Herbal Healing
Many people prefer using herbs, a combination of medicinal herbs and western medicine, to cure or alleviate their symptoms. These remedies have no guarantee.
Herbology is the art of combining medicinal herbs. A medicinal herb may be a shrub or other woody plant, whereas a culinary herb is a non-woody plant.
Herbology is traditionally one of the more important modalities utilized in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Each herbal medicine prescription is a cocktail of many herbs tailored to the individual patient. One batch of herbs is typically decocted twice over the course of one hour. The practitioner usually designs a remedy using one or two main ingredients that target the illness. Then the practitioner adds many other ingredients to adjust the formula to the patient's Yin Yang conditions.
Sometimes, ingredients are needed to cancel out toxicity or side-effects of the main ingredients. Some herbs require the use of other ingredients as catalyst or else the brew is ineffective. The latter steps require great experience and knowledge, and make the difference between a good Chinese herbal doctor and an amateur. Unlike western medications, the balance and interaction of all the ingredients are considered more important than the effect of individual ingredients. A key to success in TCM is the treatment of each patient as an individual.
Chinese herbology often incorporates ingredients from all parts of plants, the leaf, stem, flower, root, and also ingredients from animals and minerals. The use of parts of endangered species has created controversy and resulted in a black market of poachers who hunt restricted animals. Most herbal manufacturers have discontinued the use of any animal parts from endangered animals. History of Chinese Herbology
Since the dawn of creation, plants have been the primary source of medicine for the human race. Medicinal plants have been mentioned in the Bible, and in historical literature. Plants that are used as medicines have been referred to as "herbs" for over 4000 years by European and the Mediterranean cultures, hence the word "herb", being a derivation of "herbe" and the Latin word, "herba".
Originally, the term "herb" only applied to non-woody plants.
Today, "herb" refers to any part of any plant used for flavoring or medicine. Although the term "herb" can also be equated with food spices, it is generally used in reference to any plant, or any part of a plant, having nutritional and / or medicinal value(s). Additionally, an "herb" may be a fruit, a bark, a flower, a leaf, or a root, as well as anon-woody plant.
There are several types of herbal medicine systems that are used today; European, Native American, Chinese, Ayurvedic, and Western herbalism are the most prevalent systems. Despite differences in terminology and in the herbs used, there is a common thread that joins these systems: all of these systems treat the body as a 'whole', and they each utilize the energy of plants to 'work as needed' in synergy with the natural energy in each individual.
Because there are many different herbal systems, there are also many different ways of classifying herbs. Some systems being used over the years tend to classify herbs by 'plant part'; by humoral theories; by botanical family; by color; or by morphology. One example is the Chinese system, which has a complex classification system based on 'chi', or 'body energy concepts'. This classification scheme is very successful at correlating the human body to proper herb usage, but does not provide for easy substitution of one herb for another.
There are many other ways to classify herbs. Another simple method is to identify five (5) major herbal categories:
• Aromatic (volatile oils)
• Astringent (tannins)
• Bitter (phenol compounds, saponins and alkaloids)
• Mucilaginous (polysaccharides)
• Nutritive (food stuffs)
This category system makes it easy to identify herbs using 'taste' and 'smell', and becomes useful when needing to substitute herbs for one another.
There are many ways to grow, gather, and harvest herbs. Herbs are considered the "best" by some practitioners when they are naturally grown in the wild, untouched by industrial pollutants. Others prefer herbs that are cultivated indoors, away from all contaminants, in a controlled environment.
Some herbalist's recommend gathering only certain herbs (depending on the seasons, the weather, and the time of day) to achieve the highest level of medicinal qualities.
And still others may disregard this practice, and will purposefully plant herbs 'out of season' so that they will be available for sale year round.
Many believe that the energy with which the herbs are gathered is also very important, and should always be done with great spiritual awareness and prayerful thankfulness. And others feel that herbs should be handled with reverence and respect.
In addition to growth and gathering techniques, harvesting practices vary as well. Recommendations may include taking the whole plant at once (buds, roots, seeds, leaves and blooms), or taking each part of the plant in a particular order, and only using younger, or older, plants.
There are also several ways to dispense herbs. The most common methods are herbal pastes, juices, decoctions, hot or cold infusions, powders, pills (tablets, capsules), aromatics, tinctures or extracts (alcohol or glycerol bases), liniments, syrups, poultices and fomentations, medicated oils, salves and ointments, lotions, teas, and whole herbs. Each type is good for specific ailments, and often may be used together (i.e. internally and externally for an external wound) to take full advantage of the healing attributes of each.
All these choices, like others, should be integrated with both your personal external needs and your internal ideals for the best possible results. An experienced herbalist can help you decide which system is right for you. Herbs are foods, and like any other food, herbs should be taken in moderation. Always follow the manufacturer's directions for use.
In Chinese medicine herbs are associated with the major organs of the body. For example - certain herbs are used to heal lung ailments and the meridians associated with the lungs. The practioner will always provide the patient with 2 herbs. One is called the guiding herb that gets the healing herb to the right spot. The second herb is the healing herb. Much of this is intuitive - as the body will crave the food, tastes, or herbs that it needs.
