Interesting Facts About Herbal Medicine

1. The word drug comes from the Dutch word “droog” which means ‘ dry’ or ‘to dry’ which is in reference to how ancient healers and physicians would dry plants for use as medicines.

2. The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that 80% of the world’s population uses herbal medicine.

3.  7,000 compounds used in modern medicine are derived from plants.

4. One half of all medical schools now offer courses on alternative medicine, which includes the study of plants as medicine.

5. One out of three medicines prescribed in Germany is an herb.

6. The use of herbal medicines predates human history.

7. The first medical schools were based on the use of plants and herbs.

8. After the Black Death, the use of plants as medicines was replaced with the use of more toxic chemical substances, like heavy metals (mercury, lead, arsenic, etc…) Especially after the science of chemistry evolved, the use of plants as medicine was replaced with the allopathic system we see predominant in most industrialized countries.

9.  Herbs are trophorestorative, which means they work on the deepest level to bring about vitality and healing. It has been found, through scientific research, that plants benefit us by actually transferring information to our bodies on a genetic level. Now, that’s what I call deep healing!

10. Humans have evolved with herbs and plants for hundreds of thousands of years. Using herbal medicine brings harmony and balance back to the body, because it allows the body to be just as responsible for the healing as the plant. Using harsh, synthetic chemical compounds, which have only been around for a hundred years or so (and have not usually been properly tested for long term safety), comes with the mentality that the body is a broken machine and needs to be fixed. Not a very holistic, let alone healthy, attitude if you ask me! Also see: Herbalism changes the world