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Christopher Etheridge PhD
MCPP MRSC, BSc (Hons) Phyto, BSc (Hons) Chem,
CChem, DoIC, ARCS Medical Herbalist |
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The
health benefits and advantages of Western herbal medicine
Herbal medicine (Phytotherapy) is the oldest and most universal
system of medicine – the basis for all modern medicine.
Phytotherapy
(phyto is Greek for plant) is advanced herbal medicine for the 21st
century with the deep healing powers of ancient practice.
Herbal medicine has been used and trusted globally
for thousands of years as a highly effective and safe method
of treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. The World Health
Organisation (WHO) estimates that over 80% of the world’s population currently
depends on herbal medicine for its primary healthcare.
What is herbal medicine?
In phytotherapy, plant medicines are prescribed to
stimulate and strengthen the body’s normal functions, helping the body to heal itself naturally. Herbal medicine is perfectly safe and
gentle for all people and age groups – including children and pregnant or
breastfeeding mothers – as long as the treatment is closely supervised by a
professionally trained Medical Herbalist.
What is Western herbal medicine?
Modern Western herbal medicine is very different in
its philosophy, approach and applications from Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Ayurvedic medicine and homeopathy.
Phytotherapists
are university-trained to rigorously high standards. (Click
here
for course details.)
All
of the medicines they use have been approved by professional research and
evidence.
Phytotherapists
combine orthodox medical knowledge and skills with the long-established
traditional uses of herbs. They enhance these ancient practices with the most
up-to-date scientific understandings of plant medicines.
Phytotherapy
selects herbs mainly from the Western
herbal tradition (British, European and North American). It also provides
in-depth nutritional and lifestyle guidance. Together, these elements create a
holistic treatment plan for each patient’s individual needs.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Pharmaceutical companies are unable to patent plant extracts
because they are natural products. They are therefore under pressure to isolate
only the most active chemical from a plant and transform it into a new
chemical. They can then patent this new chemical commercially for use in a
prescription medicine. But any single plant contains many different active
chemicals that work in synergy with each other. The sum of their combined
effects is always greater than their individual activity. When an isolated
chemical from a plant is changed into a pharmaceutical drug, this synergy is
lost and the risk of side-effects is greatly increased. This is because the
moderating influence of other chemicals in the plant has been removed.
Less is more
In phytotherapy, every plant medicine contains a variety of potent
active ingredients. These often work together to create several therapeutic
actions in the body at the same time. The potentially strong side-effects of an
isolated plant chemical are balanced, reversed or
removed altogether by the plant’s other compounds. Because of this natural
synergy, less herbal medicine is needed than with a pharmaceutical drug
equivalent to produce the same effects.
Safe and versatile
As herbal medicine is so subtle and versatile, it can help to
treat a range of illnesses effectively that orthodox medicine generally cannot,
such as arthritis, eczema and psoriasis. In medicines administered by a fully
qualified Medical Herbalist, there are unlikely to be any side effects or
interactions with any prescription medicines that you may also be taking.
Preventing disease and promoting long-term health
The main aims of herbal medicine are disease prevention and
long-term health. These aims are achieved by treating and rebalancing the
patient as a whole.
Orthodox medicine only treats the patient’s immediate symptoms
without addressing the underlying health imbalance. It prescribes medicines
that mask the symptoms in the short term, like putting a plaster over a wound
that does not heal.
Phytotherapy works beyond these surface symptoms to heal the whole
person at the deepest levels. It does this by tackling the underlying causes of
disease, and by supporting long-term good health.