What is Herbal Medicine?
Herbal medicine is the earliest form of medicine. Even with the introduction of new, more advanced forms of medicine — herbal medicine still has a place in human culture.
Herbs are a rich source of pharmacy — often containing several hundred ingredients. These chemicals interact with each other and with the body to exert their effects.
These interactions can have profound impacts on the human body — consider toxic herbs as an example. Just a few milligrams of the death cap mushroom is potent enough to kill an adult human.
Much like the death cap mushroom, there are a lot of plants strong enough to cause dramatic changes in the human body — both good or bad.
The plants we use in herbal medicine fall in the latter category — offering changes to the human body that benefit us rather than harm us.
Herbs can be used to support natural processes in the human body, and tend to be slower, and gentler than pharmaceuticals. Unlike synthetic drugs, herbs tend to have a more corrective effect — rather than offering instant, but short-lived benefits.
Who Uses Herbal Medicine?
Using medicinal herbs remains a popular form of medicine for conditions that have proven hard to treat with conventional methods.
By the time people visit a herbalist or naturopath, they’ve often hit the wall — unable to find an effective treatment.
The other popular application of herbal medicine, nutritional medicine, and other forms of natural medicine are for preventing issues before they become chronic or serious.
Most people use herbs as a health supplement — taking small amounts every day to push the body towards an ideal state of health.
Guide To Using Our Herbal Monographs
Our herbal monographs are designed to be as simple and direct as possible. We list important information on how the herb is used, what it’s herbal actions are, information on safety and potential side-effects, and information on how the herb is used among herbalists.
The information in our monographs are intended for educational purposes only — and should not be used to treat, or prevent any illness. We highly recommend you speak with an experienced health practitioner before you begin using herbs.
All our monographs are based on real evidence in both practice and from the scientific literature. Our founder, Justin Cooke, has been practicing herbal medicine for several years and spent countless hours collecting and sifting through peer-reviewed research before putting together these monographs.
If you want to learn more about where the information came from to make these monographs, make sure to read through the links at the bottom of each monograph in the resource section at the bottom of the page.