What is herbal therapy

Herbal therapy is a healing method that uses natural active ingredients from different parts of various plants, such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, to help the human body regulate its condition and improve discomfort through different methods such as oral administration, external application, and inhalation. It covers traditional Chinese medicine diets and herbal prescriptions, as well as different branches such as popular foreign herbal teas and aromatherapy. It is essentially one of the earliest natural healing methods explored by humans.

You must be familiar with it. When you catch a cold during the change of seasons, make a bowl of brown sugar ginger tea to relieve sweating. When you have a toothache, soak some honeysuckle water and drink it. Even the older generation picked some mint leaves and crushed them and applied them on them. These are all herbal therapies that ordinary people use on a daily basis. They are not some far-fetched "metaphysics" at all.

However, the controversy surrounding herbal therapy has never ceased over the years. Supporters believe that it has been proven in practice for thousands of years, has few side effects, and can treat problems at the root. Opponents believe that the effectiveness of most herbs has not been rigorously tested in large-scale clinical trials. Some herbs have hidden liver and kidney toxicity, and the risk of misuse is high.

I have been involved in herbal conditioning for almost ten years. In the past two years, I met a little girl who worked in design. She took antihistamines when she suffered from allergic rhinitis, which made her dizzy all day long. Later, she went to a regular traditional Chinese medicine hospital to diagnose her symptoms. She was prescribed a nasal prescription of magnolia, xanthium, and mint, combined with drinking a small amount of astragalus and jujube water every day to keep her qi healthy. In less than three weeks, the sneezing and runny nose were reduced by 80%, and there were no major attacks during subsequent seasons. But I have also seen many people follow the trend of "Internet celebrity herbal prescriptions" on the Internet. There was a young man who drank his own prescription containing Guanmu Tong every day to remove dampness. Within a month of drinking it, he suffered from stomachache and elevated creatinine. After he was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, he found out that the herbal medicine was not suitable for the patient's symptoms and was excessively overdosed, which in turn hurt his body.

In fact, both statements are reasonable. There is no need to put herbal therapy and modern medicine on opposite sides. You see, artemisinin, which won the Nobel Prize, is extracted from the traditional herb Artemisia annua. It has now become a specific anti-malarial drug. This in itself is the best proof of the value of herbal medicine. To put it bluntly, herbs are like nature's "natural toolbox" hidden in the mountains. Each herb has its own applicable scenarios and usages. If used correctly, it is a good helper to help the body. If used incorrectly, it may become a tool that hurts people. The most taboo is to drink random recipes without knowing anything. If you really want to use it to regulate the body, it is best to find a professional doctor or aromatherapist before using it, so as to avoid pitfalls and truly use its benefits.