January 2009 Herbal Remedies

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Herbal Remedies

From the earliest times, medicinal herbs have been prized for their pain relieving and medicinal abilities, and today we stil rely on the natural cures and other curative properties of herbal plants in about 75% of our medicines. Today, herbal remedies are coming back into prominence and complement conventional treatments, providing safe, well-tolerated remedies for chronic and acute illnessess alike. Herbal Remedies can be found easily by searching our affiliates.

Ginseng, Ren Shen (Chinese)

Ginseng is the most famous chinese medicinal herb. It has been valued for its remarkable therapeutic and natural health benefits for about 7,000 years and was so revered that wars were fought for control of the forests in which it thrived. An Arabian physician brought ginseng back to Europe in the 9th century, yet its ability to improve stamina and resistance to stress became common knowledge in the West only in the 18th century.

Natural Health

In general, the human body is much better suited to treatment with herbal remedies than with isolated chemical medicines. We have evolved side-by-side with medicinal herbs over thousands of years, and our phisology as a whole is geared to digesting and utilizing plant-based foods, which in the case of medicinal herbs, have natural cures value as well as providing sustenance.

Herbal medicines often complement conventional treatments, providing safe, well-tolerated remedies with no side effects. In fact, concern over the side effects fo biomedicine is encouraging people to look for more gentle forms of treatments and is partly responsible for the dramatic herbal remedies / natural medicine renaissance.

Home Remedies

In the past, medicinal herbs have been made into an extraordinary variety of formulations - not only infusions, decoctions, and tinctures but also preparations such as oxymels and elixirs. Making most types of herbal home remedies is not difficult and only requires everyday cooking tools.

Herbal Natural Cures

Infusions: An infusion is the simplest way to prepare herbal home remedies using the more delicate aerial parts of the medicinal herbs, especially leaves and flowers, for use as medicine or as a revitalizing or relaxing drink. It is made in a similar way to tea, using either a single herb or a combination of herbs, and may be drunk hot or cold.

Decoctions: Roots, bark, twigs and berries usually require more forceful treatment than leaves or flowers to extract their medicinal constituents. A decoction involves simmering these tougher parts in boiling water. Fresh or dried plant material may be used and should be cut or broken into small pieces before decocting. Like infusions, decoctions can be taken hot or cold.

Tinctures: Tinctures are made by soaking an herb in alcohol(vodka or rum). This encourates the active plant constituents to dissove, giving tinctures a relatively stronger action than infusions or decoctions. they are convenient to use and last up to two years. Tinctures can be made using a jug and a muslin cloth, instead of a wine press.

Infused Oils: Infusing an herb in oil allows its active fat-soluble ingredients to be extracted; hot infused oils are simmered, while cold infused oils are heated naturally by the sun. Both types of oil can be used externally as massage oils or added to creams and ointments. Infused oil should not confused with essential oil, which is an active constituent naturally present in a plant and has specific medicinal properties and a distinct aroma.

Ointments: Ointments contain oils or fats heated with medicinal herbs and, unlike creams, contain no water. As a result, ointments form a separate layer on the surface of the skin. They protect against injury or inflammation of damaged skin and carry active medicinal constituents, such as essential oils, to the affected area.

Poultices: A poultice is a mixture of fresh, dried, or powdered herbs that is applied to an affected area. Poultices are used to ease nerve or muscle pains, sprains, or broken bones, and to draw pus from infected wounds, ulcers, or boils.