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Herbal medicine is the use of whole plants, or parts such as leaves, roots, flowers or seeds, in the treatment of disease. It is the oldest form of medicine and many modern pharmaceutical drugs are still derived from plants.
Although classed as an "alternative" or "complementary" therapy in the UK, it is still the predominant medicine for over 80% of the world's population.
All ancient civilisations used plants for healing. Some, such as those of China, Egypt, Greece, Tibet, Persia & India studied and documented the medicinal properties of herbs.
Western herbal medicine is based on the work of the Ancient Greeks such as Hippocrates. Although it has been influenced by other traditions including those of the Native Americans which extended the knowledge of early European settlers and then returned to Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Many of the herbs in use today, e.g. comfrey (Symphytum officinale), can trace their origins back to the writings of Dioscorides in the 1st century AD while others have much more recent origin, e.g. Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) which was discovered in the 1960s by Russian researchers.
Herbalism is an holistic therapy where herbs are chosen to suit the particular circumstances of the patient to restore natural vitality and promote the healing powers of their own mind, body and spirit.
The patient will also normally receive advice on diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors that may be affecting their overall health.
She or he will be helped to take responsibility for their own wellness as the treatment is very much a three way partnership between the patient, the herbalist and the herbs.
The Herbalist will take a detailed history of your current health problem(s) and overall health status. She will also ask about your current lifestyle and any other treatments you are currently undertaking or have had in the past.
Based on this information she will try to diagnose the root of the problems. Although the diagnostic training is similar to that of mainstream doctors, the herbalist considers the whole person – body, mind and spirit - rather than taking a narrow view of a single organ or function. Her diagnosis may include energetic terms (e.g. lack of digestive fire) or emotional considerations (e.g. suppressed grief) that she feels are contributing to the patient's unwellness.
A combination of herbs will be selected to encourage restoration of a healthy balance in physiology, emotions and energy. The herbs may be in dried form for you to make up as a "tea" or as alcoholic tinctures for you to take in water. Seldom will the herbs be given in pill or tablet form although creams, ointments, liniments etc will also be made up when appropriate.
You will be given detailed instructions on how to take the herbs and probably some suggestions as to dietary or other lifestyle changes. A review appointment will be arranged for somewhere between one and four weeks time depending on individual circumstances. Sometimes you will feel completely well again in a short time but some long-term chronic conditions may take weeks or months to alleviate fully, although changes should be evident within a week or so.
Herbalists can treat a similar range of illnesses as a conventional GP. Herbalism offers a very viable alternative for treating long-term chronic illness for which modern medicine has no cure and offers only palliative care. The range is wide and the following list is not exhaustive:
For some acute and life-threatening illnesses the herbalist may recommend that you see your GP or A&E department, for example if the condition is likely to require surgery. However even in such cases, herbs can be prescribed to improve your chances of a speedy recovery.
Being a natural product full of complex chemical constituents, herbs tend to be more gentle and balanced in action than pharmaceutical drugs and hence suffer very little from side-effects. However just because they are a natural product does not make them intrinsically "safe", so you are recommended to seek advice from a qualified herbalist who can make a proper diagnosis and treat with a synergistic mix of herbs rather than self-diagnosing and buying herbs off the shelf, the strength and possible interactions of which the lay person may be unaware.
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