Herbal Medicine - The Future
of Health
In a world dominated by pharmaceutical medication, it is
easy to forget that herbal remedies have been used successfully by many
cultures for over 5,000 years. The
Sumerians, Egyptians, Indians, Chinese, Indigenous Tribes and Europeans have
all left documentation of their widespread use of herbal medicine.
Modern European medicine was greatly influenced by Native
Americans who shared their knowledge with the early settlers and Traditional
Chinese Medicine is still practiced alongside modern medicine in most hospitals
in China .
Herbs and their uses were a central part of Western and
Eastern medical scholarship until the mid 19th century when
chemists started synthesising what we know as modern day drugs.
You may not know that many of the drugs you buy over the counter
or are prescribed by a doctor are actually derived from plants. We are now
buying and being prescribed drugs derived from the same plants that a herbal
doctor would have used in the past to treat identical ailments. Aspirin is one of them.
Willow Bark –
Nature’s Aspirin
Aspirin’s active ingredient is acetylsalicylic acid Medicines
made from willow bark and other salicylate plants were widely used by
herbalists to treat fevers, pain and inflammation long before aspirin was
created.
Plants are powerful medicine. There are hundreds of plants
that have anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-biotic
properties.
Nature has the cure
Modern medicine is married to pharmaceuticals so most
regular doctors won’t tell you that ailments such as Arthritis, Rheumatism,
Flu, Colds, Coughs, Immune system disorders, digestive issues, PMT , ME
Herbs such as Myrrh, Chamomile, Ginger, Meadow-sweet,
Echinachea, Wormwood, Agnus Castus, Cramp-bark, Peppermint, Chickweed, Lavender
and Fennel are all potent ingredients in the herbalists cupboard and they don’t
have three A4 pages of negative side-effects either.
A good herbal practitioner will tell you that robust health
begins with what you eat. If you want to adopt a healthier diet, you might
start by looking at this website http://www.westonaprice.org/
Healthy food will also incorporate nutritional herbs such as
Rosemary, Thyme, Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, Nutmeg, Coriander and many others.
As Hippocrates said ‘Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine
be your Food.’
Herbal Medicine – the
ecological, natural choice
As more and more concerns arise over the side-effects of
pharmaceutical drugs we are also in the midst of an increasing desire to find
more natural and ecologically friendly solutions to what ails us. Herbal
medicine is one of those solutions
The Eastbourne
Clinic of Natural Medicine has two herbal practitioners: Harry Boys. MNIMH and
Paul Chedgey. DipPhyt. MNIMH.
