Herbal medicines are certain types of medicines which are purely made by herbs. They don’t have any side effects, mainly because most of them are found in nature and are not harmful to the human body. Many well established medicines originally come from plants which is very interesting and completely opposite of different medicines which are made in labs. For example, the painkiller morphine comes from poppies, aspirin comes from the bark of willow trees and dioxin ,a drug used to treat heart failure, comes from foxgloves. Traditional herbal medicines have been used in the United Kingdom for centuries.
Although there are other conventional medical treatments available, herbal medicines remain popular even today and continue to grow. A long time ago, herbal medicine was the only option, but people have strayed away from them due to the convenience and fast working action of drugs today. As our book says, “In the Western world, the feeling that “natural” is better than “chemical” or “synthetic” has launched the market for “natural” foods toa $12. 9 billion industry, with “all natural” becoming the second most common…”(2). This shows that people are getting back into the ways of healing that people were using when they were the only option.
Though it is classed as a complementary medicine in the United Kingdom, it’s actually the most widely practiced form of medicine across the world. Eighty percent of the world’s population is dependent on herbs for their health. Some herbal treatments are well established, and have undergone clinical testing. This approach is best called phytotherapy and uses one remedy for one condition based on proper scientific testing. Traditional herbal medicine makes a diagnosis based on factors that are no longer used by conventional medicine.
A patient is prescribed a herbal mixture that is individual to him and based on his characteristics. Therefore, 10 different people with depression, for example, would each receive a different mixture which is typically made up of six to 10 different herbs. (Kastner) There are a number of other therapies that use plants as remedies.
Apart from Western herbal medicine, you may also have heard of some of the more popular ones are: Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, which treats the mind and body together with herbal medicines, yoga, massage, diet and meditation and traditional Chinese medicine, which works on the same principles as Ayurveda and uses herbs (1).
Many conventional medicines originate from a single active ingredient of a plant. Scientists can isolate this and produce it on a large scale in a laboratory. This is the opposite of herbal medicines which may contain dozens of different ingredients. Herbalists believe that all the elements are in balance within a plant and so it’s important to keep them together. The different components are made more or less powerful depending on the others that are present.
Decoctions are made by boiling barks, roots and berries to extract the active ingredients. The liquid is strained and can be taken either hot or cold. Tinctures are made by soaking herbs in water and alcohol to extract and preserve the active ingredients. The liquid is then stored in small bottles and taken with water. Infusions are made like teas. Boiling water is poured over the herb and is left to sit for about 10 minutes, creating a liquid to be taken as a hot drink or medicine.
Infused Oils are made with chopped herbs and oil. The mixture is either placed in a bowl over boiling water, or left to infuse in the sunlight. Creams are made from herbs and either oil or fat. The mixture simmers for about three hours before it is strained and set in dark bottles. Ointments are also made from herbs combined with either oil or fat. The ointment is then heated quickly over boiling water before it is strained and set (3). Herbal medicine can treat almost any condition that patients might take to their doctor.
Common complaints seen by herbalists include skin problems such as psoriasis, acne and eczema, digestive disorders such as peptic ulcers, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and indigestion. Problems involving the heart and circulation like angina, high blood pressure, varicose veins, varicose ulcers etc. can also be treated successfully as can gynecological disorders like premenstrual syndrome and menopausal problems. Conditions such as arthritis, insomnia, stress, migraine and headaches, tonsillitis, influenza and allergic responses like hay fever and asthma can also be treated with herbal medicine.
Qualified herbalists know when a condition is best seen by a doctor or another therapist. Nowadays, people prefer herbal medicines. Life is becoming more stressful, busier, more tensed and people are working like machines. More and more people are suffering from different diseases due to this life style. They rely on herbs to improve their health. This is the major reason of popularity of herbs. Doctors believe that in future any disease would be cured by herbs alone. (1) After reading into herbal medicine, I really want to start giving it a try any time I have something wrong.
It is amazing how a practice used before any other forms of medicine were even around is making its way back into being one of the most commonly used practices around. The benefits of putting something natural into your body definitely outweigh putting something created in a lab. The fact that some plants can have so many good ingredients in them to help cure the widest variety of sickness and diseases really makes you think about why people would want to use something that you don’t know all the ingredients to instead.
I think Herbal and Nutritional medicine is definitely the way to go in most cases. Of course there are certain situations where modern medicine can treat things that herbal medicine can’t.
Works Cited 1. Kastner, Mark, and Hugh Burroughs. Alternative Healing: The Complete A-Z Guide to more than 150 AlternativeTherapies. Henry Holt and Company, 1996. Print. 2. Insel, Paul, Don Ross, Kimberley McMahon, and Melissa Bernstein. Discovering Nutrition. 4th ED. Jones & Bartlett, 2013. 83-85. Print. 3. No, Author. “Herbal Medicine. ” University Of Newhampshire Health Services. N. p. , n. d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.