HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE

Herbal Medicine is the use of botanicals (plants) either singularly or in

combination to prevent and treat certain ailments and illnesses.

People native to different geographical locations have long used plants

and plant extracts to cure specific maladies. Sometimes referred to as

“folk” medicine, it is generally recognized that there are three schools of

research one can follow with regard to the history of these treatments.

There is the study of medicines based on Greek, Roman and medieval

sources which is largely used by Western schools of thought, Ayurvedic

which comes from India and the Eastern tradition of Chinese Herbal

Medicine. Rather than separation, these different schools of thought

provide more commonality than division.

It stands to reason that most ancient peoples used plants that were native

to their geographical location which provides sound reasoning as to why

different schools of thought exist.

All three of these modalities at one time included both philosophical and

spiritual aspects along with the scientific knowledge that existed within a

specific time frame. While we are not here to render opinion, one fact does

remain. The same study that determined one third of Americans used

alternative therapies, the same number surveyed showed a dramatic

increase in positive results to more than 60% when “prayer” was included

in the mix.

Ayurvedic loosely translates to “knowledge of life.” Dating back to more

than 6,000 years ago, Ayurvedic Medicine practiced not just Herbal

Medicine, but some of the earliest surgical procedures as well as

inoculation. Over the years Ayurvedic Medicine became increasingly

more symptomatic as opposed to treating the root cause of disease which

originally was steeped in strengthening the immune system.

With all our so-called advancements in the medical field, it's interesting

that physicians are still treating “effect” rather than “cause.” The old adage

that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could not be more

true. This is especially true when it comes to natural remedies.

Most natural remedies are botanical. Singularly or in combination, the

numbers of herbs available is astounding.

Because there are so many botanicals and combinations, we are using

the most common and should not be construed as the ONLY use for a

specific herb.