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Natural Health News Articles
| Posted: 24th August 2004 |
| Herbs and their uses |
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Suitability
Because of their diverse range of uses, plants have a wide impact on the different functions of the body. Most of us eat plants in some form every day so we are used to the effects they have - tea and coffee as stimulants; peppermint as a digestive; senna as a laxative; camomile as a relaxantOur metabolism is well suited to digesting plants and so herbal medicines have a gentle, cumulative effect and have no side effects for most people.
Use
Herbal medicine is distinct from medicine based on pharmaceutical drugsBecause of the complexity of plant materials it is far more balanced than medicine based on isolated active ingredients and is far less likely to cause side effectsAlso, because herbs are typically prescribed in combination the different components of the formulae balance each other synergistically, increasing efficacy and enhancing safety.
Herbal medicine seeks primarily to correct internal imbalances rather than to treat symptoms alone, and therapeutic intervention is designed to encourage this self-healing process.
Medications and remedies are available in teas, syrups, oils, liquid extracts, tinctures, and dry extracts (pills or capsules) and are generally made from unpurified plant extracts containing several different constituentsWhole herbs are generally used rather than the individual parts as these work together to give a greater effectToxicity is also reduced when whole herbs are used instead of just isolated active ingredients
The World Health Organisation estimates that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some aspect of their primary healthcare.
In the last twenty years, as news of the success rates of herbal medicine continues to filter through, and with mounting public dissatisfaction with the costs and side effects of prescription medications, an interest in returning to natural healthcare solutions and the desire to have more control over one’s health, we have seen an increase in the demand for natural remedies to treat all manner of health problems.
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