History of Herbal Medicine

I have an ear hanker

2000 B. C. ~ Here, eat this root. ot.

1000 B. C. ~ That root is pagan, opine this prayer.

1850 A. D. ~ That prayer is superstition, drink this potion.

1940 A. D. ~ That potion is snake oil, swallow this pellet.

1960 A. D. ~ That pellet is unprofitable, take this antibiotic.

2000 A. D. ~ That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.

2060 A. D. ~ Only drug addicts and bums mobilization prescription meds.

The Progression of Medical Thinking

About Possibility Methods of Curative

1960 ~ Quackery

1970 ~ Fringe

1990 ~ Choice

1997 ~ Collateral

2001 ~ Integrative

Today ~ Most doctors square one suggesting natural means of cure.

2020 ~ Mainstream

2040 ~ Herbs available in injections

2060 ~ Illicit to mobilization medical prescription drugs with side effects ( about 90 % of 2011 prescription meds )

Herbal Medicine

Overview:

What is herbal medicine?

Herbal medicine - further called botanical medicine or phytomedicine - refers to using a plant ' s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Herbalism has a long tradition of value frontage of conventional medicine. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality upper hand along with advances in clinical research fireworks the rate of herbal medicine in the treatment and preventing disease.

What is the history of herbal medicine?

Plants had been used for medicinal purposes long before recorded history. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings recount medicinal uses for plants. Indigenous cultures ( uniform as African and Native American ) used herbs in their salutary rituals, eternity others developed regular medical systems ( parallel as Ayurveda and Regular Chinese Medicine ) in which herbal therapies were used. Researchers erect that people in different parts of the world tended to fitness the corresponding or similar plants for the same purposes.

In the early 19th century, when chemical analysis first became available, scientists began to extract and modify the active ingredients from plants. Later, chemists began making their own version of plant compounds, and over time, the use of herbal medicines declined in favor of drugs.

Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80 % of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some part of their primary health care. In Germany, about 600 - 700 plant - based medicines are available and prescribed by some 70 % of German physicians. In the last 20 years in the United States, public dissatisfaction with the cost of prescription medications, combined with an interest in returning to natural or organic remedies, has led to an increase in herbal medicine use.

What is herbal medicine good for?

Herbal medicine is used to treat many conditions, such as asthma, eczema, premenstrual syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, menopausal symptoms, chronic fatigue, and irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia and other degenerative diseases, among others. Herbal supplements are best taken under the guidance of a trained health care provider. Be sure to consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any herbs.

Who is using herbal medicine?

Nearly one - third of Americans use herbs. Unfortunately, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nearly 70 % of people taking herbal medicines ( most of whom were well educated and had higher - than - average income ) were reluctant to tell their doctors that they used complementary and alternative medicine. Many herbs can interact with prescription medications and cause unwanted or dangerous reactions. Be sure to consult your doctor before trying any herbal products.

How is herbal medicine sold in stores?

The herbs available in most stores come in several different forms: teas, syrups, oils, liquid extracts, tinctures, and dry extracts ( pills or capsules ). Teas can be made from dried herbs left to soak for a few minutes in hot water, or by boiling herbs in water and then straining the liquid. Syrups, made from concentrated extracts and added to sweet - tasting preparations, are often used for sore throats and coughs. Oils are extracted from plants and often used as rubs for massage, either by themselves or as a part of an ointment or cream. Tinctures and liquid extracts are made of active herbal ingredients dissolved in a liquid ( usually water, alcohol, or glycerol ). Tinctures are typically a 1: 5 or 1: 10 concentration, meaning that one part of the herb is prepared with five to ten parts ( by weight ) of the liquid. Liquid extracts are more concentrated that tinctures and are typically a 1: 1 concentration. An extract form is the most concentrated form of an herbal product ( typically 2: 1 - 8: 1 ) and is sold as a tablet, capsule, or lozenge.

Currently, no organization or agency regulates the manufacture or certifies the labeling of herbal preparations. This means you can ' t be sure that the amount of the herb contained in the bottle or even from dose to dose, is the same as what is stated on the label. Some herbal preparations are standardized, meaning that the preparation is guaranteed to contain a specific amount of the active ingredients of the herb. However, it is still important to ask companies making standardized herbal products about their product ' s guarantee. It is important to talk to your doctor or an expert in herbal medicine about the recommended doses of any herbal products.

Are there experts in herbal medicine?

