Many people are interested in herbs these days,
and there's a lot to learn about them. Books, magazine articles,
blogs, health newsletters all routinely carry informative articles
about herbs. They add flavor to food and they can also promote
health.There is so much information to absorb on this topic that
it's a good idea not to worry about learning everything there is to
know all at once. In ancient cultures, the healers, or medicine
people, spent their entire lives studying to be expert practitioners
of herbal medicine.
Some of us have our first exposure to herbs in the kitchen. We
love the distinct flavor or cilantro in Mexican food, the oregano,
thyme and garlic in many Italian dishes, the aroma and sharp taste
of curry when we sample Indian cuisine, and rosemary paired with leg
of lamb. The cuisine of cultures worldwide developed around the
herbs available to the people cooking there. The variety is
astounding, and now as cultures around the globe are in greater
communication than ever, and people are crossing borders in great
numbers, more and more people are being exposed to new flavors
through herbs.
Traditional cultures also still use herbs as medicines. They
don't have access to all-night pharmacies like industrialized
nations do. But even industrialized nations depended on many herbs
before the development of antibiotics in the 20th century. They
proved to be so effective, many folk remedies fell by the wayside.
People didn't think it was important anymore to learn about herbs
and how effective they can be in helping us resist and treat
disease.
Now, however, people are getting more interested in herbal
remedies. Overuse of antibiotics has caused antibiotic resistant
strains of bacteria to develop, which frightens many. We've actually
learned that many of our common medicines, even aspirin, are derived
from traditional healing sources.
Western cultures are also increasingly interested in eastern
healing modalities, especially Chinese herbal medicine and Indian
ayurveda medicine. These have been practiced for thousands of years.
People who enter these healing professions need to learn a lot about
herbs, their attributes and uses. They do it, of course, one herb at
a time.
If you're new to the study of herbs. Here's an interesting one to
know. Astragalus is a herb in the Chinese medicinal pantheon. Your
acupuncturist probably knows a lot about its properties and uses. It
is said to be an immune booster and energy builder. It is often
prescribed by practitioners of Chinese medicine alone or blended
with other immune and energy enhancing herbs such as ginseng and
echinacea.
