The use of herbs has dated as far back as 2700 B.C.,
although it is thought that they were used way before that.
Prehistoric man used herbs for food, shelter and dyes.
Different cultures also used herbs for many different
ailments. Herbalism is the knowledge and study of herbs. The
spices you use to cook with are herbs as are some of the
weeds in your yard. Many people grow their own herbs. An
herb os characterized as a non-woody plant. The term herb is
defined as any seed whose stem withers away annually or any
plant used as medicine, nutritional value, color or dye.
In prehistoric times, man used herbs way before written
history. He learned through experimenting which plants
were useful and which ones could cause death. The first
known written records show Sumerians used thyme, laurel
and caraway seeds 5,000 years ago. Around 2700 B.C.,
the Chinese were also using herbs and wrote a Chinese
herb book containing 365 medicinal plants and 13 herbal
prescriptions.
The Papyrus Ebers, an ancient text written in 1000 B.C.
by the Egyptians contained 700 herbal antidotes,
including references to aloe, caraway seeds, garlic,
poppy, opium, cator oil, coriander, mint and indigo.
These herbs were used for medicines, food and dyes. The
Old Testamnet also mentions people cultivating wheat,
rye and barley. Hippocrates used medicine as an art. He
believed that herbal use, fresh air, rest and a
balanced diet maintained a "life force". Galen, in
contrast, believed that large doses of more or less
complex drug mixtures (plant, animal, and mineral
ingredients) combined with magic neccessitated correct
imbalances that caused disease. The Greeks and Romans
depended on plants for different reasons: medicines,
magical symbols, seasonings, dyes ans cosmetics, They
used mandrake as an anesthetic.
The Middle Ages brought very little change to the use
of herbs as medicine. Monks hand copied writings of the
Greeks and Roman to protect this information. The monks
were looked upon for medicinal knowledge.
Today, herbal use is still practiced. Benefits of herbs
include: cleansing - a natual way to cleanse and purify
the body without side effects, they also help glands
functions properly, gives the body extra energy and
boosts the immune system by promoting "good bacteria".
After all, herbs are natural substances that people
have been using since the beginning of time.