Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine, also known as Botanical Medicine, involves using a plant, or a part of a plant, for therapeutic purposes. They may be sold in fresh or dried form, or as capsules, powders, tablets, or teas. Herbal medicine has been used by virtually every culture throughout history, and is the oldest known form of healing.
It is assumed that the early use of herbal healing was developed by observing animals, and through trial and error. Over time a wide knowledge base of herbs was gathered and transmitted from generation to generation. In fact, many of the drugs used today by modern medicine came from herb originally, and one quarter of all the drugs prescribed in the United States today contain at least one active ingredient taken from plant material.
It is estimated that about 80 percent of the world's population use herbal medicine for at least some of their primary health care. Herbal healing has a major role in many different healing systems around the world, including Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and Native American medicine.
In mainstream modern Western medicine, the powdered leaf of the foxglove plant is commonly used as a cardiac stimulant, keeping millions of heart patients alive.
There are a number of ways that herbs can be prepared to be taken as medicine. These techniques include squeezing the juice from them, mashing them into a paste, applying the herbs directly to the body, adding water and sugar and letting it ferment into an herb wine, or steeping the herb in hot water to make a tea.
As herbal medicine becomes more and more popular, more manufacturers are supplying standardized herb extracts. This just means that the manufacturer guarantees that the proper amount and potency of the active ingredient is in the preparation being sold. This is sometimes a drawback, as the effectiveness of the herb may depend on a number of ingredients acting together, and standardized extracts sometimes omit some of the ingredients, thereby making the preparation less effective.
Although people have the impression that herbs are safe, since they are natural, herbs may interact in dangerous ways with other medications that you are taking, or even with the food you are eating. As herbs become more and more popular, the possibility of dangerous interactions increases. You should check with a qualified doctor to avoid any of these problems.
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