Throughout history, women have handed down information from mother to daughter on how herbs can remedy some of the common maladies of life. Women, like the moon, change in cycles. Through menarche (the first menses), menstrual cycles, pregnancy, nursing, and menopause, herbs and minerals have been a common denominator for the wise woman and those she comforts. Women used to hand down secret herbs, plants and minerals from mother to daughter. Women were sometime burned as witches or cast out. In some cultures women with knowledge of the healing plants were revered even sometimes elevated to priestesses.
Many women’s problems, common in America, are rare in China. PMS, irregular periods, endometriosis, infertility, gynecological cancers, excessively heavy or painful periods, and other common problems happen far less often in China then they do in the West. Researchers speculate that the reasons for this disparity might include genetics, diet, or cultural habits. We know of another reason why Chinese women are healthier than American women: Chinese women have access to, and use, Chinese medicine.
 Aromatherapy |
 Pregnancy |
 PMS |
 Fibromyalgia |
We now have a new page dedicated to growing your own herbs. Planting, growing and caring for you own herb garden can be fun, save you money, make sure that your herbs are pure and even teach the little ones a respect for the natural world. Visit the page
Herbs have been loved by women and used to improve loving and health. Many herbs and plants have healing as well as aphrodisiac properties.Plants are sometimes referred to as being phytoestrogenic or phytoprogesteronic. This is because some plants have molecular structures similar to the hormones estrogen (phytoestrogenic) and progesterone (phytoprogesteronic). They can occupy the receptor sites in the body that would normally be taken up by these hormones. Plants can therefore, in some cases, both increase or decrease hormonal levels in the body.Chinese healing therapies are the first choice for a majority of Chinese and other Asian women. Herbs, acupuncture, and massage are more traditional and less expensive than the MD. These medical practices, and the lifestyle they promote, play a big part in keeping Asian women healthy.These healing techniques have been proven effective by centuries of use. They are safer and cheaper than Western medicine, and also promote health improvements that extend beyond women’s issues. In many cases they provide far more than symptomatic relief. Pregnant women should always be careful when taking any medicinal product, including herbs, as some of the powerful herbs can effect your hormones and unborn child.
What is the history of herbal medicine?
Plants had been used for medicinal purposes long before recorded history. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian papyrus writings describe medicinal uses for plants as early as 3,000 BC. Indigenous cultures (such as African and Native American) used herbs in their healing rituals, while others developed traditional medical systems (such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine) in which herbal therapies were used. Researchers found that people in different parts of the world tended to use the same or similar plants for the same purposes.In the early 19th century, when chemical analysis first became available, scientists began to extract and modify the active ingredients from plants. Later, chemists began making their own version of plant compounds and, over time, the use of herbal medicines declined in favor of drugs. Almost one fourth of pharmaceutical drugs are derived from botanicals.Recently, the World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some part of their primary health care. In Germany, about 600 – 700 plant based medicines are available and are prescribed by some 70% of German physicians. In the past 20 years in the United States, public dissatisfaction with the cost of prescription medications, combined with an interest in returning to natural or organic remedies, has led to an increase in herbal medicine use.
Featured Herb: Cordyceps
For thousands of years, the mushroom known as Cordyceps has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat problems ranging from coughs and fatigue to impotence and cancer. And once Western scientists started considering that anecdotal reports of the mushroom’s curative powers might be something more than “folk tales”, research started accumulating that backs up many ancient claims about Cordyceps’ health benefits. {read more}