Just think for a moment, herbs were our very first medicines, even long before the detailed herbology of our ancient civilizations, the history and use of herbal medicines is interwoven with humankind’s earliest attempts to find solace for its problems. In one sense herbs have been the subjects of an ongoing clinical trial for at least 40,000 years! We have constantly sought out those leaves, flowers, berries, roots and barks that have reliably eased our suffering and returned us to health. Along the way we have tried countless thousands of different remedies, discarding those that didn’t work well enough and constantly passing down the knowledge of what did, through the many generations.

Today

Today it is recognized by the World Health Organisation that herbs are by far the most widespread form of medicine used by people living on our planet. Enormous amounts of scientific research and discovery have taken place within herbal medicine in modern times. The great test of time has proven those herbal medicines that work, now the tests of science are helping us to understand how they work, and in the process new possibilities are constantly coming to light. Health problems seen by modern herbalists have typically developed over considerable periods and involve a weakness or imbalance of one or more of the body’s core systems. Herbal medicine is especially suited to the safe treatment of such long-standing problems. Herbs are strong, real medicines, they are here to stay!

Extract from Herbal Medicine by Richard Whelan. Read the rest of this story and more on our articles page. Go there