As you have seen, herbs and other natural medicinals are the cornerstone of all the ancient healing traditions. They are still used worldwide today—by Chinese medical

doctors, Ayurvedic vaidyas, macrobiotic practitioners, Native American healers, the shamans of South America, and in millions of households from Alaska to Zanzibar—for just one reason. They work.

A growing number of people strongly believe that Mother (Nature) knows best. Without question, the natural medicinals have some very real advantages when compared with man made drugs. Nature’s medicinals can do just about anything man made pharmaceuticals can do, and, with very few exceptions, herbal brews and other natural medicinals are free of the adverse effects characteristic of man made drugs. The ingredients found in nature’s pharmacy are time-tested and body-friendly.

The Advantages of Using Whole Herbs

A century ago, science discovered how to isolate, identify, and extract the active elements in the herbal remedies that had been in use for thousands of years. Delighted with this new “toy,” researchers convinced themselves that only one element was the source of a plant’s power to heal. They proceeded to “throw the baby out with the bath water” by agreeing among themselves that the rest of the plant’s constituents had to be just so many useless and inactive elements. That error was set in stone when the medical detectives then decided it would be much better to pull out the one compound they had labeled “active” and use it in their research against disease, rather than continue investigating the ways in which the whole plant worked.

Herbal BeautyBetter? No. Easier? Yes. That’s how the pharmaceutical companies grew into the powerful force they have become. Yet, even in this day and age, with the heavy reliance Western medicine has on engineered and synthetic medicines, more than 25 percent of all prescription drugs in the United States are derived from herbs and plants.

While many life-saving drugs have been discovered, the vast majority of commonly used medications come with many potentially dangerous side effects. Many of these synthesized drugs emphasize a quick fix without looking at the long-term effects. By isolating a single active ingredient, researchers ignore the delicate balance nature has developed in these plants over millions of years. It turns out that a lot of the best stuff may, in fact, go into the trash barrel. Today, we know the whole herb contains necessary companion-compounds that help the so-called “active” element work better while, at the same time, soften its sometimes harsh effects. The “working” parts of the plant—whether roots, flowers, buds, leaves, or bark—are the repository of more than just one active compound, as well as a variety of still more elements that act as potentiators and buffers.

This is not to suggest that the world would be better off without pharmaceutical drugs. There will always be times when only a quick-acting broad-spectrum drug—whether plant-based or engineered from scratch in the lab—will do the job. If your condition is serious enough to warrant attention by a physician, chances are you’ll be quick to welcome prescription drugs.

On the other hand, there will always be times when a safe and gentle healing tea is the nicer choice. It’s up to you to weigh the benefits of each approach and determine when the time is right for sipping a steaming cup of natural medicinal brew.

For example, if you suffer from insomnia and you’re sick of being awake while the rest of the world is off to dreamland, you’re liable to resort to almost anything to get a good night’s sleep. Tossing and turning is no fun. The desperate need for rest may send you out into the dark searching for a twenty-four- hour drugstore where you can find an over-the-counter sleep aid.

Arriving home, you pop a couple of pills and settle down with a sigh of relief. This stuff may zonk you out, but you might as well hit yourself in the head with a hammer. You’ll have the same type of headache in the morning. Because of the concentrated chemicals in these preparations, you’ll probably awaken with a drug-induced hangover and feel groggy, dragged out, and miserable all day.

Even worse, some sleep-inducers are so strong that you sleep without dreaming. Without experiencing the fourth-stage deep REM sleep of dreams, the human body reacts with nervous irritability. If you fail to achieve REM sleep for too many nights, tremors develop. Then, too, you may develop dependency on sleep aids that will force you to choose between sleepless nights or more chemical-induced nightmarish symptoms.

There is a better way. Several herbal teas come to mind. Chamomile, for example, was used by the ancient Egyptians for its relaxing effects. By the 1600s, chamomile was in wide use in Europe, and it’s still much appreciated today around the world. A cup of chamomile tea soothes the restless spirit and helps the body ease into the natural state of relaxation that fosters sleep.

St. John’s wort is another herb that has been in use for centuries. As every insomniac knows, it’s hard to go to sleep if you’re anxious about falling asleep in the first place. St. John’s wort is traditionally used to relieve anxiety and lift the spirits, as well as to treat insomnia. Even more reassuring is the fact that studies have shown this root to improve the quality of sleep.

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