Читать книгу The Healing Remedies Sourcebook: Over 1,000 Natural Remedies to Prevent and Cure Common Ailments - C. Shealy Norman - Страница 7

INTRODUCTION

THE INCREASED USE OF NATURAL medicines and remedies over the past decade has prompted one of the most exciting developments in healthcare in our time. Many of the tenets of modern medicine have been challenged, and the crisis that conventional healthcare is now facing is the result of its own philosophy. The main premise of conventional medicine is that curing disease will lead to good health. This ignores the fundamental concept that pathology is individual to the sufferer, and that prevention is ultimately more important than treatment for the population at large.

This idea is borne out by the fact that modern medicine is simply not as efficient or effective as we have been led to believe; indeed, evidence suggests that it may cause and create more fatal diseases than it cures, and despite the huge sums of money invested, the populations of the U.K., Australia, the U.S., and most of Europe do not live as long or as healthily as people from other cultures, where healthcare investment is substantially lower.

Adverse drug reactions and side-effects are one of the 10 most common reasons for hospitalization in the U.S. The information provided to doctors and physicians throughout the course of their careers is largely funded by the pharmaceutical industry, which earns billions each year from sales of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. As a result, we, in the West, have been encouraged to adopt a “pill-popping” approach to health—taking an average of 26.5 million pills per hour. Sleeping tablets, analgesics (painkillers), antihistamines, sedatives, and antidepressants rank among the top 20 drugs prescribed by physicians, and more than 52 million aspirin or acetaminophen tablets are taken each day in the U.S.

Perhaps the most alarming result of this overdependence upon drugs is the fact that we have stopped taking responsibility for our own health. When we have a headache, we take a painkiller; when we have a cold, we might take an antihistamine. We suppress the symptoms of health conditions because we want to feel better; we no longer accept the logic that pain or discomfort is a message from our body that something is wrong. We have become used to the idea that someone or something else can deal with our health problems. By taking a pill or conventional medicine in some form, we do experience a relief from symptoms, but what is important to remember is that the cause of the pain or illness remains. By treating the symptoms, or suppressing them, we are doing nothing to treat the root cause. Eczema sufferers apply ointments and creams to the surface of the skin; they may take anti-inflammatories or antihistamines to ease the itching, but the cause of the eczema is still there and the body’s reaction has been masked by drugs. They have not been cured. Their illness has merely been controlled. Recently, this trend has begun to change. Scares about the side-effects and long-term effects of immunization, abuse of painkillers, antihistamines, and antibiotics have proved that conventional medicine, despite its many miracles, has been overused and we have become far too dependent on it. Many of us are no longer happy to accept the risks of prescription drugs, and are realizing that there are natural, healthy alternatives. With the increased interest in diet, emotional health and well-being, and exercise, we are becoming more in tune with our bodies and are choosing to listen to the messages they give. Even more importantly, we are taking steps to prevent illness rather than simply treat it when it does arise, and for this reason we are willing to try natural substances that not only treat health conditions, at cause level, but work with the body to keep it well. Natural remedies are more likely to make you feel better, more vital, and more alert; they have fewer side-effects and because they work actively to prevent illness, they are, perhaps, the answer to the healthcare crisis that has been spiraling out of control.

Our understanding of how different cultures approach healthcare is blossoming. Figures show that many common Western illnesses, such as eczema, asthma, and digestive problems simply do not exist to the same degree in other countries. We have a greater understanding of how disease can be prevented and cured using herbs, oils, homeopathic remedies, food, vitamins and nutritional supplements, and other substances that encourage our bodies to work at their optimum level.

The sale of natural products has increased hugely. Our approach to our health is changing dramatically, and this increased interest is being fed by a broad range of products from around the world that are now available in our local stores. Our growing understanding of holistic treatment has encouraged us to examine the healing practices of cultures from around the world, and from each we can gather invaluable information about diet, lifestyle, illness, health, and well-being. The modern clinical emphasis on separating different aspects of our physical, mental, and spiritual health has resulted in a dehumanizing of medicine. By treating the whole person, holistic therapies can restore the proper balance and promote a sense of complete well-being, inside and out.

This book concentrates on the remedies that form the basis of eight international therapeutic disciplines: homeopathy, aromatherapy, Chinese herbal medicine, herbalism, Ayurveda, flower essences, folk or traditional medicine (also called home remedies), and nutrition. These remedies can be used to encourage and enhance good health and to treat and prevent illnesses, both chronic and acute. Many of these remedies are derived from plants, which have a wide variety of therapeutic uses; indeed, up to 140 conventional drugs in use today are based on plants and herbs.

A large number of these remedies have been in use for thousands of years, and it was the practice of herbalism and other disciplines that made it possible for so many of our conventional drugs to be created. However, pharmaceutical companies isolate and often synthesize the active ingredient of a plant or herb, and many practitioners believe that this causes side-effects and other problems that do not occur when the substance is taken in its whole, natural form.

Isolating the active ingredients of plants produces powerful and often toxic drugs, while medical herbalism offers a gentler, safer, and less disruptive effect, allowing the body to undertake its own natural healing process.

There are over 1000 remedies outlined in this book, many of which you can grow or purchase from a reputable health store. Others will be items from your larder—everyday goods with healing and therapeutic properties that may surprise you. Each of the remedy sources has a data file of features, cautions, and other useful information, and there are often recipes for practical applications. Each of the main eight disciplines is also introduced, which helps you to understand how, for instance, the use of something like cinnamon or ginseng differs between Western and Chinese herbalism, and between folk medicine and Ayurveda. You’ll learn how a rose aromatherapy oil is different from a rose flower essence, how vitamin C and healthy bacteria can encourage good health, and how belladonna, a poisonous substance, can be taken in tiny dilutions to relieve fevers and other problems. You’ll discover natural alternatives to caffeine and sleeping pills, laxatives, and antacids, in remedies that strengthen your mind and body, lift your mood, calm your nerves, and enhance your resistance to infection and illness.

Around 200 common ailments are also discussed in detail, with practical examples of how you can use the remedies from around the world to cure or prevent them. We are on the brink of an exciting new era in healthcare, and with the benefit of these remedies, presented in easy-to-follow files, grouped by the discipline in which they are most often used, you and your family can experiment with safe substitutes to conventional medicines by following the comprehensive instructions. These remedies are the medicine of the future, and this is the essential guide for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their own health. By using only a few of these remedies, you can live longer and with a better quality of life. These are the secrets of good health from around the world; experiment with care and you’ll be amazed at the results.

KAREN SULLIVAN, London