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History about Herbal Medicine

June 23, 2008



Herbal Medicine, sometimes referred to as Herbalism or Botanical Medicine, is the use of herbs for their therapeutic or medicinal value.

An herb is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, aromatic or savory qualities. Herb plants produce and contain a variety of chemical substances that act upon the body.

Herbalists use the leaves, flowers, stems, berries, and roots of plants to prevent, relieve, and treat illness. From a “scientific” perspective, many herbal treatments are considered experimental. The reality is, however, this science has a long and respected History about herbal medicine. Many familiar medications of the twentieth century were developed from ancient healing traditions that treated health problems with specific plants.

Today, science has isolated the medicinal properties of a large number of botanicals, and their healing components have been extracted and analyzed. Many plant components are now synthesized in large laboratories for use in pharmaceutical preparations. For example, vincristine (an antitumor drug), digitalis (a heart regulator), and ephedrine (a bronchodilator used to decrease respiratory congestion) were all originally discovered through research on plants.

History about herbal medicine:

Quite possibly the earliest History about herbal medicine was marshmallow root, which is a common grass chewed for settling an upset stomach, and has been eaten for (presumably) that reason by our closest evolutionary cousins, chimpanzees and bonobos. Likewise, hyacinth (a diuretic) causes the tissues to give up excess water, is rich in tannins and alkaloids, which have a bitter, or pungent taste.

As tribal human societies grew, a small body of knowledge over what plants were beneficial for what ailments grew, until the role of a tribal herb lore specialist became known; often times, in hunter-gatherer societies, this herbalist carries a lot of weight in the day to day running of the tribe.

In the History about herbal medicine, As human societies shifted to an agronomical view of the world, the cultivation of plants for medicine was an important role in this; eventually, herbal lore and herbal remedies became codified, first with the Egyptians, then with the Greeks in the Western tradition, and the knowledge base was slowly accumulated upon by the Romans. It’s from the Greeks in particular that the foundation of modern medicine – of not just prescribing a treatment, but recording what the treatment was, and what its impact was, got started.

In India, the History about herbal medicine was all about Ayurvedic, focusing on the use of metals, herbs and parts of animals generally considered inedible, prepared in solution. These herbs and other compounds are used in varying proportions to remedy specific ills, and may be applied internally as pills or infusions, topically as ointments, inhaled as smoke, or pressed to the body as powders.

In the Americas, without a written tradition to work from, most herbalism is carried by oral traditions from various tribes as the History about herbal medicine; this has proven invaluable when looking for herbal remedies in the rain forests and Andean uplands. Much of the American herbal tradition is tied to shamanism and spiritualism.

In China, herbalism and herbal remedies were used as an adjunct to acupuncture, and the medical morphology in use is of balancing qui or chi, the life force energies, which have yin and yang elements; in Chinese History about herbal medicine, the aim is to bring the systems of the body, treating it as an electrical system, back into balance, which is a tactic commonly expressed in modern, or syncretism herbalism.

Bowel Cleanser

Terminalia chebula has been used as an astringent and is the best bowel cleanser. The herb also possesses antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

Out of all, here are some of the prime indications where it gets you best results –

* It is best mild laxative so work in cleansing the bowels

* It is best adaptogenic agent and hence best general health tonic

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Natural Diabetes Treatment

Gymnema helps decreasing the craving for sugar and neutralizes excessive glucose that is present in the body. This property is beneficial to sufferers of diabetes as the herb is often used as anti-diabetic drug.

Uses of Gymnema

* Great sugar regulator and hence it is best as diabetic support.
* Restores appetite

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