What is herbal medicine?
Herbal medicines are the original medicines and many modern pharmaceutical preparations are derived from plants, including pain-killers and cancer treatments.
It is estimated that up to 80% of the world’s population still uses plant medicines for their primary health care.
Plants contain hundreds of chemicals which have anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, muscle-relaxing, nerve-sedating, anti-spasmodic, stimulating, expectorant and anxiety-relieving actions, to name but a few! Because these chemicals are the same as those found in the human body they are easily assimilated and can quickly get to work.
As with conventional medicines they are able to target the right areas of body tissue. But unlike conventional medicines, they are often more gentle in action and help to rebalance body systems and so stop symptoms from recurring.
What are the medicines?
Most Western medical herbalists use tinctures which are liquid extracts of either the leaves, berries, flowers or roots of plants. The extracts contain low levels of alcohol as this is widely recognised as the best substance to extract all the valuable chemicals contained in the plants. However, capsules and teas are sometimes prescribed as well.
For external complaints, such as skin conditions, painful muscles and joints, varicose veins etc, creams and lotions can be blended and prescribed.
Because herbal medicine aims to relieve symptoms and rebalance the body, most herbalists will prescribe a blend of more than one plant. So for instance, a medicine for painful periods will contain plants to stop the cramping and relieve pain as well as tone the uterus to make the contractions more ordered and address any hormonal imbalances that may be present.
How is herbal medicine taken?
Most prescriptions from a medical herbalist will come in liquid form in a bottle and are prescribed in teaspoon doses. Drop doses are normally used for children. Teas can be blended if considered more useful and creams, lotions and pessaries can be prescribed for certain conditions.
My Training
I have a BSc degree in Herbal Medicine from the University of Lincoln. I also have a BA degree in Social Psychology from the University of Sussex . As a Western medical herbalist, my training is based in Western medicine but with an understanding of how the mind and body work together, to create a whole person and not just a set of symptoms.
You and your health problems will be entirely different from any other patient and I will work with you to improve your whole health and well-being.
