About Herbal Medicine
“the use of plant or plant extracts for medicinal purposes in order to improve the body’s natural functions and restore balance.”
There is a large body of literature on Herbal Medicine. Rather than attempt a thorough review here, I have attempted to list some of the points I find most interesting and inspiring about Herbal Medicine.
Herbal Medicine
- is one of the oldest forms of medicine, common in one form or another to all cultures and peoples
- is still the most common form of medicine practiced worldwide today
- laid the foundations of modern medicine
- is holistic, emphasising the promotion of health and prevention of disease rather than just the treatment of existing disease
- is inherently in tune with Nature
- can be seen as a bridge between traditional healing and modern science and medicine
- recognises that plants and people have co-evolved and that the complex biochemistry of plants can be employed to great advantage precisely where complex human physiology is concerned
- aims to facilitate the individual’s inherent capacity for self-healing