Herbalists, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, pharmacists, medical doctors, and practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine all may use herbs to treat illness. Naturopathic physicians believe that the body is continually striving for balance and that natural therapies can support this process. They are trained in 4 - year, postgraduate institutions that combine courses in conventional medical science ( such as homeopathy, nutrition, and lifestyle counseling.

How can I find a qualified herbalist in my area?

For additional information, or to locate an experienced herbalist in your area, contact the American Herbalists Guild ( AHG ) at site www. americanherbalistsguild. com

Dr. Strande is a Naturopath and a Microbiologist. Part of his services are phone consultations to patients all over the world. If you have tried everything and you are still not well call the clinic at + 1713 ) 660 - 1420, and check us out at www. simplyhealingclinic. com

History Of Herbal Remedies

The world of today is a world of progress, no one doubts about that. We have managed to do in 200 second childhood of constant industrial revolution, what we couldn ' t do in thousands and thousands of tumultuous history. And somewhere, with all these technological breakdowns and synthetic substances, artificial food, not to mention the dynasty of King Adaptable, some people still boast the turn and the intelligence to pump themselves how people in the bygone remained healthy and fit gone astray nutritional supplements, drugs, identical antibiotics. Their secret was that that they used what Bulky Nature gave them: the plants to cure themselves. Fortunately, this scholarship hasn ' t been forgotten; matching if they ' re not therefore widely used, plants have institute their place in our civilization.

The feature begins thousands of elderliness ago, before the recorded history, when man didn ' t know how to write or read, but knew how to follow their instincts. They discovered that certain herbs could lighten their pains, others could make a wound disappear and others could even kill them. In the course of time, societies developed and with them appeared the means to transmit their knowledge other than orally.

5000 years ago, in Ancient China, people used rhubarb ( Rheune palmatum ) as a purgative without knowing anything about the actual active substances they contained. Also, they used Ephedra to treat asthma, even though the substance called ephedrine was discovered much later, in 1887 AD. All oriental ancient civilizations had their insights into the fascinating world of botany, as plants were one of the few elements to which they could resort to heal themselves. The famous king Hammurabi of Babylon ( 18th century BC ) recommended mint to cure constipation and other digestive disorders. Mesopotamian doctors considered that the best time to take a herbal medicine was at night or early in the morning, a principle which is confirmed nowadays by modern studies. The Indians had an entire system of rules, prescriptions, remedies and practices, called Ayurveda, many of which involved the use of plants. They also had strict rules about when, by whom and from where the plants should be collected

People in Ancient Egypt knew and used the castor - oil plant, wormwood, saffron and oregano to heal and disinfect wounds; they also put coriander in their tombs so that the spirit will remain healthy in his afterlife. There are written records of their use of garlic ( especially for the workmen who built the pyramids ), indigo, mint and opium. The Greek and Roman civilizations have made a major contribution to the medical science. Although much of their studies stemmed from other cultures ( Mesopotamian, Egyptian ), they added precious information and, in time, they became more and more concerned about the diseases and cures as natural and realistic processes, rather than spiritual or magical. Physicians like Hippocrates, Dioscoride and others have recorded their discoveries; their works would enlighten the pre - medieval civilizations for many centuries after their death. Dioscorides wrote De Materia Medica ( 1st century AD ), which contained a list of hundreds of medicinal plants, along with their description and curative qualities.

The Dark Ages met with a lack of any further recorded herbal studies; the knowledge was probably transmitted from generation to generation - parents taught children, monks, even herbalist taught apprentices. However, there lived a great Persian physician by the name of Avicenna ( Abu Ali al - Husayn ibn Abd Allah Ibn Sina ) who wrote one of the most famous books in the history of medical science: The Canon, which also contained information about how plants should be used and their properties.

In1527, the Swiss thinker Paracelsus demonstrates that only a small part of the plant has an effect upon the human body ( 1g per 20 kg of plant ), which is what we now call active substance. Later on, scientists have developed methods to isolate these substances.

However, the first complete categorization of all known medicinal plants was printed in a book called Theatrum Botanicum by John Parkinson in 1640 AD. In 1649 Nicholas Culpeper pulished A Physical Directory, which is considered one of the best herbal pharmacopoeia manuals still quoted today.

As chemistry as a science developed, physicians started to use more and more widely synthetic medicines, such as aspirin, which proved to have side effects. Yet all pharmacists and drug producers confirm the fact that, unlike artificially synthesized substances, medicines extracted from plants are more accessible to the metabolism and friendlier with the human body.