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Herbal Medicine is the use of plant remedies in the treatment of illness. It is the oldest form of medicine known and is still the most widely practised form of medicine worldwide. The World Health Organisation states that over 80% of the world’s population still relies on herbs for health.
It is a tradition spanning thousands of years and in fact there is some evidence that plants were used as medicines as far back as Neolithic times. In the beginning, knowledge of the use of plants would have been gained by trial and error and by the intuitive skills of the Herbalist. Now, in the West we are much more rooted in science, and Medical Herbalists are highly trained professionals with the diagnostic skills you would expect from your family doctor.
So why choose herbs, why not just stick with conventional medicine? It's a good question, and maybe the answer is that we actually need both. Whereas conventional medicine focuses on relieving symptoms, Herbal Medicine likes to look at the bigger picture. A Herbalist will be interested in improving every aspect of how the body functions in terms of how food is digested, absorbed and circulated around the body, how well our elimination works to get rid of toxins, how in, or out of balance our endocrine system is, and also how our emotions and spiritual selves are affecting our physical health. The ultimate aim is to bring our whole being back into balance from where it can support itself without the need for medication of any kind, although where chronic conditions are concerned there may be need of continued support.
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