A Brief Overview Of Herbal Medicine
By definition, herbal medicine is the use of plants (botanicals) either on their own or in combination with each other as an alternative treatment for various illnesses, ailments and medical problems. The practice of herbal medicine has been around almost as long as human beings have been around. Herbal medicine was a staple of Native American culture and remains a staple of East Asian medicine also. Human beings have long used plant extracts and derivatives to treat common health problems.
Unfortunately, the fact that the pharmaceutical industry in North America is so huge and so central to our economy means that by and large, western medicine is focused on masking symptoms and treating the effects rather than curing the cause and eliminating the symptoms of health problems. This means that the practice of herbal medicine is dismissed as "new age crap" or invalid and unproven when the fact is that practitioners of herbal medicine in East Asia are aware that herbal medicine is just as complex and requires just as much training and experience as is required of pharmacists and doctors in western medicine.
However, in herbal medicine, the training and experience is less often the result of formal education like we know it (i. e. eight years of medical school) and more often the result of knowledge and traditions passed down from generation to generation. This is partly why the western scientific community dismisses it with such disdain. As far as the practitioners of herbal medicine are concerned, such long standing experience should not be dismissed out of hand.
When it comes to herbal medicine, many laypeople have the dangerous misconception that just because a treatment is herbal and comes from a natural plant that it is impossible to hurt yourself or poison yourself with herbs. This could not be further from the truth. Just like pharmaceutical treatments, taking herbs in the wrong doses, at the wrong times or in the wrong combinations with other herbs or other drugs can have disastrous consequences. Serious practitioners of herbal medicine will be the first to tell you this.
Herbal medicine is a very viable and very legitimate alternative for people who have either exhausted their pharmaceutical options or don't wish to become dependent on synthesized drug remedies from profit-hungry drug companies. However, it is extremely important to seek advice from a qualified herbal medicine practitioner. You wouldn't try to prescribe yourself drugs, so you should also not try to formulate your own herbal medicine treatment either. You may also still wish to consult your physician for advice on any reactions herbs may have with prescription medications you are taking.