What is Herbalism and Why You Should Care

Apr 3, 20232 min read

There are so many terms in the holistic field that it is important to talk about what they actually mean.

Today, I am going to focus on what Herbalism is and why you should care about it.

Herbalism; is the practice of using herbs to treat illness.

What an herbalist does: promotes wellness with the use of plants. An herbalist may use an array of teas, tinctures, extracts, compresses, soaks, and salves are examples of herbal healing methods.

Why should you care?

This question is one that I think we need to start at the beginning.

Herbal medicine has been in use for over 60,000 years. Treating the symptoms rather than the whole being, as used in Traditional Western medicine, was not introduced until around the 19th century. For argument's sake, people credit traditional western medicine beginning with Hippocrates around 400 BCE. If we were to follow that argument, that is only 2423 years ago, so still a lot later than herbal medicine. Until this point, medicine was used to help the body as a whole instead of curing the symptoms.

So in simple man's terms, herbalism and herbal medicine has been around longer than our modern idea of medicine but is being more demonized than at any other point in history.

Did you know that many of the over-the-counter medicines that are prescribed by medical doctors were used in herbal medicine first?

Valium is said to be derived from the plant material of Valerian Root.

Heaches and ache joints were treated with smelling salts such as; rosemary, lavender, and sage.

Rosemary is also an herb known to help boost memory, as quoted in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

I am studying herbalism and have been for a little while. I have had many professors and sat in many lectures, but one professor has stuck with me, and I want to share one of her words of wisdom.

"Medicine was taken out of the hands of the people and into the hands of people we don't know, and we are supposed to trust they know our bodies better than we do."

She also said, "you pay for your health, either in doctor's bills later or in preventative measures now."

So, maybe you are not interested in knowing how to heal your body naturally, which is how your body was created. Or perhaps you believe all herbalists are against doctors, which is not totally true. I do think it is important that you know where modern medicine got its roots, and however you choose to medicate, you need to do it as an informed party.