Botanical Medicine, the Naturopathic Approach

Botanical medicine is truly having a renaissance. After having been, throughout the 20th century, largely replaced by synthetic drugs, plant-based medicines are enjoying a revival. An increasing number of people are now choosing these natural alternatives over the synthetic drugs of the pharmaceutical industry.

Yet herbal medicines are much more than replacements to pharmaceutal drugs. They offer us a fundamentally different approach in the process of caring for our bodies--an approach that is person, rather than disease centered, and one that is focused upon building health, rather than suppressing symptoms.

One example of this time honored approach to healing is the use of herbal tonics. A tonic is a medicine used to strengthen, or improve the general functioning of, specific organs of the body. While the therapeutic focus can be precise and localized, the effects of tonics are usually far-reaching, benefiting the body as a whole. For example, individuals who are prone to fatigue, anxiety, or depression and are particularly vulnerable to illness in times of stress, may have an underlying weakness of the nervous system. The herb avena sativa (Wild Oat), as a classic nerve tonic, can nourish and re-build a depleted nervous system, treating conditions ranging from insomnia to fibromyalgia. It is also sometimes used for ailments following drug addiction and other stresses upon the nervous system.

Plant medicines thus offer a complete range of tonics; benefiting heart, lungs, stomach, liver, adrenals, and a growing list of other organ systems. The correct and judicious use of these herbal medicines, along with appropriate lifestyle changes, can help re-build strength, stamina and vigor--ultimately improving all aspects of health.

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