Herbal
medicine
What
is herbal medicine?
Herbal medicine, herbalism, phytotherapy and botanical medicine
are all terms which refer to traditional or folk medicine
in which the cures or treatments involve using extracts of
plants. The reason that plants have medicinal properties is
probably because of the defense mechanisms of plants. This
natural mechanism helps plants fend off predators like microorganisms,
insects, and animals. These defense mechanisms work by making
the plant produce certain substances within them that keep
predators or diseases at bay. Practitioners of herbal and
natural medicine merely found a way to acquire these substances
to help humans fend off diseases as well.
Although some form of herbal medicine has been in existence
since the era of the caveman, herbal medications have - at
one time or another - been used by people belonging to almost
every culture of the world through history. However, in the
ancient cultures of India and China such medicine has always
been taken very seriously and ancient books on medicine unearthed
in these parts of the world show that the herbal practitioners
worked on perfecting their concoctions with every experience
they had.
Chinese herbal medicine
The main difference between Chinese herbal medicines and Indian
herbal medicines is that Chinese herbal concoctions usually
contain mixtures of about four different kinds of herbs. This
is because Chinese herbal medicine practitioners believe that
the herbal treatment must include not only a cure for the
main health problem but also should include treatment for
possible side-effects of the main herb used to treat the main
health condition as well as provide relief from any other
symptoms that the patient may experience due to the disease.
Thus, though all herbal medicine practitioners use herbal
combinations to cure ailments, traditional Chinese medicines
may combinations of four to fifteen herbs at a time. The formula
for Chinese alternative herbal medicines usually has four
different classes of herbs. The first class belongs to the
main constituent of the potion which must attack the main
disease. Secondary herbs and subsequent classes of herbs must
prevent side-effects and other symptoms of the disease as
well as prevent the main disease from spreading or attacking
any other organs.
Advantages and disadvantages of herbal medicine
The main advantage of herbal medicines and the reason these
are gaining popularity in modern times is because they are
completely natural medicines and hence do not have chemical
components. This translates into fewer side-effects and a
lower chance of the patient's exhibiting an allergic reaction
to the constituents of the herbal medicine. The danger herbal
medicine is associated is based on the fact that such medicines
take much longer to take effect than conventional modern medicine
alternatives and hence if the disease is progressing rapidly
or has been discovered too late, herbal medicines may not
be able to help the patient in time. This is why nowadays
doctors prescribe herbal medicine supplements which must be
accompanied with formal conventional healing methods and supervision
by a medical practitioner.
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