Facts You May Not Know About Herbal Remedies

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Popularity of homeopathic remedies and herbal cures is growing daily in many parts of the world.  In others, it has always been a part of the culture.  In the United States, interest in herbalism primarily has been a kind of grass roots folklore approach.  If you plan to use such remedies at home, it is essential that you understand the plant, herb, or therapy you are using, the correct way to prepare and use it, and what can safely be used along with it.

The medical community tends to be looked upon with a certain measure of distrust, partly due to the widespread overuse of so-called ‘wonder drugs’ like penicillin, and partly due to a small percentage of doctors who consistently over-medicate their patients.  As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole barrel.  Almost everyone has been to a doctor who insisted on prescribing an antibiotic “just in case”, and when we think about it we treat the doctor with disdain for over-medicating.  In their defense, I wonder how many patients any given doctor could name that insisted he be prescribed medication once he undertook to pay for the visit, even though the doctor would be correct in telling him to go home and drink plenty of fluids.  

There has been a nationwide movement to ‘get back to basics’ in home health care.  Interest in ancient Chinese medicine, Native American folklore, and related subjects like herbology and homeopathy are at an all time high, as people try to lower their health costs by improving their own health and self-treating when possible, saving the doctor visit for the last resort.  There is certainly nothing wrong with this.  But it is worth noting that in Chinese provinces, there were recognized practitioners who spent their entire lives researching and practicing their craft that the people went to for help.  The same is true for Native American cultures.  The man or woman who administered the remedies spent their entire lives studying it, and training carefully chosen students in the lore so that the community always had an expert available.  Folks were educated on what they could go pick and use for themselves, and what they needed to go to the expert for. 

This is the knowledge we tend to slide over today.    Some remedies are perfectly safe to use at home with routine care; good sources of high-quality ingredients – or learning how to grow it ourselves – and education on how to employ it properly, safely, and effectively.  Others are far more potent, tricky to prepare, or have side effects we need to know.  This is where the professionals should be consulted.  Contrary to popular opinion, you do not have to choose between seeing a doctor or an herbalist; in fact, you never should.  Instead, find a physician who understands and employs homeopathic remedies as part of his treatment.  Use of an herbalist, nutritionist, or the like should compliment the physician and be made known to him.  This is your best line of defense for maintaining your health.

People tend to think of the two as different schools of thought entirely.  Even medical professionals fall into this trap.  It is not modern medicine verses herbs.  Much of modern medicine came from herbs, and natural sources are still widely employed in today’s medicines.  For instance, ephedra is an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine for over two thousand years to treat asthma and respiratory problems.   Today medicines containing ephedrine, the active ingredient in ephedra, are widely prescribed for asthma and respiratory symptoms.  Another example of modern commercial use of an herbal preparation is the foxglove plant.  The leaves were used for centuries to bind wounds or make a topical ointment, but it is also quite poisonous both to humans and livestock.  However in modern medicine, the powdered leaf is known as digitalis, and is a mainstay for heart patients worldwide.  A third example is St. John’s Wort, widely used to treat mild depression in place of Prozac or the like, with no side effects. 

The point is, you should take charge of your own health rather than leaving it to someone else entirely.  Start with overall physical fitness and nutrition.  Find a physician like the one described above, who understands and employs homeopathic and alternative remedies.  Then start studying the natural plants and herbs God provided, and work them together rather than separately to maintain overall health.