Growing Medicinal Herbs – A Human Living Staple
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Growing medicinal herbs has been around since the early beginnings of traditional medicine. Most cultures in the world have incorporated herbs to providing home remedies. The herbs also serve a vital role in healthy ways of living and current alternative medical practices. However, some medicinal herbs are still disputed as to whether they really improve a person’s health and could not cause harmful side effects.
Medicinal herbs throughout history
Different practices of herbology among ancient civilizations have been around some five thousand years ago.
The ancient Egyptian medicine has recorded one of the oldest practices of herbalism. They had Ebers Papyrus which documented treatments for most diseases and illnesses. Most of the remedies explained in the document involve herbs, like garlic and mint varieties.
The Chinese integrated fifty essential herbs to be used as medicine in different forms. And this practice is still widely prevalent around the world. The most common herbs Chinese utilize are ginseng, wolfberry, Tokay gecko, ginger and garlic.
Ayurveda, India’s traditional medicine and healthy living guide, has more than thirty medical preparations with herbs as the main ingredient. Ayurvedic medicinal herbs include turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, garlic and cumin.
The medical professionals today are including medicinal herb treatments as part of providing care for their patients. This could be somehow paralleled with the ancient practice of apothecaries during Baghdad’s Middle Ages. This had quickly spread around European cultures in the 15th century. Today, there are still particular territories in the USA like Virginia and North Carolina, and London that either re-enact or have maintained ancient apothecary shops and practices.
Medicinal herbs are also prime story elements for some of the world’s greatest literary works. From the Old Testament to Shakespeare’s, medicinal herbs have been mentioned quite a few times and their potent roles affecting human emotions and life sustenance.
Growing your own medicinal herb garden
Planting and maintaining a medicinal herb garden are not different from growing other types of herbs. Moreover, most herbs are primarily medicinal. You might be surprised that the herbs you already have could also be used for medicinal purposes. Below are some herbs and how you can use them for home remedies.
Warts could be treated with aloe vera sap or crushed basil. The acidity of these herbs is not tolerated by wart viruses.
When you are constipated, you can boil any of these herbs: lemon grass, dandelion, peppermint and dill. These herbs’ juices stimulate your digestive system, giving way to better bowel movement.
Horehound, catnip and oregano are for soothing coughs and colds. The bitter taste of these herbs comes out when boiled. And when you drink the juices, they are very good expectorants.
Dog bites could be remedied with a topical application of crushed garlic. However this is only for an initial application. The bite should still be treated with doctor care.
There are also other medicinal herbs that could be used even for more serious illnesses and diseases. Ginger and cannabis extracts could be given to chemotherapy patients. These help ease the pain and prevent nausea. Bergamot orange juice could be drunk to heal malaria.
As all the accounts above reveal, growing medicinal herbs is indeed an intrinsic part of human way of life.
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