Ever seen a dog lick grass when it has an upset stomach? If you
have, you’d have certainly marveled at the curative powers of an
innocuous blade of grass that provided instant relief to your pet.
Since the time humans came into existence, they’ve been observing
animals eating plants and minerals to cure themselves of infections,
parasites and internal disorders.
However,
the sweeping changes in our lifestyles brought about by science and
technology is today the main cause of modern diseases. And, despite a
whopping eight-hundred-million-dollar annual expenditure on healthcare,
the modern treatments just don’t seem to work. The Journal of the American Medical Association
recently reported over a hundred thousand deaths annually in US
hospitals due to adverse reactions to prescription drugs. Even worse,
the National Council for Patient Information and Education blamed as many deaths on drugs that shouldn’t have been prescribed in the first place!
Little
wonder, a majority of the population is righting this wrong by taking
up holistic healing and treating everyday minor ailments the natural
way. In other words, people are waking up to the magic of natural
remedies.
The origin of natural remedies
Early
humans recognized their dependence on nature in both health and
illness. The sixty thousand-year-old burial site of Neanderthal man in
northern Iraq provided the first physical evidence of the use of herbal
remedies, when scientists found extraordinary quantities of plant
pollen along with ordinary human bones. This could not have been
accidental, as someone had consciously gathered eight species of plants
to surround the dead man. Of these, seven are medicinal plants still in
use throughout the herbal world!
Natural
remedies are a part of the history of almost all cultures. The early
explorers in ancient North America gained their knowledge from the
American Indians, who used them to sharpen their senses for hunting and
building endurance. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.),
the world renowned herb, was found by a French explorer in the
eighteenth century in Iroquois territory. Lumbees widely used medicinal
plant remedies like rabbit tobacco (Gnaphalium obtusifolium), Poke (Phytolacca americana), Wild cherry (Prunus virginiana) and the like.
Till
recently, most American families were using home herbal remedies to
keep minor ailments at bay. Today too, you can find their presence in
menthol, mint, horehound or lemon-containing cough drops and in
chamomile and mint teas taken for digestion. However, modern-day
medical science remains skeptical about their effectiveness. Despite
this, a growing number of Americans are getting aware of the potential
of herbal remedies that give no side effects.
Natural remedies
Natural
remedies may range from lifestyle and dietary changes to therapies and
formulas. However, before taking the remedies, there are things that
you must ensure:
a. Proper diet:
A proper diet guarantees good health and prevents disease. It keeps
mental faculties in tune and body toned. A good diet also helps the
body to naturally recover from minor ailments.
b. Drinking fluids: Drinking
water-lemon or fresh fruit or vegetable juices help cleanse the blood
and lymph of impurities. However, remember water alone does not cleanse
well and requires vitamins and minerals present in the juices.
c. Light exercises:
Whether you feel fit as a fiddle or are sick in bed, you require a
little movement to help in lymphatic elimination. Light exercises
should include all the body parts.
How to use herbs
If you are using herbal medicines, the best way is to prepare them
fresh by grinding, pulping or infusing. But, if you don’t have the time
or inclination for such niceties, buy them in tablet, capsule, powdered
and dried forms. But, know how to use the them:
a. Organic Tincture: Readily preparedorganic tinctures are generally taken as per the instructions printed on the label.
b. Infusion:
This process is used in extracting water-soluble ingredients from the
less dense parts of the plant, such as the leaves, stems and flowers.
The usual dose is one cup of infused liquid taken three times a day,
before meals.
c. Poultice: Inthis
technique, fresh plant is bruised or crushed to a pulp, which is then
mixed with a moistening material ready to apply directly to the area
where it’s needed.
d. Compress: This
technique involves gently placing a clean towel or sterile cloth,
soaked in a hot or cold herbal infusion or decoction, over the affected
area.
e. Decoction: This
involves releasing the ingredients from harder plant parts, especially
the bark, seeds, roots and rhizomes by treating them with hot water.
There
is little doubt natural remedies are the over-the-counter drugs of the
future, as people are increasingly getting disillusioned by the
conventional prescription drugs. If this does happen, the wheel would
certainly have come a full circle!
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