Botanical Medicine

#Monday Modality! My last post mentioned how powerful plants can be. 🌱💪 As a naturopathic doctor, I love using botanical medicine with my patients. Botanical medicine utilizes substances that come from plants – such as bark, seeds, roots, stems, and flowers - to treat and prevent disease. 🌸🍃🌱🌺.
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These substances can be in the form of teas (my favourite!), oils, tinctures, infusions, poultices, creams –options and uses are endless! Some forms of botanical medicine you may already be familiar with are essential oils: • Eucalyptus - common in chest rubs to help treat coughs and clear sinuses
• Chamomile tea - to make you sleepy
• Aloe vera - everyone’s go-to in summer for sunburns
• Fennel seeds – often a treat after Indian food, these help with digestion • Ginger – wards off nausea and very safe and helpful with morning sickness. .
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Along with these familiar examples, botanicals can be used to treat and maintain health in a number of different conditions. Cardiovascular disease, ❤️ digestive diseases, endocrine issues, immune system deficiencies, reproductive health – clinical studies show the application of botanical medicine offering huge benefits. This offers a gentle alternative or compliment to medications, with minimal side effects..
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Humans have used plants as medicine for as long as we have existed. The evidence-based research supporting various botanicals continues to grow. It is important to remember that botanical medicines ARE medicines – plants are powerful! Therefore, before starting or adding any botanicals into your life, talk to someone trained in botanical medicine.🌱