Growing up in Northern Germany “country style”, I quickly developed a love for the bounties of MOTHER NATURE especially berries, herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables.
Herbs can affect biological systems in our bodies at the cellular level. Ultimately these high levels of biologically active substances can produce pharmacological and therapeutic affects. The nutritional value of herbs is high and organically grown herbs (no herbicide and pesticide spraying and chemical fertilizer) offer maximum benefits.
Herbs are extensively used in cosmetics, (there is a growing demand for TOXIN free medicinal herbal and personal care products worldwide) herbal creams & ointments, lotions, shampoos, toothpastes, soaps, oils, tinctures, sprays and in cooking. The multitude of uses for herbs as foods, medicines and in products emphasizes how vital botanical plants are to our health and well being. Unfortunately, as the Pharmaceutical industry developed the ability to synthesize medicine from the inert substances such as petroleum and minerals, and developing sophisticated marketing strategies, the therapeutic use of natural herbs diminished and was almost lost, especially in North America.
Recently however, there has been a resurgence of interest in herbs and healing. As people begin to lose faith in prescription drugs and antibiotics, they are rediscovering that herbs and herbal remedies and products are an effective and comparatively inexpensive form of healthcare. Herbal medicine represents a particular approach to healing which differs from allopathic medicine. Rather than relieving a single symptom with single active ingredient, herbs offer a holistic approach by striving to deal with the entire system and treating the cause.
Herbal medicine can only be truly holistic if it acknowledges the social and cultural context in which the illnesses occurred, and then the desired healing takes place. (Body, Mind & Spirit). According to Chris Kilham, the medicine hunter, www.medicinehunter.com over five billion people today are still using herbal remedies for healing! The renewed interest in holistic medicine, as well as a great number of traditional therapies, has encouraged changes within the existing medical profession. Given the severe financial crisis of our medical system (many professional predict a collapse within 5 – 10 years) it is incumbent upon us all to seek out and utilize appropriate health alternatives.
Let me quote you from the “Pocket Herbal Reference Guide”, by Debbra St.Clair, MH (Master Herbalist):
“The art of pharmacy turned to the production of drugs which could bring the quickest relief of symptoms, ignoring the reason that the symptoms appeared. As we look back perhaps it is time to reconsider the path. The use of substances has spawned a myriad of unexpected problems, such as suppression of the very signals that our bodies produce to alert us to a need of change. Pain itself is a call to action – a call to remedy and in balance in our lifestyle. The proficient use of herbal therapy is directly connected to our ability to sense that first signal and to adjust our lifestyle accordingly. It is when these signals are continually ignored that disease has a chance to seat itself more deeply within our bodies. The appropriate use of herbs is one of many health alternatives to our medical system.”
And remember:
For every disease we know, Mother Earth provides a herb to grow.
Those who do not spend time every day on health, will sacrifice one day a lot of time for illness, since HEALTH IS WEALTH!
Words of Wisdom
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in care of the human frame, in diet, the cause and PREVENTION of disease.”
Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931)