in Asia: for example, Alfalfa, Angelica, Licorice, Quassia, Passion Flower and Peppermint. (Isn't this extraordinary? It tends to validate the wisdom behind the creation of JC Tonic^®.) Whole body tonics tend to incorporate more of the Major tonics and some Minor tonics are included to further augment and supplement the primary goal of the creator. I wasn't there when Jurak Classic Whole Body Tonic was invented, but if I were to second guess Anthony Carl Jurak's father, I would say that his Major tonics were Thyme, Sarsaparilla, Dandelion, Angelica, Licorice, Gentian, Chamomile and Passion Flower. This select group will affect the health of every major system of the body. The synergy is huge. The power to balance - incredible. But the fact that these may be termed Major tonics does not in any way detract from the importance of the other herbs. Without them, the activity of JC Tonic would not be nearly as powerful. That is the beauty of an intelligently designed herbal tonic. Every piece is important. Every piece increases the total synergy of the whole.
   To complete our automobile analogy, the little bottle of brown liquid is your body's oil. It needs to be added frequently to keep all parts working smoothly. Like your body, it is an engineering marvel. With Jurak Classic Whole Body Tonic in hand, excursions on the Autobahn of life will be most satisfying.