A "Bit" of Historical Significance...

Botany was derived from the Ancient Greek word 'botanē' meaning 'pasture' or 'grass'. It's a study of plants, their biology, taxonomy, anatomy and physiology. Everything from their cellulose cellular walls to the outer, mostly dead bark of a tree formed by the cork cambium. Plants are magnificent in that they can be as tiny as a seedling or as large as the California Sequoia sempervirens, or what many call the Redwoods, living hundreds of years. Plants have body systems much like animals do, vascular tissue pumping water, living tissue that can 'remember', that can grow.

Much like the human stem cells plants have what are called meristems which are undifferentiated cells that can turn into any cell the plant needs. They can acquire diseases like humans, be harmed by environmental stresses, dehydrate, and die just like any other living organism. It is well believed that  plants came from the ocean and evolved for life on land just like it is believed happened to early animals. They grow. They evolve.

Not only are they physically appealing, and relatable but they are also infinitely useful. We are able to use them for not only food and aesthetics we can also use them for healing as they have been used for generations and generations of humans. Medicinal herbs have been around for thousands of years, as far back as we can trace human history, medicinal herbs have been used for healing, and cultures such as Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China we’ve found written record of use of herbs. Often times ancient peoples would just observe the world around them and discover different properties of herbs because of use by animals, accidental exposure and the like. 
 

So what is the biggest difference between an herb and a medicinal herb? At a botanical standpoint an herb is defined as an herbaceous plant, meaning it stays green the entirety of its life and dies down after the growing season has ended. The generally used term “Herb” however is typically not taken by its botanical definition and is in fact used as a broad umbrella. Typically when one hears the word “Herb” they think of something used in cooking or something used in Holistic, Ayurvedic, or Traditional Medicine, which does not always mean “green plant that dies off after the growing season” considering that Rosemary, a typical herb used in cooking and often times Traditional Medicine, is not “Herbaceous” but considered a “Woody” plant, falling into another category.

           

What actually makes an herb medicinal? An herb is defined as having medicinal qualities by having a positive effect on the human body usually healing or keeping the body healthy. The actual healing parts of the plant are called Constituents. Constituents are essential parts of medicinal herbs and plants that are often times pulled to make pharmaceuticals. Many modern pharmaceuticals were derived originally from medicinal plant constituents, however they maximized the power, and stripped away the other constituents of these plants only taking the ones with the most desirable effects. Doing this they were able to create a more potent drug that was generally fast acting, however, by stripping the other constituents away there was nothing to balance the potency, giving many modern pharmaceuticals terrible, even crippling side effects. This is not to say that many herbs themselves don’t possess side effects, some even life threatening. In comparison, however, medicinal herbs are usually much safer, though not always as fast acting as their pharmaceutical counterparts.

        

What are the different types of medicinal practices? There are a variety of different practices but the major ones that many associate with Natural Healing are Holistic, Ayurvedic, and Traditional Medicine. Holistic Medicine comes from the term “Holism” meaning the “Whole” this type of medicine focuses on healing every aspect of the person, not just their visible problems or disease. It focus on the mind and mental health as well as keeping the entirety of the body healthy. This type of healing usually includes Chiropractic care and Naturopathy, using herbs, supplements, and exercise to sustain a healthy life style. Ayurvedic or Ayurveda is the oldest known healing system on record, dating back between 3,000-5,000 years ago in India. This practice utilizes yoga, herbs and supplements, meditation, diet, detox and purification techniques, as well as breathing exercises to give full body health and healing. Traditional Medicine is an umbrella term meaning medicine used by people native to certain areas, such as Native Americans, Aborigines, Chinese, and Native Africans. Many of these native people knew how to utilize the local flora to make medicines as well as using their own spirituality to heal ailments and disease.

         

If medicinal herbs are safer than pharmaceuticals, why aren’t we just using those? Mostly because during the areas of major scientific-medical findings, medicinal herbs were beginning to look more and more “Primitive” and not able to keep up with modern medicine. However modern medicine took on the ideas of fixing only the disease, and began securing their focus on wiping out diseases that plagued humanity instead of providing healthy solutions that would build up immune systems to fight diseases, or generally making people healthier. They began to not see a person, but a disease that they needed to either wipe out or get rid of, when there is a strong likelihood they might have avoided the disease entirely had they progressed to create a healthier mind and body. We live in a world of instant gratification where we’d like all of our problems to be fixed in one visit, with one magic pill. We are so transfixed on instant gratification that many don’t care to take the time to prevent that doctor’s visit, they go because they’ve let their ailments or illnesses become too severe. The biggest strike off for herbalism is this sense of instant gratification, there are herbs that may make one feel “better all ready” but for the most part herbal treatments take time, over a span of weeks or months, they require devotion to undo what has been done over time. It’s never too late to begin an herbal treatment and they are far safer, albeit not as instant, which becomes troubling in a world that believes they should open their mouths and food should be placed there the second they do.

        

Why aren’t more herbs researched? The biggest reason is more than likely that pharmaceuticals are still a major part of our health system. One could say it’s some kind of conspiracy that the pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know more about medicinal herbs because they are cheaper and can be self-prepared, while the latter is true, I don’t think that’s the biggest issue. Primarily it’s that medicine is moving very quickly in several different directions, much like technology, to what medicine is playing keep-up with. This just means that medicine is trying to wants to move forward and often times Herbal medicine is seen as a step back. However in more recent years more and more herbs, as they rise in popularity, are being researched and more and more is known about their healing properties and overall safety.

         

In closing, medicinal herbs while a much safer alternative to pharmaceuticals are not as fast acting and takes time to be affective, however, consistent use of herbs as well as proper diet can boost the immune system which in turn can prevent illness to begin with. There can be cautions when using herbs and you should always ask your Primary Care Physician or a Clinically Trained Medicinal Herbalist before taking especially if you are pregnant or nursing. Everyone can react differently to herbal treatments (Just like pharmaceuticals), so make sure you aren’t allergic to the herb before consuming or applying it topically. If you know you are not allergic and are of good health, follow the manufacturer’s directions on the bottle or detailed instructions of preparation from a legitimate site or book.

~Lindsey Shemwell (The Budding Botanist)