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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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