What is herbal therapy

Herbal therapy is a traditional conditioning method that relies on the medicinal active ingredients of various natural plants to assist in regulating physical discomfort and improving health. It is essentially a collective name for the application experience of herbal medicine in the traditional medical system of various regions. Herbal prescriptions that have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine, to the ointments prepared by traditional European herbalists, and the anti-malarial use of cinchona bark first discovered by South American indigenous people, all fall into the category of herbal therapy.

Don’t think this is some unreachable niche therapy. The brown sugar ginger tea prepared by elders when you caught a cold when you were a child, the honeysuckle water you brewed when you have a toothache, and the rock sugar snow pear stew when you have a dry cough due to autumn dryness are actually the most down-to-earth herbal therapy practices, and most of us have experienced them when we were children.

There is indeed a lot of controversy over herbal therapy in the industry. Most elderly people who practice traditional herbal conditioning believe that these prescriptions have been tried by generations for hundreds of thousands of years, and their effectiveness has long been proven in practice. Aren’t artemisinin and paclitaxel commonly used in clinical practice extracted from herbal plants? This in itself is a testament to the value of herbs. However, researchers working on evidence-based medicine also have real concerns: many folk herbal prescriptions have not undergone standardized clinical trials, and the active ingredients are unclear, and adverse reactions and contraindications have not been systematically studied. Some commonly used herbs themselves even have clear liver and kidney toxicity. A few years ago, I met a patient who believed in the folk prescription and boiled water with Guan Mutong and drank it for half a year to regulate "fire". In the end, he was diagnosed with chronic kidney damage. It is a pity.

I have been doing herbal conditioning for almost 7 years, and I have seen too many people who go to extremes, either touting herbs as magic medicine that can cure all diseases, or even giving up chemotherapy for cancer and only drinking herbal soup, which ultimately delays the best treatment period.； Either put all herbs as IQ taxes, and even drink stomach-warming osmanthus tea, saying that there is no scientific basis, but in fact it is completely unnecessary. To be honest, herbal therapy is more like a home helper that is good at dealing with minor ailments. For common minor discomforts such as dry cough during the change of seasons, bloating after eating too much, and slight bloating during menstruation, choosing mild herbal treatments can make most of them feel better. ； But if you have to rely on herbal treatments for serious illnesses such as pneumonia, myocardial infarction, or malignant tumors, you are simply making fun of your own body.

By the way, I would like to remind you that many Internet celebrity herbal products now secretly add hormones and laxatives in order to achieve effects. If you really want to try it, it is best to find a regular doctor or a qualified herbalist to identify your body type before using it. Don’t follow the trend and buy and drink blindly. It is not worth it if you originally want to maintain your health, but in the end it will hurt your body.