These days we hear the term ‘herb’ referred to so often-from herbal teas to those mysterious potions used in Chinese medicines-we’re not so sure any more what a person is referring to when they say the word. Simply put for our modern day use, an herb can be a bark, flower, fruit, leaf or root, any plant or part of a plant that has nutritional or medicinal value.

The science of using plants for healing (the afore mentioned Chinese herbs are the most well known example) is called Herbology. Because herbs are relatively inexpensive and the study of them based on simple concepts, the practice of Herbology-and the men and women who treat using this discipline-has increased greatly in recent years. Herbology falls under the umbrella of the holistic medicine approach to health, with herbs acting as natural remedies to ailments from skin diseases to cancer. Currently 30% of our pharmaceutical drugs are extracted from herbs!

Although the holistic practitioner or doctor might use herbs to treat his or her client, herb therapy is not drug therapy. Holistic health views the body in its entirety, not just concerned with treating one symptom. A doctor well versed in alterative medicines views the individual as a whole, treating the body’s imbalances, looking for the cause of the symptoms a person might be exhibiting. Addressing these imbalances through better nutrition, alleviating stress and yes, often time Herbs/Herbology, the individual stands a better chance of fighting off disease with their body at optimum health.