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People have been using extracts from plants for thousands of years to treat illnesses and infirmities. The ancient Egyptians used herbal remedies some three and a half millenniums ago. There is also evidence to show that herbal remedies were also being employed in ancient China, Persia, India, Africa and even the Americas. There is no telling who the first people to make use of plants for healing purposes were or how they came about this discovery. Then again, who really wants to know that? It is like asking how people discovered that they could eat chicken and feel good about it.

It is estimated that a staggering eighty percent of the world’s population makes use of herbs as medicine in one form or another. There are those who use powders and others will go for tablets and capsules. Generally, it does not matter which form you take the medication in, as long as you use it for the right purpose. There are books that have been developed to give guidance on how to use the various herbal remedies that are available. One of the first books of this kind was developed some time before the Seventeenth Century. It detailed out the various herbal remedies and how to use them.

How do they work?

The World Health Organization has recognized herbal remedies as an integral part of healthcare since the mid 80s. There are no two herbs that work in the same way. They might treat the same disease but then they do not work in the same way. One thing that is worth noting about herbal medication is that it targets the root cause of the problem. It is not limited to treating the symptoms of a condition as most people tend to think. As a matter of fact, modern medicine might target symptom management more than treatment of the actual problem.

Herbalists try to figure out the exact problem that an individual is suffering from in order to fix it. These professionals believe that the herbal tonics, concoctions and tinctures can help the body in its self-healing process. The goal is always to restore harmony and balance in the body. The key principle that is employed in herbal medicine is that of herbal ‘synergy’. The herbalists will draw the remedies from leaves, roots, petals and the bark of plants. As such, the remedies are often mixtures of several different compounds. Conventional medicine will often have one active ingredient.

Few side effects

Here is the interesting thing about herbal medication- it rarely has side effects. The same cannot be said about modern medicine. Take for instance a drug like ephedrine, which is used in treatment of asthma. The drug was first isolated from the herb known as ephedra, which was used in treatment of chest complaints for years. A side effect of this drug is high blood pressure but the herb itself does not have the same effect. In fact, herbalists claim that the herb contains compounds that would naturally lower the blood pressure.

The herbal drugs normally aid in healing and at the same time counteracts any side effects that might arise from use of certain compounds. It is worth closing by mentioning that there is herbal medicine for just about all conditions under the sun. You simply need to visit an herbalist to find it.

Author bio

David Bradley is a health journalist. He is always reporting about health and lifestyle. He is also a blogger with an inclination towards herbal medication like the famous mitragyna speciosa. To find out more about this drug, pay a visit to his blog today.

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