In plant spirit medicine the practioner not only administers the healing herb but he has a relationship with the Spirit of the healing plant. He can actually communicate with the spirit of a powerful healing plant to heal the patient. This can be done as a remote healing - with patient and practioner in two different parts of the country. In this case the spirit goes to the patient.
________________________________________
Herbalism
Dioscorides' Materia Medica, c. 1334 copy in Arabic,
describes medicinal features of cumin and dill.
Herbalism, also known as phytotherapy, is folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts.
Finding healing powers in plants is an ancient idea. People in all continents have long used hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenous plants for treatment of various ailments dating back to prehistory.
There is evidence that Neanderthals living 60,000 years ago in present-day Iraq used plants for medicinal purposes (found at a burial site at Shanidar Cave, Iraq, in which a Neanderthal man was uncovered in 1960. He had been buried with eight species of plants). These plants are still widely used in ethnomedicine around the world.
The first generally accepted use of plants as healing agents were depicted in the cave paintings discovered in the Lascaux caves in France, which have been Radiocarbon dated to between 13,000 - 25,000 BCE.
Over time and with trial and error, a small base of knowledge was acquired within early tribal communities. As this knowledge base expanded over the generations, tribal culture developed into specialized areas. These 'specialized jobs' became what are now known as healers or Shaman.
Plants have an almost limitless ability to synthesize aromatic substances, most of which are phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such as tannins.
Most are secondary metabolites, of which at least 12,000 have been isolated, a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. In many cases, these substances (esp. alkaloids) serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and herbivores.
Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years.
Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of various diseases.
In fact, many modern drugs have been derived from plants.The use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among non-industrialized societies. A number of traditions came to dominate the practise of herbal medicine in the Western world at the end of the twentieth century:
• The Western, based on Greek and Roman sources,
• The Ayurvedic from India, and
• Chinese herbal medicine (Chinese herbology).
Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to Western physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine.
All plants produce chemical compounds as part of their normal metabolic activities. These can be split into primary metabolites, such as sugars and fats, found in all plants, and secondary metabolites found in a smaller range of plants, some only in a particular genus or species.The autologous functions of secondary metabolites are varied. For example, as toxins to deter predation, or to attract insects for pollination. It is these secondary metabolites which can have therapeutic actions in humans and which can be refined to produce drugs. Some examples are inulin from the roots of dahlias, quinine from the cinchona, morphine and codeine from the poppy, and digoxin from the foxglove.As of 2004, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine started to fund clinical trials into the effectiveness of herbal medicine.
Examples of some commonly used herbal medicines:
• Artichoke and several other plants reduced total serum cholesterol levels in preliminary studies.
• Black cohosh and other plants that contain phytoestrogens (plant molecules with estrogen activity) have some benefits for treatment of symptoms resulting from menopause.
• Echinacea extracts limit the length of colds in some clinical trials, although some studies have found it to have no effect.
• Garlic lowers total cholesterol levels, mildly reduces blood pressure, reduces platelet aggregation, and has antibacterial properties.
• St John's wort, though dangerous in incorrect doses, is more effective than a placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate depression in some clinical trials.
• Peppermint tea for problems with the digestive tract, including irritable bowel syndrome and nausea.
• Nigella sativa (Black cumin) is a generalist medicinal plant used for diverse ailments such as cough, pulmonary infections, asthma, influenza, allergy, hypertension and stomach ache. The seeds are considered carminative, stimulant, diuretic and galactogogue. It is often taken with honey. Seed powder or oil is externally applied for eruptions of skin.
A common misconception about herbalism and the use of 'natural' products in general, is that 'natural' equals safe. However many plants have chemical defence mechanisms against predators that can have adverse or lethal effects on humans. Examples are poison hemlock and nightshade, which can be deadly. Herbs can also have undesirable side-effects just as pharmaceutical products can. These problems are exacerbated by lack of control over dosage and purity. Furthermore, if given in conjunction with drugs, there is danger of 'summation', where the herb and the drug have similar actions and add together to make an 'overdose'. In animals, there are other dangers. There may be residues in food from farm animals (e.g. eggs, milk, meat) or danger of 'doping' in competition animals. The latter may also apply to human athletes.
The common names of herbs may be shared with others with different effects. For example, in one case in Belgium in a TCM-remedy for losing weight, one herb was swapped for another resulting in kidney damage[citation needed]. One variety of the herb causes elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate, versus another variety for the weight-loss remedy, the varieties are differentiated by the suffix in the Latin names.
The legal status of herbal ingredients varies by country. For example, Ayurvedic herbal products may contain levels of heavy metals that are considered unsafe in the U.S., but heavy metals are considered therapeutic in Ayurvedic medicine.
Those wishing to use herbal remedies should first consult with a physician, as some herbal remedies have the potential to cause adverse drug interactions when used in combination with various prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Dangerously low blood pressure may result from the combination of an herbal remedy that lowers blood pressure together with prescription medicine that has the same effect. Physicians may not be the best sources of information because most have no knowledge of herbal medicine. There is little known about interactions of herbal remedies with pharmaceuticals because, contrary to pharmaceutical medicine, there is no official system, database, or hotline to report and publish adverse interactions, so even herbalists may not be aware of adverse interactions.
