Herbal Medicine
WHAT IS HERBAL MEDICINE?
Herbal medicine is a complementary therapy that uses the healing powers within plants to treat illness. It is the world’s oldest system of medicine, and over time all cultures have developed their own herbal traditions. Our ancestors, who lived much closer to the land, experimented with the plants from their environment to find effective ways of healing. Nowadays we can use the advancement of science to enable us to identify the particular constituents within the plants and prescribe more accurately.
Plants that are known to support certain organs or systems of the body are used to 'feed' and restore health to areas of weakness. As the body is strengthened, the ability to fight off disease increases and balance and harmony are restored. Some of the most familiar drugs we use today come from plants. For example, morphine comes from poppies, aspirin from willow bark, and digoxin (a treatment for an irregular heart beat) from foxgloves.
Although Herbalism is now classed as a "complementary" discipline it is the most widely practised form of medicine worldwide. According to current statistics over 80% of the world's population rely on herbal remedies to bring about improvements in their health.
Like many complementary therapies, herbal medicine takes a holistic approach to patients - it aims to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms, and to encourage the body to heal itself. Herbalists also take this holistic approach when dealing with the herbs themselves, and believe that the delicate chemical balance of the whole herb is needed for greatest effect and to reduce potential side effects.
In mainstream medicine and its use of plant-based drugs, the tendency is to extract the “active ingredient” from the plant, synthesize it in a laboratory and then manufacture it. Herbalists believe that this upsets the medicinal balance of the plant and renders it less effective.
For example, synthetic diuretics (drugs that increase the flow of urine) seriously reduce the potassium level in the body, which then has to be restored using supplements. The Herbalist uses dandelion leaves that are a potent diuretic containing potassium, which naturally replaces any deficit.
HISTORY
Herbal medicine has its roots at the very beginning of civilised man's history yet enthusiasm for this ancient form of medicine has never been greater than it is today.
The ancient Egyptians used garlic, juniper and myrrh for medicinal purposes and in 1000AD there is a written record of herbs being used to protect against infections.
In the Middle Ages in Britain, many people used the medicinal properties of plants for common complaints through to serious illness. Milk thistle was believed to help promote milk flow in nursing mothers, and the yellow flowers of the dandelion were believed to be good for jaundice. Botanic medicine increased in popularity in the nineteenth century in America, when regular physicians’ methods were barbaric and not particularly successful. The gentler approach with “roots and herbs” became more recognised and spread to Britain where it flourished and became firmly established as an alternative form of medical treatment. Nowadays the National Institute of Medical Herbalists regulates and trains those wishing to qualify in the profession. By combining historical knowledge with the latest scientific research, modern herbalists can treat a variety of common ailments.
WHAT CONDITIONS CAN HERBAL MEDICINE TREAT?
Health problems that can be helped include: skin disorders, digestive problems, migraines and headaches, rheumatism and arthritis, hormonal disorders, respiratory infections, allergies, problems involving the heart and circulation like angina, high blood pressure, varicose veins, varicose ulcers etc. stress related disorders, in fact herbal medicine can treat almost any condition that you might visit your doctor for.
Herbal medicine offers a safe, gentle and effective approach to health care and serves to promote health as a positive state. It is suitable for all from the very young to the very old.
Appointments available at Menai Bridge
Therapist Pip Waller MNIMH
Pip Waller qualified as a medical herbalist after four years of study and joined the National Institute of Medical Herbalists in 1989. Since then she has practised in London, Ireland and now North Wales. In 1997 Pip began serving on the Council of NIMH as Chair of Postgraduate Training.
she also practices holistic massage and shamanic healing and is a Reiki Master and
She now also teaches massgae, anatomy, physiology and pathology on two holistic massage courses and has taught for a year TCM degree at NEWI.
She has been a Clinic Supervisor in the Preston Clinic of Herbal Medicine, training herbalists on the degree course at the University of Central Lancashire, since September 2001.
Pip is currently studying classical Chinese 5-Element
