Your Guide to Herbs…!

August 10, 2010
By Faraz

What is a Herb?

Herb can be explained as a plant growth from any family which can be used for treating ailments and fullfilling nutritional needs.  The common concept associated with herbs is  green bushy plants, but herbs can just as well be trees or wildflowers.  Most of the farmer community consider herbs as weeds which is not helpful for the proper iThe definition of herbs is explained in detail in medical world.

There are many sources of herbs, most of the herbs  come from the roots or bark of plants.  Some herbs come from the berries or nectar of flowers and trees.  Some of the herbs mainly comprising of plant roots are consumed in African Countries to get rid of stomach parasites, while they will use the bark of the same tree to make a concoction that they believe makes them more virile and cures impotence.  In addition, many tribes will burn certain types of wood in order to create a particular scent during their religious rituals.  Sometimes, medicine men use types of herbs for their psychedelic attributes so that tribesmen might go on their dream quests.  The example of  Yanomani of the Amazon forest can be taken to underdstand it.

Current situation of  Herbal Medicine Industry and Science

Because scientists have not yet gotten around to verifying many of the claims for herbs and their uses or the benefits of herbal medicine as a regular authentic practice, the whole herb  industry still remains in that realm between science and folklore.  Many amongst our community still associate herbal medicine with pseudo-scientific claims made by superstitious activities like astrology and New Age crystals.  However, science has proved many claims made for some herbs that were once squarely in the province of alternative medicine.  So perhaps it is best to think of herbal medicine as somewhat closer to practices such as acupuncture.  Also there are many who make strong claims for herbal medicine’s benefits.  Either you can wait for science to verify or debunk such claims, or you can take such concoctions and see if they work for you.  After all, even a placebo effect is still an effect.

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