The Healing Power of Herbs

Michael T. Murray, N.D., is one of the leading researchers and lecturers in the field of natural medicine. He is the author of the bestselling books. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, The Healing Power of Foods Cookbook, and Arthritis from the GETTING WELL NATURALLY series.

We hear a lot of talk about herbs and how they can treat various ailments. In a society where we are brought up to believe that the only way to cure our ills is to go to the doctor and get a pill, shot or even an operation, we can't help but wonder if all this talk about herbs is just that, talk. Or is there something to it? Can herbs really cure us of what ails us? We're going to take a look at some herbs and the claims that nutritionists make. In many cases, there is documented evidence of these claims. Makes you wonder. Fact or fiction, or a little of both?

Ginger is said to be very good for treating cases of nausea. Ginger, for those interested, originated in China and quickly spread to Southeast Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Even though it is commonly referred to as a root, it is actually an herb from the Zingiber officinale plant. As to the claims that Ginger is great for nausea, I can honestly say that I have personally used ginger to treat nausea when I had severe post nasal drip and it worked like a charm. Okay, maybe treating nausea isn't the same as curing cancer, but the point is, taking ginger powder in tea definitely did the trick when nothing else worked.

Rose hips are said to be great for fighting off infection. Rose hips are the fruit from the rose plant. Many people use rose hips in herbal tea. They actually taste very good. But fight infection? Well, there is a reason for that. Rose hips just happen to be very high in vitamin C. As a matter of fact, rose hips are probably the most natural concentrated source of vitamin C, containing between 1700 and 2000 mg per 100 grams of rose hips. That would be the equivalent of about 3 or 4 vitamin C tablets at 500 mg each. Again, from my own experience, I have fought off many colds without drugs by simply drinking rose hips tea.

Devils claw is said to have great anti-inflammatory properties. Devils claw is a plant that comes from the sesame family. The pant itself is native to South Africa. The are two active ingredients in devils claw, Harpagoside and Beta sitosterol. Supposedly, it is these ingredients that give devils claw its anti-inflammatory properties. Again, from my own experience, having suffered from sinus headaches for many years, I can honestly say that taking devils claw actually relieved my pain.

Granted, this is a very short list. I chose it to make a point though. These are just three herbs that all claim to have some healing power. The skeptic would dismiss this as drug bashing. I looked at the claims and simply said to myself, well, if that's what they claim, why not give it a shot? So I did. The results were amazing. Granted, we're not talking about serious illnesses here. However, if these herbs were able to relieve my relatively moderate symptoms, who's to say that there aren't herbs out there that can actually cure things as serious as cancer?

Personally, I will keep an open mind to the possibility until somebody proves otherwise.

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Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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