healing with nature’s pharmacy
Plant-Based Medicine For Quality Of Life
By Zachary Saber
“I
n earlier times of human history, people lived in harmony with the natural world, and regarded plants as sentient, aware, intelligent, alive and healers in their own right.” ~ Ross Heaven There is extensive research on the history of medicinal plants available today. Regretfully, today’s world requires us to differentiate between manmade, chemical laden pesticides/growth hormones and organics. Plant-based medicine is the basis of naturopathic medicine. Everything we put
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in our body is a medicine. We are either fueling our body, mind or soul or we are harming it. For many, we see the need to raise organic foods in our gardens or to buy and plant organic plants/produce, while others need to hike in a natural environment to feel nature’s healing effects. This of course feeds the soul and the mind as well as the body, effectively helping us feel better in our bodies. Medicinal plants have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical com-
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pounds. The earliest historical records of herbs are found from the Sumerian civilization, where hundreds of medicinal plants are listed on clay tablets. The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides documented over 1,000 recipes for medicines using over 600 medicinal plants in c. 60 AD; this formed the basis of pharmacopoeias for some 1,500 years. Drug research makes use of ethnobotany to search for pharmacologically active substances in nature, and has in this way discovered hundreds of useful compounds. These include the common drugs aspirin (Willow Bark), digoxin (Foxglove), quinine (cinchona tree) and opium (poppy). Organic plants tend to be more nutritious with more healthy compounds, enzymes and vitamins. How this happens depends on the source; however, organic farmers tend to have healthier soil, which leads to better crops and better health for the consumers, which could be animals as well as humans. In order to truly be a medicinal plant, it must be organically grown, raised and utilized. Organic rules require no pesticides be used, no genetic modifications and no man-made chemicals to grow the product, whether it is plant-based or animal-based. Many animals are injected with antibiotics to help fight off possible infections so that the animals do not die before processing. Often, animals are injected
