We all get sick, the same as those living thousands of years before us did, and back then, most likely more violently.
What we’ll do today is go to the doctor and get prescribed with the proper medication to cure our various ills, aches, and conditions. We’ll consume the medicine, and most likely get better.
This is the basic standard procedure on how the modern health and medical industry operates, a cycle which involves diagnosis and then the proper clinical medical prescription.
Recently, there’s been long-term intensive studies based on finding out whether there is any real merit to what’s being referred to as natural medicinal healing, using primarily herbs.
If the doctor, however, gave you herbal medicine instead of a pill, most would likely wonder why.
What Is Natural Medicine
Natural medicine refers to the same illnesses being cured by using natural methods, using traditional practices and herbal remedies to heal the ailments.
Every significant culture in the world has it’s own form of natural medicine. In the oldest of these ancient cultures, the “medicine men” of the tribe or villages served as the doctors, giving their medical knowledge and cures to their members, while passing down the knowledge to their apprentices.
The majority of categories of the healing arts and methods generally fall under natural medicine. Others include alternate medicine, complementary medicine, and traditional medicine.
The practice of natural medicine is usually referred to the various medical practices which were established during these times, and were already in place long before the actual advent of what’s known as modern medicine.
What’s included in this group are phytotherapy or herbal medicine, which was prevalent in ancient Chinese, Greek, and Indian healing practices.
As modern medicine became more prominent, the practicing professionals began discarding the use of herbs for cure in favor of medicine which was man made in a laboratory.
Over time, using these ancient healing techniques and properties of various herbs for cure were generally discarded.
Traditional Herbal Medicine Becoming A Lost Art
So it can be considered that the practice of using natural medicine for ailments can now be considered more as a part of history. This doesn’t mean, however, that it’s lost efficacy over time.
Some still believe that natural therapy is actually better with less side effects than what modern medicine can provide. This reasoning has lead some doctors to seriously consider as well as study the possible uses when it comes to natural medicine.
It’s also important to note that not all of the natural remedies are recommended or legitimate. So it’s advised that individuals use just those natural remedies which have been studied and proven over time, and are considered risk free.
When it comes to herbal medicines for instance, there are an abundance of well documented herbal remedies which are available. The ones that are recommended by health professionals, however, are cures for just the minor ailments such as: skin rashes, colds, cough, fever, etc.
Some of these natural remedies has proven to be equal and at times superior to any synthetic medicine that’s available. The reasoning for this being that certain herbal remedies will have little to no side effects.
Currently, there are a growing number of organizations who are actively studying the effects and the advocacy of natural medicine, including herbal medicine. Some of the health agencies are now even promoting the use of natural methods since they’re less expensive.
A Growing List Of Recommended Herbal Remedies
As the various studies compile, the list of herbs along with their treatments are growing as recommended and accepted medical treatments. However, know that there are also a lot of herbs which have been proven “bogus” for what they claim to be.
What this then represents is a huge challenge for both the user as well as the health agencies since they’re required to ascertain that the treatments they advocate are even legitimate.
As there are an abundance of alternative medical treatments that’s available today which falls under natural medicine, the problem becomes the majority of them are yet to be proven or tested to be effective.
You could also group in aromatherapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, along with other alternative treatments as being natural health alternatives.
Using Natural Medicine As An Accompaniment
Most will suggest that natural medicine should be considered as an accompanying medicine since most of the current collective medical minds will recommend that natural medicine be used just as a supplement.
So if you have any minor ailments such as a cold, most likely, they will now actually advise that you to take the easily available natural therapies for cure.
Preventative Medicine And Modern Solutions
What modern medicine revolves around is diagnosing a certain illness and then prescribing the appropriate medication or treatment for such. Where natural medicine can be helpful is what treatments to take to avoid getting sick.
What natural medicine is striving for is to make each of their patients to develop good preventative health habits. These habits include healthier living, a better diet, and taking regular natural supplements for treatment.
It’s the same thought pattern which lead our parents to make us eat our fruits and veggies when we were younger. This is the same foundation which is presented when it comes to natural medicine, which could include: a full-body massage, practicing tai-chi, aromatherapy, or taking vitamins.
The ultimate quest for science is finding the truth, searching for excellence, which also includes studying the knowledge of our forefathers. What this does is it leads us directly back to the remedies which nature offers.
The possibilities of finding better remedies to our everyday illnesses in natural or alternative medicine are becoming more encouraging. What the process needs however is a regulated study of these remedies until we’re able to verify which of these therapies are actually effective, and can actually help our health and modern society.