Reggie’s Herb and Tea House, a Closer Look at Traditional Medicine
For the past three decades, one Belize City man has been working to keep traditional medicine alive. Reginald Hamilton, known by many as Doctor Reggie, the founder of Reggie’s Herb and Tea House, has a wealth of knowledge on organic medicines. Aside from equipping himself with the necessary skills through research, he considers his work a calling bestowed upon him by his ancestors. For generations, many cultures have used natural products to prevent and treat illnesses. As an exporter of traditional medicines, Hamilton’s practice is a blend of traditional and modern medicine. News Five’s Paul Lopez tells us more in tonight’s installment of Kolcha Tuesday.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Reginald Hamilton is the founder and owner of Reggie’s Herb and Tea House. He is also a traditional herbalist who comes from a long line of traditional healers. Hamilton operates from his property on Pelican Street in Belize City. He conducts business from a small first floor office. Reggie refers to his passion for traditional medicine as a gift from his ancestors. He believes that he was chosen to be a healer.
Reginald Hamilton
Reginald Hamilton, Owner, Reggie’s Herb and Tea House
“My main focus is to take care of people, don’t matter class, color, creed. It is universal, it belongs to the world as the world has its elements and as healers we need to take care of people from no matter what kind and who. There are three living organisms, plant animals and human and I am a human that fulfill the capacity to see that life goes on to preserve.”
Most cultures include traditional healers as their go-to practitioner. They would often include prayers and other spiritual remedies to address a patient’s need. But for Hamilton, his work is primarily focused on these natural medicines and their healing properties.
Reginald Hamilton
“If I am suppose to disseminate knowledge and take care of people, I must follow that trend of passing over what has been given on to me. It is a rely, baton and for me culture is a running thing and it is suppose to go on and on and on, but in most instance some people don’t recognize what exactly is culture and they drop the ball on what they should preserve and keep and not keep and so on and so. Every culture definitely has a practice, just recently I went to a conference in a part of Mexico and there was four cultures recognized, the Creole, the Garifuna, the Mestizo, the Mayan and the government of the day sent out four healers. I was one of those. I am a Creole by birth.”
Reggie’s Herb and Tea House is certified as an official business with over sixty products that serve various purposes.
Reginald Hamilton
“Deriving at a product does not mean that you are just going to put things together; it has to do with the properties, the existing properties of the herbs, putting them together. These herbs have their composition value. They can be very acidic, they can be alkaline, and they can be poisonous. One of the first things I move on is to study which type of herb is more poisonous to the body. This is what you call a defense tea pack and the purpose of a defense tea pack is for people who come here and are low in iron. They have a deficiency of iron, they are not consuming sufficient iron. Or maybe they have an internal inflammation or problem that is taking or subtracting the iron. Maybe the iron is not being facilitated sufficiently in the body. I don’t know the doctor do know that through diagnosis. When you come to me I will ask you question to know where you are at. You have to present to me a bill of health from your doctor to say these are some of the things you are suffering from.”
Hamilton explained that he requires his patients to present a medical diagnosis from a certified doctor so that he can prescribe the right treatment, as opposed to compounding the illness. This is where the long standing cultural practice of traditional medicine intersects with modern medicine. Hamilton is also working to raise awareness about the value of the rainforest around us.
Reginald Hamilton
“The rainforest is being exploited, raped, and harvested without permission and when you deal with these things, plants especially you have to permission yourself to the creator to extract these things and deforestation, I say devastation, I don’t even say deforestation, I say devastation is taking place. I think there must be certain things in place to restore the rainforest, to keep the medicine, the medicinal plants in the forest to have it. If I may I say in the next ten years we might be in serious trouble to get certain things that we would tend to have.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
