A L T E R N A T I V E   H E A L I N G   A N D   H E A L T H

5,000 Years of Alternative Medicine

It's tough to keep from laughing out loud as I hear someone refer to alternative medicine as a "fad medicine"!  Really? What we describe as "alternative medicine" has been here since the creation. Current Western medicine has been present for a few hundred years. Now: which one is the "fad" medicine?

Humans get ill. That has always been the situation. And long, long, VERY LONG sooner than there were hundreds of doctors in each community and a pharmacy on each corner in America, our illnesses have been treated with whatever was available at hand. What we had "at hand" were plants, animals, and raw materials. And we learned to use them to treat our physical ills. Trial and error was the system of finding what was effective and what just didn't work; what was "safe" and what was not safe to utilize.

It is understood that "necessity is the mother of invention" and if anything was ever needed, it was medicinal treatment for human ailments. Methods of using the Various parts of plants (flowers, leaves, roots, etc.) and even different tree barks were found to remedy illness and even to avoid illness.  Acupuncture is found back in the primeval past. Acupuncture "needles" have been found that had been made of stone.

Remains of essential oils have been found in primative bowls that also date back to the Stone Age.

Diverse methods of contemplation and spiritual self-awareness have been used over vast amounts of time. The body-mind-spirit connection was time-honored as a foundation for medical treatment. Just as the healthiness of the body affects the mind and spirit, so does the healthiness of the mind and the spirit affect the health of the body. They're all interdependent, and our prehistoric ancestors realized that association. (The prevailing, conservative, customary AMA-sanctified medical society is just now beginning to recognize the body-mind-spirit correlation.)

History Of Alternative Herbal Medicine

The use of alternate herbal medicine is traced back to earliest times. The lack of modern therapeutic knowledge forced our ancestors develop their curative arts by making use of nature's gifts. Even nowadays, up to date medical discoveries are generally based on the findings and usage of natural herbal elements by primitive peoples, improving it to become useful in today's health-related concerns.

                                                 Where It All Started

The usage of alternate herbal treatment began as trial and error. Application appears larger in the practice than real exploration; although the latter came sometime later when medical procedure started its evolution.

The fundamental application of herbal medicine involved disinfecting wounds when herbs were used as a poultice. Later discoveries on the approaches involved beating leaves and roots to a paste for promptly administering it to patients. Later it evolved into combination with other effective substances to enhance its effects, and it was even later introduced to meals and normal human diet to promote better health and increase physical, emotional and mental recovery.

Adaptation Of Usage

The use of herbal medicine varies according to the customs, traditions, and beliefs of the culture to increase the body's whole operation -- boosting a person's energy, enhancing the body's protection against infection, etc..

                       Safety In Usage

It's true that alternative herbal medicine is safe to utilize as compared to its artificial counterpart, but it is crucial to take some necessary precaution to ensure that there will be no side-effects or allergic reactions to its ingredients to promote bodily wellness.

Consultation of a medical expert is crucial to ascertain whether it is safe for you to consume herbal products or not. Even if the medicine worked on others, there is a chance that it will have a reverse effect on you, depending on your body's chemistry. If such is the situation; it is necessary to have medical doctor look at your present medical state to verify if you are physically compatible with the particular herbal medication or not.

                                         Native American Herbal Medicine

We frequently connect herbal medicine with the Chinese, but other ancient cultures also practiced herbal medicine. In America, the American Indians practiced their own variety of herbal medical treatment.

It's truly amazing to find that many of the herbs that the Chinese employed were also employed by American Indians. The plants were not the same in a few ways, but each belonged to the equivalent "family" of plants. The manners in which the plants were employed by the early Chinese cultures and ancient Native American cultures are exceptionally comparable.

According to Native American wisdom, the Creator, the "Great Spirit" bestowed various ways to restore the body, and for every human sickness, there is a therapy provided by Mother Nature. All animals, including humans, must be in tune with the earth to be healthy. The American Indians say that all human diseases are caused by an imbalance with nature.

Those who practice herbal medicine based upon lore handed down by generations of American Indians do not exercise it as a hobby. This isn't an insignificant distraction. Herbology IS a science, built upon examinations made over thousands of years.

The government controls the practice of conventional medicine and the use of prescription drugs, but there is no government regulation upon herbs or herbal medicine.

That doesn't mean that herbalists aren't qualified, however. It simply means that, so far, the government hasn't decided to regulate Native American herbal medicine. But, who knows, that could change. The Indians, though, are doing all they can to keep government out of their healing traditions.  

"The government", they say, "has done quite enough already. Thank you very much!"    

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