Deep Roots (Montevallo and Birmingham)
The Maker: Cameron Strouss
Cameron Strouss just wanted to feel healthy again.
Surgery and post-operative treatment to her ankles when she was a teenager left her in pain and with more physical problems than she had before. Undiagnosed food allergies caused more problems and Strouss struggled to find answers through the typical doctor-prescription-treatment route.
Arthritis, pain, fatigue and anxiety were the norm, but Strouss couldn’t help but think there was a better way.
“Finally, one day I saw a plant and I thought, ‘Why don’t I know how to use this? Why wasn’t this passed down to me?’,” Strouss said.
Strouss started using herbs much like she would pharmaceuticals – taking a specific herb to treat a specific problem or symptom.
“I was not getting the results I wanted to with my own health and I realized that it’s more about the whole body so I started just learning more and doing more diet and supplementation with herbs, looking at nutrient issues and more well-rounded dietary supplementation and then also using herbs,” Strouss said.
Deep Roots is an Alabama Maker tapping into plants’ potential from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Strouss earned a degree in biology at the University of Montevallo. She then went to work at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens to brush up on native plant knowledge.
An internship with Herb Pharm in Oregon, training with clinical herbalist Thomas Easley, and work with All is Well Health and Inspiration in Andalusia put her on the path to become a registered herbalist (RH) through the American Herbalist Guild and a functional herbalist (FH) through the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine.
After completing her herb training five years ago, Strouss decided to put her knowledge to work.
“It was time for Deep Roots to become a thing and for me to start helping other people with their health,” she said.
Deep Roots offers clinical consultations that include chronic and acute care herbalism. The company also presents educational programs on herbal and botanical medicines.
Strouss mixes her own medicines and sells them through the Deep Roots store in Montevallo, online and at events, such as the Market at Pepper Place.
Strouss also operates the Embody Practice Center in Birmingham.
While more people are discovering herbal medicine, Strouss reminds them that what she is doing isn’t new.
“I’m not fringe or cusp or a pioneer,” she said. “This has been a road that’s been forged long before me but I’m glad to be holding the torch and passing now on to other people through our educational programs.”
The product: Herbal medicines, extracts, salves, teas and blends.
Take home: A bottle of Alabama Heat ($20).
Embody Practice Center, 3918 Montclair Road, Suite 100, Birmingham, Alabama 35213
Deep Roots storefront, 620 Main St., Montevallo, Alabama 35115