According to the World Health Organization, herbal products still provide primary health care for 80 percent of the world’s population. Even in the U.S., some $8 billion is spent every year on plant-derived medications.
Many plants contain chemicals that have been scientifically validated for use in OTC and prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies frequently search among herbs for new drug sources.
Herbs, of course, are widely used in homeopathic medicine. Homeopathy is a healing system in which naturally-occurring herbs and other substances arc used to stimulate immunocompetence and other body defense systems. A homeopathic physician uses a patient’s symptoms to make a “symptom profile.” He then matches it with a medicine having a similar profiler-implying that the medicine has produced similar symptoms in a large number of patients.
Most cold or flu symptoms are produced by the body’s defensive reaction to the virus rather than by the virus itself Hence homeopathy treats the host father than the virus. Specifically, a homeopathic physician will treat the host’s underlying basic vulnerability, which translates into enhancing the immune system and other body defenses which may have been weakened.
Only a homeopathic physician has the skill to match a cold sufferer’s “symptom profile” with a medication having similar properties. However, if you have access to a homeopathic physician and your cold or flu is severe enough to warrant homeopathic intervention, you will find a wide range of natural remedies available.
Although many of them may be prescribed only by a homeopathic doctor, many other common herbal remedies can provide soothing relief from colds, flu and other respiratory disorders. A brief rundown of those most highly favored by herbalists follows.
The favored way to take most herbs is in the form of a tea. Simply make a fairly strong brew, equivalent to suffusing one tea bag of black tea in a cup of boiling water. However, some herbs such as cinnamon, garlic, pepper, mustard and radish may also be taken in food. Under no circumstances try to smoke herbs to clear congestion or to relieve any other respiratory symptoms. Regardless of its source, smoke is a harsh irritant that will inhibit cilia action and inflame the mucous membranes.
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