Herbal Remedies
Herbal medicine is a complementary therapy that uses plants or plant extracts to treat illnesses.
Many well established medicines originally come from plants. For example, the painkiller morphine comes from poppies, aspirin comes from the bark of willow trees, and digoxin (a drug used to treat heart failure) comes from foxgloves.
Traditional herbal medicine has been used in the UK for centuries and it remains popular today. Although it's classed as a complementary medicine in the UK, it's actually the most widely practised form of medicine across the world - nearly 80% of the world's population are dependent on herbs for their health.
We use herbal tinctures that are put together in a bottle for each patient. The combination of herbs depends on the patient individual needs. All our herbs are Organically certified and supplied by UK herbal companies.
How do herbal medicines work?
Many conventional medicines originate from a single active ingredient of a plant. Scientists can isolate this and produce it on a large scale in a laboratory. This is the opposite of herbal medicines which may contain dozens of different ingredients. Herbalists believe that all the elements are in balance within a plant and so it's important to keep them together. The different components are made more or less powerful depending on the others that are present.
What complaints do herbal medicines help?
A few of the conditions that phytotherapy can be used to treat are listed below:
- St John's Wort has been found to be effective for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, but it can also work well with digestive issues related to nervous system.
- Echinacea may be used to treat colds and other respiratory (breathing) infections.
- Garlic may reduce blood cholesterol levels, could potentially lower your risk of heart disease, and treat fungal infections.
- Oregon Grape and Yellow Dock are effective in helping with skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis.
- White Willow bark can help with reducing inflammation and pain associated with arthritis.
- Saw Palmetto is useful if you have an enlarged benign prostate gland.
- An extract of Hawthorn berries able to treat mild heart conditions.
- Ginger helps relieve nausea and vomiting and traditionally used to improve circulation.
- Ginkgo Biloba is thought to improve mental performance in elderly and those suffering with Alzheimer's disease.
- Horse Chestnut seed extract has been studied as a treatment for chronic venous insufficiency and mild varicose veins.
All our herbs are Organic certified and supplied by UK herbal companies such as Avicenna, Rhutland Biodynamics and Granary Herbs.
It is important to remember that:
- Herbal remedies are medicines. As with any other medicine they should not be self-prescribed and should be used with care.
- Natural does not mean safe. Many pharmaceutical medicines have been developed from plants because of the powerful compounds they contain. Before you take any herbal medicine, you need to be sure it is the correct product for you. At our practice, we will recommend you a set of herbs only after completing your health assessment.
- Herbal remedies can interact with other medicines. This could result in the other medicines having reduced or enhanced effects. The practitioner will take this into consideration, however, when consulting your doctor or pharmacist always tell them about any herbal medicines you are taking.
- As with all medicines, keep herbal remedies out of the sight and reach of children.
For an appointment or more information on any of our services, please call on
07565825046 or 0161 628 2664
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Disclaimer
From March 2011 due to new legislation, we are not allowed to make claims for treatments that has not been scientifically proven. Most complementary therapies cannot be proven despite having been found to be very effective. All the information you find on this website has not been qualified by Scientific Research and any treatment you undertake will be at your discretion. We believe in our treatments and we have an impressive number of clients who believe in them too.