Herbal medicine is the use of plants to help animals regain and maintain health. It is the oldest, and most widely used, system of medicine in the world. Different ethnic and geographic cultures have developed different systems of herbal medicine, but all societies have used plants for healing.

 

Various traditions are often based on native plants: what is already growing in your community, your neighborhood, your back yard. These tend to be hardy, thriving (depending on how you look at it, invasive) weeds. Herbal medicine is considered The People’s Medicine, because it employs materials that are abundantly available and affordable.

 

Preparation and use of plant materials vary from one traditional system to the next. However, most herbal medicine traditions seek to find the underlying cause of imbalance. Herbs are effectively used to support the body’s natural healing ability, to ward off disease before it can take root.