Maybe you’re used to foregoing those over-the-counter drugs when a fever, stomach pain, or case of the sniffles strikes—but did you know that there are a number of medicinal plants (also referred to as healing herbs) that have the healing properties necessary to nurse you back to health?
Medicinal Plants
For thousands of years, people have used herbs as medicine all over the world. But they are not as strictly controlled as prescription medicines. It’s important to understand the herbs you’re using. The quality of herbs also matters.
Herbal medicine has its origins in ancient cultures. It involves the medicinal use of plants to treat disease and enhance general health and wellbeing. “The use of herbal medicine, although traditional in many Eastern cultures, had been only a minor fad in Western medicine until recent decades,” says Virender Sodhi, MD, founder of the Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Medical Clinic and author of Ayurvedic Herbs: The Comprehensive Resource for Ayurvedic Healing Solutions.
Some herbs have potent (powerful) ingredients and should be taken with the same level of caution as pharmaceutical medications. In fact, many pharmaceutical medications are based on man-made versions of naturally occurring compounds found in plants. For instance, the heart medicine digitalis was derived from the foxglove plant. According to herbal medicine practitioners, the effect of the whole plant is greater than its parts. Critics argue that the nature of herbal medicine makes it difficult to give a measured dose of an active ingredient.
Herbal medicine aims to return the body to a state of natural balance so that it can heal itself. Different herbs act on different systems of the body. Here are four of Dr. Sodhi’s favorite healing plants—a couple of which are recognizable by better-known names and purposes.
Glycyrrhiza glabra.
You might recognize this plant by its more common name: licorice. It has been used for centuries in the traditional and folk medicines of Asia and Europe to treat ailments ranging from the common cold to liver disease, but most Americans likely encountered licorice as children because the sweet root of the plant is used to make candy. Licorice can cure more than a sweet tooth, though! It has been shown to have strong immune modulation properties and is an important ingredient in many herbal preparations, especially for bronchial conditions. Because of its expectorant properties, powdered licorice has been used for centuries to treat coughs—modern cough syrups often contain licorice extract.
Piper nigrum.
This flowering vine’s berries, when still unripe, are used to produce black pepper, but spicing up food isn’t its only talent. Piper nigrum has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-spasmodic properties that make it ideal for treating digestive disorders. And it doesn’t stop there: Drug resistance is a major concern in cancer patients, but Piper nigrum can reverse drug resistance and significantly increase the apoptotic effect of many pharmaceutical drugs.
Boswellia serrate.
Commonly known as frankincense, this herb has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Several case studies have demonstrated that patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and polymyalgia rheumatica have entered remission using a Boswellia preparation. In brain-tumor patients, it has reduced cerebral edema—excess fluid accumulation in the brain—by 75 percent.
Bael.
This fruit-bearing tree indigenous to the hills and plains of central and southern India has numerous uses. The fruit promotes healthy digestion and is used medicinally to treat conditions like diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera. The leaves, roots, and bark also have medicinal value, such as to relieve acute bronchitis, heart palpitations, and intermittent fevers.
Taking herbs safely
Before you use any herb as medicine, talk with your healthcare provider. Tell them all medicines and vitamins you take. They will need to make sure the herbal medicine is safe. Some herbs are unsafe to take with other medicines. Ask them how much is safe for you to take. Follow their instructions. Tell them if you have any side effects.
Leave a Reply