Derik Li

The oldest medical treatment known to man is a natural herbal remedy and according to the World Health Organization about 80 percent of the world’s population today uses some form of natural herbal remedy.

Because of their smell, taste or perceived medicinal value, herbs or some part of the herb plant is used for specific purposes and many believe that different herbs can help cure or reduce the affects of different ailments.

For example, the herb ephedra has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years to relieve symptoms of asthma or erratic breathing problems. Today, commercial pharmacies use that same herb calling it ephedrine. What used to be a natural herbal remedy is now a commercial product.

Another example is the foxglove plant used as a natural herbal remedy since 1775 and now is used as a cardiac stimulant and is known as digitalis. As in most herbs used as medicine, many were discovered by trial and error. By watching what the animals ate and how it affected them, humans tried to achieve similar affects by eating the same plants.

Two Main Branches of Herbal Medicine

Ayurvedic herbalism originally believed in the use of a natural herbal remedy got its start in Greece and Rome and spread through Europe and eventually to the Americas. Chinese herbalism has been around for centuries and developed into a sophisticated form for diagnosis and treatment.

A lot of interest is being generated in finding a natural herbal remedy for everyday health problems as many people are finding either allergic reactions to drugs or unwanted side affects. An example is the Germany-approved St. John’s Wart for the treatment of depression instead of the prescription drug Prozac.

Probably one of the most widely known natural herbal remedy stems from the use of Aloe Vera. The gel inside the leaves of the plant is used in cosmetics and skin care products, as well as treating minor burns. It has been known to speed the healing of poison ivy, hives and burns and its juice has been used as a treatment for constipation.

Ginkgo Biloba has positive affects on the circulatory system is has been used to treat memory loss, headaches, vertigo, depression and disorientation. Its anti-oxidant characteristics are seen as beneficial to the circulation and central nervous systems and in slowing the affects of mental deterioration.