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THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS COMPILED FROM SEVERAL SOURCES. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE COMPREHENSIVE BUT USED AS A GUIDE.
HOW HERBS WORK:
Most people want instant relief from their annoying symptoms. Conventional drugs quickly supress symptoms but they mask the real problem, often driving it deeper into your system and causing chronic problems in the future. Herbs work at a much deeper level and address the actual cause of symptoms. A real cure can take time: though short-term illnesses like colds will clear up relatively quickly, chronic problems, like migraine headaches, generally require 3-6 months' healing times.
Herbs are action-oriented plants that cause multi-faceted reactions. Herbs are more than drugs. Drugs have basically one active component while Herbs offer multiple healing components. Herbs can also have cooling, warming or neutralizing energies and effects on your body, according to Oriental herbalists. Warming Herbs relieve chronic problems characterized by deficiency; tonic Herbs build your body back up, and cooling Herbs remove heat in acute situations characterized by excess. The two facets of your immune system illustrate how these energies work: echinacea treats acute problems like colds by draining away excess heat while astragalus warms and builds the deep immune system in people who are chronically ill or fatigued.
THERE ARE 3 BASIC PHILOSOPHIES FROM WHICH HERBAL MEDICINE HAS EVOLVED
CHINESE
Written records for Chinese herbal Medicine date back over 3,500 years; one fifth of the world's population still relies on this healing system for primary care. Chinese doctors treat the whole person by examining the medical history, birth constitution, living habits, and home environment. According to the Chinese, most people's health problems are caused by deficiencies in some system of the body, whether digestive system or the reproductive system. Chinese doctors help rebalance an individual's entire body by strengthening the system that's weak. The Chinese also use herbs like astragalus, ginseng, and foti to prevent helth problems altogether.
AYURVEDA
Pronounced "eye-your-vay-dah." This 5,000 year-old philosophy and healing system from India is based on each person's unique constitution, body type, personal habits, emotions, and behaviours. Each one of us is made up of varying amounts of the elements - earth, water, fire and air, and ether - that determine our individual constitution. Ayurveda is about balance and inner harmony. Once you have identified your constitutional "type," you can choose the herbs that will balance your entire being: your body, mind and spirit. The fascinating art of Ayurveda includes the medicinal powers of culinary spices and herbs that play an important role in creating the irresistible flavors of Indian cuisine.
WESTERN HERBALISM
This tradition started when prehistoric people learned through trial and error to treat physical complaints with plants. The basis of modern medicine in the West dates back to Greek herbal medicine and it's famous doctors like Hippocrates and Galen. Though the 1400s through the 1600s are officially referred to as the "Golden Age of Herbalism," the golden age never disappeared in countries like Germany and France. Native American Earth-centered healing has played a key role in the American herbal tradition and has given us such important roots as echinacea.
TOP 10 BEST RESEARCHED HERBS
1. ECHINACEA
The roots of the magical purple coneflower can help boost your natural defense against viral invaders by increasing white blood cell counts.
2. GARLIC
A plate of pasta pesto for dinner can boost your immune system and heart. Countless studies have ferified Garlic's ability to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, thin the blood, and help destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. Garlic is most effective in it's raw form.
3. GINSENG
There are several types of Ginseng. Red Panax Ginseng (Chinese or Korean Ginseng) is probably best for people over 40. It can heat up hormones that have cooled off, strengthen chronically fatigued or debilitated people, and stoke the fires of circulation, digestion, appetite, and energy in the elderly. American Ginseng is more cooling than the Panax variety: it is better for hotter, stressed-out young people. It raises energy levels and lowers stress by strengthening your adrenals and digestion. Siberian Ginseng is the choice of any helathy person. Known as adaptogen, it helps to adapt to new situations (changes in altitude to different time zones), balances your entire body, and helps fight stress - whether physical, mental or emotional.
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