France, View of a lavender field
55844810 Photodisc Royalty Free Photograph
List of Herbs and Spices
An herb is a plant or part of a plant used for its flavor, scent, or potential
therapeutic properties. Includes flowers, leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, stems, and
roots. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that people take
to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time for claimed
health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and
fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems, some are not
effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.
Dietary supplement is a
product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino
acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for
dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.
To use an herbal product as safely as
possible:
-
Consult your doctor first
-
Do not take a bigger dose than the label
recommends
-
Take it under the guidance of a trained
medical professional
-
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or
nursing
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Why should I use herbal products?
The decision to use herbs to improve your
health is, as with all health decisions, a personal one. There are, however,
many good reasons to consider herbal products to complement your own
health care methods. One of the best reason, however, may be the fact that
herbs and herbal products, continue to provide real health benefits while
maintaining a remarkable safety profile. Readily available natural
substances were the first medicines used by humans. Primitive and ancient
civilizations as well as contemporary cultures throughout the world have
always relied on herbs to provide the benefits that have been observed with
their use. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80
percent of the world's population continues to use traditional therapies, a
major part of which are derived from plants, as their primary health care
tools. In our own time and culture, most herbs are available in the form of
"herbal supplements." These products are found in the form of teas, tablets,
capsules, liquid extracts, and others. We now have ready access to products
that bring the herbal traditions from all over the world in a variety of
convenient forms. In addition, scientific inquiries continue to develop our
knowledge of the benefits of plants, and often validate the observations
made over the past centuries.
Are herbs safe?
Plants that enjoy broad culinary and
therapeutic usage are generally safe. We can flavor our food with any number
of herbs to make a meal more flavorful. We can appreciate a delicious cup of
peppermint leaf or ginger root tea, or benefit from the soothing properties
of marshmallow root or the bark of slippery elm. We can take an herbal
supplement containing dandelion root or saw palmetto berries, or any number
of the other herbs. Although allergies and reactions have been recorded for
a few herbs that are widely used in foods and supplements, such individual
concerns are also seen with many foods, and do not diminish the safety
profile of the many herbs that are generally recognized as safe. On the
other hand, and as everyone knows, there are any number of plants that are
highly toxic, even deadly.
Herbs in history - Courtesy of
Wikipedia
In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the
Sumerians, who described well-established medicinal uses for such plants as
laurel, caraway, and thyme. The first known Chinese herb book (or herbal),
dating from about 2700 B.C., lists 365 medicinal plants and their uses -
including ma-Huang, the shrub that introduced the drug ephedrine to modern
medicine. The Egyptians of 1000 B.C. are known to have used garlic, opium,
castor oil, coriander, mint, indigo, and other herbs for medicine and the Old
Testament also mentions herb use and cultivation, including mandrake, vetch,
caraway, wheat, barley, and rye.
Like their predecessors, the ancient Greeks and Romans made medicinal use of
plants. Greek and Roman medicinal practices, as preserved in the writings of
Hippocrates and - especially - Galen, provided the patterns for later western
medicine. Hippocrates advocated the use of a few simple herbal drugs - along
with fresh air, rest, and proper diet. Galen, on the other had, recommended
large doses of more or less complicated drug mixtures - including plant, animal,
and mineral ingredients. The Greek physician compiled the first European
treatise on the properties and uses of medicinal plants, De Materia Medica. In
the first century AD, Dioscorides wrote a compendium of more that 500 plants
that remained an authoritative reference into the seventeenth century. Similarly
important for herbalists and botanists of later centuries was the Greek book
that founded the science of botany, Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum, written in
the fourth century B.C.
The uses of plants for medicine and other purposes changed little during the
Middle Ages. The early Christian church discouraged the formal practice of
medicine, preferring faith healing; but many Greek and Roman writings on
medicine, as on other subjects, were preserved by diligent hand copying of
manuscripts in monasteries. The monasteries thus tended to become local centers
of medical knowledge, and their herb gardens provided the raw materials for
simple treatment of common disorders. At the same time, folk medicine in the
home and village continues uninterrupted, supporting numerous wandering and
settled herbalists. Among these were the “wise-women,” who prescribed herbal
remedies often along with spells and enchantments. It was not until the later
Middle Ages that women who were knowledgeable in herb lore became the targets of
the witch hysteria. One of the most famous women in the herbal tradition was
Saint Hildegard of Bingen. A twelfth century Benedictine nun, she wrote a
medical text called Causes and Cures.
Medical schools began to return in the eleventh century, teaching Galen’s
system. At the time, the Arabic world was more advanced in science than Europe.
As a trading culture, the Arabs had access to plant material from distant places
such as China and India. Herbals, medical texts and translations of the classics
of antiquity filtered in from east to west. Alongside the university system,
folk medicine continued to thrive. Plants were burdened with a mass of both
pagan and Christian superstition that often was more important than their actual
properties. The continuing importance of herbs for the centuries following the
Middle Ages is indicated by the hundreds of herbals published after the
invention of printing in the fifteenth century. Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum
was on of the first books to be printed, and Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica was
not far behind.
The fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries were the great age of
herbals, many of them available for the first time in English and other
languages rather than Latin or Greek. The first herbal to be published in
English was the anonymous Grete Herball of 1526. The two best-known herbals in
English wereThe Herball or General History of Plants (1597) by John Gerard and
The English Physician Enlarged (1653) by Nicholas Culpeper. Gerard’s text was
basically a pirated translation of a book by the Belgian herbalist Dodoens and
his illustrations came from a German botanical work. The original edition
contained many errors due to faulty matching of the two parts. Culpeper’s blend
of traditional medicine with astrology, magic, and folklore was ridiculed by the
physicians of his day yet his book - like Gerard’s and other herbals - enjoyed
phenomenal popularity. The Age of Exploration and the Columian Exchange
introduced new medicinal plants to Europe. The Badianus Manuscript was an
illustrated Aztec herbal translated into Latin in the 16th century.
But the seventeenth century also saw the beginning of a slow erosion of the
pre-eminent position held by plants as sources of therapeutic effects. The
introduction by the physician. Paracelsus of active chemical drugs (like
arsenic, copper sulfate, iron, mercury, and sulfur), followed by the rapid
development of chemistry and the other physical sciences in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, led increasingly to the dominance of chemotherapy -
chemical medicine - as the orthodox system of the twentieth century.
Herbal remedies News:
- Valerian
may aid menopausal sleep problems: August 29, 2011: The popular herbal
sleep aid valerian could help ease some of the sleep problems that can
come with menopause, a small study suggests.
- Herbal
abortion helps African women: August 26, 2011: Researchers at the
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, have
examined a number of plants which are used for illegal abortions in
Tanzania. The lab tests show that several of the plants can make the
uterus tissue contract and that the plants therefore can be used to stop
lethal bleedings after birth. This new knowledge is now to be conveyed in
rural Tanzania where access to medicine often is difficult.
- JORDAN-
Model farm cultivates organic crops, medicinal herbs: August 16, 2011:
A farm in the Mujib Biosphere Reserve has started producing organic crops
and herbs with the aim of providing a model that encourages
water-efficient techniques and the use of chemical-free fertilisers in
agriculture.
- Ten
tips for your herb garden. August 14, 2011: Although many herbs, such
as thyme, sage, rosemary and oregano, are Mediterranean in origin, most
will grow as well in shade as in sun.
- Uterine
fibroids: Natural remedies better choice than Hysterectomy. August 13,
2011: The majority (80%) of fibroids are as small as a walnut, usually not
bigger than an orange. In the U.S., about one third of all hysterectomies
is because of the fibroids.
- Manjishtha
Himalaya – Natural Herbal Remedies for Acne, Edema, Allergies and Skin
Care. August 11, 2011: A statistics reports approximately 4.4 million
people in USA are suffering edema. Edema is a swelling caused by fluid
retention. It commonly occurs in hands, arms, ankles, legs and feet.
Manjishtha or Rubia Cordifolia a new herbal product from Himalaya is said
to have worked wonders in Treating skin diseases associated with edema and
oozing.
- Chinese
herbal medicine can boost your chi, farmers' chi and the Asheville-area
economy: July 23, 2011: Over thousands of years, the Chinese learned
to heal themselves with herbal formulas and carefully placed acupuncture
needles to balance the energy in the human body.
- Herbal
remedy beats brain cancer: July 17, 2011: Ohio: Indirubin, a herbal
compound used in traditional Chinese remedies might beat deadly brain
tumours.
- Herbal
Remedies for Lichen Planus. July 15, 2011: Lichen planus is a disease
caused by abnormal functioning of the immune system. Patients suffering
from this disease experience skin itching and swelling. They also suffer
from ulcers in the mouth. The authors of this research reviewed various
studies on the beneficial effects of different herbs in alleviating the
symptoms of oral lichen planus. “There are many types of herbs that can
help the lesions of oral lichen planus effectively and safely, as well as
keep them from returning,” according to the researchers.
- Mentat
from Himalaya – Natural Herbal Remedy to Improve Memory Power. July
14, 2011: Himalaya Herbals Mentat/MindCare is effective herbal remedy in
memory loss. It is the best natural herbal supplement to boost memory
power and enhance the brain health. It improves memory power,
concentration, and learning abilities.
- One
of Gloucester County's oldest residents passes away. July 13, 2011:
Sarah Carter Brown, a long-time Gloucester County resident, who lived
through 18 presidents and experienced history first hand in her 107 years,
passed away Friday, leaving a legacy of inspiration and optimism as well
as herbal remedies and good cooking.
- Herbal
remedies unattended in Iran. July 11, 2011: Author of A New Approach
towards Medicinal Plants complained at the little number of researchers in
Iran studying medicinal plants and says the science is ignored by
researchers and writers.
- Lavender
is popping up in all sorts of places. July 9, 2011: Lavender seems to
be everywhere these days -- in lotions, soaps, teas, candles, lemonade,
desserts and main dishes at upscale restaurants
- Believe
It or Not: Herbal Remedy to Stop Your Wife's Incessant Nagging! July
8, 2011: The world's first anti-nagging medicine, a herbal remedy which
claims it can tame the nastiest of nags has been launched.
- Refreshing
lettuces and herbs: July 7, 2011: Ever open up the fridge to find your
lettuces or herbs are looking a little... tired? Shock them in an ice bath
to perk them up.
- KUALA
LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) July 6, 2011 -- The tourism industry should
tap into the herbal industry as an attraction for tourists to learn and
explore, says the Herbal Asia Secretariat.
- Herbal
remedies and natural supplements against arthritis: July 4, 2011 -
Researchers believe that one fine treatment in the battle against
arthritis is the centuries-old herb frankincense. From deep in the annals
of herbal remedies and natural supplements, frankincense has been found to
potentially relieve and alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory arthritis.
- Erectile
dysfunction: Risk from herbal remedies: 1st July 2011 - Unlicensed
herbal remedies for erectile dysfunction, available over the internet,
could present serious health risks according to recent test results.